team member

shift leader

baker

general manager

retail sales associate

Einstein Bros.® Bagels

A typical day at work, unless you get there early just to chill & get you something to eat before work, you're hopping right into work as soon as you get there.
I learned how to multitask more than I thought i already could. Unless you're a Baker, your job description they tell you when you get hired goes right out the window. You're needed wherever needed.
There are like 5 to 7 managers at the location I'm at. I'm not exactly sure why though. Everybody's typically good managers, but after working three jobs before this one & seing how other managers work, I have no problem calling out a couple of the Einstein managers as very lazy. I applaud my managers who do get up & help out but still make sure they push us to want to get our own routine going to get our job done on time so we don't need their help. Me & my coworkers who close the store at this particular store really rely on one another when we do so. We immediately go see ahead of time before it's too late to know who has the most piled on them, & who will be done earliest & have time to come give whoever will be backed up a boost.
That has to be the most enjoyable part of working here, my coworkers. We all help each other out no problem. Yeah if you can knock it out on your own go for it, but if you need help we demand you ask for it. It's like having your own little family for 6 hours out the day.
Now the work we do here isn't hard at all. Anybody hired is perfectly capable of doing anything thrown at them.
It's the customers who determine how your day goes.  Some customers come in smiling, order, eat, come back & thank you. Even when you mess up their order sometimes like forgot to take out the onions, they still don't mind they just come back & let you know, you apologize & fix it, & they thank you again with the same smile. Then you have the customers who think they are entitled to everything, or con artist, or just overall difficult.
The main one problem I really didn't like is that there is no consistency at this place. You're schedule is always changing. One week you're closing the whole week, then the next two weeks you're working like 4 doubles & you're still only off friday.  Also you have to take a lunch break if you work more than 5 hours. So I'm working only 5 hours a day instead of 6 or 7 so i can't take one, & so they make sure I still have a lot of hours I'm only off once a week. Where I'm from you don't get a lunch break if you work less than 8 hours, so they're wasting their time doing all that with me.

A few of the pros are free coffee from the coffee pots, free soda, and a 50% discount on meals. The menu items and their next bi-monthly/quarterly gimmick items are quick and easy to learn. The coworkers, the company manuals, and "cheat sheets" will get you out of a bind if you forget something important. There are some benefits that the store offers but its up to you if it sounds like a good deal. If you get everybody's good side, they'll treat you well.

Now for some cons... First and foremost, pay is minimum wage hourly. You'll only see a bigger number in your paycheck when you're working in management. Pay raises are practically a mythical legend unless if there is a minimum wage change.

The customers can either be really grateful to have received their food, or they can be the worst part of your day by complaining that something was missing or if there is a hair on it. They would sometimes go to the extreme lengths of throwing it at you and/or get a snippy attitude. Their orders can get ridiculous as well, especially when you are responsible for helping other coworkers assembling them one by one while multitasking on another order or preparing the ingredients for it.

The coworkers can be your good friends, good acquaintances, memorable, pure scumbags, or forgettable. My manager before he left out of state was one of the best guys I know. The new manager that took over is okay on a positive note. A few of the long lasting team members remained and I'm still lucky to have them around. As for the cons, you're going to be seeing some people that doesn't exactly make the ideal team you would hope for. A few coworkers I used to work with got fired for stealing from the store safe during their closing shifts. Another coworker refuses to take people's orders unless someone else is a younger and prettier woman. I won't get into further details, so lets leave it at that. A majority of the people that would get hired would  leave almost instantly and be replaced by someone else within a week at most.

Just have a backup plan if working at Einstein's doesn't work out.

While the staff is comforting, and the managers themselves are very friendly, you are consistently over worked and under paid, as well given an inconsistent schedule. The store can be consistently busy during certain days of the week, and minimum wage just doesn't justify the amount of work you are put through. Hours are very inconsistent. Staff somehow manages to be perpetually too small, even though new hires are received every month, go figure. You will be called to cover shifts...an hour before they need you. There are many times where you will be called at 7:00 am to be asked to work at 8:30 am. While this isn't necessarily an issue as employees should be dependable, it is however, ridiculous how often you can be called in for, and you are not warned ahead of time that they will do this to you. You will also be guilt tripped for refusing to come in. They can increase your hours without notice, this would be an issue of communication. If these circumstances are just presented to the employee ahead of time, it would be manageable to prepare for them. It gets incredibly exhausting to have your schedule constantly disrupted to cover more shifts when it's done at the last minute.

Strangely enough, lunch isn't free, it is however discounted. Even though most restaurants offer free meals to their employees, this company apparently is a bit stingy, but management gets free meals for some reason.

Overall, staff and managers are very friendly, but hours can be inconsistent, your personal schedule (being the hours you aren't scheduled for) isn't respected as much as it should be, you will most definitely be over worked for minimum wage pay (if you're just customer service), lunch isn't free (not a huge issue, but one that shouldn't be present in the first place), and your schedule can be changed without warning.

