A former Barnes & Noble employee details how he agreed to train at the in-house Starbucks and was placed there as a barista for good.
The TikTok, which has over 112,000 views as of Tuesday, starts with a short clip of another video of a Starbucks barista at a cash register, looking back at the menu uncertainly. The text on the video reads, “when customers start asking me for recommendations but I was hired to work at Target and just happened to get placed in the Starbucks.”
The clip ends, and former barista and content creator Tony Vara (@itonyvara) chimes in. “OK, I have something to say about this, and it’s kind of like advice. If you ever wanted to work in a Target, a Barnes & Noble, a grocery store with a Starbucks inside, anywhere that has a Starbucks inside—when you get hired, they’re going to ask you or suggest, ‘Do you wanna get trained in the cafe?’ Say no. Say no,” he urges.
“Unless you already wanna be a barista, say no because I promise you … that means that they need someone in the cafe, and they’re gonna put you there,” he continues.
@itonyvara if you get hired at a store with a starbucks inside and don’t want to be a barista, TELL THEM THAT…. #starbucks #target #greenscreenvideo ♬ original sound – tony vara
Tony goes on to explain how he became a barista. “I was a Starbucks barista for five years,” he says. “Do you wanna know how I got started? Do you think I wanted to be a f*cking barista? No. When I applied to Barnes & Noble, I was a book nerd and was like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna apply to Barnes & Noble. I’m gonna get discounts on books and stuff like that.’ Literally within the week of me saying that, they’re like, ‘Oh, do you want to get trained at the Starbucks cafe? Just in case we ever need anyone extra?’ And I was like, ‘Sure, why not expand my skills?'”
While he thought he was only training in the cafe, Tony reveals that aside from the busy Christmas season, he never worked on the book floor again. “When I tell you, I started training, and I never ever went back to the book floor,” he shares.
Tony then references a moment when applicants complained online about Target never hiring. He says those who do get hired often speak of being placed at the in-store Starbucks, like the worker whose clip he includes in his video.
“Because they know people don’t wanna work at the Starbucks and wanna work at actual Target. But what are they gonna do? They’re going to say, ‘Oh yeah, work for Target,’ and they’re gonna stick you inside the Starbucks inside of Target,” Tony explains, also mentioning that he’s worked at Starbucks inside a grocery store, Barnes & Noble, Macy’s and a stand-alone Starbucks store.
As the video ends, Tony offers one more piece of advice. “So if you wanna work at a regular store like Target and they’re like, ‘Oh do you want to get tr—’ ‘NO. I don’t,'” he says. “Say that you’re too dumb. That’s what I should’ve said. Like, ‘Oh, I’m too dumb to remember all the recipes. Like, I can’t do it.”
In the comments section, viewers responded to Tony’s experience with their own.
“Omg, ex-Macy’s Starbucks barista here and it was HELL. Actually happy at my corporate cafe store now,” one viewer shared.
“I work in Barnes and Noble and they do this so much … our turnover rate is terrible they will trap you !!!” another commenter added.
Some users even gave their own advice.
“In general a good rule of thumb is never learn a skill you don’t wanna be forced to do later,” one viewer commented.
The Daily Dot contacted Barnes & Noble via email and Tony Vara via Instagram direct message for more information.