CNN iReport

Could I live without Starbucks? Quite simply, no. I work full time at Starbucks and Starbucks pays my bills. Going a little deeper then just calling Starbucks my 9-5; Starbucks is my home. Say what you will about giant coporations, but I get to have geniune one-on-one experiences with not only my customers, but my fellow partners every single day I'm there. Making these connections on a local level makes Starbucks seem less daunting in the big picture. Where the people that work there are striving to make Starbucks a place where you feel comfortable, welcomed, acknowledged and appreciated.

Even though I'm on the other side of the bar, I too get to take part in the magic Starbucks creates. I love the people I work with, they really are the people I consider my family. They take part in my daughter's life, my ups and downs, my failures and triumphs. We go canoeing together, have picnics, go out to dinner, share in one another's lives. At the same time I have that kind of relationship with my customers. I've worked for Starbucks for almost four years, and usually offer to work holidays. I've never gone an Easter in the last four years without a customer cutting away from their family dinner to bring me a plate of their holiday meal. Where else would that kind of loving gesture not only happen, but be encouraged?