line cook

cook

server

general manager

kitchen manager

Mimis Cafe

The beginning of my relationship with Mimi's was great and I loved to be there. The managers were great and the co workers always helpful, but then they brought in new management from outside of the company and in my personal opinion, the company started going down hill quickly thereafter. The members of the staff who had been with the company for quite sometime, myself and management included, were very upset with the "know it all" attitude of the new management, district staff and HR staff. I was placed in a different store, very far away from my place of residence and told that " we would be re building this store from the ground up". This was fine, as I loved the company and would do anything I could at the time to help. My work week quickly sky rocketed to 60+ hours a week, as there was no one to train for most all of the positions because everyone was new. The district manager began to conveniently " use" my ideas as his own, which again wasn't a huge deal as I just wanted to get the company back to its former glory so to speak. After pulling more than my share of work, one of the other managers in the store, whom I trained, was very upset with the respect I was gaining from others, both staff and management, because of course I am a woman and him a man. This led to many accounts of face to face authoritative discussions on his part and lets just say, I am no longer employed there. This company keeps bringing in outsiders instead of promoting internally, which makes a lot of regulars and long time employees not so happy. Instead of having the " I know all and can do anything" attitude, the company should rejoice in former employees knowledge and aspire to promote them should they meet the requirements of the position. Other wise we have more gossip then production within a company/store.

A typical day at work consists of providing customers with the best possible dining experience. To achieve this, my primary job was to serve those customers seated in my section. This constituted taking their food orders, delivering them to the kitchen, and serving those orders in a well-timed fashion. Other tasks included keeping drink glasses full, and tables clean of any dishes or clutter. Aside from these fundamental duties, I was expected to help struggling co-servers, as well as do my part in keeping our service station well stocked, organized, and clean.
The management during my time working at Mimi’s was excellent. The managers were approachable, and would never shy away from assisting servers when things got busy. The most challenging part of this job was the occurrence of an unexpected rush, and there would not be enough servers working. This event would usually lead to one server taking on 5 or more tables at a time. Although it would become both physically and mentally demanding, I learned the value of organization, time-management and the power of perseverance .
The most enjoyable part about my time at Mimi’s was the people I worked with. Mimi’s culture fostered a high energy, positive, and team-oriented work environment. When I had come on board as a new server with very little experience, everyone did what they could to help me learn restaurant procedures and policies. They also did what was in their power to make me feel comfortable and attain my sales goals, which helped me to perform better as a server.
Compared to my time working at Locatelli’s Pizza, my experience working at Mimi’s Café showed me what a difference company culture has on the relationships of its employees and customers. By providing a positive, team-oriented, and goal driven work place I was able to not only make more money, but also become a better as a server.

I was hired for a hosting position at Mimis Cafe. It was my first job a typical day at Mimis would go as follows. I would come in clock in of course. Depending on whether I worked the day shift or night shift there would be a different routine to follow. If it were the day shift I would usually be opening with management. I'd make sure my work area was clean and presentable ready for the day. We as hosts are the first impression customers get upon entering the restaurant. I would hold the door open for each guest, greet them. Get them their menu's and seat them. Offer them incentives on future events to come, take their silverware (if they had toddlers offer customers special toddler chair w/ free snack) and get them a bread basket. Members would be prepared for the server in a professional manner. After about a year I was promoted to To Go Host. My responsibilities increased and it was very fun, I enjoyed the experience immensely.I of course went through a training had to memorize the menu. I would be in charge of taking customer orders "to go" online,on the telephone and, by walk-in. I would place the order on the restaurant kiosk and prepare the meal to go. Plastic silverware, napkins, to go menu and, bread basket. All sauces had to be packaged a specific way, as well as beverages. I would have multiple orders at once so I had to be fast and accurate. And I would get tipped. I did have regulars it was a very friendly environment. There was a catering part to the job as well, pretty much the same routine just in larger quantities and a larger bill of course.

I have been in many positions at Mimi's Cafe and can attribute a great amount of my learned experience to this company. I had been promoted to every position I desired to fulfill which gave me a great understanding of the company. The bulk of my career there was done as a service trainer and supervisor. While training, I would have a trainee for 5 days and teach them how to properly serve under the company guidelines. What I learned most about being an effective trainer was to provide complete clarity. I always explained everything I did and the reasoning for doing it. I noticed that new employees can have a hard time asking for clarification to avoid looking incompetent. By thoroughly explaining my methods, it helped reduce the amount of questions that may arise, which made the trainee become more confident in asking questions and their serving ability. While I was supervising, I would decide the position the server, busser, and host would be stationed in the restaurant based on their strengths and the restaurants needs. I typically supervised the Expo area (where food goes from kitchen to guest), but I also dealt with customer compliments/complaints, computer issues, regulating breaks, avoiding employee overtime, and ensuring payroll was at corporate standards (percentage of hourly sales divided by hourly payroll).

