Hi everyone, first time posting here so sorry if this is a messy long post. I'm 40, work as a barista in Chiang Mai, I'm a bit playful by nature, but this... hmm, I'm confused, half-laughing half-irked.

Two days ago at 6 a.m. (to be honest, while customers were still queued outside), the manager called a short meeting and immediately announced a new policy: wants to add a special evening menu as the shop’s signature, and wants every staff to be responsible for making the drink, baking the pastry, and washing dishes after close themselves — without hiring extra dishwashers. Starting today.

Silence. Confusion.

The problem is our team has two morning people, two evening people, and one night shift, and everyone’s had clear roles for a long time. For example I’m the main coffee maker, doing latte art — the first half hour in the morning is insanely busy. I need to focus on drinks. But in that meeting the manager told us to learn baking on day one and said I should teach others, even though mornings are always full. Then the manager sat there sipping coffee like chill, holding a tiny red spoon and waved us into chatting about fifteen new menu items... like, who’s briefing who? Isn’t this too sudden?

In the afternoon there was a kinda funny scene: I tried to teach a newbie a basic croissant and the bake came out flat and sad, haha. But not funny when everyone’s exhausted at closing and then has to wash dishes until midnight. We can do it, but after two days morale’s dropped — feels like the manager is trying to save costs by adding stress to the team instead of talking through better options.

I quietly complained to coworkers “the manager rarely gets down to actually see the work,” and a friend was like... maybe I’m overthinking? I shot back maybe they’re stressed about costs, but communication matters. If they’d told us two weeks ahead we could’ve prepared. Starting today is way too rushed, seriously 55555.

I have mixed feelings — I want to help the shop and I get the manager, but as a worker it feels unfair from some angles. I don’t want drama but I want expectations adjusted so we don’t lose good people.

Have you folks experienced this? If I want to talk to the manager politely but straight, how should I start? Should I propose a plan, like cutting the special menu down for now and asking for two weeks of training (or a temporary dishwasher)? Or am I being petty... hmm. Or should I put it in writing?

Thanks — waiting for advice from you all, I’ll update later T_T

P.S. If anyone has tips on talking to a manager without making things tense, I'd really appreciate it — like how to phrase things so others aren’t uncomfortable.