barista

cook

shift manager

crew member

general manager

HMSHost

I started off as a hostess working 2nd shift at 11.50 hrs. It was always quiet during the day but then pick up more in the evening. Mid day I took at 15 minute break and was subtly talked down upon by the servers, it's very hard for me to open up to people and apparently I was treated like I was extremely lazy yet just wanted to take a break. After a week I mentioned to my supervisor that I would like to move to a restaurant that was alot more busy and the restaurant did not really need a hostess due to always being slow and people would ignore me and seat themselves. I moved from hostess to working at a bagel place next door, I enjoyed it for what it was and my pay went up to 13.50$ but sadly I could not stay due to my transportation not getting me there early enough to do a full shift, so after some time I would just either go home or wash dishes in another restaurant. After time passed I was moved to prep cook in a more busy restaurant, I loved it, It was fast paced, my coworkers were great, and i enjoyed feeling like i was actually doing something that kept me from looking at my phone or at the clock. After working there for a month my supervisor there started to become distant and we would rarely see her, we would be understaffed with a huge list of things to do. It started to get to me alot when things didnt get done, I have bad anxiety and would make the job my main focus, I cared abit to much about work, so whenever things couldn't get done I was always left alone to finish them. I ended up working 9-10 hours at a time and my supervisor wouldn't offer to help when she was free nor did she care enough to offer. It started to become routine and I began to have anxiety attacks when I would think about if I would make it home to eat, or would I have to wait outside for my bus for 40 minutes and get home super late. I slowly became depressed and even had suicidal thoughts because I was always pressured at work and scared of being let go if I forgot one thing. Months after I found out that my pay was pushed down to 11.50 again and I snapped, I told the first person I saw and that was one of the men above H.R that was visiting to check on our wellbeing. The next day I was yelled at by my supervisor for telling him but I was the only person working and no one else was there for me to talk to. I started to get the cold shoulder alot from her and she even started saying that I dont listen nor even respected her, and personally I'd rather work under someone who can do my job better than me and not the other way around. I turned to H.R to talk about my pay and she gave me a straight look and mentioned how I didnt nothing but look at my phone, I was too slow at my projects, and I deserved the downgrade in my pay, she had no interest in moving me. I mentioned how stressful the job was making me and how I wasn't getting any respect for working much later than my coworkers, I even mentioned the depression and suicidal thoughts. She saw it as me faking everything and being dramatic, I quit right then and there. She attempted to talk me into to giving it a few days to see If things would get better but, I've felt like I've been doing that the entire time I was working there. I'm not discouraging anyone from working here, but I wanted to get my store and experience while being there out, i had good days where I had fun while getting everything done and delivered but the bad outweighed the good and I left. I'm happy at my current job and considering college next year. I want a brighter future and working there gave me a big wake up call to do something better with my life. Feel free to ask me anything since I'm active here while researching possible jobs after graduation.

If you’re looking for a short term gig this is not the place for you. HMS in Honolulu is highly dysfunctional and its unionized staff means there is NO meritocracy. Being a good employee and doing a good job does not guarantee any sort of upward mobility- it is seniority based here. If you’ve got incredibly thick skin and can tough it out for a couple years to work your way into a good schedule in a good unit then there is money to be made. Always short staffed because most people don’t stay, can be very stressful as a sole bartender for one of the restaurants so if you can handle high stress and being weeded out the majority of your shift then you’ll do better than most. No training structure it’s a “here’s your bar, figure it out” sort of spot. 

They will “hire” you for one of the newer units where you will train and maybe even like it and then “assign” you to one of the worst units where most bartenders don’t stay because it’s a dirty bar and the employees usually push them out (bad attitudes, lazy staff).

The hardest part is probably listening to these entitled people complain and whine at every turn about how they deserve more (via the union) when then can’t even be bothered to perform the basic function of their job. Absolutely toxic and maddening. 

Servers make a lot more money than bartenders in the restaurant spots and you cannot rely on a fair tip out for servicing the well, a lot of the servers don’t tip out at all. You can expect to make anywhere from 100-300 on a bartenders shift with the higher digit being very rare. The exception is the Kiosk bars. This place would retain their restaurant bartenders by increasing their hourly rate especially for those that work the swing shifts 2-8pm where you will struggle to make $100. 

You will be harassed and taken advantage of by senior staff unless you have incredibly thick skin. The old timers here are territorial for whatever reason. Management in most of the units is MIA for the duration of your shift (they are assigned sometimes 3 different locations in a day so you need to call them to get them to come help and it can take up to 10minutes) which can compound stress if you need computer help which you often will because the Point of Sale system here is boss level fight bad. 

