I worked here for around a year; within this time I received a promotion and was told I would be considered for another.
The barista and barista maestro team are amazing - everyone comes from similar backgrounds and all understand how hard it is to work at costa (and our franchise in particular), therefore we all got on well and allowed each other breaks both at work and shift swaps if needed.
The store environment was nice and majority of customers lovely, however there is little to no support when issues arise and occasionally employee's were left in tears - we couldn't do anything to remove the customer or ban them from coming in future too. As a team of young women many of us felt uncomfortable serving several of the male regulars who came in and often made inappropriate comments; ranging from comments on appearance, body shape, sexuality and just general sexualised questions.
The higher management, particularly the area manager did not care about employee's feelings and made one employee cry on one of her first days. Several of us complained about her behaviour and we felt there were no changes; especially during the period before lockdown.
The company felt amazing to work for at the beginning but threat of constant costa checks, overly high standards, pressurised workload and work hours way above contract diminished my love for the job. I also found new campaigns poorly ran as we had no chance to practice drinks or familiarise ourselves with products befor
I have worked for Costa Coffee for over a year now and I can safely say without a doubt it is the worst job I have ever landed myself in. The first couple of months are great, you are promised promotions, endless benefits and lots of hours. As soon as the winter period dies down you are forced to sign a contract giving you half the hours you need to live off. Not to mention there is a two month gap before you actually receive your pay. The company promotes itself as a fun loving, charitable and happy coffee shop but I believe that it is quite the opposite. I have never met another staff member who has told me they are treat respectfully, fairly and are generally happy in their job. The staff are worked like pack horses and given pittance in return. It is made clear I think that you are not the priority of the company, the customers and their wallets are. I have worked in various other hospitality jobs in the past and I have never encountered such issues as I have with this job. This is surprising considering the actual job itself is pretty straight forward and easy to do. I used to come here as a regular customer and it looked like a fantastic place to work, the reality behind the counter is really quite depressing. I have worked in a lot of different costa stores across the country helping out other stores and trying to regain the hours that I lost (although I was promised them) all are exactly the same. Although I have been completely pessimistic about the company I have to
Consno pay for first two months of work, not enough hours, company unfair to staff members, promised promotions that never happen
Great atmosphere brilliant staff shame about the hours
Costa is a great company to work for but....Costa lacks the appreciation for its staff. Your expected as an employee for costa to always ensure they are number one for customer service and great quality products but costa doesn't always precipitate the commitment you make back. Your promised a healthy amount of hours ideally you can pay the rent and feed yourself....This definitely is not the case with myself in my store all members get along were great together a budding costa family but its the management that is letting staff down.
Costa is a great company to work for you make friends, bond with customers and do get some bonuses for working there its this time of year where surprisingly costa makes cut backs and the one thing they do well is hit the staff labour costs.
Like how is an employee supposed to live on a 5 hour weekly pay? to make ends meet you literally have to ring every costa branch in the surrounding area to see if they need cover if they do its pretty much the quickest barista cover to the store wins. This is what has got me barely scraping by,
Everyone is feeling the pinch, but its costa profit in the purses happy managers. As for staff if you work with the manager more your hours are likely to go up or receive promotions we have eight staff members all in the week they work I was contracted 16 hours but I was just put for two days weekly then my hours dropped to five. within me not working there in the week nearly all members of staff working wit
Prosworking with a great team, team benefits, free hot drinks
I've worked at Costa for a 6 weeks now an my last two pay slips have been short of hours/pay. First it was 3.5 and told the not often very easy to approach manager what hours I'm owed. I had all of the evidence and paper work to show as proof but all she said was yeah I'll put it onto the next pay period for you and didn't even care to look at my proof of calculations. So this pay week come and there's no 3.5 hours that I'm still owed but even worse my pay this time is 8 hours short on top of that. -- Would like to add that I don't feel valued and have had no real training yet on the coffee bar. I'm just clearing tables and some till work even though I was a barista 10 years ago. I don't think we're paid even close enough for the hard work we do and we only get one unpaid half hour break even if we work a ten hour shift. My manager even told me when I asked about working after 1830hrs (we close at 1800hrs) that we would only get paid if it was justified.. Justified??? We work our selves silly past closing time to get finished so i think it's pretty justified. You want me there then pay me or I go home!!! I work hard and always try to stay busy even though some are quite lazy.. There's some real nice folk but there are also one or two undesirable co workers too. I don't really mind to much. Just pay me right and I'll be a good happy worker.
