assistant manager

kitchen team member

pastry cook

general manager

baker

Kneaders-Bakery-&-Cafe

What is the best part of working at the company?
Closed on Sundays (however, there's always still a chance of needing to interact with work due to bakers working Sundays)
Sense of satisfaction in contributing to family holidays (pies, rolls, & baskets for Thanksgiving & Christmas)

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of comprehensive structure - Leadership feels too focused in the day-to-day local level execution, which gives the brand the feeling that there is not much long-term planning or stability in the works. There are also too many outlets of communication without a standard of what communication should go through which channel (I.E. multiple WhatsApp groups [one for bake, then pastry, then retail, then support team, then district, then district retail, district bake, district retail, digital sales, operations, etc.], email, text, call).

Last minute promotions - Kneaders' leadership will decide to execute a promo fairly short notice. The claim is that it will drive foot traffic & guest satisfaction, which it can, but there's not much solid planning or communication from leadership in how to execute it well. Restaurants are sometimes informed that the promo is coming within a week, then left to figure out how to execute it and given a feeling of failure if it doesn't go well. No standard POP is sent to the restaurant, data from previous promos is unclear since it's not always accurate. 

Lack of clear expectations & standards - Focus would shift from delivering exceptional service, to focusing almost solely on financial metrics. Restaurant audits would show they are extremely dirty without really receiving support or understanding in budget variances in order to get cleanliness resolved. Back of house in most restaurants is extremely dirty. Systems and standards are shaky.

Lack of support from leadership - promotions/raises being short-changed or rescinded, lack of responsiveness when assistance is needed. If you're outside of Orem, Spanish Fork, or Lehi (the most profitable restaurants, surrounding the leadership's homes), it's difficult to get assistance but your restaurant's performance will always be compared to those three. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The culture strives to be family-oriented, wanting to provide a homestyle feel. While the physical dining room gives that sense, the back of house differs significantly. Key appliances such as ovens & steamers are consistently breaking down with only one maintenance person to field major repairs across all 40+ stores with the brand being hesitant to call in outside technicians for repairs due to cost. High emphasis is placed on costs, with a perceived "cut labor, cut food, cut all cost" mentality rather than finding root causes across the brand. The investigation and assistance to restaurants in that regard seems to end outside of Orem, Lehi, & Spanish Fork with all other restaurants being left to figure it out themselves.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It would depend on what was going on. As with all food jobs, it was never the same thing each day (which was a plus). An ideal day would be to show up, get the store opened without any hiccups, crank out whatever catering was on the schedule for the day, work through lunch rush, get cleaned up and head home. Granted, that would change based off of call outs, promos, placing food order, or building the team schedule.

I worked there for two weeks in Pastry. You were barely trained on  certain things and not at all on others but we're expected to keep up and time yourself to get faster down to varying impossible standards. And then when doing things you only saw done once or not at all you had to keep up and mistakes were so highly frowned upon. Even during training. Most empoyees were nice but some of the management expected too much out of you and forgetting something was blasphemy. I went in with general interest and positivity but they displayed toxic positivity assuming anything I said that was not completely chipper was  being negative. They claimed they wanted us to ask questions but when I asked simple questions they just told me to check the recipes because it will help me. But I learn both ways and both ways will help me more. They also seemed to believe I was lying about reading recipes if I made a mistake or got confused. I would read them 3 times and then go through it slowly but even their so called well written recipes still begged questions. They were not willing to answer questions as simple as what temp to bake it at even when my recipe was across the room and I was busy at the oven and even though I read it at least 3 times they would tell me to check it. I was new and still wasn't to the memorizing point and wanted to do it right. But yet they didnt want us to memorize anything and read the book so what is the harm in asking about simple questions about time and temp. Over two weeks I could see myself improve but they didn't think so because I wasn't timing myself to get down to a whole baking task in 5 minutes. If I couldnt find a timer or was rushing to finish so I forgot one or used the clock they were upset. Management was mostly nice but all expected too highly of people, especially new people and a lot of them tended to pick favorites or who they already knew. I did not feel welcomed in their supposedly inclusive and positive environment. Cliques were already forming. I felt like I was doing well for a new person but the hardest part was that they placed such a high standard on new people that I felt stressed around certain people who were in charge of monitoring that and I felt like it made me mess up more trying to be fast for them even though I was still learning and wasn't taught half of what I was supposed to be doing. Little repetition happened for me to really get better at most things. The best thing was getting off early in Pastry and they were pretty flexible with scheduling.

at first it seemed like a nice atmosphere and I honestly enjoyed the customers, since they always seemed really nice. Soon after being hired I found out what kind of business kneaders happens to be.

First red flag: corporate screwed up my i-9 info and I was told it was likely my fault even though I couldnt log in. When corporate finally realized it was them and fixed it I did the i-9 only to find out, to my horror, that I had just missed my pay period and have to wait another two weeks to get paid for any work i've already done. That is unnacceptable. I just quit and by the time I get any money from them it will have been a month and a half since starting here, a month of work total. Im not working for them anymore because no pay = no work.

