shift manager

cook

cafe assistant

baker

guest service agent

Andre-Boudin Bakeries

As the catering coordinator of Boudin SF my work day consist of a down to the minute, ever changing pace as well as plan for the day.  I arrive anywhere between 4-7am depending on the projected work load and prepare breakfast/lunch meals to later be delivered to valuable clients.  My production for the day is focused on a beautiful presentation of food as well as a constant sense of urgency as my day is planned around specific time frames for the food to be completed as well as delivered.  I've learned to be more organized with my time as well as my work environment, this allows me to maximize each hour of the day as I am usually facing last minute incoming orders to be squeezed into an already hectic day.  Working closely with the rest of the management team where communication is vital, I also work alongside a small team specifically dedicated to catering, as well as part of the restaurant staff when necessary to ensure completion of our catering orders in a timely manner.  Team work and time management is very important to our daily success.  The most challenging part of my job is the constant unknowing of my schedule and what the next morning looks like, I make very last minute changed to my start time in order to allow enough time complete the orders, and with the common last minute additions to the day’s work load it's usually my break time that is lost in order to meet all goals and deadlines of the day.  All things considered I really enjoy my job and all the challenges I'm faced with on a daily basis.  I feel very accomplished at the day’s end for all my hard work as I receive nothing but compliments for the taste, presentation, and promptness of the meals delivered.  My position at Boudin SF has proven to be very rewarding.

I worked as a Baker. The job is physically demanding at first. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes a lot easier to carry out the roles and responsibilities of the job. If you can lift at least 50 lbs. and are willing to work in a team and by yourself to complete tasks, this job is a great option. 

There are three big shifts you can work. The first is Bake-off, where you bake the bread in the ovens. The next is Midnight, where a lot of the bread making work is started. The final is the day shift, where you finish making the bread and clean the bakery. 
You may feel a bit tired after work, but on the plus side, you get to go home with a loaf of bread! 

The training I received was not very good. They are supposed to start you out with a little booklet. Initially, you start out with a mentor who will teach you the ropes. Your mentor is supposed to help you work through the booklet as part of the training. Then, you are required to take a test to demonstrate that you know how to do your job. Unfortunately, I learned about the booklet after I had passed their baker's test. I only think that I passed because I was able to figure out the job all by myself. It would have been nice to have a real mentor and the booklet. 

The problem (and the reason why I left) was because of bad management. The manager I had created a toxic environment, where coworkers were afraid of the manager. The manager would constantly criticize employees for absolutely nothing. It got so bad that I didn't want to talk to anyone, fearing that the manager would hear about it and have an issue. Every so often, I would use one of my breaks to go cry in the public restroom. I talked to HR and they did nothing. A manager has a lot of influence when it comes to creating a good workplace. If it hadn't been for the bad management and the high employee turnover rate, I probably would have stayed a lot longer. 

To be fair, I'll list some of the positives of working at Boudin SF:

-One of the reasons I joined the Boudin SF crew was for the free bread...and I was not disappointed by the availability of the sourdough dinner rolls.
-The guy who interviewed and hired me (one of the managers, though unfortunately not the one I dealt with most often) was stellar.
-The people who worked in the kitchen were incredibly kind, and I enjoyed working with them despite the occasional difficulty in communication due to language barriers.


However, the cons to working here, in my opinion, overwhelm the pros. I'll list those too for simplicity's sake.

-Most (though luckily not all) of my coworkers were clique-ish and unfriendly. This might be due to how young they were (seniors in high school and fresh out of high school)?
   *Some of them were also unfriendly or generally indifferent to customers, which I found appalling! Treat customers like how you wish to be treated when dining out.

-The system for accepting tips if you were a floor employee was confusing. The only definition given was "take what you think you deserve." Depending on who I worked with, my coworkers would sometimes take all of the tips regardless of how much they contributed to bussing and serving.

-The managers seemed to pick favorites, and I was always sent to do work while my coworkers would be able to dawdle or do tasks with lower complexity.

