Photo by Sydney Wiser ’27
The Frances Perk, located inside the Williston Library’s Atrium, is a staple for many students; they serve snacks, coffee, teas, and a few baked goods.
Elizabeth Murray ’26
Features Editor
The Frances Perk café is a popular stop for students in between classes or on a study break. Located in the Williston Memorial Library Atrium, the Perk is managed by Mount Holyoke’s Dining Services and staffed almost entirely by students. The café is open most days of the semester and offers a mix of beverages and pastries.
Recently, baristas have grown more frustrated with their treatment by upper management. “Especially this semester, it kind of feels like we're on our own,” one Perk staff member who asked to remain anonymous said. Another anonymous student echoed this sentiment, stating, “It feels like [the administration] doesn't care about us at all.”
One concern is the onboarding of new baristas. The Perk hires staff once the café is open, which isn’t until students return for a new semester. Hired staff must have experience working as a barista, and they are normally trained in three training sessions before they can work on their own. Recently, new staff have had difficulty being able to schedule training sessions, leaving experienced staff to train during regular shifts, adding to their usual duties. This can be incredibly difficult during particularly busy shifts that overlap with rush times. One of the staff members we spoke to voiced their frustration, saying, “It was solely up to the students and it felt like management knew, but they were like, oh, it's not that big of a deal. You guys should figure it out on your own. That's how it felt.”
During a regular shift, there are ideally two or three baristas present to ensure that things run smoothly, but this hasn’t been standardized across shifts. Lately, there have been scheduling issues caused by an overall staffing shortage, meaning there is no one to fill in if someone calls out sick. This can leave staff members in a tight spot, having to manage the café by themselves. Other times shifts have to be left open because of conflicting class schedules. One of the employees Mount Holyoke News spoke to mentioned that management has scolded employees for not being able to fill empty shifts.
There has also been frustration around how management chooses to enforce certain policies over others. Baristas expressed frustration with management’s enforcement of the dress code policy in particular. “I've heard some people complain about misogynistic dress coding,” one barista said. Another employee said “managers cornering students and commenting on their bodies showing” was an issue. It isn’t clear to either staff member what is considered a dress code violation, and despite having contacted Dining Services they have received no answer.
The students continuously expressed how frustrated they were with upper management and felt that they made work for the employees harder. “They make it harder, not easier to open [and] close and they expect unreasonable hours … there's just a lack of communication.” one staff member said. Employees interviewed by MHN feel that upper management doesn’t understand the struggles students are having managing the Perk, and fail to include them in decision making. “We're the ones actually doing the work and I feel like maybe we have a better insight to how things work.” one staff member said.
“I think management needs to acknowledge that they've never run a coffee shop before. They run dining halls, which are very different things … it's a different beast entirely but the majority of students who work at the Perk… actually have worked at a coffee shop before,” another student said.
The Perk’s staff have reached out to Dining Services to voice their frustrations. “We have contacted management and collectivized. We sent them emails. They have not responded … We've been contacting them … since the beginning of the semester. They know the issues,” one student said.
When baristas were asked about potentially forming a union, one responded, “As far as I know, there won't be any unionizing. Our complaints are just easy, easy fixes, maybe in the future.” Another staff member said they were not comfortable with answering that question themselves.
Mount Holyoke News asked baristas what management can do to improve. One answered, “Management needs to do better with their hiring process and with the training process.” Another responded, “[I] think they need to start listening and engaging with us and acknowledging that we really care about the work we do, as well as … considering what is a priority for rules that need to be enforced and what is not, and also re-examining ways that they can make their staff feel like they’re cared for.”
Madeleine Diesl ’28 contributed fact-checking.