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What does a barista/shift leader do?

Updated January 8, 2025
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Barista/shift leader responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real barista/shift leader resumes:

  • Manage high-volume university caf and bakery.
  • Greet clientele, resolve minor customer issues, cash handling, POS processing, daily inventory and restocking of supplies.
  • Delegate tasks to create the Starbucks' experience.
  • Greet customers as they arrive at the Starbucks outlet and inquire into their orders.
  • Maintain coffee bar cleanliness at all times, including cleaning seating areas, maintaining the condiment bar, and removing trash.
  • Maintain cleanliness and organization of coffee station.
  • Process information/ merchandise through POS register system.
  • Provide case management and document individual treatment plans using DMH documentation format, daily supervision of adolescents and provide crisis intervention.
  • Guide customers in choosing items that reflect personal previous experience with cross-selling, upselling, and/or referring products

Barista/shift leader skills and personality traits

We calculated that 14% of Barista/Shift Leaders are proficient in Customer Service, Cleanliness, and POS. They’re also known for soft skills such as Physical strength, Communication skills, and Customer-service skills.

We break down the percentage of Barista/Shift Leaders that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Customer Service, 14%

    Excelled at customer service skills and interactions by creating numerous relationships with customers and coworkers alike.

  • Cleanliness, 13%

    Maintained cleanliness and organization of coffee station.

  • POS, 12%

    Processed information/ merchandise through POS register system.

  • Food Preparation, 8%

    Trained in general food preparation techniques including handling a deli slicer.

  • BARS, 8%

    Make homemade chocolate bars using a tempering machine

  • Cash Handling, 7%

    Worked with the manager to create schedules, handle deliveries and orders, processed bank deposits and all cash handling.

"customer service," "cleanliness," and "pos" are among the most common skills that barista/shift leaders use at work. You can find even more barista/shift leader responsibilities below, including:

Physical strength. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a barista/shift leader to have is physical strength. Their role and responsibilities require that "food and beverage serving and related workers need to be able to lift and carry stock and equipment that can weigh up to 50 pounds." Barista/shift leaders often use physical strength in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided excellent customer service when serving and strengthened team management skills responsible for all management aspects during shifts while on duty"

Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling barista/shift leader duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "food and beverage serving and related workers must listen carefully to their customers’ orders and relay them correctly to the kitchen staff so that the orders are prepared to the customers’ request." According to a barista/shift leader resume, here's how barista/shift leaders can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "provide excellent customer service and hospitality through interpersonal communication, prepare and serve beverages in timely manner. "

Customer-service skills. This is an important skill for barista/shift leaders to perform their duties. For an example of how barista/shift leader responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "food service establishments rely on good food and customer service to keep customers and succeed in a competitive industry." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a barista/shift leader: "processed food and drink orders received from customers. ".

Physical stamina. barista/shift leader responsibilities often require "physical stamina." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "food and beverage serving and related workers spend most of their work time standing, carrying heavy trays, cleaning work areas, and attending to customers’ needs." This resume example shows what barista/shift leaders do with physical stamina on a typical day: "participated in physical inventory counts every monday and thursday. "

Most common barista/shift leader skills

Compare different barista/shift leaders

Barista/shift leader vs. Food service specialist

The food service specialists monitor food preparation, ensuring that the guests get their correct orders, providing them the best dining experience and satisfaction. A food service specialist takes the guests' orders, processes their payments, and serves their orders timely and efficiently. They also monitor the stock inventories, coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for stock requests, and assist with kitchen duties as needed, especially on high volume days. A food service specialist must have a broad knowledge of the food services industry, analyzing the current food trends to make suggestions for menus, and responding to the guests' concerns.