I just got hired on by Boudin to work on staff in SF and it has been exciting . The management has been supportive, accommodating and willing to teach. The job is very high stress due to the huge menu and various food choices. Training is ongoing past the first two weeks and you have to make sure you know enough information so the tourists don't get mad. Most of the crowd is really nice and willing to talk about their adventures and ask good questions.  My only criticism is that the workplace model is not very efficient when customers change their mind on orders it's annoying to not have voiding privlages as a cashier when it gets busy. You have to go bug managers to void an item and customers get very hot tempered that they have to wait . It's not easy to find a key card and they complain about missing a reservation or they have an Uber waiting that is about to leave . It typically takes 10-30 minutes to find a manger card to change an order. Time could be better spent and it would be more efficient to trust your cashiers with full responsibility.  One thing I wish the company would change is the pay rate due to San Francisco being expensive. The company should also provide free meals for the employees to show appreciation for what we do. It is frustrating to only have a 50% discount on food when most employees are food insecure and are only paid 15 hourly.

A typical day at work consists of me working on the cash register, taking customers orders and helping them with anything they need assistance with. I have learned how to handle situations with all types of people, I have also learned the customer is always right. I am a very hard working person and make sure I go above and beyond what is expected of me. My time here I have had several different managers, some definitely being more professional than others. My current manager is great and has definitely turned the store around. I definitely have a good relationship with the management. The hardest part of the job would probably be picking up my co-workers slack. I make sure my duties are always complete and complete well but I have learned not all co-workers think the same. I think the most enjoyable part of the day is when my usual customers come in and are so happy to see me or even when I get a new customer who goes above and beyond to tell me how good of a job I am doing.

Overall, I think it is a good starting place to learn the kitchen and customer service. I do not recommend staying here longer than a year though. After working here for a while I figured that it is extremely hard to get a raise. The management feeds you with promises, but it never happens. This place shaped my work ethic and helped me learn the kitchen and what customer service really is. Boudin used to be fun and enjoyable place to work at, with the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Now everyone who worked here for a while just quits. The sense of team is no longer here and it feels like your typical after work side hustle. Some people do the bare minimum which puts more work on you, but as you do more work, it is never noticed or appreciated by the management. 

I worked here for two years.  A typical day at work involved hopping around all stations of the restaurant to help out, and fast-paced service.  I learned a lot about multi-tasking and being a self-starter, dealing with difficult people, and working with a variety of co-workers.  Management made it seem like employees would be treated very personally and like it was a small business but this was not the case.  Management is cheap, not giving employees the materials they are required to, and treats the employees like children.  They did not make sure their employees were taken care of no matter how much they maintained that they did.  The hardest part of the job was the demand management put on me as an employee without any advancement after being there two years.

A typical day at work was usually pretty busy but very fun. The more important thing I have learned is how to handle unhappy customers. I have had my fair share of angry customers but they were always handled professionally. Management was always changing and although the management was always found of me and my work ethic I didn't really agree with they way they may have treated my other coworkers. My coworkers were great and made working here a lot more enjoyable. The hardest part of the job would be when we would be understaffed which was pretty often. I would have to do multiple positions which would get pretty hard during a rush, but in the end everything would get done. The most enjoyable part about this job was definitely my coworkers and usual customers.

I've worked at quite a few place with bad management, but none were ever as bad as this. The store manager will claim that he is constantly understaffed but then switch wildly from having 3 extra people on a shift to not having anybody to cover when someone calls out. The store manager also will ignore all communication from you if they are told something they dont like. For example; I got scheduled on the wrong days and while trying to work out the schedule the manager completely stopped responding because I wouldn't put a job where the schedule comes out the Saturday of the week before above a job where I've had the schedule for over a week. Completely unprofessional, really disappointed. 

A typical day at work where you learn each day about different customers, management shows support in every lunch rush hour that occurs every day where you get to see all kind of things, coworkers got to have your back and you got to have theirs in order to all become a team where the atmosphere feels like family and feel you can trust to each other. The hardest part of the job is when customers do not appreciate your job and realize how hard it is to deal with some oh the challenges of the restaurant, but the most enjoyable part is to see customers happy and always seen them coming back, weather for the food or the customer service we offer them each time.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Shift manager 23 salaries reported	$18.30 per hour
Cook 17 salaries reported	$16.83 per hour
Cafe assistant 5 salaries reported	$22.00 per hour
Baker 11 salaries reported	$18.57 per hour
Guest service agent 9 salaries reported	$17.24 per hour

Working at Andre-Boudin Bakeries: Company Overview and Reviews

Andre-Boudin Bakeries

Andre-Boudin Bakeries Ratings

Popular jobs at Andre-Boudin Bakeries

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected