Good for getting entry level barista experience, I was hired in with no experience and taught all aspects of the job. Experienced older members were helpful and taught the role well. High customer turnover means you have to learn to make coffees quickly, but my store wasn't too busy compared to other Costas so it can be an especially good for learning in a semi-quiet store.
Pros: Staff were lovely, I made good friends there and people were always friendly and nice to work with. Despite the stressful work environment there was almost no drama among the baristas, people were emotionally supportive when needed and problems could be sorted out very quickly. Good place for making friends too.
Reliable opening/closing hours meant I always had the evenings free. Weekly rosters were given, but sometimes they wouldn't be updated until the day before the new week started.
Cons: Repetitive tasks. Work was shared out and people took turns on different jobs, but they still got old very fast.
Terrible management added unnecessary stress to all aspects of the job. You would get given out to regularly, staff meetings and 1-1s always turned into screaming matches, with little to no praise given. You would find yourself monitoring your superiors' moods, and if they were having a bad day it was almost guaranteed it would be taken out on someone.
One day I checked the next week's roster and found I only had one shift (before that, I had worked 3 days a week consistently, going up to 4 or 6 dur
ProsBarista training without experience required going in, very friendly team who work together well, evenings free due to opening hours
ConsRepetitive tasks, unnecessary stress caused by management, no security with employment or hours
Only good thing about it was the people working there
You get treated like a number, monthly pay, when becoming team leader they take €500 off ur pay check as a “key deposit” and u don’t receive it until you leave. You are expected to do all the work the manager can do. Very draining place to work in sometimes you would be working 10 hour shifts and not get a break as it’s too busy and no one can cover your spot. No free lunch, limit of 2 drinks a day for staff, you are worked off ur feet every day, if your working in costa day bye to your life outside work as it drains you to the point of it. The head management is a joke.. they expect so much from you but they give nothing back, they think your a robot and can learn everything in one day and get given out to if it’s wrong, never any thank you or appreciation for covering extra shifts or going out of ur way you’ll be made to go scrub the floors on ur knees infront of customers, the shop is so busy and yet ur still expected to be scrubbing and deep cleaning every day, you’ll be working 59 hours a week and have no say about it and if your not a good worker your hours get cut to minimum so you leave while other staff are overworked. Only good thing I can say about the place is the friends you make and work with are great! And you get full training provided (even though it’s not followed trough out the year anyways only for costa checks and coffee isn’t made the proper way it should be) and your trained to scam people out of it with extras. Don’t recommend working there unless your
ProsMeet great people
ConsThe whole company, over worked, your only a number to them
I would definitely not recommend working at Costa as the negatives definitely weigh out the positives. The shifts are very long, with the smallest break (If working a 9 hour shift, you get a 30 minute break). There is too much work overload on each individual, which means it's a constant stressful environment. It is usually understaffed (at least where I worked) due to management wanting to cut hours constantly. The salary is minimum wage which is ridiculous for the amount of work one person does in a day. The work environment is constantly negative, with higher management constantly criticizing our work, saying we are not upselling enough (i.e.charging the customer and extra €1.80 for cream, marshmallows and flake on a hot chocolate etc.) and following their ridiculous standards. There is no recognition when we do a good job, it is constantly negative, with no "well done" or "good job". The only thing that got me through this job for so long were the colleagues I worked with and the barista experience I got. Apart from that there's nothing else positive to say. If you're the type of person that handles stress very very well and doesn't mind being underpaid and overworked, go for it, but If you're not, then id say it's not worth your while.
I used to love my job but the management do not give a rat's about the employees. I worked in a different Costa in Tipperary before Limerick and had a completely different experience I loved it. But in Limerick you will find nothing but stress and pressure, they don't care if your a human with real life situations, your a number. My coworkers were never trained properly, which caused so much trouble for them when we had Costa checks, they need a designated trainer asigned to do this! There was things I learned a year later I should have known from the beginning, same with so many of my coworkers. Becoming a supervisor then was a big mistake, myself and other supervisors get the blame. You better be up for minimal pay to run on a low staffed team as they won't pay to hire an extra staff member, it's bare minimum everyday or less than which is the most stressful because your dying and customers are giving you S*** for it because you can't break yourself in two and do everything at once.
