barista

shift leader

store manager

assistant manager

associate manager

PJS Coffee of New Orleans

If you want to apply at a franchise-owned location, don’t even bother doing it. Corporate allows franchisees to place whatever rules they want on anything. They pick and choose favorites and cater to the ones they like the best. Most managers are literally teenagers and have never managed before in their lives. So they make buddies and allow some to do what they want and everyone else has to bear the cross of actually working during rushes and busy hours. Managers sit in the office and hang out while hourly employees work. They don’t give you breaks for 6-7 hour shifts unless it’s a minor and they’re required by law. They don’t offer any benefits and only give you a 10% discount, which doesn’t even account for sales tax. You’re basically paying for your own labor, even if you want a cup of water. Owners, however, get everything free. Luckily, most of the customer base can be pretty cool and understanding. Most people who come in are nice, especially the regulars. Some people who come in can be really rude though, but that’s with any customer service job. However, for $8/hr, it is not worth it AT ALL. Most other corporations are paying $12-16/hr now. There’s no excuses anymore, especially for a location that projects over a million dollars a year.

A typical day is about 5-8 hours of customer service, prepping pastries, and cleaning machines/the establishment. You’ll learn customer service skills and how to deal with it. Management is more for profit than fairness, which is unfortunate. Coworkers are amazing and customers are mostly nice. The hardest part of the job is probably remembering all the stuff to do. Best part of the job is working with amazing people, some of them might be more lazy than others, but overall a fun time.

Now to get personal: I worked from May 2023 to September 2024. The store I worked at had been bought by a large company from an independent business owner, and immediately felt the results. Instead of 3 people in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, we were subjected to 2 on morning, 1 on nights. Getting paid $8/hr for an intense workload with no raises definable put a sour taste in my mouth. The only thing keeping me there was money and my coworkers. I would still be working there if it was more fair to the workers, but that’s how the cookie crumbled.

I learned so much about coffee and customer service while working at PJ's coffee. My fellow baristas also became some of my best friends. However, management was awful; promotions were promised and never given, we were forced to do management level work and not compensated for it because the real managers never took responsibility for what they were supposed to be doing, and the management also made many severely unprofessional and inappropriate comments about fellow employees. Corporate was also really slow and could never get anything done... ever. They never answered their phones and anytime we needed paperwork or help with anything... they just kind of left us in the dark. So, we ended up having to figure stuff out on our own and do their job for them. I worked almost a full year for this company, with a promised promotion, and never received it or the raise I was promised. I wouldn't recommend working here, to anyone, ever. It was a waste of time and hard work which was never appreciated, sadly. 

If you want to be exploited and treated like trash this is the perfect place to work. I’ve worked in the food industry for years. This is the worst place EVER. Managers & most coworkers are condescending. They need to switch the job description to janitor, fry cook, & cashier. If you’re not “chosen” for barista, that’s ALL you’ll be doing& expected to pull all the leg work. Only the baristas say they like the job. Cause all they do is make drinks! No one does their job so it’s left on you(new hires) then you’re blamed for their laziness. Can’t forget they lie abt pay raises and won’t tell you!! There’s an issue with my checks nearly every pay day. Extremely stressful for the little pay you make. When I tell people I work here, every single one has said management is crazy & it’s a horrible job. I should’ve listened. There’s a reason someone’s quitting nearly every week. 

Too much drama and fighting for no reason.
I did not learn a single thing from this job except that the owner is a pedo.
The management is terrible, they pick favorites and write you up for no reason.
The hardest part of the job is getting the hours you need, and not being in the middle of drama, especially when you are just doing your job everyday.
There is no enjoyable part of this job.
Highly do not recommend.

Was a rewarding job at first, I loved my team! But unrealistic expectations as they're all franchised. So owners can make ridiculous rules, such as not allowing employees to have water cups,  listening in on cameras audio to personal conversations and so much more.  NO benefits. No free meals.  you get 50% off and thats still so expensive. LAST BUT NOT LEAST. ASMS get paid way below what an assistant store manager should get paid. The coffee is delicious.  and the FBCS make everything amazing! But once they're..  gone, good luck. 

I love making drinks and most of the time the customers are nice, obviously not all, some can be very rude as they don't see service workers as real people. You do have to complete all roles, there's not one assigned role per person, so make sure you can juggle a lot. Management here is a problem. The current manager, the owners son, is terrible at communication and tries to be your buddy rather than a work related peer. There's also always some sort of drama. 

I enjoyed the job itself, but the manager was super hard to work with. I never felt like I could come to them with any questions or issues. I usually went to the assistant manager. I always struggled with getting enough hours. The job was fun and fairly easy. Most coworkers were easy to work with. Owner changed things up a lot so sometimes it was hard to keep up. Overall I liked it but I wouldn’t go back

What is the best part of working at the company?
Making coffee and customer service 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The lack of care from the franchise owner how they openly, frequently admitted how he just got into it to "turn a coin". Not even a coffee drinker their self.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Poor work environment from sanitization to report with staff.

It is what to be expected at a drive thru cafe, energetic and often chaotic during rush hour. But having great coworkers who communicate well, and got the job done on time. That was the best part of working there.
Also learning skills of the trade, and other tasks were calming and enjoyable 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Barista 468 salaries reported	$11.41 per hour
Shift leader 52 salaries reported	$13.80 per hour
Store manager 23 salaries reported	$18.85 per hour
Assistant manager 8 salaries reported	$13.63 per hour
Associate manager 14 salaries reported	$14.00 per hour

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