restaurant manager

cook

server

busser

line cook

First Watch

This job has great potential, don’t come here if you have health issues or need to eat during your 10 hour shift before you pass out, especially in a boh position! I’m very disappointed in the opportunity and beautiful potential this company has and my job here holds. It honestly makes me sad to want to leave and have days where I feel like I need to walk out and not look back because of how me, and coworkers health and well being is neglected. I’m very professional at my job and feel bad when I see coworks walk out left and right and not come back and feeling like I need to follow. I’ve never been treated as replaceable at any job I’ve worked at. We are not treated fairly and if you feel horrible, sick, like you are about to pass out or throw up make sure it’s not busy! Or you will get talked down to. Once you want to eat or get the opportunity, it’s always the wrong time even if it’s during the time your told your supposed to, in the place your supposed to do it but not everyone gets told your wrong and not to do something. Even if people including management goes out for a smoke break. The favoritism from the management is horrendous and so easy to see when your not one. If your new and haven’t gotten the hang of what your doing prepare to be talked down to by some coworkers like your unintelligent. 2 black coats have transferred to my location and have been working with the company for over 4 years and one wants to quit and the other wants to go to another location. And no location is good I’ve heard. The rest are even worse actually, One of my coworkers walked out after being disgustingly disrespectful to me saying it wasn’t his fault (when all I said was please stop talking to me like that I’m tired of you talking to everyone like that) but my manager I went to trying not to cry kept asking me if I was ok for the rest of the day and she will forever have my respect for that! Probably one of the only good things I’ve actually experienced besides the actual friends I’ve made. This is the type of place that if your good at your Job but are a horrible person and coworker to be around you will be fought for because no one else wants to stay at a dysfunctional place like this otherwise, but you would think if your hard to work with you would be let go for making everyone leave? Sadly, not everyone will be fought for because if you don’t agree with how things are run your better off leaving. It’s very sad to hear how many people plain to walk out one day but just haven’t and don’t know why they stay when they deal with so many problems everyday. To hear when someone says they worked with this company for 4/5/6/7 years and you ask them why they say “you know, I don’t know” or “I’m plaining on leaving I can’t take it anymore” “I just never left” is actually shocking. I’m at the point in my life where I can’t put up with toxic people and jobs anymore and jobs come and go, opportunities are never ending. If management was better this company would be unstoppable!! Fantastic concept and super fun when your with your favorite coworkers. It’s a great day when your with the people that don’t treat you badly.
Another fantastic thing is at my location if your the last one on prep you won’t be getting any help for the rest of the day and might stay as long as dish does and that could be 5pm sometimes or longer, as long as you have dishes, your working. If we’re busy and everyone has to go to the line don’t expect managers to help you on prep but they will totally help dish! Even if up to 5 people are on dish, some arnt even dish workers but cooks and managers (completely unnecessary believe me) and be looked over at throughout the day saying “wow you still arnt done!? You need to be done in 30 minutes” on things that are impossible to get done in that amount of time but won’t help you for any reason. They have better things to do. Expectations for things you may not even know how to do yet are extremely high and outrageous. Inhumanly possible. 

