line cook

prep cook

dishwasher

restaurant manager

host/hostess

BJS Restaurant & Brewhouse

I opened the new restaraunt in Murfreesboro, TN. Management treated the employees as well as the customers so poorly. There were several instances when the customers were unhappy for valid reasons (i.e.-  bar drinks taking 20+ minutes to be made, food prepared incorrectly/cold and then having to wait 30 minutes for the replacement meal to be made, under quoted for the wait time...etc.) and it was like pulling teeth to get a manager to compensate their meal and/or make things right. I had several guests tell me they'd never be back simply because the management was rude and made them feel stupid for voicing their valid concerns. No concept of hospitality whatsoever! I thought maybe things were a little rough due to it being a brand new place with brand new people so I decided to stick it out and stay for a few months. Terrible decision. 

They'd schedule 4-5 food runners every shift. Runners get paid $2.13/hr and servers would have to tip them out a percentage of our sales which came out to be around $20 for most of the shifts I worked. If I'm giving you $20 of my hard earned money I expect to have my food ran correctly. They would constantly run the wrong food to tables and slack off, so management would start yelling for servers to run their own food. I'm sorry but when I have a 5-6 table section, I don't always have time to drop everything and run food across the 10,000sq/ft restaraunt.  One shift I was literally in the middle of greeting a table and a manager physically pulled me aside and told me, "You have 2 more minutes to greet your table. I need hot food ran in the kitchen right now."  That affects my tip when it takes me 5-6 minutes to greet a table and then another 5-10 minutes to get their drink orders because every time I step foot in the kitchen I was having hot food shoved in my face to be ran. 

Once you were cut, you could bet you'd be stuck there for at least another 1-2 hours. They made us roll silverware as part of our closing side work--which was fine except for the part when every day they'd increase the amount you were supposed to roll. It started out as everyone having to roll 20pcs of silver, and by the time I quit that amount was up to a ridiculous 75pcs. Did I mention we also had to tip out SERVER ASSISTANTS a percentage of sales too?  It was the SA's job to roll silver throughout the shift, and somehow it never got done so instead of scheduling more SA's or coaching them to use their time more wisely, management just piled the workload on servers. (Probably a way to save on labor. Why pay an extra SA to work when you've got servers working for slave waves already?)

Once you rolled all your silver, finished your side work, and got signed off on everything, you'd have to get in a line of other employees waiting for a manager to take your credit card slips and either take the money you owe BJ's or give you the money they owe you for the shift.  Out of the 4-5 mangers they'd have in the building at a given time, only one would take your Checkout which meant spending at least 30 minutes just standing around waiting for their time.

I could go on and on about other reasons I hated the place, but I'll finish with this. No job is worth sacrificing your happiness. If you are instantaneously put in a bad mood just because you walked into your workplace, you should remove yourself from the hostile environment.  I felt so much relief the day I resigned, and I'm so much happier now working for a company that values and recognizes their employees hard work. 

**P.S. I see other reviews listing "free shift meals" as a pro, but be aware only non-tipped employees get the free meal. The ones who are paid $2.13/hr only get 50% off. **

Bj's Brewhouse is a company in total disarray. Their management training is a joke. Their solution to every problem is to comp the meal of anyone who makes a scene, and patrons have caught on, abusing this policy to get free meals. The damage in this scenario is two fold for the servers, as the table they just spent an hour serving is no longer being billed, and as such doesn't feel a need to provide their server with a tip, AND the server is almost always held responsible for these meals being comped, even though its usually a trigger happy response by management. At one point Bj's got some software engineers to build them a online ordering and take out app, which is a great plan on paper, and has worked for many other restaurants in the past to drive sales. But Bj's take out app was riddled with bugs, and customers would arrive to pick up their food only to find that the order hadn't even made it across the internet and into our system yet, or their order had been sent to the wrong restaurant. This infuriated the customers, who used the app to try and save time, and instead had to essentially order when they arrived, forcing them to sit in the lobby in anger. When I suggested to customers that they not use the app in order to be confident their order was being prepared, I was confronted by management, telling me to push the app. They refused to acknowledge the constant issues that came with using it, and wanted me to try and push this garbage application on unsuspecting victims. I told them I would not, and they sort of just shrugged their shoulders over it. Cooks leave Bj's so fast, that they are constantly looking for new kitchen staff, and will hire prep cooks on the spot and put them to work WITH NO TRAINING. I know a cook who has worked at Bj's for several years, and still doesn't make 18 an hour, which is pretty standard pay for line cooks at a busy restaurant. Whatever you do, don't take a job here. They have no regard for your work life balance, and they will use you for as long as your willing to put up with it before replacing you with some new naive trainee who doesn't know what their getting into.