We were known for breakfast, the day began at 530 am with a line check of ingredients and a facility walk through to ensure the standards were up to standards.  As the chef and staff create the production chart for the day, the FOH manger finishes up the the deposit and shift plan for the day.  Check in the staff as they arrived for their shift. Open the doors at 6 am and worked the dining room talking to guests and then moving to the expo line to ensure quality and properly prepared per the order.  At 11 am lunch shift starts same system as breakfast but the business flow increase by at lease 50% and the bar is in full play,, so using the figure 8 to include the three dining rooms the expo line and the bar; talking the guest while to ensure quality service.  The management team FOH and BOH worked as a team.  The culture was a family like setting were goals were set and met together.  The hardest part was the building up the brand awareness in the community, took time and dedication to excellence.  The ability to challenge and grow with a greta group of manager.  And the opportunity to train the next group of managers to lead a restaurant team.

Not always an easy job but I made the most of it always make sure that everybody was home safe if I was doing me sober rides or if I was cleaning or nanning for a friend's who had to work as I stayed home with all the children was an easy and fun task as I can easily Get lost in their imaginations and play games with them for hours on end as well as being able to maintain a schedule for a schedule for homework and snack time and lunch while keeping kids safe from the kitchen and hot tensils as well as always  Keeping an eye on all of the children so they are within ear and eye shot of me. I have many references from all the clients who are acquaintances and your friends that I provided these services services for as well as cleaning laundry things I would do just to help as a nanny and putting clothes away and having the children help put their clothes away rewarding them for those tasks done or picking up trash from their rooms and taking it toThe trash downstairs all of those things made a difference in their parents lives when they returned home from work and they were very grateful for it and I was just happy to assist in the growth of their children children in their mannerism.

It was a great concept. However in the locations in which I worked the GM was not present. She might have spent 25 hours a week in the store. She was my training manager, and during training at the end of the day(if she was there) all she wanted to talk about was how horrible her home life was. I was not allowed to expedite in training, as it would affect their times in the window. When we opened a new store in Short Pump, I was berated for not knowing how to dress and expedite plates. I asked for direction, and she did not know how to give it,  She would constantly choose one manager to degrade to her Boss. He had no clue to the fact that she was never there unless he was going to be. She had a highly inappropriate relationship with the KM. They would leave the store together for hours, and return at the end of the shift. It is no surprise to me that the store closed in less than five years of being open. I only worked for them 11 months, and would not recommend the Virginia or Maryland market. I have associates that love their Utah and California locations. They had intended to stay at this location when transferring, but requested to leave because of her. I just found another job, and gave a month's notice. Leaving the area was not an option for me.

In a typical shift as a primary hostess, my responsibilities would include greeting and seating guests, taking reservations, cleaning the restaurant's entrance and bathrooms, running food, serving drinks and occasionally cleaning tables.  The majority of these responsibilities are not required for typical host's and, therefore, I was not adequately compensated.  
The most important things I learned from this position was how to work in a fast-paced, hectic environment and how to interact with a diverse group of people in a polite and professional manner.
The management was helpful when the restaurant was busy and short-staffed, but lack of communication between managers was visible.  
The majority of my co-workers were encouraging and supportive.  
The most difficult part of the job was overseeing other hosts and making sure the job was being done correctly and efficiently while also helping serve the customers at their table.
The most enjoyable part of this job was interacting with customers and working in a fast-paced environment.

I was a host for 11 months here. I asked to be a server since they get more in tips. I was told I had to wait. So I waited for 9 months until I asked and they said they would not train me because I might be leaving the city in two months. I was an excellent host, and every new host quit after 2 weeks of training for good reason. I was the only one who stayed for a long time, and now I regret it. Cons of the job: Not enough pay or hours to pay my half of rent for my apartment at the time. Customers constantly complaining about wait time even when it was short, which tables they got, and servers would get mad when I sat them during busy times. I also ran drinks and sometimes food for tables but got no tips, took to go orders but received minimal tips, and standing for a long time was tiring for me. Employee discount was 50% off, but I still couldn't afford to buy myself lunch every day, so I just ate the free bread pieces for lunch. I liked my coworkers and managers enough to make the job bearable for awhile. 

From the time I began working for Mimi's Cafe 8 years ago as a sophomore in high school, to present day as a college student, I can say it has been a positive experience. A typical day consists of constant interactions with your team members as well as the constant interactions with your guests and meeting not only their needs but the company's needs as well. This is very enjoyable when you maintain a good attitude with everyone you work with and develop awesome relationships with your customers (a.k.a "regulars!). I have learned so much not only as an employee moving up the ranks within the restaurant but also about myself as a person. I have learned how to work with a variety of people whether it be co-workers or guests.  Working in the restaurant can be stressful at times but for the most part it is a happy and fun environment if you keep the right attitude and simply follow the rules as best you can and practice good work ethics. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Line cook 20 salaries reported	$17.60 per hour
Cook 13 salaries reported	$17.77 per hour
Server 9 salaries reported	$200 per day
General manager 5 salaries reported	$67,400 per year
Kitchen manager 1 salary reported	$58,000 per year

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