We looked at the average barista/shift leader salary and compared it with the wages of a food service specialist. Generally speaking, food service specialists are paid $2,384 lower than barista/shift leaders per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between barista/shift leaders and food service specialists are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like customer service, cleanliness, and inventory control.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a barista/shift leader are more likely to require skills like "pos," "food preparation," "bars," and "cash handling." On the other hand, a job as a food service specialist requires skills like "kitchen equipment," "preventive maintenance," "mos," and "patients." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Food service specialists earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $39,427. On the other hand, barista/shift leaders are paid more in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $28,133.food service specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than barista/shift leaders. In fact, food service specialists are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Barista/shift leader vs. Chef/kitchen manager

A kitchen manager or chef is someone who oversees the overall operations in the kitchen as well as the food operations. Kitchen managers make certain that food and related products are well prepared, cooked, and served to customers. They maintain a fully-stocked kitchen inventory and comply with the cleanliness and safety standards. It is their responsibility to manage the kitchen staff and aid them in delivering quality food at the right time. They need to possess management skills, leadership skills, and attention to detail.

On average, chef/kitchen managers earn a $17,745 higher salary than barista/shift leaders a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both barista/shift leaders and chef/kitchen managers have skills such as "pos," "food preparation," and "inventory control. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real barista/shift leader resumes. While barista/shift leader responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "cleanliness," "bars," and "cash handling," chef/kitchen managers use skills like "kitchen operations," "culinary," "wine," and "quality standards."

Chef/kitchen managers earn a higher average salary than barista/shift leaders. But chef/kitchen managers earn the highest pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $44,258. Additionally, barista/shift leaders earn the highest salaries in the hospitality with average pay of $28,133 annually.chef/kitchen managers earn similar levels of education than barista/shift leaders in general. They're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Barista/shift leader vs. Kitchen supervisor

A kitchen supervisor is responsible for managing the overall kitchen operations, ensuring that the kitchen employees follow sanitary procedures while doing their high-quality and maximum productivity tasks. Kitchen supervisors manage inventories, checking the adequacy of food supplies and kitchen equipment, and negotiating contracts with suppliers and third-party vendors. They also help develop marketing strategies, research the latest food trends, update menus, and create financial reports and expense forecasting. A kitchen supervisor must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially with responding to customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints.

On average, kitchen supervisors earn higher salaries than barista/shift leaders, with a $8,850 difference per year.By looking over several barista/shift leaders and kitchen supervisors resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "customer service," "cleanliness," and "food preparation." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from barista/shift leader resumes include skills like "pos," "bars," "cash handling," and "customer satisfaction," whereas a kitchen supervisor is more likely to list skills in "culinary," "food service," "food handling," and "kitchen equipment. "

Kitchen supervisors earn the best pay in the start-up industry, where they command an average salary of $41,611. Barista/shift leaders earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $28,133.Most kitchen supervisors achieve a similar degree level compared to barista/shift leaders. For example, they're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Barista/shift leader vs. Cook supervisor

Cook supervisors are responsible for coordinating the kitchen members and ensure that all orders are prepared on time and according to customer specifications. They must be skilled in the culinary department, knowledgeable of the food safety regulations, and lead a team of cooks, washers, and helpers to achieve an organized kitchen. Monitoring the kitchen inventory, scheduling work shifts for the team, and working with the restaurant manager about the week's menu are also the responsibilities of cook supervisors.

Cook supervisors typically earn higher pay than barista/shift leaders. On average, cook supervisors earn a $9,448 higher salary per year.While both barista/shift leaders and cook supervisors complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like cleanliness, food preparation, and customer complaints, the two careers vary in some skills.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A barista/shift leader uses "customer service," "pos," "bars," and "cash handling." Cook supervisors are more likely to have duties that require skills in "food handling," "food service," "portion control," and "kitchen equipment. "In general, cook supervisors earn the most working in the health care industry, with an average salary of $40,304. The highest-paying industry for a barista/shift leader is the hospitality industry.In general, cook supervisors hold similar degree levels compared to barista/shift leaders. Cook supervisors are 1.4% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of barista/shift leader

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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