I worked at First Watch for over a year and the longer I was there, the more my mental health declined. When I was first hired, there were 2 other hosts and a cashier but a few months in, the 2 hosts left the company and the cashier began to suffer with back problems and despite this sudden loss in employees, replacements were never hired. I worked weekends and after the loss in employees, I dreaded going to work every second on the weekdays. On Saturdays, I would host while the cashier would check out leaving customers but he was unable to run errands or deal with delivery orders because of his health so, where he struggled, I'd have to fill in while also dealing with mass amounts of people wanting to be seated and already seated customers complaining about the kitchen. On Sundays, it was worse. People and their large families would come in after church along with our regular customers which made the waitlist extremely long because they'd all come in at the same time. There was usually less servers on Sundays along with less kitchen staff which made the wait list even more difficult to deal with considering the kitchen staff with regular numbers were slow enough with getting orders out (45 minutes - 1 hour and a half). While having to deal with the treacherous waitlist and numerous complaining families, I'd also have to buss tables because we'd only have one busser on Sundays, when we'd usually have 2-3, and the busser would disappear from the property for 30 minutes to two hours multiple times during the shift so I'd have to pick up after him due to the fact management wouldn't fire him or get a replacement because they had personal connections with eachother. Every single Sunday, when it would slow down at the end of the day, I'd sneak in to the bathroom to have a breakdown and sob for 3 minutes due to the unbearable feeling of being overwhelmed and physically, emotionally, and mentally drained before I had to get back out there to complete my closing tasks. While all the other employees would be able to sit down to eat or chat with eachother at the end of the day, I'd still be running around to make sure everything got done. It was rare when I would get a break because everytime I sat down or took a breath for myself, staff would yell for me to complete some type of task. Also, at the time I was 15 and 16 working 6-8 hour shifts with no break. Even without a break and doing my absolute best, I'd sometimes end up being one of the last people to leave. I'd also rarely be able to take a day off because there was no one who'd be able to fill in for me. I'd have to miss out on birthdays, school events, social gatherings, appointments, and most importantly, being able to mourn my brother on his death anniversary.
The things that stopped me from leaving sooner was that the food was incredible, the servers and other bussers would quickly become your friends and make the day feel a little less crazy at the end of day, and the management treaded you like you were their family. I started to love my job again when I was moved to becoming a part of the kitchen staff on Saturdays and promised of being able to make it a permanent position but that didn't end up happening. I was shortly moved back to becoming a host and the kitchen position was filled by someone else because they were unable to find someone to replace me as a host. 
However, when they finally were trying to hire hosts, I'd find out they were getting paid more than me while having little to no experience at all and I'd be the one who was the training them. That was the final straw for me.

It’s genuinely not too hard of a job. I just started a few days ago but it’s very straightforward. I don’t ever enjoy the back and leg pain the last couple days but i’m sure that’ll subside with more reps and days. Getting $16 an hour to wash and put dishes, pans, tuba-ware, metal bowls away is not too bad. It is long though. I’ve worked the last two days (friday and saturday), 9.5 hours the first day and 8 hours the second. I head in today for another shift that’s going to start @10am which is nice. As a dishwasher your shift will either start at 9am or 10am. It seems that the more experienced person starts earlier as they can do things faster and make the whole operation more efficient. Hopefully making it about 6-7 hour day. I’m only supposed to work about 20 hours a week because i’m in college and wanted some extra money. I feel like a job is most stressful in the beginning and as long as you understand your energy levels will be very down by the ends of the day, you’ll be okay. To be fair I couldn’t imagine doing this 5 days a week, i may go crazy, but with the current schedule of 3 days a week even though it’s the busiest possible days, it’s okay. The hours seem long looking at it from far away but once you’re in there working, time flies. It only feels like an actual job once the restaurant is closed and your left with an abundance of things to clean and put away from the kitchen staff. The management is unbelievable nice and I never feel like i’m not heard. They ask always about very hour or two how i’m doing, if i need something to drink, etc. Of course I’d rather be a busser/host/server but i have zero experience. So i’m in a “it is what it is” situation and I feel like as long as I keep working my tail off, rewards are only a step away. 
The hardest part of the job is standing non stop from start to finish. One thing I will say is as a dishwasher, it gets unbelievable tedious by the end of the day. Next, I’m new to restaurants and jobs in general so in terms of breaks I don’t know how it goes. Yes you are required to give breaks to employees but there’s never a down moment, especially on the weekends. So as of now i’ve taken two bathroom breaks in two days😂 where i genuinely just relax for a second but that’s a personal thing that I need to get better at. Communication here is great but I need to do my part. 
The easiest part of the job is the actual work, for me. Unbelievably straight forward job. Like i said before, tedious for sure, but it all depends on the person. If repeating the same motion and action over and over doesn’t seem like a burden, then 

I’d recommend this job to anyone for $16 an hour. Especially if you’re in high school or college and want extra money and a job that’ll make you work. Nowadays everyone quits things so fast because of an abundance of reasons. For this type of job, most quit because of the labor. If you’re young this job is really good to get you in shape, get your mind right, and feel like you are actually working for your money. 