ProsFree coffee was the only good thing
ConsThey will not hire enough people for a store and they will not train correctly
Let me say that unless you have a close friend in costa.. you will not learn how to make coffee.
Don’t even bother applying to Costa if you want to become an expert barista. Over 1.5 years I worked there I went on the coffee machine a few times and finally.. only in my last month of working, I started going more. It’s insane how the head office AND the regional managers don’t care about you!!!!
I know I’m not alone on this as my old coworkers were the same.
A lot of favouritism is involved. You will be working there for 1.5+ years but someone who just started 4 months ago will go behind the till or make coffee.
The company uses you for their own profit; sell, clear the tables, keep the place tidy, boost extras, covid care - all for minimum wage!
I got tips maybe 3/4 times during my whole time there? All that hard work and where does it go!
I feel like this is a job just to keep you financially going. And in fact I do not recommend it. Just from my experience.
Maybe there are better Costa stores out there but I’m never going to forget the stress and anxiety I had while working there.
Overall this job is great for gaining experience as a barista but I would not do it long term. Depending on the Costa that you work in it can be very quiet or extremely busy. I happened to work in one of the busiest ones and it was, at times, very stressful. I would say 50% of the job is cleaning or doing dishes, especially if you are closing. Long hours are very tiring as you are running around on your feet all day. You only get an unpaid 30 min break for a ten hour shift which is ridiculous. The pay stays the same no matter how long you work there which means their turnover is extremely high and they are always looking to hire. Team leaders earn some cents extra for doing an awful lot of work. Appliances can be broken for months and management doesn't seem to care. Overall the company is very stingy and tries to squeeze as much money as they can out of the customer but none of it comes back to the employees. I would work here to get experience as they do train you in everything but not long term.
It was an interesting experience but I would not go back. Some really nice staff members and regulars make it better - short term. And the fact that their coffee is actually really good!
Costa seems to have a problem with saving on proper training and staffing. Highly dysfunctional. Constantly understaffed, leaving managers and staff members under so much pressure and overwhelming responsibilities. Frequent tears. Seriously. Some staff turnover.
Area managers know about it but as long as everything looks ok that’s all that matters.
Just smile!
Focusing on “online training” leaves the staff with “their own standards”, unclear boundaries and slightly different interpretations. Different stores have different standards! Later on only managers are blamed for everything. They have enough on their minds. And are very nice individuals actually.
Wouldn’t it be easier if everyone would get a proper dedicated barista training/workshop in person focusing on Costa standards and everything would be nice&clear from the very beginning .. ? Hmm
Take care All
Beside hard work I have a great time working here. My colleagues there from different countries and I think this bring us together, they are very supportive and smart people. I really enjoy working with them . The hardest part of the job is that moment when you are getting really busy and someone is calling sick and you cannot find extra staff, and in the same time you must do orders ans send people in breaks. Everybody is working double and getting tired and start complaining but you have to keep everything under control. At the end of the day everything was under control, you thank to your colleagues for the hard work and you can see them happy that someone appreciate them.
What I learned in Costa is to pay more attention on the customer needs. Being a face to face trade I see how happy they are with my services and see a customer happy and knowing that is happy because I made it happen , makes my day.
I was made team leader after 2 months and was given very little training. I got all the closing shifts despite requesting some morning or mid-day shifts. Other team leaders got days and hours they wanted, I got whatever was left over. I always did Sundays opening and closing. Manager and other team leaders never did Sundays. I was asked to come in on days I had specifically booked off. Some team members are treated much better than others regardless of work ethic.
Store managers and area managers are all friends so complaints get you nowhere. If a manager doesn't like you they will give you less hours or purposely give you difficult hours.
Only a 30min break is given for a 9 and a half hour shift. After that you get an extra 15 minutes.
Customers can speak to you any way they please no matter how rude or degrading, the manager will not defend you.
I would never work for Costa again.
Worked my way up to store manager and loved it for the first few years but all they care about is money, area managers are unprofessional and want to scare you into doing whatever they need done.
Expected to work extra hours on salary with no extra pay or time back, bothered on your days off and holidays.
Can’t call in sick or you’ll be made out to be the worst employee ever.
No time to train staff, high turnover so the store will start to fail and instead of helping they will apply more and more pressure.
