host/server

restaurant manager

line cook/prep cook

line cook

server

Kickback-Jacks

Kickback Jacks Durham. A very busy, well talked about, and somewhat popular restaurant with the locals. A fast paced work environment with a great deal of room for growth and development. Not very much hourly (much less than what they advertised on indeed), however plenty of potential overtime. ..

Despite this, it's poorly run, and incredibly poorly managed. Very nonchalant, lackadaisical leadership team. They seemed more focused on entertaining each other rather than seeing to guests or staff needs. Favoritism ran rampant. Other employees got food, got to go home early, etc. You can tell who the favorites were too, no guessing games involved. It was blatant nepotism.

The line consists of mostly younger and inexperienced cooks, with the occasional stand out. Morale was constantly low. Some were frustrated, many didn't care at all.

The front of the house was beyond pitiful, servers had little to no regard for anything. They sat around and ate, or scrolled on their phone all day. Once again, with the occasional stand out. The bartenders were elite though, so shout out to them.

Despite all of this, I've endured worst work environments in my 15 years as a chef. It seems like the solution to all of this, would be a team of people who ACTUALLY care about their job. This place isn't completely hopeless, it just needs a lot of work. If you can tough it out, the company has many opportunities for advancement and you can find yourself in a better position, not stuck in the placebo jail that is Kickback Jacks Durham.

The money at kick backs is okay, but not compared to the endless amounts of drama and confusion. The management doesn't even know how to deal with guests problems, let alone employees problems. The management doesn't work with you with hours, constantly schedules people outside of their availability, and they can't keep servers for more than just a couple months which is why service is usually terrible when you go. The few good servers that they did have don't work their anymore and it is filled with new servers who won't last but a couple months. If you wanna work a lot of hours until 3 in the morning without making as much as you could in a normal waitressing job and like being treated badly by management, then this is the place that you should work! Oh yeah and they hired a 22 year old manager that talks about servers to other servers so the whole restaurant is full of drama always. At least 2/6 of the managers that work there deserve to be fired. Also if you're thinking about being a server assistant or a bus boy here, they don't even make servers tip you out so dont waste your time.

Don't expect to have any form of social life. 
Prepare to put in only 10% of your effort because they don't recognize or appreciate hard work. They don't pay a fair starting wage and even after running their highest paced stations alone with ease you will only receive a 25 cent raise. There's no communication between the expo and FOH so many orders are lost/misplaced/delivered to the wrong table. Even if you know 100% for a fact that you've already made a ticket that they didn't stab they will make you rebook it before asking any servers if it's been ran or not. Then you have extra food that you now have to throw away because they would rather put food in the trash than allow their staff to eat it. If you order food while working and leave it on an open tab to pay for when you get off work you'll be fired if you take a single bite before the tab is paid. They don't care who they put in charge. They hired a designer shoe warehouse cashier with no restaurant experience to be kitchen manager.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Being in an atmosphere where we thrive being teachable, undisturbed and singing like white noise shining being individual but glowing working together in a common goal.. hospitality.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Being good enough, when our leaders are so good to us. Praying for the workmates who have a life outside of our time schedule and hoping they don't think they are nothing, or of huge value.. with a bit of tempered ambition in all the statements 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Quiet, curious, very respectful and like family dynamics.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
8 to 4..it's  like--what can I do for you.. like anesthesia in a heart transplant. Answer- the kitchens a heart.. the other parts are the other parts.. keeping us flowing maynaisse and mustard in blood flow.. and traffic flow. We go at different rates, speeds, paces. And thats okay. A routine, or season shift sometimes. Kinda like geese in flight sense direction and need simple, honest, all my life, home..kinda directions sometimes for relief and peace to rest.. and do it again

I worked for 8 months as a host and in the time I worked there many girls at my work including myself complained of things the managers had said to them that was very unprofessional and very rude. The managers will talk bad about you to other employees there. I’ve heard racist comments and even sexist ones which are not very appropriate since all of the managers are white men. The restaurant runs out of things on a regular basis and We have been told by our managers to bring our own markers and pens in to do the rotation board. If you do not have insurance I do not think this job will be a good fit seeing that you are paid below minimum wage without tips and anytime you call out sick you are expected to bring in a doctors note to explain why you called out. Overall the managers do not care about your wellbeing as a person and care more about money seeing that anytime someone told them they were not able to come in for a justifiable reason they would tell them to think of all the money that would be so much more worth it.

