restaurant manager

sous chef

kitchen manager

prep cook

sales representative

Chicken N Pickle

A typical day at work will be opening up stations, having a pre-shift group talk about updates needed for that particular shifts or new goals to hit. Carry out your duties for the day and you either pass on your duties to whoever is taking over for you, or you close for the night. 

I have learned quite a bit from interactions with coworkers and customers. You learn a lot about yourself in the process. Maybe new things you're willing to put yourself out there for, or even unlock new qualities for yourself moving forward. 

You will learn very quickly in certain situations who is a friend vs just a coworker, who only looks out for themself and not others, who is a team player and who will do whatever it takes to get what they want.

With that being said, so many 16-22+ year old's work there. Relatively young fun group of people. Few of the managers use this and get close to employees in ways they should not be able to, and some of the employees entertain it. The same goes for older staff that hit on the younger peeps and manipulate those younger than them. With every new location that opens up, all the new teams that get built will definitely have the same story that follows; So many young people all come together, excited to work in this new place. Many will use this as an opportunity to try and exploit others and mingle in ways that should not occur in a workplace environment. Countless times have there been instances where people are only seeking out their next hook up, even with managers, instead of what skills need to be learned at the job. At first things are fresh and fun, but that dies out around the 6 month mark. 

The hardest part of the job would be doing anything with the managers not on your side. One small slip up could result in a major loss of hours. They also tend to favor the servers over hospitality. 

The most enjoyable part would be when you interact with any of the friends you hopefully make while being there. 

Chicken and Pickle runs on a tip pool, which is nice in theory when everyone works hard but in reality the knowledge that one can slack off and will still make money off of the effort of others creates a toxic and contagious atmosphere of laziness and subpar work ethic. It takes one person to slack off to create a chain reaction of people not wanting to work their hardest because they feel their coworkers aren’t putting in the same amount of effort they are. Hard working employees will find jobs where they get to keep their own tips in order to not have the money they made be split with those that are slacking. Many of the servers are under 21 and don’t feel the need to work as hard as there is no personal responsibility to make sure all of their bills are paid. This creates a gap in the workforce between those that work hard trying to make ends meet and those that sit around for some easy money and regardless of how little they make there are no consequences as they are provided for by their parents. I personally have struggled for multiple months to pay for basic things like rent and water due to the money I was tipped being put in a tip pool and then being given a fraction of what I earned in tips total. Management has noticed an increase in tips when certain people work but those people that are completely carrying the tip pool on their back are having to essentially tip out those that don’t work as hard on the sole basis that everyone splits the tips for the entire restaurant evenly. Management has tried to fight for their employees but corporate refuses to hear the needs of the restaurant.

As part of the opening team I decided that it wasn’t a good place for experienced restaurant employee like myself. Management was overwhelmed and unprepared, training was unfocused and incomplete and the tip share model, like many other reviews have stated, is best suited for a young server or food runner looking to cut their teeth in the industry. I was on board with the tip share until it was clear the opening was rushed and working through the “kinks”was going to inhibit the new opening earning potential. No NRO goes smoothly, but I feel like the company seemed better suited to operate as an event venue rather than a full service restaurant, apparent when the Banquet and Catering and Pickleball managers were the most knowledgeable and professional Managers on staff. Event days meant better tip share, as every tipped employee received a portion
of banquet gratuities, but there were few events on the books as many basic day to day  operations failed. The bar design in and of itself created a difficult work environment, which only exacerbated the frustration of knowing that as a bartender you did three times the work, simply because you couldn’t properly stock the bar, and a 19 year old drink runner took home the same amount of
money as you. I imagine as more events are booked and things have started to run more efficiently it has gotten better, but my advice is, if you have experience, go somewhere where that directly relates to your compensation…especially not being able capitalize on the “newness.”

The three things that I really did not like.
Tip share
Training
Lack of purpose

I'm biased. I've worked in the food and beverage industry for 10 years. I'm definitely comparing my experience here with other jobs I've had.

If you're entry level and it's your first time working in this type of environment I'm sure it'll be great for you.

I felt over qualified. I've worked in full service, high end, high volume restaurants for quite some time.

At chicken n pickle I felt purposeless. My trainer and I only put 4 to 5 orders in within 4 days. We spent most of the day walking around aimlessly. One day we spent well over an hour in the bathroom just to past time. 

