cook

restaurant manager

host/hostess

dishwasher

busser

Lazy Dog Restaurants

Let’s start with the positive. The guests who come to Lazy Dog are often very friendly and easy to work with. There were very few guests who were notably bad. The employees who work at Lazy Dog are also very friendly and cool as well. The number one good thing that came out of working at Lazy Dog were the lifelong friendships I made with my coworkers. 

Now for the negatives. There are many. Lazy dog at this particular location isn’t as busy as it used to be. I used to be able to make my rent in a few days of work, but more recently it’s been a lot harder to duplicate that success. Especially during summers when it’s slow and when the economy is bad and inflation is going up. They are also constantly hiring new servers, which makes it much harder to make good money when it is decently busy. Management is also terrible at making cuts. So on ridiculously slow nights you’ll be stuck there for hours or if you’re a section closer you’ll make less money because they keep so many people on the floor. Large parties are also a big problem because there are no requirements. So a party of 50 people can come in with all separate checks and it’s up to the servers on the party to make sure checks are accurate and every check is being paid. The managers at this location are also incompetent, to put it mildly. The only competent manager is now on maternity leave. The other managers will expect you to do things outside your job description, work outside your availability if scheduled, constantly be doing something even if there are only 4 tables taken in entire restaurant, among other things. You’ll also get yelled at if you’ve been busy the entire shift and don’t have time to run food. You’re capacity to do the job will be questioned by people who have never done your job before or haven’t done it in years. Don’t trust management. They’ll make you feel comfortable and laugh with you but will talk about how lazy and terrible you are to other employees, who will then turn around let you know about it. That’s just the tip of iceberg. I could go on, but you get the point.

Going to be completely blunt here and save somebody’s time before they apply. You’re tipping 5.5% of your sales to bussers, bartenders, and runners but guess what? As a SERVER, you run your own food/other servers food while the runner YOU tip out constantly asking the servers to run food  the whole shift. No tray service and they mainly focus on takeout food. You also run your own drinks (which is no problem) if the bussers actually helped with service sometimes. The bussers only clean tables and make rollups through the whole shift and even that takes a long time.  There was an absurd amount of servers every shift but if you wanted to make money, you needed to be in a good section and management expects you to be “lazy dog” way and expect you to run food and buss while everyone else makes money. If you’re not in a good section, you’re going home with less than $10. If you wanted to stay and close for someone to make up for that bad day you’re having, you wouldn’t be able to because you have to switch shifts on hotschedules first! Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place to grow if you have no restaurant experience as you can move up from each position. BUT as someone ran food and bussed on the strip and moved up to become a server, was looking for an extra source of income but even that didnt keep me there because I wasn’t making enough here anyways. Servers are definitely doing way more than they need to be here because the poor restaurant format and duties of each position. Oh and also, management pushed these things called “beer clubs” and “campfire clubs” and if you aren't selling them to the guests, your sections gonna be no good! Other than that, the business is still doing good itself but you wanna make money as a server, don’t expect much and if you make good money, expect to work SUPER hard for it! You’re either gonna make $100 or $5.


Three-Year Employee
I worked at Lazy Dog for three years. The first two and a half years were genuinely great—solid leadership, good teamwork, and a strong sense of support. Unfortunately, things changed drastically after our Assistant GM left. Since then, the work environment has gone downhill rapidly.
On busy nights like Fridays and Saturdays, it's common for management to be tied up in meetings while servers are left to manage the floor on their own, with no supervision or assistance. It creates chaos and unnecessary stress for everyone on the floor.
On several occasions, I arrived for a scheduled non closing shift only to be told I had been moved to closing—without any notice from management. A simple phone call would’ve made a huge difference.
Late-night shifts are especially challenging because there is no automatic gratuity for large parties. This lea results in zero-tip tables, yet servers are still required to tip out support staff (bussers, runners, cooks, bartenders) based on sales. I’ve personally had $200–$400 checks leave no tip, forcing me to pay $10–$21 out of my own pocket to the restaurant during checkout. That’s not just frustrating—it’s financially punishing.
Large parties often come in late at night, leave nothing, and you actually lose money just for serving them.
Advice to the GM:
Better communication and basic transparency would go a long way. A simple heads-up when shift changes happen, and some awareness of how tip-out policies impact servers, would improve morale and retention significantly. 



I have never loved my job more in my life! Working at Lazy Dog in Fresno has brought me so much joy! The diverse environment I work in is always positive and sets everyone up for success. I always feel supported by my peers as well as my managers, and am always excited to come into to work. Working in the food industry is not for everyone, but Lazy Dog sets a high standard for a positive working environment for everyone to enjoy! We’re all family here! 

Typical workday would include working with some of your favorite people, and helping each other throughout the day or night. We are very diverse here in Fresno, many of our bussers speak Spanish for their first language, and they have taught me so much. They do a really good job with the turnaround rate and helping us servers get tables cleaned fast. 

