barista

shift leader

café manager

packer

dishwasher

Colectivo Coffee Roasters

Colectivo is an extremely mixed bag— though individually, there are many decent people within the company. The job with and of itself is not difficult. The issue— and it’s a very large issue— is the absolute disorganization of the company as a whole, and the incredible lack of a sense of urgency to correct it.

From the bottom, pay is very much below industry (and area) standards. I have never found a lower paying job for hourly workers within this field. With that, the company does not attract the best talent. Turn- over is very high, and training is both lacking in streamlined practices as it is also cumbersome. Only two trainers for the Milwaukee area (who are wonderful!) but cannot possibly certify the sheer amount of workers needed for stores to run successfully. This is zero fault of their own, and rather how the company is blind to its own failures. Therefore, many baristas who come to this company never get to actually make drinks; they are regulated to kitchen positions or the register, for months on end. And no one works at a coffee shop to solely do those things.

Company morale is mixed; it’s collectively a group of people trying to figure every aspect of the business out, but whom are too taxed to effectively do so, and in turn there is burn- out. Complaints— some of which are serious— are given song and dance by various departments without any true address due to fears of the union. 


This job has a lot of negatives and a lot of positives—I’m not sure if they balance each other out and if I had to lean one way, I would say the negatives outweigh the positives. Decent pay for a tipped service position, but the wage is only sustainable when the tips are good. Coworkers are awesome, the MODs are great, but the job is exhausting; this is a busy location that juggles in-person, Colectivo app, and UberEats orders. If I could do one thing to improve the company and overall working experience, I would remove UberEats as an option entirely—it doesn’t seem to do the staff or customers any favors at all. I can only imagine how lackluster an order from Colectivo is after it’s been sitting for anywhere from 15-45+ minutes and has been jostled around in a car or on a bike. This job is a good option for someone seeking a part time position, but working full time seems to suck the soul out of the staff. It seems like most of the full time employees, unless they are managers on duty, do not stay long. Retention seems to be highest with MODS, part-time college students, and people with years of previous barista experience who love the job environment/pace. 

I started as a customer and loved everything about Colectivo, but after working for them I will no longer buy any of their products.  The job a applied for was Barista, and I never once had the opportunity to make an espresso drink for anyone.  Yes, they allow you to sign up for classes that sound really fun and cool, but after taking them you are on your own.  If they don't like you- don't ever plan on being on bar while you are there. They will lie and say that there are a lot of people ahead of you. I talked about a management position for months, and it went no where.  And if you make a mistake and say that you don't understand something-- depending on where you work they may just ignore you, make you feel like an idiot, and not answer your questions because they don't make mistakes...sad.

They value money above the people that work there.

I am happy to have worked there because their higher level employees taught me how I will never treat people.  I have learned more at 3 weeks in my new position with a different company than I did with them.. and I feel respected and heard.

If you care about how you are treated don't work here.  If you are a robot with no feelings you'll be okay.

I have worked for this company for 2+ years and never have I seen so much disregard for employee's well being or needs in general. While they started out as a small company, they are now expanding vastly and this has changed the way the company treats their employees. They are so focused on profits now that they only give their full time employees 30 hours a week (who depend on the job to pay rent), deny requests for time off, and don't communicate with their employees at all. They try to cut labor wherever they can to increase profits, and in turn force employees to go home when they were supposed to be there for a full shift. This cut in labor makes everyone else's job extremely difficult, and in busy times, it is extremely stressful working there. Management has handled the treatment of their employees so poorly that everyone is trying to get out. They have fired people for no other reason than setting an example for other employees to get on with bandwagon of this new system. While I once loved this Milwaukee gem, Colectivo will forever have a bad taste in my mouth for their now corporate driven abandonment of a moral compass.

This is one of those companies where the “progressive”, “good for the community” vibe is just part of the marketing strategy. One thing the company needs to learn is that people who are passionate about this kind of work got into it to avoid going home with that sticky corporate film on their soul. So maybe making people sit through arbitrary sales meetings and listening to washed up managers insult their intelligence isn’t the best way to keep people interested. Also when three people in a row quit because of one person maybe it’s worth addressing the issue. If you can deal with fake smiles and corporate formality this is the job for you.  
And just a side note, this company, with the help of the city of Milwaukee, has killed small businesses in every neighborhood they’ve set up shop in. How is that good for the community? It was one thing that it was such a horrible environment, but what’s worse to me is that there are no jobs in this industry, in part because of them. I had to quit doing the thing I loved doing for 15 years so I could pay the bills

