busser

Charlestons Restaurant

I worked at the Charlestons in Norman, OK for four years. The money for waiting tables was really good on average, with the fall and winter seasons being INCREDIBLY lucrative, but I’d take a sizable paycut each year in the latter part of spring and the summers due to less people eating out in general when there’s good weather, combined with working in a college town that died down quite a bit during the summer holiday break.

Management overall was good, but there was one manager in particular who had a different management style from the other managers, with his being very dictator-like. I would dread working a shift with him—it would make the entire shift very stressful and almost every other server I worked with agreed with me.

I’ve worked at three other restaurants before and Charlestons is very strict in comparison with little room to try to bend or even flex any rules. I would definitely say at Charlestons, the servers are held to a much higher standard than 95% of other restaurants out there, with servers being held to expectations you would typically only experience at the fine dining level of restaurant, so do keep this in mind when applying and don’t expect it to be anywhere near as lax as it is for servers working at the majority of causal dining restaurants. Expectations are high, and you will be held to and expected to meet high standards as well.

Overall Charlestons can be a great place to work at, and I mostly enjoyed my time working there. Charlestons is a great choice of restaurant to wait tables at if you are already an established server and want to increase your income without necessarily wanting to work more hours.

I was employed at this location for approximately 4.5 years. During that time, I consistently maintained good attendance, communicated effectively, and demonstrated reliability with scheduling. When I was ill, I secured appropriate shift coverage or provided documentation as needed. I valued the opportunity to build rapport with regular guests and appreciated the teamwork among many of my coworkers.

My employment ended following a scheduling misunderstanding that occurred while I was traveling, despite verbally communicating my scheduling conflict twice in advance. I was also scheduled for a shift during which management had already intended to terminate my employment, which was not communicated beforehand. This created confusion and caused me to decline other work opportunities, under the belief that I was still scheduled to work. I am aware of similar scheduling communication difficulties having affected other staff as well.

There had been prior instances of scheduling issues, including Mother’s Day 2024, when I requested the day off six weeks in advance due to my partner’s law school graduation. Despite having worked every Mother’s Day for the three previous years, I was still scheduled for a morning shift and had to pay out-of-pocket for coverage. I encountered pushback regarding that shift trade, though similar requests were approved for other employees.

I hope the company considers implementing clearer communication expectations and additional leadership training to better support consistency, transparency, and staff morale.

Despite these challenges, I am grateful for the hospitality and guest service skills I gained, as well as the positive relationships built during my time there.

I had gotten my first job with Charlestons as a hostess, and was hired by the GM at the time. However, because of reasons unbeknowest to me, he ended up quitting about a month after I was hired. Which really sucked because he was a really good GM. Then we got the current GM, and he was alright but almost never interacted with us hostess'. The FOH managers at the time I was hired were wonderful and so supportive, but they quit shortly after the GM left. Then we got a two new FOH managers. And to be completely honest, one of them was the most foul person I had ever met. Super passive aggressive, very much supported favoritism, and overall was one of the two reasons I had quit. 
Aside from the unprofessionalism with the managers not being able to keep their cool when a rush happened, the coworkers I had have remained some of the best friends I have currently. We really only stayed because we had so much fun together, and the paychecks were crazy good.
Also, if they find you to be good at hostessing/bussing/expo, it is INCREDIBLY hard to move up to being a server. It took my friends years to negotiate it. And the only times it is easy to do so is when favortism is involved. 
Overall, the only good experience I've had while working there was with my fellow bussers, servers, bartenders, and even BOH occasionally. I also didn't realize at the time how bad the turnover was in the resteraunt, but you live and learn.

I have worked in the Restaurant business for a total of 15 years.  My EXPERIENCE is unmatched.   I've worked on the East Coast in Restaurants groups that handle MORE business than Charlestons.  I've worked Large parties on a REGULAR.  I've done BANQUET serving as well.  I've been a CLOSER and TRAINER in most Restaurants.   BUT at Charleston NONE of that matters.  I've worked at the one on Merridan.  We had a staff of about 40 servers.   We only had 3-4 Male servers.   My PROBLEM. They would tell me my money would pick up soon EVEN THOUGH I personally watched the SAME servers make money.  I only made 100 dollars on 1 shift.  Most days INCLUDING weekends I walked out with 60 or less.  This even includes the weekend shifts.  Look at the end of the day that amount DON'T pay bills.  I gave it a Month and a half before I had to leave.  DON'T hire people with experience because we are the people that see EVERYTHING.   If you have a STAFF full of people SHARE the wealth.  One server SHOULDN'T make a 150 every shift they work while others are cut in a couple hours after shift started making NO money. 
 Charlestons is NOT that busy.  

I liked everyone I worked with, learned how to deal with unhappy customers. Pretty fun workplace but serious at the same time, professional, wasn't a fan of our host uniform but that didn't bother me too much. Throughout my time working here I grew as an individual and learned so many new things I would never have learned if I didn't work here. One of my favorite parts of working here was it could be dead one minute and slammed the next, it made me want to work harder and help as many people as I could in a short amount of time.

I worked at Charlestons for more than 6 years of my life - I stared as a hostess, then To-go and finally started serving when I turned 20. I have formed amazing relationships with my managers and co-workers thought-out the years and have learned how to succeed in a fast-paced and teamwork environment.

Charlestons is a decent temporary job and I used to enjoy it. However, we recently have got a new manager that make it dreadful and there are a lot of changes being made with little communication so it feels very stressful. If it wasn't for my friendly co-workers I would have left months ago.

Service is top quality and expected and they offer extensive training.  Teamwork is a priority.  Working at Charlestons made me an excellent server and bartender.  It is fast paced; very little downtime and shifts can be long.

What is the best part of working at the company?
There’s always team work involved 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Shifts are short so there isn’t as much time for tips 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It feels like a well oiled machine

Charleston's was a great place to start off as a server. They show you the ropes of serving in an upscale restaurant. You can make descent tips, especially on weekends. You are kept on your toes and the manager's are willing to help out if you make mistakes. (:

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