server

host/hostess

sous chef

manager

shift manager

Lettuce Entertain You

I worked at a bar in Chicago owned by Lettuce Entertain You (Three Dots) from August of 2019 to the shutdown of restaurants during the pandemic. Technically I am still furloughed, but seeing as I was on support staff (busser and bar back) and the volume of people coming in is so low, I don’t imagine I’ll be returning to work.
The job itself was great, I made incredible money during the peak season of Summer and fall, but winter months can prove to be a little tough - if only by comparison. That said, the management (and company itself) does seem to care about their employees and are constantly willing to go the extra mile to ensure employees are treated fairly and getting paid as much as possible, particularly tipped staff. They earnestly reworked schedules to ensure everyone is getting hours and were very accommodating to requests. I really felt supported by the staff and management when I was working there, and they have the blessing of being a company that is large and corporate on paper but small and family-like in practice. Even though they employ thousands of people across states, there’s a huge family feeling - one of the perks is getting a company discount card that can be used at other Lettuce locations, which was really cool, and at times working with Lettuce almost felt like being part of a restaurant industry club.

The job I worked was pretty difficult, if only because I worked long hours (Usually 12 hours bussing) and would get home late. The work/life balance can be a little crazy at my bar in my position but if you’re okay with getting to bed at 3 or 4 in the morning 3 or 4 nights a week, then they’ll make sure it’s worth your while. They fed the whole crew a giant meal each night we were working from the kitchen upstairs and were accommodating of breaks and all that. Obviously the 12 hour shifts are very specific to my job, and not all busser gigs with Lettuce are going to require that from you. My advice to anybody that does end up pulling 12 hour shifts at any restaurant gig, is to spend your days off either outside in the sun in the summer or inside working on your passion/ hobby in the winter. I got pretty depressed working as much as I did in the winter, especially when my sleep schedule meant I basically never saw the sun for two months... any other company I would have quit, but Lettuce somehow managed to make it worth my while.

Really miss working with these managers because they were just the best and had daily preshift meetings every day to make sure everyone staffed there was updated on upcoming events, any menu changes, and how busy we were expecting to be. We were also welcome to voice any questions/ concerns in front of everyone else. Lots of problems that could have turned into bitterness towards other people were solved in those meetings. Suffice to say the managers really did everything they could to bring the staff together as a team and were constantly trying to improve to not only better the guests but the people that worked there.

I was sad to see this job go mostly because I wasn’t able to be around some of the friends I’d made through working there like I used to, but beyond that it was a pretty crazy job. One of the downsides to an awesome job like this is it can kinda take over your life as I’d seen with some people that worked there. If you’re wanting to advance in the service industry or become a professional bartender or what have you, then that’s fine - but as someone that considered this a survival job while working towards my own separate goals, I was happy to be moving on to other things. I’ll always cherish my time here and hopefully these bars will last through the winter - I would hate to see COVID close down these places, especially since this was one of the few hospitality jobs I’ve really enjoyed.

Can't speak for the other positions at this place, but the barista position was extremely not what I expected. You run the whole thing by yourself for at least 8 hours at a time with no breaks allowed. The business fluctuates from so fn dead that you stand around and do nothing for 6 hours [closing shifts] or it's so busy that you literally can't keep up [weekend brunch]. The managers are nice enough but there's really not much they can do to support you considering how small the space is to prepare the drinks and deliver baked goods to customers, as well as taking to-go and online orders. 

I was trying to work this job on top of another job and to be on my feet for another 6-8 hours after working my first job all morning with No Breaks was a ridiculous expectation to have. Even if I didn't have another job I still think that's ridiculous. I don't care that they pay pretty well for what it is, it's inhumane. 

I also received about 3 days of training and then on my 4th shift they threw me into the fire with literally <30 hours of experience on the point of sale. They don't have any of their drink recipes posted anywhere so I just had to make them up on the fly since I didn't have them memorized. They expect you to answer intricate questions about the menu since you have to take all the to-go orders for customers even though you've only had a few days of training. Not to mention there's 2 different restaurants so there's 2 different menus to memorize. No I don't know which of the cookies have soy, there's no ingredient lists anywhere! 

