kitchen team member

restaurant staff

caterer

assistant manager

server/cashier

City-Barbeque

City Barbeque is a perfect place for your first job as the people there make you comfortable immediately. I have made friends there that I continue to talk to. The management is also filled with amazing people that are really kind and understanding. That’s what makes it difficult to point out how bad they are at managing. I found it difficult for me to achieve a consistent amount of work in a week and sometimes management can be forgetful. I knew that they were understaffed when I worked there and I brought on two of my friends to help remedy that, but despite that we were still understaffed. My work hours would be a lot higher than I would request and if you wanted something to change like the amount of days you wish to work, it could take weeks and even months to see that change occur. The pay I received there was good to start, but as I became a lot better at my job, I noticed that the quality of work I put in is worth a lot more than what I was paid. I never received a raise after nearly a year of work. There are benefits however, they’ll usually let you eat completely free and drink free too, generosity like this is rare and it’s a big plus. Despite that, it’s a great place to start, you will have good times with the people there and it takes your mind off of the work you have to do.

Like most restaurant jobs, we were always understaffed and under-appreciated. The management's solution to that was to make each worker that stayed do the jobs of two or more people. Lots of internal conflict among management. A typical day will include at least one person calling in, with no one to fill in for them. Some nights we barely got by and would have to stay way past closing hours. Many employees would just stop showing up. Managers treated certain employees with favoritism. The employees who did a bad job were assigned easy positions, and the hard workers would be punished by taking on more work. Managers always sided with the customers and put all the blame on the employees. The GM was rude and unprofessional towards the crew, and was surprised when several good workers and managers walked out on this job. Certain managers who always caused the same problems should have been fired a long time ago. Those managers would just stand around on their phone and cause unnecessary drama. The job interview was deceptive, you could get hired for one position and start working in another position that you didn't sign up for. Inconsistent hours, no time for breaks, taking advantage of the employees, no room for advancement, etc., the list goes on.

This was my first job and I was basically thrust into the working experience. I had never done anything restaurant-related in my life, let alone for an official job. I had no proper training. We essentially were taught how to make lemonade and where things generally were but that was it. It was months until I even knew how to change the toilet paper in the bathroom because no one told me how and showed me where anything was at. My coworkers were frustrated with me, rightfully so, but instead of seeing me through it, they just assumed I should just get better. The managers were okay and were definitely more patient than the employees but they hardly communicated with each other which would lead to a lot of gossiping behind people's back instead of mature discussion. I did have some coworkers who liked me and tried to help me improve but no one would literally talk to me, let alone help me if I was noticeably struggling. I asked for a new visor because I couldn't stand the given workhat they gave me and that took a week or two for me to even get it though I asked multiple times. I would then be admonished for not wearing a hat and only a hairnet but no one would just give me a visor! I asked for a new shirt and though new workers had ready access to new shirts, it took another two-three weeks for me to get a shirt that actually fit. 

I would not work here if you aren't willing to work yourself to exhaustion or sacrifice your dignity for the sake of money. There is a certain manager who works at this specific location that barely talks and does not know how to lead a team. If you're a prepper, you can forget about getting any guidance from this person or any help from this person on days when the workload is too much for you as this person isn't even good at prep at all despite being a manager. If you make a mistake, you risk this person writing you up for it, despite again not doing much to jump in an help you to make sure the job gets done (which may still be fair depending on the circumstances). But if you really struggle enough working under this person and make lots of mistakes due to being overwhelmed from lack of help, you might just end up getting yelled at, swore at and asked to leave. Never mind the crazy hours you can be stuck working if your workload is crazy for the day and you're all by yourself.

I worked at City Barbecue for 2 years and some months and even was there when we first opened. Watched the building get build everyday to finally apply. I loved this job from the time I started, it didn’t even feel like work. The first year was great until our GM transferred and our AGM stepped in. I was promoted to be a certified trainer and I was in this role for a year. As I was a minor I was not able to be gone a manger so I waited. They were not willing to lose me as front of the house trainer so I was never able to get promoted or even learn a different position. After two years of working here the AGM told me I was fired, after not showing up to my shift that was covered that he KNEW about. Never been written up the two years I was there. I lost my job during the COVID 19 season. And was devastated since I had just had a baby and I basically lived at this job. I loved my job, and it was taken away from me so very unprofessionally. When we tried to contact HR about the situation they said our district manger would be in contact and never once reached out nor did HR ever try contacting me back again after that. The company is suppose to “Stay True” but they do not. I would not recommend this job to anyone. You won’t get promoted. The management is so unprofessional. They take short cuts for everything. 