The job is not overly difficult, but can become overwhelming or stressful because of various responsibilities not common in serving positions that I will talk about later. It is fast-paced and isn't daunting if you're new to serving. Servers here will make good money for breakfast being low in price, but a busy day at First Watch (which is really only Saturdays and Sundays) will probably equal the same amount of money servers at dinner restaurants make on an average evening. This job does require more work out of you than almost all other serving jobs will. You will have to work host shifts, and on the weekends this will also entail expo-ing for the servers, which are 2 separate hirable positions at other places you will do in your single server position here. First Watch uses a certain methodology that emphasizes speed and efficiency, which does help if you're new to serving. Part of this is due to the amount of things you are required to do. First Watch doesn't do seating rotation, so to make money on days the restaurant isn't using a waitlist (so typically all weekdays), you have to take care of your current tables, keep up with running sidework - filling syrups, coffee pots, ice wells - run food, drop bread, bag to-go orders, take plates off tables, answer any phone calls, cash-out leaving patrons, and find the time to sit at the host stand to get yourself a table while knowing if you aren't up there it will go to someone else. It's not complex work but it does affect you in the sense that you could be a really great server in the alley by doing all the sidework, running food, and so on but walk out with less money than someone who didn't bother to do any of that and just sat themselves with all the incoming guests. All in all, if you're wanting to be more in charge of how much money you make, it's great, but be warned that the prices being low and variables that may affect your ability to get tables means you won't make as much as you'd expect, but you'll make a good amount for what it is. It's also worth saying that the hours are cool because you get to get out before 4pm, but you sometimes have to be clocked in by 6:30am (the latest we clock in as servers is 8am) so to get enough rest you'll want to be in bed early, not going out at night. 

Regretfully a chaotic organization to its core. Loads of problems persist at multiple levels. There were occasions where line refrigerators were broken for over a month, ovens over six months, no HVAC on the line for several months in summer. Floor mortar was wearing away everywhere and holding old food with no maintenance planned. This was at a location less than five years old. 

There's a lot of talk of leadership, development and care, but the reality of the situation is that it's a lot of ineffective micromanagement and canned leadership quotes from a group of leaders that are in over their heads.

Simple little actions - like denying the request in a regular supply order for first aid material, to laughabe statements from high level management that managers would be responsible to pay back money that was left locked in the safe if the store was robbed - paint a picture of an organization out of touch with reality. In the later situation when asking for that policy in writing, I never did receive a copy. Weird. 

I would recommend looking toward a corporate First Watch location or any other breakfast establishment if the hours are what call to you. The possibility for growth here is underwhelming. The organization struggles to open new locations, but run the old locations into the ground. 

Additionally, they added on more requirements to meet your bonus on the fly to try and enforce stores out of standard into compliance, even if you've met all the corporate standards for inspection at your store, this still applies to you.

If you've managed a restaurant before, be aware that their inventory system and FOH/BOH point of sale suite is garbage. Inventory will often not save what you're working on, the data it reports is not user friendly to find good places to problem solve waste, and you'll find yourself calling IT several times a week because the computers simply won't process their basic required actions without administrative resets. 

There are no breaks, staff turnover of good employees is incredibly high, and upper level management can't seem to solve the most basic level problems that are at their responsibility level.

Well lets see, I worked at this place for about a month before they "let me go". I was hired as a server but they made me work as a hostess 95% of the time. I served 2 times before my managers sat down and talked to me & told me I needed to be at 100% with serving instantly or else I'd get the boot. I served one more time and hosted one more time then, after working a full day & doing other people's jobs all day, they sat me down & "let me go". Saying that I was a great employee, had a great personality, would even WRITE ME A REFERENCE LETTER but I "wasn't the right fit for them".