I know I can always count on my managers and my coworkers if I ever needed help or if I ever had any questions. Our workplace culture is very understanding and everyone supports everyone. Everyone has eaten out at a restaurant but I don’t think anyone provides the type of hospitality that we do at Lazy Dog. 

If you work at this location you can depend on your managers to hold you back BECAUSE you’re good at your job. You can ask to be moved up for over a year and continue to try to prove yourself but they won’t give you what you deserve until you try to find work elsewhere. I’ve never had a job where you’re held back from learning more because they can’t train or trust the people in your current position to do their job. The environment here is INSANELY toxic and has been since opening day. I’m aware this is a common thing with working in a restaurant environment anywhere but that doesn’t mean it is okay. The hosts are made to feel like the bottom of the “food chain” but are worked to death just the same, at least in my experience (especially during COVID) and receive no tips, which is also unlike any other restaurant I’ve heard of. The servers will take their frustrations out on you and spread gossip about you. It’s best to just keep to yourself here. If you have any issues with the managers, or at least the general manager, don’t bother trying to report it to HR. Nothing will happen, at least not to them. 

At first it was a really nice environment and they lived up to some of their promises. There were a few hiccups here and there but 3-5 months in the work environment completely changed. The managers became micromanagers and would complain about every little thing. We were also continuously understaffed as hosts. For that reason, we were always working about 5-6 days which is almost full time and we got no benefits. mind you most of us would be forced to work full shifts that were unnecessary since there was enough coverage. Yet we got no free food ever, no acknowledgement for our hard work, always told we are doing something wrong, were yelled at in front of guests multiple times by management, forced to take unnecessary unpaid breaks without reason only to get sent home within our 6 hours, and overworked due to the lack of proper staff. The work place quickly became the most unenjoyable place i’ve ever worked at.  

this restaurant is very seldom slow, so the opportunity for making tips is there for anyone willing to work their butt off for it.  the camaraderie between the staff members is exceptional and make this business a desirable place to be for the staff.  the main (and only) reason that i scored this restaurant the way i did is that there are numerous times that i was treated like a robot by the managers as well as the customers. do not work here if you want to have any kind of report with the customers.  during peak hours (if the staff has been reduced), there are times where i would have upwards of 10-15 tables at a time without help, and was still expected to give perfect service. having 20 years of experience still wasn't enough to make this possible.  To err is human.  For this reason, my overall score for this business was dramatically reduced.

The managers here do not care about their employees, it is all about the numbers game at the end of the day. The "family values" here are all for show and there is no value in the promises given and no follow through. Whenever they do a "contest" for servers and bartenders the "prizes" are never given out, xmas paries were always promiseed and never actually obtained. 

As for insurance eligibility, you may work over 40 hours a week but if you take a single day off at ALL in the entire year that affects your "hours worked" you are no longer eligible for said benefits. When asked about thsi policy I was told that you need to have the same hours worked everyweek do qualify, and the only way around that is to have PTO.

They work you like a dog (no pun intended), and there is no thought given to actual management style, nor how the managers treat the staff. Favoritism and nepatism run wild with this company. 

0/10 DO NOT RECCOMEND

I worked as a host and busser for Lazy Dog. If you are working as a host, you will be underpaid. Minimum wage and no cut from the tips, which I had never heard of before for a restaurant job. For shifts, you are only told a starting time and you will be held for as long as the manager needs you there. Overall the culture is good. Managers are generally nice to you and most of the employees are easy to get along with. There is the usual workplace gossip and it can be frustrating sometimes. But generally the culture is relaxed and you can leave work at work. I made some good friends at this job.
Advancement system is very hierarchical, which can be good and bad. Good work is supposed to be rewarded with moving up, but often staffing does not allow for this, and managers do sometimes play favorites. Employees are often frustrated by this.
Also, they make you dress like a wannabe cowboy, and I didn't really appreciate that.

The interview started out "You don't want to work here..  "  "I'm not going to hire you because... ", followed by a description of crowded working conditions.  So, I thought, the FOH is very different from the BOH.  He described BOH as a factory setting with pretty high expectations.  It was like the sales pitch where they use negative psychology (you don't want this), in order to make you want it and fight for it.  I didn't like that approach and I don't want to work in a food factory when the customers are having such a good time only a few yards away.  If it's all factory setting and meeting goals and no fun, why bother?  I did not "fight for it".  I didn't need to.  I already had another job offer  in my pocket from another restaurant (I did an interview and stage the previous evening and they hired me on the spot).  I went to this interview to see if they would offer anything better.  They didn't.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Cook 108 salaries reported	$19.03 per hour
Restaurant manager 31 salaries reported	$75,677 per year
Host/hostess 112 salaries reported	$15.54 per hour
Dishwasher 42 salaries reported	$17.74 per hour
Busser 37 salaries reported	$14.36 per hour

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