One thing I can say about this location is that the employees make it worth it. If you start working here there's a good chance you will gain a big group of good friends pretty quickly.  We are all really close and spend a lot of time together and meeting them has definitely made the experience worthwhile.  But that's the only real plus.... 

In a little over one year this location has seen a total of 4 or 5 different GMS come and go. The turn over rate for management has made it hard for the location to gain its bearings or make improvements. The lower level managers that end up running the place during dinner shift are highly under qualified for their jobs and you get the sense that the veteran servers are the ones really running things because they are more helpful to you during your shifts than management will be. 

It's an easy job. A lot of the staff is very young, its a very social place and a lot of people are more focused on socializing than being productive and doing their job so that can definitely get frustrating on busy nights when your running around and everyone around u is just hanging out and talking. 

There is no expo. So be prepared for a lot of your food to be wrong. Every night we have high comps because food gets ran to the wrong table. Then when you're looking for your food in the window it's gone because someone took it.... ticket times range from 20-35 minutes on busy nights and there's a lack of a sense of urgency. 

Tips. The tip out is about 3-6% of your sales in total. In close to two years I made over $300 one time. On average you'll do about $150 or so a night? You can make more if you fight for more tables. But you can also make less. They aren't good at cutting the floor or evenly distributing tables so there's a lot of times where some people make good money while others do really bad. There will be a hand full of shifts where you won't even break $100. 

If you're new to serving its a decent place to make some quick money and pick up some BASIC serving skills. But there aren't a lot of people that will mentor you there. Not a good place long term. In general BJS needs to elevate their pay scales. The back of house is underpaid. Management is underpaid even at the "Senior" level and it shows in the quality of people they are able to retain. 

BJ's is a great company to work for, there are many opportunities for those who want to advance, there are programs to help employees in need and more. I loved my coworkers and I made enough for a living, plus scheduling was pretty flexible. However there were things that needed improvement. Servers were required to work food running/beverage tending shifts every week, but the system wasn't fair. Not only was it usually a waste of time as we usually didn't make money doing this, but the managers assigned those shifts to only certain people. There were a handful of servers that never got food running shifts and it was because of favoritism. Management at my location (Charlottesville, VA) was terrible, unprofessional and at times, toxic. The GM was evidently emotionally unprofessional and unstable. When she was in a bad mood or there or the workplace was under stress, she'd put out her frustrations on the employees. She would scream, curse and say very disrespectful and condescending things to the employees. She's made people cry and walk out in the middle of the shift and even fired servers on impulse in the middle of them having tables. Customers have even insisted to leave the restaurant because they didn't agree with her behavior. A lot of the time it seemed like working extra hours and shifts, completing tasks that are not in the job description and doing extra favors for the managers were usually under-appreciated. A lot of us didn't always feel like they actually cared about us. They'd make us feel like a number and would occasionally remind us that we are replaceable. With the exception of looking forward to seeing my awesome coworkers and making enough money to pay all my bills and more, going to work was exhausting because the environment usually felt so toxic. The disrespect from management and was unnecessary and uncalled for. EVERYONE complains about it and has even tried getting corporate involved an no one still hasn't done anything about it. New employees usually wouldn't last 2 weeks to a month because of management. Definitely needs a lot of work!

