A Starbucks employee on TikTok claims their store descended into chaos when nearly the entire staff called out on a Saturday—allegedly leading the store’s manager to resign immediately afterward.
The food service industry is purportedly such a high-stress line of work, that some businesses are on-boarding staff therapists to help employees deal with their jobs. When it comes to highly-trafficked chains that are fast-paced, and presumably, higher-stress environments as a result, there are many who would say Starbucks hovers at the top of that list.
The topic of a lack of sufficient staffing and unionizing at Starbucks has been long-discussed among employees all across the country, especially throughout 2021 and 2022. Social media is full of anecdotal stories from workers for the coffee chain who have expressed their frustration at dealing with stores that simply do not have enough workers on location, making it difficult to maintain normal operations.
In the case of the Starbucks employee at this particular location, Enn (@ennachx), the staffing issues led their manager to quit their job.
@ennachx lmao #starbucks #tobeapartner ♬ original sound – <3
“When the whole morning team and closing shift calls off on a saturday and my store manager immediately resigned afterwards,” Enn writes in the clip’s text overlay while mouthing the lyrics to Lana Del Rey’s “Mariners Apartment Complex.”
Enn’s video has received over 25,000 views, and several viewers stated that they hoped to do the same thing at their own Starbucks locations.
“Don’t give us ideas bestie,” one user said.
“Starbucks is so stressful rn,” a second added.
One commenter said they experienced a similar situation to Enn’s in her own store. “Nobody works Sunday (only like 4 out of 10 people will come in) at our store & our manager just got fired so,” they said.
Another encouraged Enn to unionize the workforce at her store, even offering to help her do so.
According to Unionelections.org, there are a large number of Starbucks stores that have been unionized: over 250 locations as of publication. 2022 ended with several open elections that have yet to be determined. The outlet states that there have been some 394 different locations that have already pushed for a union.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Enn via TikTok comment and Starbucks via email for further information.