Could write a book on unsafe working conditions you could be put through.
No running water? Keep working!
Cakes are out of date? Keep using them or you will get attacked for high wastage.
Absolutely shattered my mental health.
If you have a good team and get along it can be fun sometimes, have made life long friends from working there.
"After being singed off work due to stress migraines that rendered me temporarily unable see, I was 15 minuets away from having to put the family dog down. This is when, a fully aware of the situation, area manager who waited for this to take place, decided to fire me"
I was manager of a store that should have had 10 members of staff. It never had more than 4. Each one of us had been there for less than 6 weeks, myself included.
During my time there we made over our expected amount of profit, had minimal wastage, came under on hours and had no cash loss. (Just to set the scene).
Also, I passed a Costa check on my third day of managing. I thought this was good 85% (target of 80%) but I didn't realise this means they stopped caring about supporting me as " the official check wouldn't be back for a year" this was the beginning of the end.
I was frequently required to work over 55 hours only paid for 45, I used a holiday day and that week I worked 6 days not the 4 I should and they still took my Holiday off me.
My staff whom were hired as part time and 30 hour staff respectively, were forced to work 35 - 45 hour every week. Want to or not because we had no other staff.
My shifts were changed with less than 24 hours notice. I never knew what we were working one week to the next as we never had the staff or cover in advance to rota properly and the area managers didn't care at all.
The second I raised objections about working with half our staff on a busy Saturday,
ProsFree coffee, staff.
ConsNo life, mandatory unpaid overtime, working with some heartless management, you are a number.
Working at Costa is a straightforward job made difficult. Head office seem to place a huge amount of pressure on their store managers, who then transfer this level of stress onto their team. High staff turnover & lack of quality staff is normal in hospitality, and is difficult to manage in most businesses.
However at Costa this is made more difficult due to obsession with detail (and checks on this) & pressure placed on managers by the company. New staff get trained very slowly & feel undermined, and in the short term does not solve the huge workload of more experienced staff members.
I was hired as a Team Leader & have previous general management experience, but due to the way this company operates (very tight audits, & resulting obsession with detail) have gained little supervisory experience in almost a month.
Additionally, Costa don’t seem to take into account that their units in transport locations may have extremely different operational needs versus say, a relatively quiet store in a small town. The amount of space in the unit we have to work in is too limited & the distance we have to carry stock is not acceptable. Costa should be employing stores staff for these locations.
The shift patterns at Costa are terrible if you have children or a spouse/household to run. Early opens and late closes are part of business needs, but not everybody is part time staff. In many similar businesses, full time or supervisory staff would get priority on the day time shifts with pa
ProsGreat barista training, serving amazing products, Representing a quality brand, Nice staff & overall pleasant customers, Managers and staff are passionate about the work they do, Decent progression & training
ConsHorrendous shift patterns for full time staff with responsibilities, Too many checks/audits & much pressure placed on store managers/staff, Poor staff retention (typical in hospitality but made worse by the above factors), Inflexible approach to operations across different stores, Stressful working conditions
If you're considering please read, if you're an employee already: definitely read.
Cons:
Understaffed, underpaid, highly stressful, difficult to progress, biased management for the most part (not all, I know some great ones, but they get treat badly from higher up so..)
If you're peppy and are fine with following orders and not asking questions you'll be fine. Otherwise avoid.
It used to be great and management/upper management would actually care about you as an an individual, sadly those days are gone.
Long shifts, 19p pay rises (to match in line with minimum wage payrise and we all know how great that is), stunted personal growth and two faced-ness across the board.
They hire out of necessity, they promote out of necessity, leaving very little skill required to a) join the company and b) climb that corporate ladder! Sadly this also means that everyone is the same, even those above you, and if they don't like you or have a favourite, or if you have mental health problems; they potentially won't promote for the most part under the guise of "we don't think you're ready".
If they make sales then nothing will be done about issues raised about staff members/management, grievances issued with little evidence or circumstansial at best.