The job itself is so easy outside of those things if you have any experience making coffee. Their expectations are so low, the one manager told me to shake the milk pitcher to make a cappuccino which is the first thing any self-respecting coffee shop tells you Not to do. The quality is some middle of the road trash but it is a corporate chain so what do you expect lol.

The other baristas all looked dead in the eyes. You can't connect with your coworkers because you're on an island by yourself. You can't learn anything about coffee because the coffee program is an afterthought at best, insulting at worst. You have to radio to use the bathroom. You're not allowed to smoke during a shift. You aren't allowed to take a lunch break. You have to park your car a 10-15 minute walk away from the restaurant or pay between $8 and $20/night. You can't get into any flow because the business fluctuates to a ridiculous degree. Also all the customers are bougie moco slobs who won't even make eye contact with you just because they're 4+ tax brackets above you. That's customer service in general, but it's heightened at a place like this. 

The only thing I have left to say is that there's a reason they be posting for the Barista position every 4-6 weeks, and its because they can't keep anyone in there. Stay away from this place if you value anything about yourself besides a few extra bucks in your pocket.

I immensely enjoyed working at Shaw's job house. The work was challenging, fast paced and very hands-on, as most of my time was spent dealing with restaurant patrons in various ways (taking reservations, greeting guests, showing people to their tables, helping seat the dining room, answering phones, ect). As someone who likes working with people and likes working in customer service, it was a good fit for me. Particularly rewarding was when I got to directly see my actions improve someone's dining experience.

However, the company deliberately kept me at just below 40 hours a week to keep me at part time while still expecting me to work six days a week. I had several conversations with managers about advancing in the company, either at Shaw's or at Lettuce in general. In this conversations, managers praised my work ethic and said they considered me an invaluable part of the team. However, nothing ever came from these conversations.

Although the overall culture at Shaw's Crab House was positive, management did very little when I reported sexual harassment to them. The employee with whom I was having problems received a talking to but it was not resolved in a satisfactory way and I often felt uncomfortable when we worked overlapping shifts. Ultimately, management's lax attitudes towards sexual harassment was the reason I left the company.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The team we had was a well balanced staff. Everyone worked together to achieve great results.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The entire management at the Bethesda location. Very unprofessional, very emotionally charged (toxic for keeping the peace while maintaining all your tables plus side work), ask for us to leave our baggage at the door but they create baggage as you're walking in the door to make your work day very stressful, and the amount of bullying and side comments they let side is just far too negative to consider working here again.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It's great if you go to work to only make friends and it's amazing if you manipulate your way through the chain of command so that the higher ups favor you!

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A half day shift was very short around 8 hours max, and as a double you were there for almost over 12 hours. Once your work was done you would go start your side work but it's up to the closing servers to let you go. Some were far too immature to be given this responsibility. That's where making friends came in handy! You can manipulate your closing server to let you go early, only if you're there friend! Pretty toxic I'd say.

A typical work day for me lasted 9-10 hours. It started with prepping my station as well as ingredients for dishes. At about 5 p.m. the first rush goes into play. It would end around 7:30 p.m. and gave me time to replenish ingredients and dishes for the next rush around 9-9:30 p.m. This rush would last approximately an hour and a half and would allow one more break to replenish my station before the last rush of the night around 11:30 p.m. Because the restaurant was located in the theater district there would be waves of rushes in between shows. 

I learned many different cooking techniques, how to work in the kitchen under pressure in small frames of time and work with other cultures.

Management at the establishment was wonderful. 

Most of my co-workers were of the Hispanic background which taught me how to work through cultural differences and I also got much better at my Spanish.

The hardest part of the job was the last rush because I had to prep the appetizers as well as desserts while still preparing for closing. 