Second red flag was how they straight up lied about my hours and position. I was told it would be absolutely no problem to have weekends off, started getting scheduled for weekends. I was told I wouldnt have to do drive through (hearing damage in one ear makes it difficult and uncomfortable) and I was almost immediately trained and forced to be on drive through despite there being an employee that wants to and can only do drive through. 

Third red flag was when we have a line of people and I can't remember where an item on the menu is, co workers (mostly managers) wont give you the answer, they'll ask a sarcastic question or just not help. There were times where I was told to look for something in a place I had already looked but they still insisted it was there. 

Overall, honestly the worst place I've ever worked. I've never had nearly as much of an issue getting paid or a day off as I have with this company. Oh, and lastly, no employee discounts or meals or anything. We have to sneak food behind manager's backs.



The management and coworkers I work with amazing. Intelligent, understanding, pleasant to work with, and well versed in the duties with their role(s). As a first job, it's great, I learned many skills to put on my resume and scheduling was great as well, I've had little to no issues, I am very lucky to work under the managers that I do, they seriously deserve more than what they are given. 

However, the recent changes made by the company are deplorable. 
1. Uncompetitive wages - Our food is the most expensive in my area, yet employees are paid the absolute bare minimum yet expected to have the same skills as other workers.
2. Online tips removed - My checks went from $100 in tips to barely $20 since the removal of online tipping. We are paid very low, and a large portion of our pay was removed because CEO decided we didn't need them.
3. Prices raised, wages did not - Myself and several other employees have been denied raises despite our menu prices increasing 6 times within the last 2 years! 
4. Paying for your own food - In the past, a free sandwich was always offered for all employee breaks regardless of position. Not anymore, shortly after a menu price raise was announced (literally one day after) employees were then expected to pay for their own meals. Working one hour at Kneaders, was not enough to pay for one full-sized sandwich. 
5. No extra pay for overnight shifts - During the holidays, which is the busiest time of year for Kneaders, overnight shifts were needed because the amount of bread that had to be baked and bagged was so large it couldn't be done during store hours. This is the only time overnight shifts are available. When asked about the pay difference, even if it was time and a half I was told there was none. 

Again, super great people, terrible company.

(I'd highly recommend working here if you're looking for temporary work while in college or high school.)

+ Flexible hours, though you'll likely be working 4-5 days a week, and it can be difficult getting a consistent schedule. Getting days off last minute is a nightmare since you have to contact coworkers. At the same time it's a nightmare to finally have a day off and then have a coworker ask you to take their shift. The store constantly understaffed because of seasonal workers. You could honestly walk into the store and get hired on the spot, as long as you seem like a responsible person.

+ The management was awesome, I've had a few amazing coworkers too. It's been like a second family to me. You'll have slow days, but there's always something to do. For the most part, it's going to be stressful and crazy busy. Everyone suffers equally though, so you'll never feel like you're carrying the weight of the entire store. I've always felt appreciated during the stressful times.

+ I often got raises without asking, just from being a hard worker and going out of my way to take on other's shifts. I wanted to move up or even just side step to a different position, but I never got the opportunity. Others did though - sometimes they would promote someone who's perfect for the job, and more often they'd promote someone who were never good workers in the first place. The key is to be aggressive in asking for additional training.

+ The best part of the job is the social aspect of it all. The job sucks for everyone, so it's easy to relate to coworkers and make friends. Perfect environment for people who want a social workplace.

The job is a little hard at first because you have to learn how to do all the products. The management changes every few months. The company changes the way they make products so you have to relearn quickly or they will get mad at you. They don't train well from higher up. 
The head chefs are better at training then general management and corporate. The head chefs allow you to make mistakes and to learn from them. 
Not enough hours on the days you are available. You have to work until a certain time then they tell you to go home early. The work is hard to do. Very busy work. No breaks unless full time. No break area. 
Either work any days and super early and get off early. 
I work in the pastry department. The products rotate every few months. You have to keep a clean area and display case stocked. Most of the time we throw away many products that go bad quickly but we make to much because corporate wants the stores to make the same amount of product. 
The pay is OK. If you want a raise you have to ask yourself don't wait around for a promotion. They have you do a self assessment paper then they give you a raise much lower than what you ask for. 
You have to clean everything you use that day before you leave. They don't give you enough time to finish the products and do the cleaning. So sometimes you do only half the list and then start cleaning before the bakers come in to start their day. 
The bakers leave a mess as well. 
You get to play music while you work. You can take a pastry or food on your shift. Discounts when you come in to buy something. Equipment does break easy and then takes forever to get fixed and then breaks again. 
The job is a job. You have to deal with a lot but at least you make money to live. 

