bartender

to-go specialist

server

pizza cook

line cook

Bertuccis Italian Restaurant

So when I was hired at Bertucci's I was told by when I was 18 I could serve. Fast forward 5/7 and I'm just getting training. But given the circumstance I don't believe they would've even let me serve at all. 
This is because they hired 3+ new servers since my request, and I really don't have the patience to wait 3+ months for something that was promised at the start. 

Besides the whole place really is a mixed bag. Nobody was really trained properly, servers barely tip out bussers (for doing their job), and I can remember one amazing manager out of the rest. Some of the servers don't do a good job on communicating. Again there were great servers who were communicative, understanding, relaxed, and smart. On the other hand there were ones who didn't properly know how to handle their emotions, constantly blew up, and didn't properly take care of the guests.

The workplace culture was lazy. Almost everyone smoked weed, half the people never had anything of substance to say, and their wasn't an ounce of optimism among the whole team. Nobody really had chemistry at all. And the ones who did worked at different sides of the building.

The hardest part was seating people. It's so hard to avoid double seating people when
1. Half the people who went there are either disabled or old so they can't walk upstairs/use the high booths. (they only have 10 booths out of 60 tables)
2. Servers barely bussed their tables, and the ones who did work hard get punished by getting sat more.
3. Everyone wanted to either sit upstairs or in a booth, so people were constantly double/triple sat.
4. The floor plans really were horrid. Tables should have been divided based on popularity and closeness not just closeness. I've had a day where one server got 2 large tables and 2 small ones. So they really never had any customers, and thus anger with the host staff. 

Lastly the Point of Sale system. The system they use is really old and outdated. Working takeout is hard because it's supposed to work in a certain fashion nobody follows.

That's pretty much all the gripes I have, remember that there are positives about any work place. My experience is unique, and you won't find bad results based on date posted. There could be an overhaul or different staff since then so be aware.

A typical work day would require all opening managers to report to work at 7 AM. I work most of the opening shifts and always arrive between 6 and 6:30 to begin my workday. I would be responsible for checking premises prior to opening doors and disarming the security system, check all equipment for functionality and temperatures, reviewing all reports (labor, sales, P&L statements), purchasing inventory, monitoring employee staffing, operating/overseeing workflow through the shift, interacting with staff/guests, handling all issues, and coaching/counseling to achieve results. Opening shift does not have a scheduled time of departure as the culture dictates self-responsibility for managers. Based on sales volume and number of managers on each shift, departure time would vary. In transition, the most enjoyable part of the job is and will always be "the people." Without people, there is no business. Creating and upholding a positive work environment would go alongside as the most enjoyable part of the job. In addition, the hardest part of the job would most have to be turnover in the restaurant industry. Although turnover is an inevitable result, especially in the front of the house, this aspect of the job proves to result in an issue with the staffing circle. Turnover leads to the necessity to hire newer staff resulting in more spending of training dollars and time. Operations have a foundation built on staffing and being appropriately staffed. Again, this is an anticipated part of the industry and in a perfect world good management should be on the front end and proactive side of this trend, however there are always variables and a manager needs to be ready to sometimes deviate from proper planning and may eventually need to react ("put out a fire"). Average managers have heard the concept of "Proper planning prevents poor performance." Good managers understand the concept. Great managers apply the concept. In summary, what I have learned as an operations manager is that I will continue to learn new things everyday and as long as I understand what I am experiencing then one day I will be able to eventually apply these experiences to become a great operations manager.

Bertucci's offers a large variety of flavorful foods for the customers and it's the line cook's responsibility to prepare these meals. A line cook's responsibilities are split up depending on the hours worked. Prepping is a major duty for opening chefs; they need to learn proper cuts, ingredients used in recipes, and the skill to ensure the roasted aspects of food is in order. Of course preparing for the day sometimes gets a little tedious in the time allotted, but there are managers there to help if it gets over-whelming. If a chef is working a mid to night shift, they are primarily responsible for preparing meals. Since Bertucci's is a favorable restaurant, this is where the fast-pace environment is inherent. It is required that chef's know the recipes in order to work this shift because there isn't a lot of chances to review during busy hours. Cleaning is a major aspect for closing chefs. A line cook is responsible for cleaning the line from top to bottom. This includes wiping out refrigerators and sweeping and mopping. Aside from a lot of negative aspects of the job, there are some joyous moments. Every meal that's sent in is an opportunity to reflect oneself onto the meal. Crafting each segment of a piece is glorifying once a chef perfects it. A lot of pride is instilled in every order and this is a motivating attribute for the occupation. Establishing connections with those around the workplace is another nice feature. Working in an open-kitchen helps enable people-skills because customers are integrated into the experience as well. A friendly environment with co-workers and customers result in an enjoyable workplace on a daily scale.

Typically when I would arrive to work for my 11 am shift, there would be many parts of the restaurant that would have to be cleaned, or certain objects would have to be put away which should have been done the night before when closing the restaurant. Often there would be three servers on for a lunch shift, all three would be scheduled for 11 am, often times I would be the only one to show up on time, the others would show up when they pleased if at all. No one would ever face consequences from the management because the management themselves would not care. Most days the manager working would sit in a locked office and would not do much except take phone calls from upset customers, even if the restaurant was extremely busy and the serving staff needed help. The hardest part of the job was the workload, especially when there was little help from any of the co-workers, for example I could have four tables at once and another server could have just one, I would be trying to do three different parts of the job at once while the other server would be texting or sitting in the kitchen not doing anything. By far the most enjoyable part of the job was the pay. When serving, all the money I made was from tips, I always felt good after working a double shift and walking out with a couple hundred dollars knowing that I earned the money because I worked hard and deserved to get paid for my effort. Overall I did not enjoy working for Bertucci's but I did enjoy the benefits that came from it.