Basically this place sets impossible standards in place. They even warn you in the beginning that this place "is not like any other restaurant you'll ever work at". Let's see, so for their whole giant menu they abbreviate or give "nicknames" to EVERY single item on the menu. As if that wasn't ridiculous enough, you had certain places on the check that all the abbreviated/nicknamed items had to be. Such as, the bread is written on the left side of the check, while the eggs/oatmeal goes on the right side of the check. And heaven forbid you ever put anything in the wrong spot, the cooks, who are also the managers, can't handle it/figure it out and go brain dead and freak out and find you and yell at you. Then they also have this policy of doing things where everyone helps each other out, the servers don't strictly stay to their own tables, everyone is doing everything. Which sounds nice when you need help, but everyone is conveniently busy when you do in fact need help. But when you have 5 things to do at once everyone seems to need help. And being the new person, they don't ask, they tell you to help them.

I could go on for awhile listing all the ridiculous unorganized things they do here, but hows about we just let the facts represent themselves? During the entire span I worked here, about a month or so, TWO separate employees quit by walking out. And one other employee was fired. And the whole time I worked there all the other servers were always looking for new jobs. Save yourself, don't waste your life on these people, they don't value yours anyways.

Days are always busy, I've always made at least $100, even on slower days. However, working one day a week for minimum wage as a host  cuts significantly into the overall hourly pay for the week. 

The management at my job is very petty about scheduling. They require you to be available at least 4 days a week. They hired me on as part-time for 3 days, then flipped the script after I had been there for a few weeks, claiming they never said that. Scheduling is "performance based" (favoritism / seniority based), so you must have 4 days available, but they could only schedule you 1 or 2. One day I was ill and found someone to cover my shift, and they cut me down to 2 days a week for an entire month as punishment. They would not allow me to pick up shifts from other employees during that time either. When asked for feedback on my "performance", they simply said there were not enough hours to go around--but my coworkers were overworked and begging for days off. Additionally, I submitted my vacation days 2 months in advance, and they scheduled me the entire length of time and penalized me for calling off those days once the schedule was posted. 

They are intolerant of illness--I had a flare up of a chronic illness and had to call off one day for vomitting. They required me to claim I had covid symptoms through their health screening system, which put me out of work for 2 weeks. I also need to eat semi-regularly with my illness, and always find someone to watch my section in a momentary lull in business to eat a snack I bring from home in less than 3 minutes. They recently have prohibited me from doing so, and now I eat in the bathroom to avoid getting sick, which is incredibly degrading and gross. Additionally, I had a traumatic emergency situation occur the night before a shift, could not find a cover in 4 hours / before 7am, and spent the entire shift crying while serving. They did not ask me if I was okay or allow me to go home. 

First Watch does not feel like a safe or supportive environment whatsoever. Their slogan of "You First" is laughable. I hope other locations aren't so awful. My manager is just severely manipulative and insensitive. 

Each First Watch is ran differently even though it's not supposed to be. Performance based scheduling has been pushed to the wayside and favoritism runs rampant. Lazy servers are treated the same as wonderful servers with most work being pushed onto the ones that care. Kitchens are always understaffed, servers are expected to host, bus, run food, cash tables out, pack to go food, take to go orders over the phone and at the host stand. That's ok though because there's usually to many servers which leads to 3 and 4 table sections.

Since the kitchens are always short staffed management makes up for this by keeping to go with Uber and Door Dash running, and to many servers on the floor. More servers on the floor means more orders coming in at once  causing further back ups in the kitchen. Food can typically take over 30 minutes for EGGS AND TOAST lol causing false holds at the door leaving servers just apologizing to the tables, the people waiting at the door and the rude Uber and door dash drivers. Because you know, the servers are the ones cooking and all! 