In a typical day working at Einstein Bros. Bagels, every employee was required to do a variety of different tasks, including taking customer orders, making bagel/sandwich/drink orders, running the cash register, bringing food to customers, answering the telephone, and keeping the restaurant clean. Working here, I learned great teamwork skills, as there were always several people working at once and working well together was a must; if we did not, food orders took too long from placement of order to the customer receiving their order. We were required to adhere to a strict time limit in that regard, which was enforced primarily by color coded headings on the digital screens on which the orders appeared to those in charge of creating them. When the restaurant was very busy, the making of orders was assembly line style, so one had to work fast and accurately so that orders would not be made incorrectly or take too long. 

Management was decent, though quite rigid in procedure due to the corporate chain nature of the restaurant. For the most part, my coworkers were nice and friendly people, easy to work with. There were a couple of exceptions, who seemed to go out of their way to be unpleasant or childish in attitude and work ethic.

The hardest part of working here was attempting to upsell customers to purchase larger sizes or other items to go with what they had already ordered -- not everybody has the temperament to do that or to do well at that.

The most enjoyable part of the job was the great coworkers that I had, as well as working with said coworkers to seamlessly get the orders out to the customers. A few of us had really fantastic teamwork.

I worked Monday through Fridays 5am-1:30/3pm. Every morning I would go into the shop and prepare all the food that will be put in the displays to be sold. Fruit cups, Orange Juice, Blackberry Lemonade, Salads, Veggies Sauces and Meats to be put on the line. About and average of 30-60 items a day to prepare. I would prepare all the necessary items to item our store at 6 am. Morning goodies, and as the day prolonged I would typically finish my prep work around 10. Our lunch rush started normally around 11:30 am, and I would either be up running the cash register, making hot/cold beverages, and smoothies or working on the line, and also making beverages. I loved how busy I was when I worked in this cafe. If I wasn't prepping or serving I was cleaning and scrubbing walls and floors. My days went relevantly fast, and I felt I earned the money I was being paid. 

Einstein Bagels opened on Randolph Air Forced Base October 26 and there were 6 of us setting up the cafe and getting the shop ready. I learned a lot about cooking and preparing recipes real quick and fell in love with it. I enjoyed my job to the fullest extent. Holiday seasons would come through and new recipes would always be fun to learn. I would also volunteer to work at the events down in the BX and dress up for all the kids. As time went on new employees came and went, and it came down to only me and another employee were the only ones that could be relied on. I would go beyond everything I had to help keep things going smoothly. I started working way over time and my boss wouldn't pay for it. Couldn't pay me for it, because Einsteins was put in the secured AFPC building and wouldn't make enough money as it was. Everything was stressful, and was one of my first real jobs. I learned a lot on how to deal with the pressure and keep everything going smoothly.

As a GM for the company, a day at work is never ending. From calls at 10pm that a baker is unavailable to work their 230 (or earlier) shift due to illness, you must find someone to work (which is nearly impossible at that time of night) or work the shift yourself, which was usually the outcome. The district manager is rarely seen and spends time at home (or wherever) watching the daily activities through the video cameras throughout the store. Finding quality people to add to staff is nearly impossible given the amount of work expected, the wage given to them, and the endless excuses for not allowing raises. The company continued to take benefits away from employees as time went on, as far as granting paid vacation for employees, then extending the time they had been employed to get the paid vacation, even taking it away from employees who had started receiving it. I loved my co-workers (those I had hired) and did my best to show my loyalty to them which kept them around despite their low wage and lack of benefits. I learned a lot of great things with this company considering I had to figure everything out myself with slim to no help from my supervisor. The most enjoyable part of the job was regular guests that returned daily and were grateful for the customer service given to them even though upper management didn't seem to notice or care. The benefits (given to assistant managers and up) were great. Health, dental and vision benefits at a good price that didn't seem to fluctuate with Obamacare, great PTO, disability insurance, sick leave (in city of Seattle), etc were awesome, given that you ever had the ability to use them. As a GM, you were required to ensure all shifts were covered, no matter what was going on in your life (sick, sick child, working 80 hour weeks etc).