A typical lunch shift was always quick, easy, fun, and manageable. Working 11:45-3:30 (on average) also fit really well into my schedule.

Since the restaurant was located right next to an industrial area, we generally had the same customers for lunchtime (and were busy!). It was nice to be able to build a strong customer base and see friendly, familiar faces from week to week.

I loved management up until my last year there. The general manager that I worked with for the first 4 years of my time there was replaced. My last year working there wasn't awful, and it isn't like the new managers aren't good, it just wasn't the same after that, in my opinion. It disrupted my comfort level of being there and towards the end, I personally was ready to leave. Perhaps, I was just too attached to my familiar situation. I felt that my time there was exhausted and that it was time to move into a different field, more in line with my career.

I did love the food, the atmosphere, and all of my coworkers. Everyone is friendly and there wasn't ever any animosity among the serving team! We always worked well together and helped each other. There is true teamwork at Bertucci's! We were friends both at work and outside of work. My staff was my true family away from home and I would say that that was always the most enjoyable part of the job.

The hardest part of the job is taking on more than you can handle when it is busy, but that is typical with any serving gig.

The rise of virtual restaurants has killed this place. Having 6 restaurants under one building with each having their own menu is one the most stupid ideas I have ever seen. Because the company only cares about the numbers and labor costs, we were consistently understaffed every single day which caused a problem all the time. There was never a day that I felt like we had enough people to get the job done. Only just barely scraping by with what we had and no one would ever leave with a smile on their face. Because of all of this, call-outs were rather common, leaving people like me having to come in on off days just to help them scrape by. Overall, the typical workdays were terrible. While most of the management does care and wants to help you, one of them was always a consistent problem with practically all of the staff and one of the big reasons why this place has such a bad turnover rate, especially in the FOH department. And while we have tried to let higher-ups know plenty of times that they were a problem, since the manager turnover rate is also absolutely terrible, they can't get rid of them so it's just a continuous cycle of mess making the work culture feel awful to be in. When it feels like every time you go into work there's a war, it's not a fun place to be in, and that's what it feels like. Every day was a battle with a bigger war happening in the background. 

I make the Front of House (FOH) schedules every Sunday after I serve and have no complaints with people who request off or need to change their schedule. Every other day, I open the restaurant at 10:30am to ensure the restaurant is ready to go for the entire shift. I primarily work lunches and work Friday and Saturday nights. It is extremely fast-paced and always on the go. I've learned so much in 4+ years at the Christiana, DE location. I have learned how to train and shift supervise and see how the day to day operations look through a managers eyes. Management is great, they expect you to show up each day on time and be ready to be up to companies standards. They all know how to have a good time but work at the same time. My co-workers are the ones who keep me going every day, everyone seems to motivate each other and make it a fun place to work but also a job where it's level between fun and a hard work environment. The hardest part of the job is customer complaints (there are not to many). The most enjoyable part of the job is building customer relationships and seeing them come in each week (1-3 times) to sit in your section and shows you that hard work does pay off.

A typical day at work consisted of my showing up for my shift and clocking in, sometimes immediately getting a table or two even, and sometimes getting none for an hour. I would take orders, put them into the computer, serve the food and drinks (including alcohol). When dinner was over, I took their credit card or their cash and efficiently had them pay for their meal. 
Often times I would be on my feet for 6-7 hours at a time with no breaks, busy or not. It was exhausting work, and my feet hurt constantly.

I learned a lot about alcohol that I did not know before. I had to learn because I had to serve it to the customers. I also learned a great deal of tolerance and patience. My co-workers were very interesting people, and liked to take shortcuts where it was sometimes best not to. 

The restaurant management was poor. The head manager himself was good and strict, but he didn't seem to care as much about the restaurant. And the scheduling manager had a habit of conniving and guilt-tripping people into taking a shift.

Before I left, we got a new manager to do the scheduling, and he was really great actually. I hope that the store will do a lot better now that he's there.

The most enjoyable part of my job I think was getting to meet so many interesting people every day that I worked, especially those that came all the time to eat.

I would start the day reviewing restaurant invoices and petty cash.  Then would answer restaurant and vendor questions as they come in via phone and e-mial.  I would also answer questions from other corporate office departments and managers.  While in this job I have learned about construction and R&M invoice taxes in all east coast and southern restaurants that I deal with.  My co-workers are like family since we have all know each other for at least 10 or more years.  The taxability of invoices and the 1099's were the hardest part of the job to learn as I had to learn these jobs on my own.  The most enjoyable part of the job is the friends I have made in the restaurants as well as the corporate office.  I like the variety of the various jobs I hold, enjoy the Fundraising Co-ordinator position and all the positive feedback I have received not only from the restaurant manangers, but our Area Directiors and Regional Vice Presidents.

The managers at my location had very little communication between themselves. One manager would tell you to do one thing but another would tell you to do a contradicting thing. They also lacked communication to their employees. Managers would often assume a manager had talked to an employee when in reality no one had. They also rarely listened to the employees' side of things and tended to punish unfairly or retaliate. Managers did not know how to do front of house jobs like hosting and carryout but were quick to pick on small things they deemed as mistakes. They were usually unhelpful and when they did help they seemed to be upset that they were needed. Corporate decided it would be a nice idea to change delivery fee policy, meaning that the delivery fee that was charged on catering orders is no longer going to the delivery drivers and employees packing the orders but would go to the corporation.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Bartender 8 salaries reported	$900 per week
To-go specialist 14 salaries reported	$15.43 per hour
Server 11 salaries reported	$22.32 per hour
Pizza cook 5 salaries reported	$18.70 per hour
Line cook 15 salaries reported	$18.27 per hour

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