In short if bartending is your career and you can tough it out for a couple years you will end up in a decent schedule in a decent unit. Don’t rely on seasoned employees to give you reliable information because everyone here is playing long game and trying to get the good schedules/units so maybe ask like 5  people and management before you get your answer. Old timers will tell you the slowest bars are busy so that you take the schedule there to better position themselves. If you’re a server, old timers will manipulate the floor map, make up rules, tell you that you can’t use “their” computer (lol I wish I was making this up) and whine to go home early at every opportunity. You must advocate for yourself. 

It can take you about a month to get your badge and background check cleared to work here so do not quit your current job upon hire. They give you a meal allowance for lunches but you’ll quickly learn to make your own food because there is no healthy options (choose between fast food or fast food) and everyone there looks unwell… 

This was a company I thought I would retire from.  Though challenging and stressful, it initially made me feel as though I was at the perfect place for my career path & interest.  I used to feel a strong sense of accomplishment.  Things began to quickly change, as it morphed into a extremely volatile environment that made everyone feel as though they would be fired for any small thing they did.  They inspired fear within the culture.  Suddenly everything at our branch was under a huge magnifying glass, and instead of properly communicating and developing local leadership and administration, they just started executing and dictating every move, thus silencing everyone who tried to plea for help and/or give viable feedback on why there were issues and what major issues were in store for the branch.  Instead of listening, they took the approach of nasty conspiracies/plotting, bending and changing major rules/policies for the 'right people', while condemning and punishing others, excessive and unnecessary micro-managing w/o providing healthy solutions to problems identified, suddenly involving corporate in issues that we once handled in-house, in which they were very disconnected, cold, manipulative and handled my resignation as well as other matters, very tasteless and frankly reckless with a very vengeful undertone.  When I came, they made me feel as though my skills and experiences were exactly what they needed and embraced it.  Eventually, it shifted into wanting more 'less experienced' people in leadership roles, so that they can be easier controlled. Someone who HAD to contact corporate or Nashville branch to assist with issues, so that they can fully control everything.  Once they felt as though you have too much knowledge, or a "voice", you were a target.  Externally, they want to appear so engaged and connected to their brand and employee culture. But, the reality is, they overwork and underpay all staff, set unrealistic expectations and then punish you when you fail. They only care about training 'on paper', but will never actually train you. They will never compensate you based on your experience and what you bring to the table--you are supposed to be happy about the pennies they pay you, and feel as though you could never make that kind of money anywhere else. They are gonna continue to go through everything they are dealing with now, because of how they  treat people. I still get call from staff members, pleading for help/advise on how to handle unfair practices they are experiencing, because they dont even trust their own administration. I hate that I wasted my time there, but I enjoyed the connections I was able to make.

From 3 years working as a utility, Cashier and cook, management has been a significant problem every year. They never seem to be able to act as leaders towards their peers and it can make working there feel like a joke at times. Managers don't communicate with each other or pass on information (other than when your getting reprimanded). It shows when schedules are posted or an opportunity shows up, but no one knows about it, or if one associate asks a manager for some information about a certain topic. Instead of asking their fellow managing staff they'll simply forget or get the information needed in a lack luster amount of time.  Even though there are equipment that needs to be replaced, a piece of equipment will break down for a month and then the repairman will come in and fix it for another 3. All in all, I have personally seen the whole managing staff be replaced and nothing has changed. It always feels they get by day to day with the bare minimum. From equipment, managing associates, as well as staffing which is another glaring problem. Other associates call out or simply don't show frequently because working at the restaurants does not feel welcoming and most associates do not receive the proper amount of time for training. So when they are left to be by themselves, instead of following a company standard, they follow the standard of the associate who trained them. And it shows from jobs being done halfway or simply not being at all , so it falls too whomever is working to tough it out, especially the cook position. The position itself is not too taxing, but on most days since there is the minimum number of staff, the work is always unfair and makes you want to do nothing rather than something. Managing associates has not gotten better until very recently, but when i say better i mean barley any better. One restaurant in particular receives minimal treatment as possible compared to others. Schedules are done what seems at random and according to company needs. So you can get a schedule you love, and the next month it is not there anymore. This is what happened with myself, i left due to scheduling complications with school and even though i had been there for 3 years they showed a inclination to keep me there but not enough to make me stay. They did not offer to change my schedule for the days i needed even though others have been accommodated . Instead they only offered schedules that were already open but not with the days i needed. 
In summary, this not job if you are attending school full-time and expect a clear cut schedule. Be prepared to work tiring hours not because of the work. The company does have really good benefits though if you are looking for that. They are also unionized for what that's worth. 
The people who work for HMSHost are the reason many stay, fun energetic and understanding towards each other. Good luck

My first job was Publix as a stock boy. I wasn't very much a hard worker like I am today. I was terminated from Publix and stayed un-employed for quite some time until HMS Host called me and said they'd have me come in. I then started working at Starbucks. 