A typical work day ranged from 4 to 8 hours of greeting guests, taking them to tables, or during a busy day, putting them on the wait list. As a hostess this can go smoothly or you may get people who get mad at you when you tell them your restaurant is very busy so the wait time will be much longer than they want to. As the front line, you have to take a lot of abuse sometimes because no one likes to wait to get fed. I learned a lot about how to communicate with people and about conflict resolutions, especially when we had large parties walk in expecting to be accommodated and a full reservation list. It required a lot of quick thinking while still doing justice to guests already waiting for tables. Management was also very involved in helping us as best they could and often pitched in to help run food, greet guests, and anything else when it got very busy. If nothing else, I was blessed to have worked under a fantastic general manager at this location. The hardest part of the job is obviously putting guests on the wait because you have to know which tables are closest to getting up and how busy the kitchen is, its a large team effort and involved a lot of communication and sometimes people are not dependable The most enjoyable part of my job was getting those moments right, when the large walk in party was sat as quickly as could be and the wait list did not suffer as a result and no one got angry, those days really felt like huge accomplishments. This restaurant chain really makes it feel like you are a team so you become close to your co-workers and the atmosphere is usually great. However, if you become really good at what you do, expect to be called to come in a lot because this job will burn some people out fast and make them less likely to show up or call in sick. There were a lot of days off when I ended up being called in when I could be out doing plans. Now of course, you can say you can't come in but the benefits to these calls is that when they know you are dependable they will notice and you will get a raise for it, or an award. This company is great.

If you were a busser at BJ's in Cerritos, CA, you pretty much were slaved to work for about 5-8 hours a shift, in hopes to collect a tip from a shady co-worker.
I would show up, clock in, grab my empty trays, a clean rag, and hit the floor. I would wipe down tables, clean up messes, and run food. The morning shifts I would have to work by myself as a busser to clean to whole place. Around 1 the second guy would come in, but with ZERO motivation. He would show up and of course not start right away. If it was busy the management team would help, but then give you a dirty look because they had to pick up a glass. I always provided a positive attitude though in these harsh conditions. As a busser you wore many hats. The worse part about working at BJ's is that the Server collects the most tip, but does the least amount of work. They take your order, write it down on a paper, and collect your money, thats about it.
They have a staff that brings them there drinks, refills them, brings them there food, brings them there condiments, and a busser who pre-cleans and cleans there tables. Then at the end of the shift they want to hand you a 5 dollar bill for 5 hours of bussing there area.
You could never argue with them either, because hey 5$ is 5$...
It just sucks when you find out after working there for 3 years, that the guy who has been there for 10 years, that gets your shift on Monday and Tuesday, gets 20$ from that same person, every time. There was no regulation. If I worked with a group of bussers lets say 4, I would always get the least amount of tips, even though we all started at the same time of the day, and did the same amount of work. If you were a busser it was tipped out according to how long overall you have worked there..
Towards the end when I was leaving the company, a co-worker told me that the two most senior bussers would give themselves each 100$ then tip everyone else out....
They told me this is just the way it is. 
I confronted the managers about it, they said that I have to deal with it among the bussers.. 
Regardless to say, just watch out for your tips here guys. It gets real shady sometimes unfortunately and do not expect the management team to help you.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Had a lot of concerning issues with managers not pursuing their best interests towards certain/most employees. A lot of fraudulent and unfair sequences pertained at this location. Help for most things were slim to none. Tips were pretty good though if the other employees follow the tip instructions correctly. Unfortunately that didn’t happen most shifts and certain employees would get away with stealing portions of your share in the tip pool, as well as managers being notified many times with no resolution or problem solving.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The managers are are not doing a good job at equally enforcing the rules regulations and requirements to sustain a healthy work environment for employees. They let certain employees slide when they should be punished just like the rest of the employees. They didn’t fix or resolve an issue with a fellow employee stealing most of the tip pool at the end of the night.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It’s a chill and inviting atmosphere with a lot of youthful energy through almost all the employees besides management. Some people really stick their neck out for you while others practically let you do their job for them

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Being well over worked with rough scheduled hours is promised here, but in this industry that’s what the go to day looks like if you want to make more money. Some employees don’t enjoy those days. You can find your self getting overwhelmed and under appreciated very quickly. It’s an environment for people that should be hard workers unfortunately some fall short of that and you have to pick up their slack when you already have too much to handle on your plate in the first place. Closing for a runner makes you have to deep clean the entire expo and put away items that are well into the 80lbs-100lbs+ range.