Everyone is soooo underpaid for the work load. People that have worked there 5+ years make 50¢ more than me that are also in supervisor positions? Started at $17 which is fine, but for most of the positions they expect a loooot of work from you. It’s very physically taxing. They don’t cap orders so some days your production is really high (like genuinely impossible to complete) and other days you’re done hours early and that’s just the way it is. They never want you to take off, but the PTO payout is bogus. The call in policy sounds good at first but it’s pretty bad too so it’s not like you can just call in if they don’t give you off and it’ll be fine. I think this job is good temporarily, the pay is at least above most places in the area that aren’t tipped. But it’s horrible on your body long term and the benefits aren’t good enough. The managers are really nice and understanding for the most part, the one really rough downside to them is that for the most part they just really don’t respect you wanting to leave on time, have vacations, etc. 

I worked at Colectivo for a little over a year and a half, from May 2019 to Feb. 2021. Before the pandemic, I felt great about coming into work! My manager was awesome, my coworkers were awesome, and I loved the product and was stoked to learn more and grow my skills. Unfortunately, as the pandemic progressed, management showed their true colors. Everyone at the cafe, bakery, roastery levels was super nice to work with, however, in my experience, everyone over the rank of a store General Manager does not have the best interest of coworkers in mind. This company only has money in mind, not the wellbeing of employees at all. Before I left, I told our HR manager that if I got sick with COVID and couldn't come into work I would be unable to pay my rent (this was before we were eligible for vaccines and Colectivo was pushing for indoor dining), and he told me I should find a different field to work in. I did, and I don't regret it. 

This company has a good culture that it tries to impose onto the staff which in theory would make for an awesome job but the reality of it is that it is not utilized in day to day operations. The only time you will see managers being "fun" is when important company figures are in the building. Other than that this job is terrible with never ending work. Once you complete the expected amount of work for the day the expectation gets raised so you have to do more and more work until you cant do it anymore and just like most other coworkers do you decide to quit. This company has a huge problem with pushing people to do more so when you do get a good hard working coworker, they end up walking off due to having more work dumped onto their workload that the lazy coworkers arent doing on top of their normal workload. The hardest part of the job is dealing with people who dont care and make huge mistakes that will ultimately make your job harder. The most enjoyable part of this job is clocking out at the end of your shift.

The phrase "bad management ruins companies," is exemplified by Colectivo. Every day there would be a new thing we'd have to to with no extra help, or training. We'd be expected to troubleshoot issues with products on the fly and just deal with it. And the union busting. They spent thousands upon thousands trying to bust a union instead of compensating their employees fairly and actually listening to anyone who works in the cafe from day to day. Also the schedule would change the DAY OF your shift. (I know there's a law against that, but Colectivo doesn't have to follow that ordinance). Start the day thinking you'd have a shift but then you'd get a text telling you not to come in, even though you still need money because bills exist. The Brazilian roast is very good I'll give them credit where credit is due. Upper management drops the ball all the time and MODs and Baristas have to deal with it.

I hated working at Colectivo. I would not recommend this company to anyone. Staff members are treated like they’re disposable and are severely underpaid for the hard labor they perform. Managers are not helpful, sympathetic or caring towards employees. Inconsistent scheduling. Horrible hours, but that comes with the territory of a coffee chain. 

Colectivo maintains a facade... I’m sure to bystanders, they appear like they’re a progressive / hip place to work but this could not be further from the truth. (Employees can’t have nose rings... at a coffee shop...) 

I worked at Colectivo before COVID-19 and before their unionizing efforts, both of which I’ve heard 
have made working for the company even worse. If you’re looking for a restaurant/food service job in Milwaukee, I’d look elsewhere. I’ve had a lot better experiences with “mom and pop” owned restaurants than this conglomerate. Seriously, if you’re reading this, I’m begging you not to apply! 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Barista 3 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Shift leader 8 salaries reported	$21.59 per hour
Café manager 5 salaries reported	$58,400 per year
Packer 4 salaries reported	$17.16 per hour
Dishwasher 2 salaries reported	$16.31 per hour

Working at Colectivo Coffee Roasters: Company Overview and Reviews

Colectivo Coffee Roasters

Colectivo Coffee Roasters Ratings

Popular jobs at Colectivo Coffee Roasters

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected