paralegal

truck driver

accounting manager

server

senior risk analyst

Brinker International Inc

What is the best part of working at the company?
This company has changed so much over the years. It used to be a frat place to work. I loved my job and managing my team was a welcome challenge. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
After Covid, the brand became money hungry. The focus on quality, integrity, and the overall fun vibe were sucked out of the job. It was all about squeezing as much as possible out of everyone, regardless of the impact on the person. I did not receive a positive word from my boss for the last two years nor any actual help facing staffing crisis after staffing crisis after distribution crisis. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Extremely physically taxing. You will not be focusing on your job so much as doing the grunt work of all the other positions while being held accountable for everything that happens, regardless of your level of control. You will be mentally and physically taxed and pushed beyond acceptable limits because your personal well-being is meaningless. Which may come as a surprise from a company that makes it look like they care so much about their employees. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Show up to work with a huge stack of problems. Find out how many people have called out and spend a few minutes figuring out what you’re game plan is. Rush to complete your required tasks and then spend the entire shift as a line cook and dishwasher because you don’t have any of those team members. Get blow back about not being engaged with guests from the boss. Deal with angry guests because of the wait time. Close the kitchen by yourself and then wash all the dishes. If it was an open shift, you set the line up by yourself and probably did all the prep, too.

I have made some life long an  invaluable connections with some of my team members, who have taught and shown  how and what it means to have compassion, strong leadership skills, among many valuable lessons and experiences that I will always cherish.  Some extreme circumstances I have encountered while employed in this company have taught me a lot about myself and what it  takes to truly be a team player and help coach/lead by example and hold true to your word through action, accountability and empathy. 
Many shifts are not organized and left unprepared for the operations of the shift. 
 Employees look for support or leadership when handling certain procedures or challenges that need to be done in a manner that is consistent no matter who completes the task and/ or proper procedures. The last year of my employment  a few of us took on did the duties an responsibilities of 5 to 6 different positions during every shift. We would come in ready to take on whatever challenges as effectively and  with a positive attitude an motivation in doing all we could as a team when we have been severely understaffed, overworked and severely burnt out, with very little if any acknowledgement or appreciation for going well above and beyond the high quality standards and expectations of all who we came in contact with and provided services for. 


A typical day at work for the people who actually worked hard and did their part (which is surprisingly a low number) would be to come in early for your shift to ensure you were set up for success, and then work the lunch/dinner rushes you were scheduled for strait through, no to minimal breaks. In many long years of working there, I did learn some invaluable things such as customer service experience, financial transaction experience, food handling laws and regulations, and most importantly, how to be a strong, capable member of a large "team". Management are generally very easy going, nice people who work pretty hard to please the guests, however this easy going attitude made them lack when it came to reprimanding those who did less than their fair share and those who out-right didn't do their jobs at all. Which, for anyone who is a hard worker, is extremely frustrating. Co-workers weren't all bad, but the vast majority were allowed to get away with laziness and incompetence on a daily basis, which can be difficult to deal with on a daily basis. The hardest part of the job would've been the sometimes long hours on your feet with no breaks, and the stress that stems from a constantly fast-paced environment, with little help from your supposed "team". The most enjoyable part would have to be the people who you became close to and who became a family. Pretty much 99% of the people I now know have come from chili's at one point or another.

Most days would consist of receiving emails that we are told give “clear direction, preparation and support”.  What happens is the emails are vague at best, usually something changes within a week without warning.  That’s it in a nutshell. 
Also, managers (of which I was one) are expected to give superior service through staff, while coaching them, all the while maintaining a labor budget (ours was 19%) that is impossible to run and give the level of service that’s expected. Bonuses are based on sales growth and AvT (actual versus theoretical) which is food cost, etc. and then scores from guests’ surveys act as a way for them to bonus managers less. There’s another problem with the guests’ surveys, which are based on a 1 through 5 scale. Problem is that one of the things they’re asked to agree with is “ the restaurant is clean and well maintained”, which is an “agree or disagree” scenario; if they answer 2, 3 or 4, it counts as “not clean”, which makes for skewed data. The list genuinely goes on and on. Most days we would speculate that Chili’s doesn’t know what’s happening at, or how to effectively run, their restaurants. 

The job itself wasn't bad, come in, serve others, clock out, and go home. However, management was TERRIBLE. In the beginning, they act like your best friend. But, overtime you realize they just pick and choose favorites.. and if you aren't their favorite, you're gonna be miserable. They're overly biased, and will treat you differently than others if they don't favor you. Will fire you just to do it. And don't get me started on how they NEVER have the proper amount of staff on busy days, yet they would be overstaffed on slower days. Busy days were horrid, and they expected you not to cry by the end of your shift. They'll curse you out for no reason, you dare to make one small mistake and the whole team is coming after you, and do not cry. You will be the laughing stock of the entire place if you shed just one tear. This place is filled with a bunch of narcissists and hypocrites as a management team. Only one manager was ever even a good one.. the others are just terrible. They also expect you to know everything without barely doing any training and get mad if you don't do every small thing perfectly. 

This job was overly stressful as well as unreliable. It’s pretty much an “every man for himself” workspace. You get training, but it’s fast and crammed into you. If you slack off in the slightest and need help, you’re made to feel like you’re useless. Management is mostly unresponsive and plays favorites. Unless you have worked for years with the company, and are close with management personally, you won’t get scheduled. Even if you spend time in your personal life to learn things for work and improve to perfection the way you perform your job, you will not be able to rely on management to schedule you. IF YOU NEED MONEY, DO NOT RELY ON THIS JOB TO SCHEDULE YOU. No matter how often you ask for hours, management will not schedule you or even answer unless you are close with them personally. After a month working with the company, I went three weeks without being scheduled. I contacted management several times each week and asked for work, however each time I would be told not to worry or wouldn’t even receive an answer. I ended up sending in my two weeks notice on the fourth week of not being scheduled. 

I had worked for this company a little past 4 years before I finally left after countless failed  attempts at any progression within the company. The amount of work that was put on me was never nearly what I was being paid for. I was doing the works of an assistant manager without the title or the pay no matter how many times I was promised a promotion and pay raise. Management won't care for your personal life or problems happening within the company. Management will also cut your hours short any chance they get to save on labor. They will hire you as a "full time" employee but only give you hours of part time. It's like pulling teeth trying to get extra hours without having to work doubles 4 days in a row or taking from someone else. They will hire someone for a server position and then not even give it to them but instead put you in to go "for training" but will give the server position to someone else in the restaurant. They offer to pay for your associate's degree, but its very limited to a few career areas that align with working in the restaurant industry. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part is the head manager, he works just as hard as everyone else. I ha e been working at my Chili's since April 2022 & enjoy it.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
I am a Hostess, sometimes I have to put it on a 10 somes 30 minute wait. The stressful part is when guests who verbally voice out their angry in a very upsetting way towards me. It makes me feel overwhelmed sometimes, especially when it is a large group of people & on a very busy day/night.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very diverse,  understanding,  helpful, even my managers & team members ask how I am doing especially during a shift. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
When I arrive at work I'm always greeted by the cooks or managers, I clock in, then begin to sanitize then roll silverware. Then, I clean menus, put un batteries for the small table tablets, I also make sure the tables/booths are clean & have Ketchup-Salt-Pepper, I try to have this all done before the doors are open at 11am. During the shift, I help bus & clean tables, clean cup/silverware near the dishpit, refill ice if needed, restock napkins/silverware.

I worked for maggianos for a year before I finally said forget it. I worked Thursday to Sunday doubles every week. And if the company who thinks ypu did something you never did, they won't believe a word you say. They think if a guest doesn't like something and you take it off, it means you steal from them. If you do you job, you get fired. I highly recommend not working for brinker. Management and employers are awesome though. But hrinker is full of idiots. Literally. Thwy will harass you if you comp off a mozzarella if the guest doesn't like it. Im sorry, but I must be the only.one who gets something off their bill if you don't like something at a restaurant. Don't work for brinker! They don't even help you during a pandemic!!! I quit!!! Get blamed for stuff I never did, get my stuff taken from employees and got told TFB, but management is awesome. Thye make billions of dollars a year and they harass you over mozzarella sticks a guest didnt like. It almost makes me sick that lmao

I had the opportunity to begin my career with Brinker and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I had opportunities to develop, grow and promote, as well as leadership exposure and challenging assignments to grow both personally and professionally.

The culture at Brinker is described as "work happy", or "work hard, play hard", which is absolutely true. Leaders care about their team members and continuously show it, there are always fun events happening and opportunities to get involved beyond just your job description. 

For anyone considering employement with Brinker, I would highly suggest it, but know that you get out of it what you put into it. Buy into the culture and attend all of the cultural events because it will pay off. 

I will say it can be a fast-paced environment, but that's the nature of the restaurant industry. The only watch-out I would give is that a team member's experience can vary greatly from department to department.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Paralegal 3 salaries reported	$100,750 per year
Truck driver 2 salaries reported	$25.00 per hour
Accounting manager 2 salaries reported	$97,650 per year
Server 1 salary reported	$25,000 per year
Senior risk analyst 1 salary reported	$90,817 per year

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