Bonus as a team member requires passing sales targets for the month, net promoter scores (how happy the customer is) and checks that test the state of the store and ability of staff to produce coffee to a specific standard, the bonus isn'
I have worked for Costa for over three years now, I am comfortable in my job, knowing that I have learnt all that I need to learn in the company for the position that I hold. I have various experience in dealing with customer complaints both in writing and verbally whilst on shift and I am not worried about dealing with a pressured environment however I would like to find a job that is more flexible and less tiring/tedious, something that I am going to enjoy whilst doing my final year of university.
A typical day at work means I could start from 5am and finish no later than 9:30pm (shift variations). The job for me includes managing the other team members, which is usually no more than four members as I work in a small store. This includes managing break times, administering jobs such as making the coffee, till work and cleaning, all of which I have to do myself as well. If I am closing the shop then I have to count the till at the end of the day and then fill out the appropriate paper work which I then have to take to the bank depending on what day I am working. A day at work is always fast-paced, as I work in a train station I have to serve a lot of impatient commuters. Over the two years I have worked at the station and the one year I worked at a service station Costa, I have developed the appropriate manner in which to deal with aggravated customers.
The team I currently work with are great, every member of staff is hard-working and as a team we use our initiative
ProsWorking with an efficient team. 50% discount on shift, 25% off shift.
Work unpaid hours, shifts cancelled at short notice
I worked at a few stores in stockport and each did not pay for any hours worked an hour after closing time - but they kept this quiet untill a few weeks into the job when i realised i was underpaid for the hours i did and asked them.
I would work 3 or 4 hours past closing time (6pm at the time when i worked there - it closes earlier now) because they only had 2 people on shift from 4pm (its busiest time!) where you had to both do everything - serve the endless customers, make drinks, do the tables, fill up/empty the dishwasher, clean the store, clean the toilets, restock, clean the machines at the end, was chaos and there was no chance of ever finishing at 7pm before you stop getting paid.
Staff were inconsistent - one person would ask you to do one thing and next minute another member of staff would be asking why your doing that or to hurry up or complain at you.
I'm a very hard worker yet they would complain regardless - i was still a new member of staff so wasnt as fast on the till or making drinks - due to their lack of training (putting you on table cleaning when the store got busier so you had no experience of how to handle busy times) and so not knowing how to make all the drinks fast enough.
Sometimes i would get a call about 10 mins before my shift started to ask if i can come in later - thats ok if you live a 2 min walk away but i had to get 2 buses (about 40 mins) to get to the store (which they knew) and i was almost there, which was unacceptable and an appa
The first few months feel like you have no idea what you’re doing. I’ve shattered glass, spilled drinks the lot. I even wanted to leave ‘cause I thought I was bad at the job. But I stuck through it and now I’m one of the fastest employees and have been working for 2 years now part time.
In my store, a typical morning shift would start at 6am (ready to open for half 6). There would be me (barista) and a maestro or a manager. My role would be to fill up the sandwich and drinks fridge, check the toilets, make sure the chairs and tables look good and also help fill up the cakes. The supervisor will make sure the tills are set up, check the coffee grind and fill up cakes. This shift will last till 2.30pm with a half hour break.
Then you have mid shifters, who are literally an extra pair of hands throughout the day. They don’t open or close. They can either be a long shift (with a break) or a short one (6hrs or less).
Every store works differently, but in my store, there are different stations you’re on: Machine (making drinks), Till (taking orders), floor/pots (making sure the tables are clear and clean, checking the toilets), floating (you’re an extra pair of hands who help everyone whether it’s sorting food, making a drink or helping to collect loads of pots).
Finally, the closers. There are usually 2 people, just like the AM shift. My manager does the rotas really well, so that the mid shifter has enough time to clean the toilets before clocking out and bringing fu
ProsFree Drinks, Nice Regulars, Good pay, Waste food/cake almost every night
When i first Joined Amazing. But the cracks Started Showing
When i firsted started here i loved the job loved the teams, loved the people above. They couldnt do any more to appreciate and help there staff. But slowly cracks started to show and this was before COVID. Piling More and more targets to try and achieve with little to none when it came to resources e.g. Labour. I know this is a business but as a Manager paid to enforce your team to perform to the best of their abilities you can only do so much before they break. Barely any support from regional management when you are given a store to repair which has been damaged by unexperienced/lazy staff. Costa has changed since i started. Just expecting more and more but not giving us resources we need. I feel so so sorry for my team members sometimes that i have. As i pressure them so much to achieve targets that are genuienly unwinnable in current situations during the pandemic. The only thing i genuienly have admiration for is that they paid their team members and managers 100% through the first ever lockdown so hats off. Bonus achievements for some stores are literally unattainable due to harsh and high sales targets finance set based off pre covid sales/LFL. Higher up Costa executives need to appreciate the pressure staff are under currently with the pandemic and instead of a poxy email sent out to all staff members typed by their assistant. Actually do a proper heartfelt message to actually thank them for keeping the business a float. Its not just Coca-cola financing them but the
ProsAmazing networking with people i have met. Friends for life.