I was an outside hire as a shift manager. We agreed that I would make a certain hourly wage that would increase after 2 months. Not only has my pay not increased after 6 months, but it actually has been 50 cents less per hour than we agreed on my starting date. On top of not getting paid what we agreed, my job as a manager is the exact same as the high school students that we pay to take orders and maintain the front area. I am excluded from the dialogue with the other managers to the extent that I could not accurately gauge my role with the company until at least 3 months in based on a conversation with another manager/coworker. "I am supposed to just stay up front". My goal when taking this job was to grow my potential and gain management experience. Not only did this company not meet my expectations with my compensation or my personal growth, they stood in the way of my attempts to take on more responsibility. I have made the bests of my time here, and learned what I could from the experience. Most of the employees are great people, but the general consensus from the whole staff is that you cannot rely on transparency from the management about raises or promotions.

What is the best part of working at the company?
It was nice to be treated as if you were family in the beginning. That quickly changed for most of the employees at that location. Not sure if every restaurant was this way or if it was just this location???

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The location I worked at was the 1st one to open in northeast Ohio. All other locations had only been throughout the Columbus area. So once we had our grand opening the line was very long, out the door , people just couldn’t wait! It was like that from open to close day after day! It was kind of hectic and sometimes got to be complete chaos!

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment was well thought out. Many tools ,like equipment but also training , information available to read, safe environment, friendly, team work. The culture I was made to believe was “family oriented “, mom/pop type culture. It didn’t last but maybe 2-3 months.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Lots of standing, walking, talking to customers and employees, helping out wherever help was needed.

When I first began working for this company I was excited about the growth potential and the culture that seemed to exist across the markets.  Over a three year period the company has endured a major cultural shift and a complete turnover in leadership.  The vision and focus has shifted to a bottom line driven mentality without regard to the effect the extreme pressure has had on it's team members.  It is truly unfortunate that the changes made have not been positive for the people that work there and for those that have been passionate about the food, service and culture for so long.  The trust has simply diminished and the team members fear for their jobs every day.  This has led to poor decisions, a declining morale and a toxic work environment.  When people no longer feel protected by their employer and safe at work - business will always take a turn for the worse. In the end - I feel so disappointed in the path the leadership has chosen. I honestly hope that this will change for City BBQ because the food is amazing and there are plenty of wonderful people that work there who deserve to feel safe, valued and happy.

City Barbeque has a unique way of motivating their employees to want to do better in and for the company by giving them abilities and powers that would otherwise be denied to employees in other restaurant chains. The most notable one would be the "$100 rule". If for whatever reason there was a mix-up with an order, either we, as the employees, messed up on our end or simply the customer decided last minute that what he/she ordered was not exactly what he/she wanted, then we could switch said item or comp it at no cost to the customer and without immediate manager approval. This led to increased ticket times and overall improved customer satisfaction as long as the rule was being used properly and not abused. However, in my experience, customer's were so excited that there wasn't such a hassle in switching and didn't have to jump through any hoops to get what they wanted, they did not abuse the rule themselves, making the overall experience of the restaurant that much more enjoyable.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The free food was the biggest perk. The hours were also very nice. It was very rare to be there past 10:15pm

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not enough people working to handle the volume. Managers more concerned about labor than providing quality service to patrons 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is stressful. They expect 1 or 2 people to do the work of up to 5. Years ago we had at least 4 people on every shift plus a manager or 2. When I left it was usually 1 or 2 employees and 2 managers working per shift

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I was an opener. Arrived at 8. Prepped coleslaw, banana pudding, cucumbers. Portioned potato salad. Took down chairs in dining room. Checked caterings and prepared caterings. Stocked sodas and dining room. All of this before 11 and usually alone. Then for the next 5 hours i would take orders, prepare orders, answer phones and make catering bags

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Kitchen team member 1322 salaries reported	$16.42 per hour
Restaurant staff 1295 salaries reported	$15.52 per hour
Caterer 540 salaries reported	$24.67 per hour
Assistant manager 118 salaries reported	$21.52 per hour
Server/cashier 46 salaries reported	$15.44 per hour

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