Servers are there just in case someone happens to want something. 90% of the dinners go to the cashier to order.  This affects the potential income greatly.

And, the tips are put in a tip pool. I mean it helps since most of the people go to the cashier to order. But, servers and bartenders are going home with the same amount. I see the bartenders put in significantly more effort while the servers just stand around and avoid management.

I'm sure if I would have given it more of a chance it wouldn't have been so bad overall but I'm just use to traditional serving.

VERY entry level job. Maybe good for high schooler’s first job if they don’t have bills to pay.  They work off Tip pool which means everyone shares everyone’s tips, and don’t seem to care when employees are not “carrying their weight” . They will throw everyone on the tip pool so the company does not have to pay them hourly. Management is all very young, inexperienced and very condescending. Managers only care about their bonuses and don’t seem to care if their employees make money or not, and you are required to do WAY more side work than any other job I have ever worked.  They expect you to work 8 hour shifts and not have a break to eat. I have been in the service industry for over 15 years and this was by far the most corrupt-ran business I have worked for. 10/10 would NOT recommend working for this company if you actually need to make any sort of money. 

So I am a veteran bartender with 10 years experience working and running bars with varying concepts in different states. I was hired by CnP as a bartender. I went to orientation. There were about 150 people there with several managers with different titles, and they explained all of the super corporate rules and policies. I prefer to not work for a corporate restaurant company, but I can live with it.
But when I learned, after going through the entire back ground check and on-boarding process, that not only do they tip-pool with everyone on shift, including cashiers, you will never leave a shift with money. You cannot keep your cash tips. All tips are pooled, then the receive them on your paycheck every 2 weeks. 
If you are trying to become a bartender and gain some experience, it is probably a fine place to work, but no experienced bartender will thrive there.

Those at the executive level are great, as is the owner and founder. As you trickle down the ladder it deteriorates. DEI and Woke culture are very much alive and well here. If that's your thing-you may love it here for a little while. This is a HUGE venue with a lot of moving parts. As a newer company, it's still working out the kinks. The communication from top down is horrible. SOPs change every other week, and sometimes you don't even find out for weeks. The salary is absolutely ridiculous for the work you do. Your workload will be way more than they tell you. There will be NO work/life balance. When you talk about that, it will get worse. Not a good place for female managers  or hourly team members.  This is an ever changing chaotic mess of a place.  RUN-Don't walk away from this place. 

This job is pretty fun, and lively for any bartenders who are trying to start out. It's a full bar where you can learn all your drinks in order to ramp up your bar bible knowledge. Management at the Grand prairie location is fairly easygoing and understanding. During a shift though, don't expect them to be easily accessible. Coworkers are fun but of course you're going to have the hit and miss where those who work, work and those who do not, just tend to slack off. Sadly enough, there is no money in this job. If you're bartending. Bar tips get split amongst bartenders, into a tip pool along with the servers and hospitality. If somebody is not pulling their weight, there will be no money, which happens quite often. There's no way to make a living bartending at the chicken and pickle.

This job can be fun because of the crew members and the friendships you build. Some managers are fun to be around, but overall management and organization need improvement. There was talk about evaluations and possible raises, but many employees are still waiting with little communication. Some positions carry a much heavier workload than others, which can feel unfair. Scheduling is also frustrating because employees struggle to get enough hours, yet new people continue to be hired. If you’re scheduled to leave at a certain time, don’t expect to always leave on time if they need coverage. Getting holidays or important days off can also be difficult. Attendance policies feel inconsistent, as being late often seems to be treated too casually. Overall, the people make it enjoyable, but leadership needs work.

Chicken N pickle is a fun work environment for most positions. The pay is ok depending on the job you have, if you're a server or bartender you'll make good money. If you work in hospitality prepare to get screwed in the pay department. Direct management is great, some very nice managers if you're a good employee. However, the general manager is so bad I wanted to quit on the spot. He makes annoying snarky remarks that aren't helpful in a stressful situation. He completely ruined my time there. Also, prepare to walk a lot so get good shoes and drink water. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Restaurant manager 10 salaries reported	$56,900 per year
Sous chef 7 salaries reported	$58,357 per year
Kitchen manager 17 salaries reported	$61,912 per year
Prep cook 1 salary reported	$17.00 per hour
Sales representative 10 salaries reported	$53,750 per year

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