ProsFree coffee.
ConsLong hours one break, Low pay, Short on pay, Not much training, Expected to work for free half an hour after closing time
1x Contract is more than enough for me, i did not feel apreciated at all. Too much pressure and expectation from management while the employee have pending salary of almost 3 months long. No payslip, no transparency regarding payment. Costa Coffee has only one blend of mocha italia, one time for several months Costa Coffee KSA used local beans that not even approved by the UK Costa Standard. That is why there were so many Team Turn Overs recently (2018). Even the HR seemed did not respond from the employee complaint, if there were performance survey from employee to HR, i believe 100% of the staff will give 0 point. Overall, only the taste of the original bean Mocha Italia is good, other than that i will not suggest or recommend anybody to work in Costa Coffee KSA. I pray for them to be better and fair toward the employee
ProsFree Coffee on duty
ConsPending salary, Bad Management, Bad HR attitude towards employee, no transparency for some sponsors
I have been working in Costa Coffee for more than 5 years now.. And I really enjoy working there.. the management is great and the staff there are well groomed and friendly too..there is nothing very hard in this job as it involves interacting with customers and making their day.. You give good service with smile and everything goes perfect. for me as an assistant manager, my job is to make sure that every team member is maintaining the brand standards while serving the customers and delivering great service without a fail. To make sure this cycle follows, I am responsible to make sure that things are organised and managed properly for them.
The only unsatisfying thing about working in Costa is that they do not have good salary and do not have more benefits. and for the graduates like us who are looking to forward their career in the field of their study, there are no more opportunities.
Awful manager, always understaffed, many of the new staff didn’t even speak English which made it very difficult to work together as a team under pressure in a very fast paced café.
Had no time for training. Payment was minimum wage you were not allowed to keep your tips, but had to work as a barista a cleaner and a security man at the same time.
It was impossible to do the evening cleaning to a normal level (what they expected was higher) by the time limit what was given for it, you stayed longer and haven’t got paid or some left in time, so the morning team had to catch up with the work what hadn’t been done the night before.
Many of us cried at work many times because the way we were treated is not for human beings.
ProsFree brews on shift (if you can find time for it)
ConsMost of the time expected to work for free (overtime)
costa is a great place to work, you meet great customers and co workers along the way. Good coffee and vibes.
It can be really stressful at times, employer changes rota without your knowledge and expect you to work overtime. Lack of staff most of the time, untrained and those in higher position expect you to do jobs you had not signed up for or getting paid for.
It would be great if Costa didn't tax you so much after hard work and dedication put in every month
it would also be great if they cared more about mental/physical health rather than profits and hiring less staff a day to save them money
Proshalf price lunch
ConsCosta care more about profit. Expected to do more than the job role I signed to, and do not get higher pay. Pay is too low, taxes too high
Costa is a great place to work, you will meet amazing people along the way.
Any typical day at Costa can range from being incredibly busy to having no one to serve, but all in all is it an enjoyable experience.
It can be such hard work and very stressful at times but it is very rewarding and you really do meet the best types of people. Making coffee is the best part of this role getting to meet customers from all around the place. On the flip side of this there are a lot of expectations that must be met and this can be very stressful at times, you must be hard working to be able to thrive here.
Faster paced work days are more stressful but also more rewarding.