Support shifts are MANDATORY, they don't hire hosts or to go specialist, servers are used for that. Typical schedule is 3 serving days and 1 support shift per week.

If you apply take MONDAYS off your availability because schedules being posted on Sundays is TYPICAL! Schedules are paper only and weekly. It could be Sunday at 2:30 before you know ohhh look I work tomorrow at 7am! SMH

Teamwork, Teamwork, teamwork is stressed! If a server can't get to a table and asks for a greet, it's very possible you could greet a table with coffee not in your section, take the order, enter the order, get the drinks and then TRANSFER that table to the appropriate server. Yeah teamwork! Tips are not pooled so yeah stronger servers are often picking up the slack of weaker servers while the weaker servers reap the benefits. Why work harder when you can be lazy and still benefit from it?

With all the flaws if you have a good team of equally hard working coworkers it's a great place to work!

	Provided all technical support for a restaurant chain with 75 locations, 20 home office users and 25 remote users. 

	Constructed a systematic approach to handle high volumes of calls to trouble shoot and solve LAN/WAN, WLAN networking problems.

	Created a stable IT environment and drastically reduced complex IT support issues, keeping end-user PCs up to date with the latest software packages and operating systems (Microsoft Office, Windows 7, vista an XP, Share Point and Active Directory). 

	Managed all Citrix software issues and troubleshot regional and department specific software (Great Plains accounting and banking software) as well as online imagine and created a secured system for storage of restaurant and office documentation.

	Supervised protocols for all back-office IT systems, backup systems, internet access, OCE multi-function printers, executive laptops, phone systems, cell phones, remote access and all training for field offices/restaurants throughout Sarasota to Tampa region.

	Spearheaded completion of several key implementations increasing organization’s productivity such as a new organizational Point of Sale Radiant hardware and installation of Aloha software, installed Wi-Fi at all locations, new servers, firewalls, VPN solution and anti-virus solution such as App River Spam filtering. 

	Purchased, assembled, maintained and repaired computer systems to enhance speed, efficiency and reliability of operating systems.
	Selected to work directly with DSM for server support at off site hosting facility and responsible for PCI compliance with credit card processing.

	Acknowledged for excellent communication skills in order to serve as a vital link between employees, managers and IT system vendors

The floors were greesey, the company was pinching pennies. Management had no clue how to clean a freezer. Asked me to throw hot water and use a squeegee. I laughed and didn't do it cause I know they wouldn't pay to have the proper chemicals on hand to clean a freezer. Anyway- It started out great. Management pretends to like you and throw you in with a trainee and really what they teach you is not to do the job well but how to do the job faster by cutting corners because they do not provide you enough time to do all the responsibilities in the allowed time. Don't rinse the dishes, put them away as soon as they come out. They got a "drying system". A small rack that gets filled faster than it can dry. The place closes at 2:30pm and they demand- highly demand that the dishes be done and dry and put away by 3:45pm and have the area clean and swept up. The cooks keep bringing stuff to wash as late as 3:30pm. Once you are done using the washing machine there's a stack of dishes in another sink that you have to wash by hand- don't forget to throw away everyone's trash. I was able to get it down to 4:05pm. As I was walking out to go home on my third day. The "manager of operations" was there (a 15 year old girl). Stopped me at the front of the store and said a manager has to tour my area before I leave. Walked back there and she pointed out everything I didn't have time to do cause they want me gone by 3:45pm. She said "If you have a problem I suggest looking for another job" I replied that I would be looking for another job and started walking out again. She yelled "you're not going to do it?!" I said "No, I already clocked out." "Clock back in and do it" Turned in my hat. No wonder they haven't had a dish washer for months.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Restaurant manager 23 salaries reported	$69,217 per year
Cook 77 salaries reported	$18.76 per hour
Server 36 salaries reported	$22.48 per hour
Busser 82 salaries reported	$9.78 per hour
Line cook 72 salaries reported	$17.11 per hour

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