A barista recently suggested that she’s paid more for working in a Target Starbucks than she would at a corporate Starbucks. However, her video sparked a debate over whether working at a Target outpost is better than a regular one.
TikTok user Anna (@annalovescoffee) posted the video noting the pay discrepancy. The text overlay on the screen reads: “Corporate workers knowing Target Starbucks workers get $15/hr doing less work.” Her video has received over 170,000 views since posting 2 days ago.
In October, Starbucks raised its starting rate for all baristas to $12/hour, though some markets had the wage raised to $15/hour. Recent reports state that, faced with a labor shortage, Starbucks planned to increase its starting rate for all markets to at least $15/hour by this summer.
In fact, on Anna’s video, one supposed corporate employee claimed that they already make $15.60/hour. (Anna responded, however, that she only made $9.50/hour as a corporate worker.)
Even with less money, several alleged corporate Starbucks employees told Anna that they received perks like free food, less understaffing, and customer tips.
The top comment on her video, with over 500 likes, reads: “Nah, working at Tarbucks was hell… My store was busy asf & they always scheduled me alone for hours.”
Several other commenters similarly warned against working at Target Starbucks.
“Corporate Starbucks is 10x better than Target bc u get free food and drinks and don’t work alone,” one viewer said.
In response, Anna replied, “true but i just like getting paid more + my target starbucks is slow here.”
“‘Less work’ [but] always understaffed, no breaks, no tips,” another viewer wrote. “You had to work [the] bar & register at the same time & also restock EVERYTHING in one shift.”
“Haha working at Tarbucks was one of the worst times of my life,” a third commenter said. “I started getting stress hives.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Anna via TikTok comment and email. Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment via email.
Source: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/starbucks-target-corporate-workers-pay-tiktok/