crew member

shift manager

restaurant manager

assistant manager

manager in training

Runza

I’ve worked at Runza twice, and unfortunately the reason for my quitting my was the same both times. Management. The first time I quit, I worked from November 2020 - May 2021. The manager at the time was abrasive and seemed to only have criticisms for us, and we rarely received positive feedback or suggestions on how we could improve. She’d just point out that we were doing something wrong and expected us to just figure out how to do it correctly without so much as telling us how to do it properly. It grated me so I put in about a month of notice before quitting, and I left the company on good terms.

The second time was far less forgiving. When I reapplied to Runza after not finding any other work I enjoyed, they hired me back immediately and even allowed me to keep my the wage I had left at prior. It was very kind of them and I appreciated it very much (this was decided by the owners, not management.)

In January of 2022, I had to go into the ER and have an emergency appendectomy. I also tested positive for covid, which required me to quarantine for 10 days. I let them know as much and tried to update them on the situation when I could. 

I went back to work on the 14th and worked for about a week and 1/2 before I started to have complications from surgery. I called into work one day, crying from how much pain I was in and told them I’d either be going to the ER or Urgent Care due to the fact I couldn’t even stand without being in a crippling amount of pain. This is the part I understand them being upset about because all of this happened about 30 minutes before I was supposed to be at work. I’m not going to sit here and pretend like that’s not infuriating. 

I was able to get in with urgent care, they got me onto some pain control and scheduled me an appointment with the surgeon who’d performed on me for 11:30 the next morning. They said they wanted to get me in to see him as soon as possible just to be sure it wasn’t serious. They suspected I had an infection but because I came in at an early stage they’d be able to treat it fairly easily. I called my manager, (who was a new manager and not the previous one I’d quit from) to let her know what was happening and I asked her if she still wanted me to come in before and/after the appointment. She outright accused me of faking injuries to get out of work and said that I should have told them to make the appointment on one of my days off. She said things like “You only work every other day, doctors will work with you to get around your schedule, but I knew you were going to call in today, though. I knew you were going to try and pull something like this.”

She didn’t even allow me to tell her what was wrong with me before telling me we’d be discussing this when I came back to work. I tried to be polite and just say alright and ok just to get through that, but when it was over I pulled open the Band app, and I put in my two weeks immediately, for obvious reasons.

Everything else was excellent, though. I loved all of my coworkers, talking to them was easy, asking questions was never daunting, they didn’t make me feel like I was stupid if I didn’t understand something, and they’d be graceful with I messed up or forgot something. They never dwelled on or brought up past mistakes to hang over my head. I even considered a few of them good work friends before I left. The people were by far the best part of the job, and I know the next person they hire will have no trouble growing to like their coworkers.

All of the supervisors at the location I worked for were excellent, the owners’ son and daughter were both incredible people to work with - professional but not to the point where it was their entire personality; you could be people around them and they didn’t treat us like we were below them. I miss a lot of the people I worked with. They were great.

Work is fairly simple for the most part, but tedious. As a cashier, I take orders in both drive-thru and the front, collect the money, make ice cream, check the orders to make sure they are correct before I hand them out, and then hand them to the customers in a timely fashion. I also have to make sure the dining area, windows, and the bathrooms are clean, refill the ice cream machines with mix, refill the front cooler with dressings, milk, juice, and water bottles, restock the dining area and drive-thru, and finally, at closing, take down the machines and clean the individual parts, mop the front and bathrooms, take down our ice tea pitchers and clean them, and either store or throw out any remaining ice cream depending on the day of the week. One of the biggest issues is making sure both kitchen and front people work together to get orders out on time and make sure they're correct. The hardest part is the customers and making sure they're happy, as each customer is different with different needs, expectations, and attitudes towards those who work in the food industry. I've found that generally older generations tend to be less forgiving of mistakes or inconveniences, so they are often harder on staff than younger generations. You quickly have to develope a thick skin and not take anything they say personally. The most enjoyable part is the camaraderie you develope with your fellow co-workers. While you won't get along with everyone, it's safe to say you'll get along with most of them, especially since most of your co-workers are likely to be high schoolers or college students, thus around the same age group.

