‘You need a promotion’: Starbucks employee gets stuck outside store after manager goes MIA

“The Great Resignation” may not be as common as it once was, but many millennials and Gen-Zers are still sounding off online about poor work culture and how this affects their desire to work for specific companies. Retail in particular has been under heavy criticism thanks to the discussion around minimum wage and “essential workers.” So it’s no surprise many were upset after TikTok user @urmomsfavila318 posted a video showing how terrible her Starbucks manager is.

In the video, Lia writes that she was meant to open her local Starbucks store with her manager that morning by 6am. In the comments, Lia says she and the opener are scheduled to be there at 5:30am to prep for opening, in preparation for the caffeine addicts headed to swarm their store. Lia shows that she is outside the store waiting for her manager by 5:25am.

The video shows Lia patiently waiting outside the store for her manager to show up as she documents the time progressing closer to 6am. The video ends with the time hitting 6am and Lia saying her manager isn’t there yet, even though the store was set to open.

In 2020, a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) shared that 84 percent of U.S. workers believe poorly trained managers cause a negative work environment that increases stress and workload. This same study also shared how 50 percent of people feel if their manager were to get more training in people management skills, their performance as an employee would also improve. For years, HR professionals have said that people quit managers, not jobs, and incidents like Lia’s continue to further prove this point.

Naturally, the commenters were extremely empathetic to Lia’s situation. Many were urging her to make sure she got paid while waiting for her manager to show up. “Girl you better put the time you got in if they try to say that you didn’t start til ___ time,” one commenter warned. Another said “You’re better than me, I have literally driven back home when the shift didn’t show up.” Another sympathetic viewer even argued, “You need a promotion.”

Other retail employees who have done early opening shifts related to Lia’s situation as well. One shared, “This happened to me a couple times when I used to work at McDonald’s.” A fellow Starbucks employee wrote, “We used to have an SM that would show up late for opens and then get mad we were behind schedule.” Lia did post a follow up video sharing that her manager did eventually show up, and she was paid for the time she was stuck outside the store, but we’re still rooting for her to take that manager’s job.