Cleaning is harder than you think

I wonder if I will ever reach the point of Knowing. I "completed" my barista training on Tuesday this week, so on Wednesday, I was on the clock and official. Finishing training, though, seems to mostly mean that I don't have someone completely devoted to watching over me anymore. I, along with my trainer, am no longer extras on the floor. Instead, I have a job to do, and if I don't do it right, life gets really hard for the other baristas working with me. Everyone has been great, of course. At no time have they put pressure on me or shown any frustrations with my cluelessness. Not one person has rolled their eyes at a question or neglected to help when I needed a hand or an answer.

Last night was my first time staying at the shop past eight o'clock. As pre-closer, my job for hours was cleaning. Cleaning the shelves and mats and syrup pumps and dishes and pitchers and utensils. It wouldn't have been uncomfortable tune if I have known how everything worked and where cleaned tools went. I really don't mind cleaning; rarely do pots and plates tell you that you're washing them wrong.

At least mopping is something you don't need to be trained at.

Not that coworkers K., T., or A. told me I was messing up either; they cheerfully picked up the slack. K. offered to wash the floor mats for me, and T. helped show me what needed to be washed. Still, I like to be able to pull my own weight, but lack of experience makes this hard.

The sandwich place where I worked last summer had one day of training, and then I got thrown out into the fray. By the end of the week, though, I was grilling and building subs with the best of them. When I was hired at the coffee shop, on the other hand, my manager told me straight up that it usually takes new people three months to feel completely comfortable. There are a lot of questions I have to fit into three months, then.