Starbucks was an enjoyable experience. Though it was stressful at times, it was a fun job to have. I had the availability to talk to people from around the world since I was working within the Jacksonville International Airport. I also love coffee, so in return, I made people's coffee with that love. The hardest part of that job was the people. Sometimes you're only as strong as your weakest link and when your crew isn't all there and/or calling out every 2-4 days... it becomes super hard. I was a supervisor and had to open my store at 5am in the morning to 12pm. That was also a tad bit hard. 

My manager at the time was over a restaurant called Sam Snead's and Starbucks. She asked if I would have liked a change in atmosphere and try cooking. I took the opportunity and pay raise. I cooked there for about a year. I went in with no prior experience but management quickly noticed that I was a natural. I was complimented on my skills off the bat and I ended up loving making food for people as much as I loved making coffee. So, Sam Snead's was a fun experience but I wanted something a little more fast paced. So then Shula's comes into play.

Shula's, oh boy. By far the most stressful job I have ever had. The volume we deal with is large considering the airport. A typical day now is me coming in, making sure the line is ready to go for the day and then jumping between prepping/dishwashing. I cook a good portion of the day but there's always more to do. My co-workers happen to be some of the best I've had. There again, the being as strong as your weakest link comes back into play, I've watched the staff get fired or quit. I'm not the senior cook at Shula's with one of the best crews I've seen. There's a couple of guys with some poor work ethic but the rest of us work around them. 

My management through the years has been off and on. Managers have come and gone. My current manager is ex-military. Sometimes he's a little too rough around the edges but the man gets things done and I respect him irregardless of our differences at times. He also respects me for being the hard worker I am. The other upper management isn't all there sometimes but hey, can't expect them to be 110% all the time. Seeing as though Shula's has 3 different managements watching over it in the airport. 

I am not sure if this is a review I just put up. Maybe more of a personal review lacking the personal information. If you read this all, awesome.

A typical day at work I am understaffed and the store is too busy to get all the required tasks finished in a timely manner. We are not allowed to work overtime but are not provided enough labor to meet business needs and we are expected to get a list of tasks done on top of friendly, customer satisfactory, speedy service. We have to apologize to the customer if their order takes longer than 5 minutes. However, we do get 30 mins unpaid break with a $16 meal ticket at any HMS host restaurant for break, which usually takes longer than 30 mins to wait in line, still pay the remainder for most meals, and wait for the food to get ready so there isn't much time to sit and eat. Sometimes you're allowed a paid 15 min break if there is enough staff to cover. HR is very slow to raise your pay when you are promoted, having to perform more duties and responsibilities without the proper pay for months. I've gotten promoted twice and still only receive the starting pay, but my raise is still  "pending". It's not worth it. If you drive it will also take an extra 15-30 mins once you arrive at the employee parking to get to your store where you need to clock in on time with only a 10 min grace period. You will get written up if you are late more than 3 times in 90 days and after 2 write ups you are terminated. Go somewhere else to work, it's not worth it. Managers here only make $20-23 an hour anyway, with no tips and a larger tax bracket so they take home the same amount as $16/h baristas w/tips anyway. Yet they want to expand their locations and renovate locations that don't even need expansion over other stores who are struggling and too small for sales volume. 
But I've gotten to meet a lot of different people from different cultural backgrounds which has been interesting, the job itself is relatively easy and can even be fun if the company didn't make it so difficult to accommodate us. It would be a much better experience if we had enough trained and experienced baristas who actually want to learn and do a good job, and large enough space for storage, movement and business volume. I love being a barista but I hate the company we work for and how horribly they treat their employees. 

Got hired on as a barista for starbucks which hmshost was a third party company, and on my first I was met by my lead whom was very neat, efficient and took her job very serious! She spoke and moved so fast that majority of the time I couldnt understand what she was saying, and also the store manager was there as well, didnt even make the time to meet and greet with me. So I brushed it off and started making my rounds, making sure everything was in check and that I would ask questions when I didnt know where things were stored or whats the time frame a certain food and coffee mixtures was good for! I felt the unnecessary need of coworkers whom worked there for 10+ yrs to be acting like management and was always yelling at me if anything wasnt done right(to their standards) Also, the store manager had favoritism with some of the employees, I felt like she was always picking on me and always pulling me aside if I ever missed something to stock or make(coffee or tea) whereas if another employee would mess up the same way I did, she's never pulled them aside or trained them; even when I would pull my phone out to check the time, she yelled at me to put it away and then said she would have to start writing up people if she sees their phones out! However some of my coworkers would be on register with their phones, and she would just walk behind them without even saying anything! Dont get me wrong, I loved what I did at work, but once I see her coming into work at the store, my day would turn worse because I know there's bound to be something she would say or do to me! Sure enough, thats how I was let go, on my last day of work, she had yelled at me in front of a guest about being in her way when I turned around to get a cup of coffee for the guest who was at my register. Then at the end of the day, i had received a text to meet up so she and another manager would give me my termination paper, because I wasnt "working up to starbucks standards". The unfairness and the unprofessional work ethnics from other employees as well as management are far worse then any other work place, and I wished I would have transferred to another starbuck store within the airport with a better store manager(whom can read) maybe I wouldnt have to write this review!