The dishwashing area is very cramped and even if it was three times bigger, had two more dishwashing machines and two more sanitizing and soap compartments, yes you heard that right,  it feels like it would barely be enough to keep up with the amount of dishes and pans that you'd have to go through. It's normal for the plate table to get packed with ceramic plates, and plastic and metal containers along with miscellaneous prep tools before another co-worker comes to help you get through it. Sometimes the kitchen manager will help you get through it so that's nice. This place needs renovations, it needs to be much bigger, but I don't know if that will ever happen. A lot of the plastic and metal ingredient containers that go through don't get all the food inside washed out because the ingredients are so stuck inside. Two passes, even four through the dishwashing machine does nothing to clean these all the way, so these will have to soak in the sink compartment and later be washed. This means every day you will pick out little pieces of food from these containers. The floors will get absolutely covered in large volumes of pasta and other food, but mostly pasta, from frying pans that have to be washed so empty out the tiny food catching thing after almost every drain you'll thank yourself, also get ready to be wet because of how much water goes on. Weekdays and mornings are where you want to be if you are a beginner or don't want to get extremely overworked, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and nights are typically pretty busy, these aren't worth doing at all IMO. Dumpsters get packed and it feels like this restaurant could use a few more because of all the garbage that builds up. I've seen a lot of co-workers come and go because of how fast paced it gets. It's normal to be getting out around 1 am weekdays to 2 am in weekends to give you an idea of what times you'd be getting out for closing time. 

Worked here as a busser after graduating high school. The job itself is simple: keep the restaurant clean, clear tables and bring dishes to the dishwasher, and assist servers and bartenders. Servers will ask you to run food for them from time to time, but it didn’t happen to me too often. Bartenders will ask for a refill of ice, fresh glasses, and alcohol from the fridge. Servers and managers at my location were nice for the most part. Only one manager was frustrating to deal with. He was patronizing and ordered me around more than what was necessary. I was asked for food handlers certification before starting work. This can be done through an easy online course that isn’t expensive so don’t worry.

Bussers get paid minimum wage plus tips. In the great big state of Texas, that’s a measly $7.25/hr. A portion of the servers’ tips are pooled and distributed among bussers at the end of every shift. You will really need tips to make any meaningful amount of money during your shift. You also get an employee discount.

I worked mornings and evenings. Working mornings is absolutely the best for your mental health, however you will not receive much in tips. Had a coworker that mainly worked mornings and he was very chill and we had some time to chat when I first started and was getting trained. Working evenings, on the other hand, is absolutely grueling, especially if it’s a busy location. However, you have the opportunity to earn much more in tips. We had at most 3 bussers on the busiest days, but it was usually 2. You will be moving CONSTANTLY, attempting to do more work than you can, and having to regularly stop cleaning one area because servers or managers need you to clear a different table.

Overall, the job was tolerable. I can’t imagine working as a busser there for too long, but it was nice to earn some money for the first time and have experience working in a restaurant.

Every day is chaotic. Most of the cook and co-workers arrive to their shifts late. When people leave their shift their work stations are often mediocre and below standard. Management is so overworked that they can't prioritize anything nor do they create any appropriate disciplinary action for the line cooks that take advantage of this situation. People with little or no experience are often hired for the line cook positions. Their is severe turnover in the kitchen. The environment is stressful and I have worked here for a year unable to move up in a career or move on to a new station. I have tried several times to get my managers attention. Often times through the day manager "hide" from certain employees so they can get their basic duties done and leave without setting up the shift for the next manager. Many people will leave their tasks and prep work undone only to be discovered during peak hours into the shift where the line cooks are forced to stop taking orders and create the ingredients at that crucial moment. We are Understaffed and completely overworked. Blocked days and Time-off are not something you can expect because they will schedule whichever days they want, despite advanced notice, then they will say that if you don't show up to the shift that it is your own fault. Overtime is very common. Everyone is high or selling some sort of drug. People who are bored pull their phones out constantly instead of finding work to do. The managers don't communicate with employees or between one another. No one cleans their stations regularly, or as they go... the place is filthy.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Line cook 420 salaries reported	$18.11 per hour
Prep cook 407 salaries reported	$17.52 per hour
Dishwasher 411 salaries reported	$17.12 per hour
Restaurant manager 351 salaries reported	$69,926 per year
Host/hostess 400 salaries reported	$15.89 per hour

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