STARBUCKS MANAGER STRIVES TO SUCCEED IN LIFE AND WITHIN HER FAITH

Velvet Hunter has worked at a Starbucks coffee stand inside an Albertsons grocery store for almost 10 years – a full decade, as of Jan. 10 this coming year.

In April 2013, she got promoted to department manager, a job that matches her well – both in her attention to detail and her devotion to every customer she serves, a huge part of her deep sense of community.

“I really like working for Starbucks because I like how much variety there is in my job,” Hunter said. She likes interacting socializing with the customers, her routine of replenishing ingredients and add-ins, keeping things looking nice, and cleaning, she said. “I think it’s really fun to clean, honestly.”

Few details escape Hunter’s attention. For instance, she mentions a concern she believes Starbucks could improve on: “I would prefer if they were a little bit better about their waste. They aren’t ridiculously wasteful, but they could improve.” 

The example she gives is that she and the rest of her baristas have to make Starbuck’s signature Pike Place Roast coffee every 30 minutes, every day, until closing time, so that customers are always guaranteed to drink fresh, hot coffee.

“Like this,” Hunter said, motioning to coffee that she just switched out. “I just dumped coffee down the drain and our coffee is kind of expensive. I don’t even know how much we as a business pay for the coffee; it’s just part of it goes down the drain every half hour.

“That’s kind of a pretty big waste, but it’s for quality,” she said.

One of Hunter’s baristas, a current Mt. Hood student, has been impressed and inspired by her extra care.

Gabe Arciniega, finishing up his pre-reqs at MHCC with a plan to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry at Portland State University, has worked alongside Hunter for more than a year, after frequenting the store the store as a customer for six months, he said.

“Velvet is a very meticulous and effective person,” Arciniega said. “She has no issue putting in the extra effort to get the job done. When customers have questions about drinks or merchandise, she is very knowledgeable.

“The first month after being hired, I felt like I learned a year’s worth of experience from her,” he said. “I would never have asked to be trained by anyone else, or have any other manager, than her. Period.”

Arciniega has noticed even more about his boss.

“Aside from work, she holds strong morals. Everyone expects employees to be perfect while working, but Velvet makes sure that even when she is off the clock, she is still being a good person,” he said. “She surrounds herself with the community and makes sure to do her part to help out.”

Hunter’s attention does show she cares about community outreach.

While working at Starbucks, she always makes sure to remember customers’ names, their drinks, and talks to each of them by asking them how their day is. She credits the way she was raised.

“My family and parents were really big on always treating other people like they’re better than me, having an attitude that they deserve the best and that I should go out of my way to ensure that they are happy,” she said.

Arciniega explained how working at a coffee shop is always about making people’s day, something Hunter excels at.

“Every shift, you are crafting these drinks by hand so that your customers enjoy them throughout their day,” he said. “Great baristas also aspire to ‘learn’ the community. You have the privilege to meet the regulars, but you also have the opportunity to meet people who are new to coffee drinking. It’s the ‘first-connection’ with a new customer that makes being a barista the most enjoyable to me. Getting the chance to develop a relationship with a new person, and showing them the great community behind the (Starbucks) brand is what it’s about.

“It’s imperative that you take pride in that,” he said.

Hunter said she always wants to make sure she is giving the customers the most amazing day they could ever have.

“Every day somebody could wake up feeling hopeless and sad, and (if) the first bit of that day makes their day better, it can really make them a happier person in general,” she said. “Going to Starbucks and having a barista make a person’s day with a smile, is sometimes what that person needs.”

Hunter’s care for customers is also deeply entwined with her Jehovah’s Witness religion and faith in God, she said.

“My biggest inspiration, well, not to sound cheesy, is God,” she said. “I’ve got a connection with the Creator through Bible reading and prayer,” one that focuses on four principle traits, which are love, justice, power, and wisdom, she explained.

Another huge inspiration is Hunter’s mother, Dana Backes, because she always goes out of her way to make other people’s lives better, not just focusing on herself, she said. 

At the end of the day, money does not matter to Hunter, she adds. She likes her barista job, and her primary long-term goal in life is to be involved full-time with her church community, she said.

Meantime, she strives for success – for her own and for all those people she meets and serves.