What is the best part of working at the company?
I gave 3 stars because it wasn't the best but wasn't the worst either. The people I worked with were fairly friendly minus a few who seemed to want to bully other staff members. I bartended and as a bartender in a corporate restaurant who is required to make all of the servers drinks including water, sodas, and alcoholic beverages it was entirely unfair that the servers ripped out very little. Being behind the bar and making every person in the buildings drink while only having 10 bar seats to yourself, it was a shame to be so overwhelmed in the service station and would rarely make more than $30 from the servers tipping out. When I talked to management about it I was told that they aren't required to tip me out, but I am required to make all of their drinks. To me, that is a bad position to put the bartender in. To also have it set up that then there are multiple bartenders they do not share tips but are expected to wait on one anothers customers and only the person who opened the tab walks with the tip at the end of the day. It was sad. The up side was that their were benefits and for the most part we stayed fairly busy. Apparently it works for the company, but to me it just seems like a poor set up for anyone behind the bar.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not being tipped accordingly for the numerous drinks made in the service station for the servers and being so swamped with service tickets that I could hardly take care of the bar. Also, the QR codes for tables and seats as people would order on top of an already open tab as well as using the QR codes as a reason to avoid having to tip the person serving their drinks and food to them by paying through the QR app. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Well mixed, appreciated, and respected 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Starting off somewhat steady to getting slammed during peak hours and peak season with very little room for error

A typical day at work consists of coming in 2-3 hours prior to the restaurant opening for food prep. Often the number of cooks for this necessity is numbered in the extreme: Either there are too few opening cooks (on weekends or near holidays) or Too many cooks (such as seven cooks scheduled a week day morning). Then once the restaurant is open, the same cooks who have prepared the needed foods, proceed to cook for the lunch shift. This to me is a very smooth transition and gives equal experience in line and prep cook positions all in one. I've learned the versatility a cook can have in both the lunch and dinner shifts along with comfortably being a well rounded cook (line/prep cook all in one). Management in early-mid 2012 was amazing, but during the holidays it was determined that the restaurant will be closed down. This to my knowledge was the second time this has happened. Ever since then, things spiraled out of control, especially with weak loss prevention. My co-workers, especially the other cooks, have taught me more than any manager or supervisor has. This select group of people are very experienced beyond my years and introduced their cultures into the way the food is prepared. The hardest part of the job was the lack of management over newer employees (hired after January 2013). The newer employees paid no attention to the schedule, increasing the number of call outs and no shows, along with forcing older (prior hired) employees to work multiple positions at a time. The most enjoyable part of the job were meeting the new people, and the set of employees were within coinciding generations which made the environment very complimenting between those who were naive and those who were wise in terms of Hospitality experience.

I worked here for about six months. While I may not have been the best employee, I'm no idiot. I know what good and bad treatment is. The management is very biased, blunt, and rude. They work you terrible hours, are usually understaffed (in part because they fire anyone they don't like), work you like a dog, and it is almost constantly slammed in there. Half the employees don't do their jobs correctly (at least in Starbucks. I worked Corporate before I worked HMSHost Starbucks and the difference was substantial), you get terrible benefits, if any at all, and you never have steady hours unless you are a 'manager'. You're pretty much screwed in all directions working here. I don't recommend it, if you live in the boonies like I do. And both me and my co-workers were often left to work by ourselves for extended periods of time. If you're familiar with Corporate Starbucks, you never have less than three people on the floor. Never.
You can't clock in until your scheduled time, BUT. You almost NEVER get out at the time you're scheduled. I have been left to continue work for up to an hour or more past when I was supposed to go home.

Without being TOTALLY biased, they do pay for your meals there, you get a half hour break (which is more than some places give), you get a (couple) smoke break(s) if you need one (but apparently no bathroom breaks, or so my manager told me. "We don't pay you to use the bathroom", sure, but give everyone multiple 5-10 minute smoke breaks. Makes perfect sense.), and that's pretty much all the good you get working here.

Who knows? Maybe the HMSHost near you won't be as terrible as the one I worked at. Fingers crossed.

Oh, and they suspend you before they fire you, so kiss any unemployment possibilities goodbye if you happened to work there at least 6 months.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Barista 345 salaries reported	$17.18 per hour
Cook 199 salaries reported	$19.63 per hour
Shift manager 385 salaries reported	$22.35 per hour
Crew member 134 salaries reported	$16.39 per hour
General manager 70 salaries reported	$59,681 per year

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