Typical work day consists of making food, cleaning your station, prepping things as needed and helping out other stations if needed. I learned how to cook better and how to work in a very fast paced environment. Management IN store was great. They seemed to really care about me and my coworkers. However when I was injured at work (at no fault of my own) I had just put in my 2 week notice. When I asked if I should take it back they told me NO and that I should still receive workers compensation. When they time came and my notice finalized I was told that I would not be receiving payments because “if I didn’t quit my injury would be accommodated. Even though I had a doctors order to not use my right and dominant hand. I was told that upper management were the ones who told the insurance company this. So they ABSOLUTELY DO NOT CARE about you. The culture in the kitchen was fast but also fun at times. Lots of joking around when there was time. The hardest part was the fast pace. The most enjoyable part were the people and payday. 

A typical day at Kickbacks was a win-win face and preparedness for the food and drink menu quiz.  The manager would pick out at least 10 of us to answer questions as to what the item or drink was and how it was created.  

Then, we would head to our sections and make sure that the tables and seating were up to code and ready for business.

Upselling food items is my specialty and I have excellent knowledge of fun specialty drinks, beer, and spirits.  

Able to work both bar and surround seating areas simultaneously.  If I cam cocktail serving; I can pretty much handle the whole bar.

The most enjoyable part of my job is meeting new patrons and the excitement that I get when they walk away with a smile.  The hardest part of my job would be those team players who are not team players at all and let other's do their jobs for them.  It's called laziness a word I am not so fond of.  

Management, it's a do your job or get out attitude.

Kickback Jack's is an expanding restaurant with each location differing in how they operate. At the location I worked at, the restaurant had cycled through six general managers within the three years I was employed there. If you have never worked in a restaurant before and would like to get your foot in the door, Kickback Jack's is a good starting point. The menu is not overly difficult to learn and servers are responsible for only a small table section. However, due to the consistent cycling of managers and overall lack of professionalism among the management staff, new employees may find it easy to develop bad habits or attitudes that might hurt them when seeking other employment in the future.

I have worked at Kickback Jack's in Mooresville for 2.5 years and it has been an amazing experience! I met so many great people there, from guests, regulars (we have a lot), and fellow team members. The atmosphere is very high energy, high pace, high volume. Personally, I thrive off of this type of work environment and it helped me succeed. Be wary though that this job is not for everyone. Hours can be long (weekends, football, basketball season), you are on your feet constantly for the whole shift and you will walk A LOT! There is a lot of work involved but if you put in the work, you will see the results in your pockets! The management is great and they actually care about everyone who works there as people, not just as employees. Most managers are not afraid to get their hands dirty and work right beside you; they are always there when you as for help (and sometimes even when you don't). I have learned so much from this job at KBJ and would highly recommend it!!

Honestly if you wonder why this place is always hiring it’s because of the lack of leadership and managements communication. If you’re hoping for full time it will not happen. If they feel it’s slow you get sent home 3-4 hours early daily resulting in a loss of over 10 hours per week minimum. This place should close down and rethinks its leadership. The lack of ability simply communicate with staff and other management baffles me to this day. The hardest part of this job was coming in each day and not knowing what you were supposed to be doing or it gets changed on you last minute. If you get an interview here go for your orientation enjoy the free food and don’t return. You will thank me later 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Host/server 46 salaries reported	$17.92 per hour
Restaurant manager 30 salaries reported	$65,933 per year
Line cook/prep cook 6 salaries reported	$17.17 per hour
Line cook 28 salaries reported	$17.13 per hour
Server 26 salaries reported	$18.83 per hour

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