I enjoyed the learning experience, the mix of cultures, the food of course and the fun atmosphere even though the job could grow stressful throughout the work day.

Working as a busser at any restaurant has it's ups and downs, and it's really dependent on how busy it is on that day. The job isn't really hard, it consists of cleaning and resetting tables, helping out the servers, and cleaning up the restaurant. You're essentially a glorified janitor. What'll really make or break your enjoyment is the people you're working with. You could be an insanely hard worker, but have a terrible work partner. You and your partner could be great bussers, but have a server that just cannot get it together. If you work hard or get a nice server in your section, you could leave out with some tip money, but if it's not busy then don't even bother. You do have growth opportunities, but you'll have to be there for a while. Overall it's a nice job to earn some quick cash, and work part time, but I wouldn't recommend doing it fulltime unless you're expecting to grow in the company. Management is fine, some ups some downs, but it's better than most management I've seen. If you can handle tedious work, possible dead shifts, closing up a part of the restaurant, working from the afternoon to night, and dealing with slightly gross stuff, this is for you.

My ability to meet people from different places around the world and the culture.  The experiences they have had being in the United States.  What they enjoy about their country and dislike.

The management had a daily agenda of what our goals needed to be and accomplished.  The positive atmosphere feel the guests could feel radiating from the staff and environment.

The most difficult was sometimes understanding the communication of the diverse non speaking guests.  It was a feel and more showing what was interpreted in meeting their needs.

I loved working with the staff and meeting the people, seeing the clothing they displayed from their countries.  It very much intrigued me.

•	Collaborate with executive and sous chef in managing entire back of the house team
•	Establish relationships with all back of the house employees to ensure proper flow of kitchen 
•	Manage a team of day/night cooks to execute all dishes on various menus
•	Prepare food of consistent quality following recipe cards and production and portion standards, per check from servers in a timely fashion.
•	Start food items that are prepared ahead of time, making sure not to over prepare estimated needs. 
•	Return all food items not used on next shift to designated storage areas, being sure to cover/date all perishables and maintain and properly clean all kitchen appliances
•	Oversee the quality of work, proper portioning, and presentation all in a timely fashion. 
•	Manage and coach/train all employees on the line.
•	Responsible for food control and procurement of inventory.

Mity Nice Grill is located on the mezzanine level of The Water Tower in Chicago. A very popular eatery for locals who live in The Hancock Building and the Water Tower. Delicious American Food served by well-trained waitstaff. 
   I had several responsibilities at the Mity Nice Grill, which included: Server, Bartender, Weekend Office Manager, Corporate Trainer, and Banquet Captain. Therefore, I enjoyed changing it up quite often, and, sometimes, twice in one day, doing different jobs. 
   Management was professional and helpful, always.
   Coworkers were professionally trained and well versed in food and wine knowledge.
   Hardest Part of Job: Very large stations, which were sometimes seated all at once. I'm talking seven tables here! 
   Most Enjoyable: Serving all sorts of people from all over the world.

Well while working as a dishwasher at oyster bah. My first two weeks were really stressful. The reason cause everything was coming to fast all at once. But once I got the hang of everything I got better at it. But sometimes there were days when I just couldn't do it anymore. But I pushed myself everyday to manage my first paycheck an the next. Don't get me wrong it's a good job an all but that wasn't for me. The hardest part about that job is there were Trey's an Trey's of dish coming none stop an I was aware of it just wasn't prepared at first. The one thing I like about the job though is we got good food everyday for lunch.  I know that's bad but hey working that job stressed me out alot. So I decided to just find something better that I would enjoy. An I hope I get a opportunity to work in a better work place.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Server 2 salaries reported	$33.00 per hour
Host/hostess 7 salaries reported	$18.57 per hour
Sous chef 7 salaries reported	$72,857 per year
Manager 3 salaries reported	$68,560 per year
Shift manager 8 salaries reported	$24.14 per hour

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