One can learn all the ins and outs of the restaurant business if you take your own intiative to do so. The management is great, very helpful and understanding. The work force is packed with great employees, nearly all striving to help each other. The most difficult part of the job is customer satisfaction. This is because the customers' happiness directly relates to the money you make. The best part of the job is the great atmosphere and the fun staff.
ProsMeals come at a generously reduced price; Ability to network
"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.
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.
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
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
Costa is one of the greatest places to work, ever! Its fun, its friendly and a great little job. I enjoyed the hard working ethic, and found it was a job that I enjoyed, yet understood and was good at... all at the same time. I met lots of new people, and got to work with different personalities and characters all day long. The job itself and what it entails was so easy to pick up that I could do it with my eyes shut.
The company provided an excellent 2 day training programme, and are constantly thinking of schemes, initiatives and fundraisers in which can be used to boost company/employee morale and ethic. Job security is A1, and the chance to climb the career ladder is great. Starting off as a qualified Barista, you can slowly work your way up to 'Key Holder', 'Barista Maestro', 'Assistant Manager' and then to 'Store Manager' - as well as many other great positions. All of these positions are accompanied with well thought out training programmes and attention to key details is great. At the start of your placement/employment you work towards getting your 'single bean' which is a certificate to show that you have completed the 2 day 'Coffee Excellence' training programme to become a qualified barista. On achieving this; you are then given time on the coffee machine in your allocated store, to practice the drinks and PERFECT them. Across 12 weeks, you will have been given time to learn and practice the drinks. On the 4th, 8th and 12th week, you will be 'tested' and judged b
ProsWork Ethic, Always something to do, Fun and friendly environment
ConsLong hours, Sometimes overwhelming, Challenging (also a pro)
Lovely and fun to work, but there are some disadvantages
I work on the mostly work on the Café. I clean the tables (inside and outside), do the general housekeeping (dish-washing, clearing out bins), I also take the food out from the grills to our customers, and checking the toilets.
The down side of my job is, I don't get the chance to serve on the till or coffee machine, as much as I would like, however, I am skilled and able to serve on both till and coffee machine. I am constantly being put on the Café, because of two reasons; one, because my Store Manager keeps bringing in new people, and training them up, as I am only part-time, and she is recruiting full-time. The other reason is, because I am still trying to learn a few things after I have been in this job for nine months, but, it is the frequency I am able to learn these things, I am only in work a couple of times a week, and once a week, I maybe get a chance of going onto the till or coffee machine. My Manager thinks I am to know everything by now, which is partially true, but also wrong, because as I said it is the frequency I am able to learn every week.
My co-workers are lovely team! I get along with every one of them but, sometimes I question their honesty towards me. In the past few months the upper management (Store Manager and Assistant Managers) have lied to me. They treat me very nicely in person, but behind my back, they're constantly putting me down. I feel I'm more like a back-up employee, to be called in for an extra person in case someone calls in sick or
ProsOn Duty: Free hot drinks, 50% off of food and cold drinks while on duty. Off Duty, 25% off of food, cold and hot drinks.
ConsNot given enough hours. I think this is more personal, than the con for the business
Questions And Answers about Costa Coffee
How long does it take to get hired from start to finish at Costa Coffee? What are the steps along the way?
Asked Oct 20, 2021
Few days. Always desperate for staff so they want you to start as soon as possible.
Answered Oct 20, 2021
How should I prepare for an interview at Costa Coffee?
Asked Jul 7, 2021
Be confident, Read about the background of the company, be gd at customer service experience
Answered Jul 7, 2021
Do you think working at Costa Coffee is difficult?
Asked Jun 11, 2021
It is very difficult. Not because of the job, but because of the workload and stress what they put on the to few staff
Answered Jun 11, 2021
How are the working hours at Costa Coffee?
Asked Oct 12, 2019
They can be long days. Start morning shift at 6.30am till 2,3 or 4pm or late shift can be anything from 10am,11am or 12 till 8.30pm.
Answered Oct 12, 2019
What is Costa Coffee sick leave policy? How many sick days do you get per year?
