My son is a shift supervisor at a Starbucks - although he was offered a better job recently so will be leaving soon. He performs the same work as any barista. He serves the customers like any of the baristas; he makes the coffee the same as any of the baristas; he does the clean up of the store at the end of the day and also helps to open the store - just like any of the baristas. The clientele has no clue he's a shift supervisor, because he serves those clients - just like the baristas do. In addition to that, he is also responsible for making sure the shelves are stocked, the new orders come in on a timely basis, the money is counted properly, etc. Many of the shift supervisors' work holds more weight on the store's success than some of the baristas. This sort of thing will make a barista want to stay at the barista level just for the tips. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. I can see store managers and regional managers not getting the tips. Store managers don't always serve the customers like the baristas (and shift supervisors) do. Regional managers don't do any of that work and make enough to not warrant sharing in any of the tips. But the shift supervisors do nearly all of the same work as the baristas and don't get paid that much more either! I believe they should be afforded the opportunity to receive the same benefits. It's too bad the decision turned out as it did.