ConsLong hours, Work balance, emotionally draining.
Unpaid overtime, no structured working hours, excess pressure from upper management
I worked here for 6 months. As someone with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and learning difficulties, i will not reccomend this to anyone even people who are neurotypical.
Daily unpaid overtime, and in exceptional circumstances you might 15 minuets added pay. Several times I had incidents that made me up to 2 hours late and was repeatedly chastised for asking for pay, incidents including, but not limited to:
Faeces spread on bathroom walls,
Continuously Overflowing toilets,
Waiting after hours for late company deliveries.
These unpaid overtime shifts regularly cut into my outside of work activities, such as making me late for my second job, evening classes outside work
Hours were also repeatedly reduced and cut without notice, and a few times on arrival at work.
Flat refusal to have regular hours to accommodate for ASD and also to amend the timetable when given 2+ weeks notice.
Going from Costa to the Uk Pandemic Lockdown was stress relief. I left 9+ months ago and have only just felt ready to reconnect enough to leave a review to warn others against it. I left just before the lockdown began but wanted rid of it so badly i didn't apply for furlough.
The management felt like they had something to prove, and it has a definite pecking order.
Upper management are a disassociated nightmare and are apparently omnipotent and infallible.
I found the connecting with other staff no more difficult than i expected due to my ASD, and over time i gre to like alot of the people. They w
ProsSome Great people, but people are outside work too.
ConsRegular unpaid overtime, irregular timetables (2nd job impossible), hours cut at short notice
Worst company I have ever worked for. Apply with caution.
I have worked in service for many years and have also had 5 years experience working for a franchise company which was very good. But I can honestly say that the Costa Coffee franchise company I worked for was horrendous. No proper training was given it was a case of here are the keys and carry on. The Contracted hours as a manager is 45 hours a week with shifts starting as early as 6am so trying to have a life is difficult. The training programme was virtually non existent, nothing structured or even remotely helpful. I would have orders barked at me from an area manager who frankly wasn't suitable to be an assistant manager let alone an area manager, and if she was in a bad mood because of anything you would know about it. One of the biggest issues was pay. The pay is awful, the annual salary may look decent enough but when you work it out over the 45 hours a week it equates to £7.69 an hour. I was entitled to a 30 minute break each day if I were to do a 7 hour day or an 11 hour day. Along with working 45 hours a week and having just 2.5 hours of unpaid lunch breaks a week I had to be part of a group message of all other managers, area manager, franchisee and staff where several messages would be sent on a daily basis and would have to be replied to both during and after working hours as well as on days off. With pay being minimum wage for all other staff, sickness and staff shortage would always be an issue and as a manager I would have to cover any absence myself on many
ProsFree coffee whilst on shift.
ConsLong hours, low pay, no holiday pay, poor working conditions, no training, no support, stressful environment
Questions and answers about Costa Coffee
How often do you get a pay rise at Costa Coffee?
Asked 25 Nov 2022
Not often
Answered 26 May 2023
Not often
Answered 19 May 2023
What benefits does Costa Coffee offer?
Asked 19 Jun 2019
None that comes to mind at all
Answered 19 May 2023
free drinks on shift, 50% off everything else
Answered 18 May 2023
What is the promotion process like at Costa Coffee?
Asked 8 Nov 2022
Slow
Answered 20 Apr 2023
u don’t get one
Answered 3 Apr 2023
What is the work-from-home policy at Costa Coffee?
Asked 30 Nov 2022
There is none
Answered 2 Jun 2023
No work from home policy
Answered 27 Apr 2023
What is Costa Coffee holiday leave policy? How many holiday leave days do you get per year?
