surveillant du service alimentaire

barista

serveur au comptoir

directeur des services alimentaires

assistant

Chatime

To start off, most of my coworkers and the job itself were amazing- I loved it, I loved making drinks and serving customers, and the team leaders and some coworkers were so helpful and wanted to see me succeed- unlike the manager. A typical work shift required us to work cash, prepare ingredients in the back, and to make the drinks. At some points, it was a lot, but it was doable with collaborative people. Luckily, only a few of my coworkers were nightmares so most shifts were fun for me. 

Chatime expects us to memorize a 16-page recipe manual in under 2 weeks, so if you don't have free time or have allotted time for this job, I don't recommend it as it's a lot to take on. Unfortunately for me, I was hired at the same time I went back to school so I had both of those responsibilities to juggle, and my manager had no mercy with their standards.

The manager and the assistant manager made me despise work because I knew that every single misstep I took would be criticized under intense scrutiny by them both, and they wouldn't let me forget it. Rather than watching me and stopping me before I made my mistake, or to say words of encouragement to help me improve in the future, they would watch me make a mistake and then lecture me afterwards with insults thrown into the mix. They called me lazy, slow, a 1/10, "not needed by the store", and countless other disrespectful things, to which followed no words of encouragement afterwards. They don't want to help their employees succeed, but rather scrutinize high school girls over their every move. 
I would understand if the assistant manager and manager were both going through rough patches in their lives, or if the store was struggling some days, but this has been an ongoing issue for months and they haven't seemed to improve one bit, even after multiple complaints have been made about their behaviour. Customers complained about the manager yelling at the employees, so they started lecturing us in the backroom and when customers weren't present.

As well, the requirements and standards we need to meet far surpass a minimum wage's work. Definitely go apply for another job, this one isn't worth the effort if you aren't passionate. The only reason I wanted to work here was that I loved Chatime so so much and thought this job was perfect for me (which it was) but I was fired after 1 month because I 'was too slow', 'unneeded', and would sometimes put the stickers on the wrong size cups. And the benefit of the job is 1 drink per shift, and that 1 drink includes any drink that you mess up. So if you couldn't hear the customer behind the plexiglass and mask and got their drink wrong, that was the only drink you were taking home. And the manager stated that if they caught us taking more than 1 drink per shift more than 2 times, we would be fired.

So bottom line - the manager at my location was a nightmare, I'm glad I got fired so I didn't have to deal with their bs anymore, but if at your chatime the coworkers are normal, you have time on your hands, you don't mind standing for 4+ hours, and have a great memory, it's a very fun job.

I honestly love Chatime. However, as a new employee who just started their on-the-job training for only TWO days, I receive an email the following day about my termination. Which is very absurd and unfair. What happened to allowing your new employees the sufficient time to actually learn and grasp the given tools, guidance, support and training needed to improve their overall performance?

     Not only that but the trainers are very rude and are poorly structured. There was no plan or direction other than informing you all of the cleaning procedures and how to make tapioca/pearls. After that, they just assume you right away know how to make the cold/warm/hot drinks. If you don't then.. SAYONARA. 

     During the first on-the-job training, you would expect that all NEW employees would make mistakes. And that is what I obviously did. Of course, I have learned from those mistakes. And during the following night, I literally tried to practice more from my written notes of the Chatime Training Manual..

     On the second day, all we did was clean, clean, clean, make fresh tapioca/pearls, and did some small Q&A. At the end of almost 30min of our shift, we were only able to make 1 drink and that's it. What took me off guard is how the trainer sharply criticizes our performances (when we literally did NOTHING other than, clean, make tapiocas/pearls, and some Q&A) saying we are still lacking/ incompetent with our performance. I mean what would you expect? 

1) We are still learning so obviously it will take time for us to learn and grasp everything. PLUS, this was our second day of training. 

2) AGAIN.. all we did was clean, make tapiocas/pearls and did some Q&A. 

     Then the following day I receive an email about my termination? Are you serious? So much for loving Chatime and for seeing myself progress and grow with them in the long-term...

I'm not good with paragraph formatting, so I'll break this up into sections

Training
Arguably the least fun part of working at chatime, where you'll be expected to memorize many drink recipes and procedures. Depending on who's training you, it may make or break your time there

Normal work day
You'll learn to perform many tasks at the same time, as there are rarely enough people working all four roles (runner, shaker, cash, prep/back) at the same time. Multitasking and being quick/efficient are extremely important, as rushes can be hectic and can come out of nowhere. 

Work Culture
One of the best parts about the chatime that I worked in is that everyone was friendly. Most people there are either in highschool or uni/college, so everyone clicked quite easily. Management on the other hand, was alright at best, as they were quite overbearing if you were new. It got better over time, but they were still critical about the silliest of things

Pay
Minimum wage (base) with little advancement or raises

Hours
Generally flexable, though if you get closing shifts, it might be a little stressful if you have morning classes. The store closes quite late, roughly around midnight, and you'll be around for roughly 30-50 minutes after the store closes, depending on how busy it was

If you're applying to a new location, you'll be dealing with BOGO immediately, despite knowing little to nothing, which can be very overwhelming and hectic. Luckily, the trainers are very friendly and patient.