I would get to work and the first thing I would do is say"Hi" and clock in. I jump right in to my duties and depending on the day and month the busyness of the store would vary. If it not busy, I clean and stalk as fast as possible and help my coworkers with orders or anything else they might need. I would make smoothies, salads, sandwiches and occasionally assist the expediters. There were three banes in the kitchen and depending on which one I was working, I would constantly try to keep clean and stalked so closing time would go by quickly. Having a clean cut and uniform appearance was expected and done by everyone that worked there. It was also nice to work there because swearing was not allowed so no one did. There was a lot of respect between coworkers. The hardest part of the job was the rate of your speed. Speed and consistency was sometimes hard to accomplish when nights were busy, but It's doable. It was also hard when customers would surprise us with large orders and not calling ahead. What I loved was the friendship I had with my coworkers. The kitchen crew and drive through had headsets and we would use them when the store was slow and we were cleaning and we used that time to catch up and joke. I loved being able to connect and get to know my coworkers because it made work more enjoyable and made employees into friends. The things I learned was how to make a kneader's sandwich and salad, what makes them so welcoming to the public, and I was able to improve my speed and accuracy. It was also nice to learn more about finance and working for a chain company that was mature and uniform.

As an assistant GM, I was a salaried employee and was expected to work until the job was done, (very normal) Where this is not normal, is often I was working more than twelve hour days, or in excess of 60 or on some occasions 75 hours per week. As the night manager, I would be required to come in at either 12:00 pm, or 1:00 pm, and rarely leave before 11:00 pm. On some occasions, I was required to stay as long as 2:30 am. The job culture, while sometimes fun and light-hearted, there is a culture of sit down, shut up, and take it. This was not exclusive to salaried managers, as on several occasions, an hourly manager would also be required to clock out and continue work into the night. The hourly employees do not get ten-minute breaks, however, there are meal breaks for hourly employees (Non-Managerial). Managers on the other hand, are not allowed any uninterrupted breaks. Often, it is expected that in order to save labor, hourly employees are sent home 30 minutes after close, no matter the amount of work completed, and no matter how good labor is. So as a salaried manager, many times I was left alone in the store with managerial closing duties, boh closing duties, and foh closing duties before I was allowed to leave the store. Managerial tasks at my store included two different floor sections, all dishes, prep, drawers, general expo. I was also often required by my GM to not throw out bad product, even when our prices were extremely high. If you are looking for a job, I would find somewhere else to work, as this place has an extremely long list of problems that are endemic to the company.

I worked here for not very long and from the second I started I went home upset every day. The bosses all play favoritism and gossip about what your coworkers tell them all the time. Every single week they called me in saying that they need someone to cover because they didn’t schedule anyone correctly. Night shifts were always unorganized and we would complain and nothing changed. When I put in my notice my bosses acted like children after and talked about me to my other coworkers. Everyone there gossips and if you’re not in on the main group you will be talked about around the entire store. They also pay people who have been there for months WAY less than people who are just starting and are not very nice once you mention it to them. When there are rude customers who ask for the managers they do absolutely nothing to helps and try to make you solve it yourself which ultimately ends in the customer getting even more upset. You also won’t enjoy the food because of how dirty everything is there. They try to make you clean it at night but because the night shift ALWAYS stays an hour or two after their shift should have ended they usually don’t clean it and bugs are always in the store. They also never scheduled me over 7 hours. Everyone else in the store was getting 8+ hours and overtime except night shift but we’re the ones who always stayed later. I would never recommend this place to anyone. I quit a while ago and I still get texts from my friends that still work there about how my bosses are still talking about me.. 0/10 on stars honestly.

They told me I would paid 10 dollars. Then it was 8.50. Then minimum wage changed to 8.60 and my last check says 8.50 hour, so. I would get called off all the time because we were slow but not (hit or miss). I even went to other locations for them. Everyone was nice in a way. Then, I literally didn't get any hours for a week and a half (call offs). I was always there early and on time. People who didn't even get along with me in my personal life that well told me to leave them. Several employees quit that were there since day one. It was the LIVE LAUGH LOVE crowd that boycotted Starbucks and those places. I didn't care, I put up with it. My managers were very nice and I wish the best for them and the future, but it was the poorest management I have ever endured (and lowest pay) out of everywhere. I apparently couldn't do the retail section but every gay guy can decorate. I tried to help the most I could with them but then it became "We're too slow for January or February" you'll get your  15-25 hours back soon (so together with my other job so I could be full time working). I'm not going to say more because it's not my business and I hope they do well and everything and they are truly good people so I'm not going to be rude about it. 

Also, this has nothing to do with the managers or staff -but how does a restaurant get away with a cashier/server position and they call it "EXPO". You don't call out names like Panera or Starbucks, but you do put food on the table and 99% of the time you don't get any tips.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assistant manager 1 salary reported	$16.75 per hour
Kitchen team member 2 salaries reported	$15.75 per hour
Pastry cook 1 salary reported	$15.25 per hour
General manager 1 salary reported	$65,000 per year
Baker 2 salaries reported	$15.75 per hour

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