assistant restaurant general manager

restaurant manager

kitchen team member

dishwasher

fry cook

Islands Restaurants

I worked as a host/busser and management will pick favorites and treat you terribly if you aren't one of them. I was forced to clean both the men's and the women's bathrooms EVERY 15 MINUTES which made for many uncomfortable encounters in the womens specifically. I also had to not let a line fill up and seat people but then the servers would get upset over getting sat too much but I get in trouble with the managers if anyone is ever waiting.

Also the servers walk around with a very condescending attitude and if you are not able to help every one of them at once whoever is not getting immediate help will complain when they are really supposed to clean their own tables when everyone else is busy.

Eventually left the job because my girlfriend who worked there with me got a call at work saying her mother was in the hospital and hung up. She freaked out and was crying. Tried to tell the manager but he didn't care. She was trying to call her mom and everyone in her family and noone picked up so she was very upset to say the least. At that point, all the manager had to say was "Do your check out and you can leave" which for some people can take up to an hour. This was clearly an emergency in her case, so I told her just to leave and go check on her mom.

I even asked the manager for her multiple times if she could go and his replies were so disgusting. He didn't care at all.

Turns out her mother was fine because it was some kind of prank call that they allowed onto their work phone. The way they teach you to answer the phone involves saying your name. So the prank caller was easily able to target her, my girlfriend as apart of some game.  Noone cared to ask what had happened with her and she didn't even want to return to work and because of how careless they were and she quit over the phone. I soon quit after because there's no way I'm going to continue to work for a place like that.

Also when I worked as a busser the servers were supposed to tip out an exact percentage of their tips to each busser and I wouls have to follow them around for about 30 minutes every time because they would always act to busy to stop for a second and hand over cash they literally had on them. I've literally waited over half an hour multiple times after clocking out for a few servers to only give me 1-3 dollars each. When I know they are making close or more than 100 a day in tips. My girlfriend is still friends with one of the servers who brags about how much she gets tipped and she would be one of the ones to give me a dollar. If I had to guess how much I was being left out on tips alone it would add up to the hundreds.

I was only a junior in high school when I was working at Islands and it was a good job. Not the best but nice. I liked that the majority of my coworkers were fellow high school students, some I knew some I didn't. All of my coworkers, even BOH were super fun. There were like 5 different managers (that number could be wrong I lost count after 4 and so many coming in and out). But the number of managers made it weird sometimes. Sometimes my time off never got across to all the managers so I'd get called in when I was in another country. Also, some managers were better or nicer than others. I felt a little held back at Islands. I was given the impression that us highschoolers all had to enter Islands as a host and then we move up to busser. But I noticed over time some guys would come in and go straight to busser even tho I'd proven my ability to be a busser, was there before and asked to become a busser many times with the response "we'll start scheduling you like one". But I was rarely ever scheduled as one. I don't want to say it was because I was a girl but it sure did feel like it. For a while, all of management was men and I was the only girl apart of the host/busser team. All of the guys I worked with that came after me and should've come as hosts came as bussers right off the bat or guys that came at the same time as I was promoted to busser after a week of being a host. I think the majority of the time I was a busser was only because those guys would call off work so the MOD would make me be busser/host. Also, I forgot to mention that hosts don't get tips but bussers do. So that is why it upset me because there was an opportunity to get more pay but I felt as though I was only given that opportunity when they had to.

My experience working at this location was overwhelmingly negative. The work environment was deeply unprofessional, and I witnessed repeated instances of unfair treatment and favoritism that made it very difficult to feel respected or supported. Management consistently showed preference toward certain employees, creating an atmosphere of nepotism and unequal treatment that affected scheduling, workload, and opportunities.

I also experienced and observed behavior that made me uncomfortable and at times unsafe, including comments or actions that felt discriminatory or inappropriate. When concerns were brought up, they were dismissed or ignored instead of being handled with professionalism.

Cleanliness and safety standards were also a major issue. Basic expectations for sanitation, food handling, and overall restaurant upkeep were not consistently maintained, which was concerning for both employees and customers. Staff often had to work in conditions that felt unsanitary or understaffed, creating unnecessary stress and burnout.

Overall, I would not recommend working at this location. The lack of accountability, professionalism, fairness, and cleanliness created one of the most toxic work experiences I’ve had. I hope future management takes these issues seriously, because employees deserve better.

Working at Islands was a great life changing experience for me. It was my first job and at first i attained it just to have a job. Then i realized how much I enjoyed working here. I was a server and a lead trainer as well. A typical day started with me coming in and starting off getting introduced to the tables that belonged to the server prior myself. Then it would continue on with me satisfying the guests needs and helping my fellow co-workers with their sections as well. I learned how important team work is needed for a restaurant to run smoothly from the host all the way to management. Management at this location was always changing. The managers came and went and the GMs changed 3 times while i was there. The co-workers knew teamwork really well but since it was a very busy restaurant people tended to focus on moving up. Hardest part of the job was to stay focused on my work and not see how my co-workers would move up based on who they knew and who they talked to. I was focused on moving up based on my work. The most enjoyable part was that for me work was a very peaceful place for.me. I enjoy the rushed environment it allowed me to focus entirely on work.