There are four main positions at Chatime: cash (taking orders), runner (handing drinks out, preparing toppings and bases), shaker (making the drinks), and prep (cooking tapioca, brewing tea, making smoothies, etc.). None of these positions are entirely difficult to master, though it becomes annoying when there aren't enough staff scheduled... you'll find yourself working two positions at once, and if it gets super busy, you will not have time to start cleaning/preparing for closing, meaning you will not leave your shift on time.

I definitely enjoy the work culture at Chatime, co-workers were great, and the majority of customers are friendly. Management was flexible in regards to hours during the school year, though management isn't the best.

Tip: I suggest bringing paper and pen if you make it to training! You'll be expected to make lots of notes!

large turnover rate after one month of opening. staff consisted of almost all very young high school students but were all familiar with each other and got along well. assistant manager was also very friendly, encouraging, and helpful. manager was the only reason why work for me made me feel sick. will not hesitate to put you down in front of customers and coworkers and will talk about you to trainers in chinese even though all staff are chinese. has their favourites. i talked to other ex employees and they all quit because of the same feelings towards the manager. do not put up and stay with this kind of manager especially if you have even just minor mental health issues because manager clearly does not care about your well being despite the staff all being very young. while working there i would be breaking down during lunch times, before and after my shifts with them. other than the manager, everything else was alright. there is a lot to memorize and a lot of multitasking. 9 pages of prep information that is expected to have been memorized within 2 days or less.

i've been working at chatime for almost a year. I got the hang of it fairly quickly after a few weeks of training. I got trained through head office and our first day on the job was a busy day because of the BOGO promo for the newer locations. 

the head office trainers had a lot of patience for us, which I liked because i was comfortable around them. however, when i was being taught by another manager, it was completely different and told me not to follow head office. um?

Overall, my coworkers were the best part of working here. I also liked meeting customers. 
the hardest part i would say is staying late till closing. and also being understaffed on a day that isnt supposed to be 'busy'.  uber eats orders + long lineups + long orders gets crazy sometimes. 

theres not much benefits you get while working here besides the free bubble tea lol. and also staff discount card isnt given to all staff, ONLY team leads/supervisors. you get discount at the specific location you work at, however you wont get the staff card if you arent a supervisor unfortunately.

Working as a barista at Chatime has been a fast-paced and dynamic experience that really pushes you to stay sharp and organized. One of the biggest challenges is memorizing a wide variety of drink recipes, each with specific measurements, toppings, and preparation steps. This requires strong attention to detail and the ability to multitask efficiently, especially during peak hours when the store gets very busy.

The environment is energetic, and teamwork plays a huge role in keeping everything running smoothly. Communication with coworkers is essential to ensure orders are prepared correctly and delivered quickly. While it can feel overwhelming at times, especially when there is a long line of customers, it also helps build resilience and time-management skills.

On the positive side, the experience helps develop strong customer service abilities. Interacting with customers regularly teaches patience, adaptability, and how to handle different situations professionally. Overall, working at Chatime is a great opportunity for those who enjoy a lively work environment and are willing to learn quickly and stay focused under pressure.


Overall, I would recommend this job to beginners with no experience to people with lots of experiences. Once you worked at chatime, all the other jobs will be pretty simple. 

Some tasks: 
Cashier, Runner (get toppings, prepare the beginning of the drinks, hand out drinks), Shaker (Make the drinks), Prep/Back (Make tapioca, tea, smoothies, etc.
Clean Clean Clean Restock Restock Restock

It gets really busy sometimes and it can get out of control if there are not enough people working. 

I gained multiple skills such as customer service, teamwork, communication, problem solving. 

The pay is minimum but can be increased! I love creating my own bubble tea drinks! 

Working at Chatime part time and school full time is manageable because the minimum days are 3 shifts per week and each shiftis around 6-7 hrs.

Working at Chatime was a very new experience for me, as it was my first paying job. I was able to interact and build relationships with my fellow employees very well and got along with the manager. Facing customers on a daily basis was not a problem for me at all, as I enjoyed the interactions with different personalities. I was able to adapt to different kinds of people in order to make them feel welcome and was also able to teach new employees as well. I had no problem teaching new employees on the skills needed in order to properly work at their stations and was able to memorize the required amounts needed for every ingredient. The most enjoyable part of the job was meeting new people and building friendships with my fellow employees. The environment at Chatime was very quick paced but manageable at the same time.

im pretty self motivated and can work fast paced but the thing about these mangers is that they will take advantage of you. they called you in and keep changing the time, as in theyll say one in at this time and then change their mind n make you come in at different times all within a few hours noticed. one time they changed it 3 different times within one hour... the mangers are a couple and theyre so passive aggressive. they stop your pay at 11 or something or 11:30.. which is dumb since it takes new people some time to finish the closing shift duties. and then youre all alone if you dont finish your stuff and your other co worker gets to go home. lack of team work in that sense. I work at places where we will finish at 12 am but if youre done your work go help other people so we can all go at once and be done before the pay gets cut..  worst management I have EVER COME ACROSS. so unorganized. at least this was 2020

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Surveillant du service alimentaire 23 salaries reported	$19.85 per hour
Barista 25 salaries reported	$17.38 per hour
Serveur au comptoir 5 salaries reported	$16.82 per hour
Directeur des services alimentaires 6 salaries reported	$37.00 per hour
Assistant 3 salaries reported	$19.93 per hour

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