"Our partners (employees) are truly partners (employees) in our work, and their schedules are truly something special. Because nobody can truly predict what the busy times of day will be at a coffee shop…"

There’s a reason we call everyone a partner: because that’s how we see our partners.

 And we rate every one of our 200,000 partners in 6 continents and more than 100 countries as among the top 200,000 partners in the world. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be working here.

Our partners (employees) are truly partners (employees) in our work, and their schedules are truly something special. Because nobody can truly predict what the busy times of day will be at a coffee shop, or which five days of the week may see more demand from office workers than than the other two.

​Not to mention that seasonal drinks come on a schedule that has more to do with the holiday and harvest calendar than anything the company has direct control over. And when you’re talking about iced drinks, well the weather changes day to day as one season moves to another in a way that is almost impossible to predict without the assistance of something like a Farmer’s Almanac or the National Weather Service.

With all these variables, it’s no wonder that in many Starbucks baristas and shift supervisors have no idea how much their schedule will change from one week to the next, let alone what shifts they’ll be set for on a given day — or if that will change. Getting called in on a day off, getting sent home early, scrambling for more hours — it’s all part of what makes Starbucks what it has become.