A typical day at work is coming into the restaurant, analyzing  the cleanliness and food safety and sanitation of the restaurant to ensure we are the leaders in the industry. Analyze food quality and needed prep for the days business flow and coaching the team on how to achieve great results for food and service. Conducting any needed administrative responsibilities to run a profitable operations. Coaching individual throughout the day to provide an experience that will bring guests back. Continually interacting with guests regarding their experience and seeking feedback to continually improve our operations. Islands continues to be an amazing work place for me. It has created a great environment for me to challenge myself and advance in my career. The hardest part of my job is people management. I love it, but it is the hardest because interacting with and relying on people is constantly changing and growing. The most enjoyable part of my job is that I get to wear many different hats and get to interact with people all day long. Interacting with the guests is the absolute best part of my job.

A typical day consisted of setting up prep sheets, monitoring prep, checking in the crew uniform and correct shoes, finishing sales and payroll paperwork, inputing selected items to monitor usage from the previous day, counting the cash banks ordering , receiving and putting away deliiveries, posting invoices and adjusting pars and making sure the daily cleaning and maintenance were completed. Line check temps and quality of product Making sure safety procedures were being followed, checking all areas of atmosphere lighting music level air or heating properly set, windows, floors, outside walkway all clean prior to opening. Staff informed of all new items and items of focus. After opening monitoring all product for quality and timing, touching tables to ensure guest satisfaction. Closing shift also included checking prep quality and proper levels, clean up of restaurant cash handeling. In charge of training hiring and firing staff as well as development of the management team. The toughest part was the maintenance and repair of the building. The building was over 50 years old and Islands occupied it for 30 years.

I loved working here. I felt at home and it was my first serving position where I started as an expo at an opening location. I felt like the managers cared about their jobs and the employee’s career life balance/ career happiness. The coworkers really made the job amazing along with the guests who’d come in. I miss working here I had to leave because a mental health crisis and ended up no call no showing on my last couple days of my two weeks notice. Due to this I was unable to reapply which made me sad. The company is very by the books with things which can be great and also could leave room for feeling like I couldn’t be listened to heart to heart at the end of my stay. I do understand though because it’s their standards for employees. On another positive note I felt like my hard work was always recognized, and sometimes rewarded.  It was easy to move up if you did work hard and do a good job at your job. I was the first to be offered the position of moving up to being a server in my expo role because of how fast and accurate I was at my job. The management were good people too. 

Worked at this company for many, many years. They have high expectations and give you a great base for learning how to manage and operate a restaurant. You get to learn all positions from dish washer, prep cook, and line cook to hosting, bussing, serving, and bartending. They also have systems in place for many of the administrative duties across all restaurants. Unfortunately, they underpaid me (roughly 10%) based on the area I live and jobs available near me. Bonuses were given quarterly, but hard to achieve 100%. I also left because the culture at my specific location was dwindling and I shouldered more work than my peers. Many of the front of the house employees are also young, inexperienced, and unreliable. There was a lot of turnover throughout the store (especially back of house because they are underpaid the most) which caused unneeded stress.

Islands is a wonderful company with a compassionate and very present corporate staff.  It is good motivation to do your best when corporate visits include the president, vice presidents, and/or regional managers running food, bussing tables, or even cooking fries.  Everyone is working for the same goal -- to have a great shift.  Most managers are internals who got to their position through their love of the company.  They aren't the kind of managers who sit in the office and stick their head out at the end of the night.  The thing that struck me most when I first started working there was every time I clocked in or out a manager was there thanking me for showing up and working hard -- something I have not experienced anywhere else.  They also have basketball and volleyball tournaments and great Christmas parties, because they appreciate their employees.  Outer market locations do seem to struggle to create the same atmosphere, but I saw enough of it to drink the Kool-Aid and stay for 5 years until my location closed.

Great atmosphere to work in although at times I feel the manager to employee interaction isn't there sometimes. If you are good buddies with the General Manager or any other manager you will have more opportunities and more hours. The FOH(Front of House) look down on us cooks for some reason yet most of them are young college students. There isn't any type of performance review in which you are given the opportunity to earn a raise or move up; unless-again I will repeat, you are good buddies with the General Manager. There is a lot of bullying that goes unnoticed for sure. They are super flexible with their scheduling which is why no one ever gets 40 hrs. Ever.  If you work six days and you might get Overtime, your hours will be added to another day-if possible unto the next pay period so they won't have to pay overtime. One bad thing is that they do not really have store goals for the employees to improve on-which I find counterproductive. How do you measure employee productivity after all. But they have great food and offer 1 free meal for the kitchen. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assistant restaurant general manager 81 salaries reported	$64,444 per year
Restaurant manager 1 salary reported	$65,000 per year
Kitchen team member 14 salaries reported	$17.48 per hour
Dishwasher 91 salaries reported	$16.94 per hour
Fry cook 53 salaries reported	$18.18 per hour

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