A typical day at work would be coming in making sure the coffee bar is stocked for the early bird customers, stock the coolers, get the food prep line ready and lids off products, flip the food in the prep area so your not serving dried out food, keep up with the customer rushes and maintain a stocked lobby (coolers, coffee bar, chip baskets), keep tables cleaned, make espresso drinks. When it slows down a little bit you do some dishes, sweep and mop the back of the store daily. When you close you have to clean up the coffee bar sweep mop the lobby, stock coolers and chips, shake out floor mats and dump the leftover creamers and iced coffees and teas, clean the espresso machine, clean the food prep line and stock it within a half hour, I would say this is the hardest part of the job because if you don't rush you won't finish but if you don't put out quality work your not gonna have a job for long. You really have to priortize and multi task to get everything done in time. I enjoy my co workers very much except for one who isn't good at giving constructive criticism it was hard when I first started the job because his comments would make you feel bad about yourself and he wouldn't help you fix what you were doing wrong. The most enjoyable part of the job would be working alongside my Manager, she is one of the nicest most kind hearted women I have ever met and is always trying to help her empoloyees improve themselves. I also really enjoy the customer service I never thought making quality breakfast and coffee for people could make them so happy, it always makes my day knowing I help hundreds of people leave happier than when they came into the store.

 Shift Manager (Since 2009)
Promoted to assist in the overall management of daily restaurant operations during college semester and summer breaks.
 Supervise and train a team of 12 associates to ensure duties are completed, and quality food is served in a friendly manner.
 Open and close the restaurant following cash, security, inventory, quality, cost control, and labor policies and procedures.
 Greet and engage with customers, and maintain comprehensive product knowledge to ensure a positive experience.
 Manage daily safe counts and bank deposits, complete end-of-day operations and system reports.
 Ensure the highest product quality and superior service by immediately resolving any issues.
 Maintain a safe, secure, fun and healthy environment with the highest sanitation standards in compliance with all codes.
Cashier/Food Prep./Runner/Opener/Closer (2005 to 2009)
A part-time position while attending High School to provide superior customer service and teamwork.
 Greeted and served customers with quality food and an exceptional service experience; assisted in ensuring a clean, safe,
and well-organized restaurant; demonstrated basic knowledge of menu and promptly solved customer concerns.
 Provided friendly, fast, and accurate processing of cash and credit sales and return transactions; trained new associates.
 Generated incremental sales through suggestive selling and interacting with customers; handled opening & closing duties.
 Consistently followed standards and guidelines; maintained proper food handling, safety, sanitation, and portion control

I've been working at this company for almost 3 years now. The general manager is really great and I really enjoyed majority of my coworkers. It was literally like a little family to me. Also the store itself and working there is really easy. Hours are great because you're never there past 6 and some other stores close at 3. It's really easy work too. You just make food, drinks, talk to customers and just make sure everything is stocked, claned and provide a good experience. We then got an new district manager who I say has changed the entire atmosphere of the company in my district and our store. They also have gotten a new corporate manager I believe who has avoided our store but visits others. Our manager is now constantly stressed because it does appear that the DM holds their job above their head. They also promote a stressful, strict type of atmosphere as well and it has now caused everyone to feel like if they mess up even a little (we're human) then we lose our jobs. It is the worst feeling ever and so far most of the employees are looking for other places to work. Another thing, the customer is not always right but to corporate, it is. This has resulted in verbal abuse and aggression by customers even over them smallest items, which then results in stress and mental break downs by several employees. No one seems happy anymore and it makes me very upset. We've had the same manager for several years and same staff. But now it's all changing and no one wants to stay here. They cant even seem to keep any employees longer than several months because it's just absolutely stressful. We have new employees who start and then they leave. No wonder several stores are closing down too. If the company wants to stay together, they desperately need help.

I worked here back in 2016-2017. I really enjoyed working here for the most part. I just had a really bad supervisor. My manager was great though. After about 3 months I was promoted to shift leader and he even said he thought I was Associate Manager material. So if I would have stayed I probably would have went up in the company. I worked full time and basically did everything. I would take the orders, check people out and then either make their drinks or sandwiches or bagels. At the end of the day (which was like 5 pm for Einsteins) I would count the money and clean up and sanitize the store. 

It was hard because the team I had didn't work together well and they really didn't listen to me or follow my direction and the people below me would sometimes go in the back and just dilly dally leaving most of the work to only me and 2 other girls. Those 2 girls were still in high school and did not really do anything I said so at the end of the day I was left with most of the work. Which made me exhausted all the time. I wouldn't have minded if I didn't have the WORST supervisor of all time. He was beyond lazy, was dating and kissing one of my coworkers in the back daily during work hours and he would belittle me and criticize me in front of customers.

When I told my manager about the problems I had with my coworkers instead of doing something about it he told me to confront the problems head on. So I did this and for the next 3 months things were okay but after getting so fed up with my supervisor I told my manager and he took my supervisors side even after all that. So feeling unsupported, I quit that night and never went back. 

I heard that supervisor is gone so it might be a decent place to work now. I don't know?

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Team member 701 salaries reported	$16.61 per hour
Shift leader 687 salaries reported	$16.26 per hour
Baker 258 salaries reported	$17.04 per hour
General manager 328 salaries reported	$63,292 per year
Retail sales associate 77 salaries reported	$14.37 per hour

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