Okay, so i work at a cafe, and we recently just started serving bubble tea! yay!..okay..well most people in this town have never tried it, including the people who work at the cafe. They have never had real bubble tea made in a big city. So anyway, these girls dont really have any directions on how to make it or instructions for how to make the liquid part of the drink(the flavouring) So they just assumed.. So i come into work one day(i just started back there.. i used to previously work there..in fact, i was the first trained employee there, before it even opened) to find that they have made up this glop of a liquid and called it bubble tea mix...hmm i thought.. i dont remember the real tea house's making their tea like that? I asked one girl how they made it and then i went home stumped, perplexed, mad and annoyed at the fact, that they are destroying the taste of the drink and they are serving it when its not being made right at all..So for 3 nights all i can think about is how they are making it wrong and how i need to go in their and fix it.. Well, i go in today and just blurt it all out at the girl "your making this wrong!".."well how do you make it?" she asks..and i say "its made with this and this and this" ..."oh" , she said..well maybe there is more than one way..

Luckily the owner was sitting there and he gave me full permission to try out every recipe and experiment with the taste of every recipe..Needless to say, i got them down to a science and im officially so sick of bubble tea, that if i were to taste it again, i would probably barf..i cant count how many tastes i had to do that day..It took me 3.5 hours just to do all the tasting and mixing and adjusting..So its fixed..

It drives me nuts, that these girls, dont do these things properly..I mean..they serve a freaking eggnog latte with eggnog flavoured syrup..they dont use real eggnog!!! like...wha??? and when they pull their espresso shots, they let it sit and then it burns the grounds and then it makes the water bitter when they run it through...!!! nothing like bitter tasting coffee...

The worst part is..they think they are totally superior to me..its like.. im just this little kid or something..

ARGHHHH!!!.. Is it just me?? or am i being too anal retentive or something? cause in my personal opinion.. I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE DONT DO THEIR JOB PROPERLY!!!

-End of rant!

You don't sound anal retentive,in fact,it sounds like you care and want to keep customers coming through the doors.Good on your boss for listening and allowing you to experiement and make the end product good

I think you were right to tell them how to make the bubble tea properly for sure. They shouldn't be making it wrong and serving it. As long as you were polite, because there's nothing worse than a worker who's unhappy because they've just been yelled at.

you know, we have about 3 bubble tea places in my neighborhood and I have yet to try it.

I think it's good you want to do things right (that is a quality that can really serve you well in life and the working world), but I wouldn't get too caught up in the "lack of enthusiasm" you encounter in others. everyone has her own level of involvement and investment. inspiring people in a positive way is extremely difficult, and a valuable ability.

I can relate to you. I'm a perfectionist and I've always feared getting in trouble. My first job was at a fast food place and I was always stressed and worried that customers would be unhappy. Nobody else helped when we were busy or cleaned up. After that I realized that unless it is my business, it's not up to me to make sure everyone is doing this right. You'll come across people your whole life that don't care about their job performance and you can't let it get to you. Unless you are in a role that manages or evaluates, try and just let it go.

This sounds like you should talk to your doctor about a possible anxiety disorder.

I was thinking a little ocd, but a little might not be so bad.

Sounds to me, (after reading your other thread about sex as well), that you are being anal...and maybe bossy, pushy and major PMSy. Chill out honey, and try to quit worrying about what everyone else is doing, and focus on you, and your weight loss and things that you can control.

I totally agree with ade903...leave the micro managing to the managers...it's their job to evaluate their subordinates job performance, not yours.

I have worked in a cafe like this before (with bubble tea, no doubt, many years ago when it was 'new' in Canada) and I would suggest the owners simply write a basic recipe flip chart for it and all other drinks for employees to reference - rather than have you do all this. The drinks are standard (within reason depending on the shop), there should be no confusion over how to make certain drinks (ie. eggnog latte, which yes, is made with eggnog, how cheap and bizarre to do otherwise).

I can't imagine they are paying you much more than average wage for the position yet expect you to take on such additional responsibilities? Unless you are some sort of supervisor (and paid accordingly!) then the other employees are just going to get pissed off and make it an unpleasant environment. And yes, to think about this frequently on days off is a bit much, sorry.

Porthardygirl, you are an excellent employee. I bet you know more about the newer foods out there and how they should taste and be made than your boss. Interested and enthused employees are very difficult to find.


Next time something isn't right, let the boss know in a very polite way that you have had this food item at a restaurant, and this is how it should be made.

Your co-workers probably know very little about how foods should be made and seasoned and presented.

There are always new culinary arts books arriving at the Public Library every year.
If they are not at your library, the local library can have them sent out there for you to pick up.

Tell the boss you will research everything new on the menu and make sure it is done just right. And be very diplomatic about it. Don't belittle your co-workers. They don't have your experience. Don't show anger, show your enthusiasm.




And yes, it can take 3 days to get a recipe just right, and sometimes takes longer.

Be proud of yourself. I think you are just great to be interested in the patrons!

Our lives are not in the lap of the gods, but in the lap of our cooks.
~ Lin Yutang ~

Lori- Im not pms'y... im not bossy or pushy. What i am is a person with a lot of leadership skills and a person who is used to being put in a position to take on more than what my job calls for. People rely on me for everything.

I get frustrated when people like the owner, expect me to perfect recipes and expect me to teach people who think they are superior to me, even though they dont know what they are doing.

I care about this cafe that i work at, because i was their before it was. I helped started it up and i hate to see people who have just been hired, without training, come in and take it over and they dont have the faintest clue what they are doing. Wouldnt that bother you? Imagine if you who have been washing your nicest clothes all your life, had someone come in and wash your clothes for you and pour bleach on top of all your clothes prior to putting it in the wash..how would you feel? Mortified, shocked and perhaps angry that your clothes are now going to be ruined over someone else doing something wrong?

I recognize its not my job to be the manager and i recognize that their is a manager, but i recognize she is doing things wrong, and yes, my concern is that a cafe that is trying to survive the first year of business, is going to be driving customers away because of improperly made beverages.

PS: Dont have an anxiety disorder or OCD :P ..... i used to see a psyciatrist for a looooooong time.. the only thing they could find wrong with me ..was a sleep issue and adolescent circumstancial depression..

I cant help it if im a perfectionist..just like my mother..lol

It isn't your responsibility that the owner of the cafe chooses not to educate his employees to the standard you would prefer. It isn't your responsibility that the owner of the cafe chooses to use ingredients or recipes you consider substandard.

I wouldn't call you anal retentive or smart in this situation. I'd say that you're becoming excessively emotionally invested in a situation you have minimal influence on. It's a recipe for burnout, and I'd rather that didn't happen to you.

hmmm good point.
Perhaps i should just sit back, watch and see what happens to the cafe..why bother investing my time and effort into something that might just end up failing anyway.

That's right! Invest your time and effort into something that won't fail, something that you have TOTAL control in the outcome...like your weightloss efforts. Use all that energy to make yourself better/healthier...

Invest your time at the cafe for a paycheck to buy awesome new clothes as you lose.

Lots of advice for the OP, so I'll close now.