Anyone who’s worked in the food service industry knows how stressful rush order times can get, especially when you have throngs of customers who are making very specific orders. Fulfilling all of those orders in a timely fashion, while making sure you’re fully stocked on products and maintaining a pleasant and welcoming demeanor, might take some getting used to.
And if you’re the kind of person who wants to ease into their workday, then there are going to be some shifts that are more conducive to that workflow than others. For TikToker and Starbucks Barista Sequoia McClurken (@sequoiamcc), that’s tackling the morning shift at the popular coffee chain.
In a now-viral video, she says in the overlay text that waking up early in the morning to open the Starbucks she works at is her favorite shift. She’s able to generally enjoy a subdued pace while listening to music and casually sipping coffee as she preps the store to be opened. In fact, the first whole two hours of the opening shift, she says, is a relatively chill experience and by the time the pace starts to pick up, she doesn’t have that much longer to go as she heads home at 1pm.
@sequoiamcc Morning shifts>>🌥☕️🤗🌸 #starbucks #baristalife #morning #opener #starbucksbarista #foryou #fyp #pov #goodmorning #earlymorning #morningshift ♬ pass the dutchie sped up – vevonix
This presumably leaves the rest of her day open and if there are any errands she needs to get completed she can accomplish all of them before the rush hour of everyone heading back home. According to Indeed, the first shift at Starbucks begins at 4am and ends at 1pm.
Tons of other TikTokers who commented on her post were of the same opinion as Sequoia, with many stating that they preferred the morning shift.
“I love working early, it’s so chill and i can relax the rest of the day,” a user shared.
“Ppl think opening shifts at Starbucks is hell; it’s the opposite,” another concurred.
“I work 4-12 at my job. it’s amazing honestly, a third user wrote.
However, this same workflow doesn’t seem to apply to all coffee chains, with some who claim to be Dunkin’ employees stating that the opposite is the case for the Massachusetts-based coffee and donut chain.
“At dunkin mornings are insane so I’ll only work closings,” a top comment read.
“At dunkin is the opposite,” another wrote.
There were some users who said that this isn’t the case at their Starbucks locations and there are a number of regular customers who come into the store at the crack of dawn to place their orders. Others said that they don’t like working the morning shift because they’re usually very tired from working a full day so when they head home all they want to do is sleep.
“Can’t relate, our regulars come in right at open. like chill David it’s 5 in the morning,” a user wrote.
“I use to open and after my shift I was dead and headed straight to bed not worth it,” another said.
“Yeah but then I go home and sleep until like 7,” one user added.
Starbucks’ busiest times are purportedly around 7am-9am during weekdays and then around 3pm when younger customers start getting out of school. Some baristas have reported that the morning “rush” lasts until 11am, which has been corroborated by other outlets that stated there’s been a shift in coffee purchasing times sometime in 2020.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Sequoia via TikTok comment and Starbucks via email for more information.
