Comment by jt2190
1 day ago
> ... there's a good deal of work contained in the "head cache" of the workers (lack of transparency)...
Is this true in a Starbucks? Every order goes into the computer before it's made, whether via the app or at the register. Or are you referring to something else more specific, like performing and recording the individual steps in making a speciality coffee?
My time as a barista doing various behind-the-counter jobs was kind of fascinating. I really couldn't do the job as well as other people, I'm not sure if it's because of memory problems from adhd or concussions or what, but I was most effective due to head-cache when I didn't switch from Frappuccinos to hot drinks to till very frequently.
I'd literally forget how to make cold drinks vs hot drinks when I switched, like I'd never done it, until I got into a new flow, and everyone found this to be hilarious, since I'd already been a software person and it was a regression being there.
I took the job because I needed some money and to make social connections, but I mostly just wanted to see if I could do it, and I couldn't.
Since then, I've learned to give myself a bit of grace when switching contexts. If I have a day zoned in on one part of the code, and someone brings up something I worked on a month ago, I'll have to stall for time while I hydrate my cache again. This limitation is somewhat debilitating, since adult life depends on constantly being anxious about invisible obligations and other bullshit that simply aren't in my conscious mind unless I'm specifically grinding on them.
Heh. FWIW, I've only ever been fired from one job. I lasted 3 whole days at a bagel bakery.
I had the exact same issue switching from bakery, to line, to register.
Everyone else seemed to have this "context switching superpower". I watched two peers (we were all in high-school) seemingly effortlessly go from line to register and back to line 3x within the same shift. I couldn't.
I could do all of the jobs and was (subjectively) the best on-the-line (real-time 3D Tetris + flavor), but I could only be good one-job-at-a-time.
Yep, very relatable. I do feel like there's a bit of a difference when I'm able to "own" something, in the sense that my job is to always know how everything's going, but not necessarily get locked into anything for too long. I do wonder how medication affects this, because I've since been in positions where I'm responsible for a bunch of varied tasks getting completed, but I still think I'd fail at switching between things that have specific sequences of steps that need to be followed while interacting with people. I tend to not be able to only devote part of my attention to something, and so I avoid group chats like the plague.
Correct. Unless it's, essentially, a single-step order (black coffee), I'm referring to the "steps to completeness" of any given sub-component of an order--usually specialty drinks or modifications to food prep (heating).
In a truly transparent system, one worker could take the place of another one by knowing which steps of an order have been completed, but that's not how their ticketing system works--nor should it.
In practice, hand-offs are done to other workers only for specialized low-variance duties (register).
Very interesting. I would have intuitively hand-waved the variability of each laborer’s output for those as “within a tolerable amount of time, most of the time” but I see your point that at the busiest times an order for a single, more complex item could cause a significant slowdown in the whole pipeline, especially, as you point out, there is a limited number of staff and workstations.