I've worked at this location for a little over a year and a half and quickly got a raise. It's an easy job once you get the hang of it, and great co-workers would have made this a dream job if it wasn't for the customers that we get. Don't get me wrong, not every customer is bad, and some of them are awesome, but the majority will treat you like a piece of gum on their shoe. Expect customers to yell at you for things that are not your fault (customers not telling you that they wanted a large meal, prices going up, expired coupons, specials ending (one time a guy threatened to hit me because we weren't selling chili anymore), etc.) and to try and con their way into getting free food (this is especially egregious in the drive-thru where they will claim that you forgot to give them something that they didn't order which is why you ALWAYS have to read their order back to them before they pay so if they try to pull that, which some of them still will after confirming their order multiple times, you can tell them that not only did they not order that but that even if they had and we didn't hear them at the intercom they would still have to pay for it). But even after all of that Runza is still the best fast food place to work at because those types of customers will show up at every fast food business, but Runza is the only one who won't fire you because somebody didn't realize that they had to tell you no onions on their cheeseburger instead of just assuming you would know that they hated onions (yes that happened, just because I have served you once or twice or even ten times doesn't mean I know your order).

(I was a minor working) I had lots of fun with my co-workers, and especially loved greeting and seeing the customers. I got terminated due to the “no-call-no-show” policy. The short schedule posted I was no fan over. Managers texted the group chat on Saturday that the schedule that was supposed to be released Friday was going to be late do to minor inconveniences. Meaning I didn't get it till late Saturday which is an under two day notice for my 2 hr shift on Monday. First day I've missed and I've been working for over 6 weeks. Managers contacted me that I missed my shift only after the shift had finished. Not a fan of the way they handled elder customers. They prohibited me to offer senior discounts. They only allowed senior discounts to those who asked because they didnt want to loose money. (But I offered them to the elders regardless) no discounts for military nor police force either (which I would handle by giving them a senior discount) which only took 5-10% off. The amount of talk about the customers after they left and the careless-ness after they left. Many things weren’t properly sanitized or even left out for days (like the food) if asked for extra or well done they would charge more and serve the meal without. Extra charging. Not a fan, they don’t have lunch breaks either.

I started with Runza 4 years ago as a part time fryer then worked my way up to Certified Shift Supervisor. I am now an Assistant Manager. My job requires me to be flexible, organized, and good at multi-tasking as well as able to work in any position as needed. 
A typical day begins with making dough, preparing the bank deposit, inventory, and getting things ready for the day. The most time consuming task is pinching and panning Runzas. During lunch rush I usually either run the grill or the fryers which requires speed and accuracy to get orders out. The afternoon consists of cleaning and production tasks as well as taking and making orders. Production includes making filling, scooping meat, making "footballs", slicing onions, making chili, etc. 
During rush times it is a very fast paced job but if you have a good crew it is very doable and you feel a sense of accomplishment when the rush is over. Being able to joke around and sing songs with coworkers always lightens the mood and makes the day go by faster. 
I

A typical day at work as always fairly simple. Do preparation work in the morning, cook food and serve customers through out the day, clean, and make sure customers were satisfied. I learned a lot with this job. I learned how to be professional, cook food fast, working with money, and how to have great customer service. Management was a little iffy with this job because there were always a lot of people coming and going. I worked hard enough and was able to get a Management position for the rest of the time I worked there. It was a good fast paced environment where I worked with a lot of great people. The hardest part about the job for me was dealing with disgruntled customers. With time I was able to overcome that very easily. The part of the job I enjoyed the most was being able to talk to the community and meet new people. I always loved hearing stories about how people think Runza is such an amazing restaurant and they always have to take Runzas back for their families to enjoy. 

At Runza, a typical day at work consists of cleaning the tables and the dining area for the customers to enjoy a clean place to eat. Mornings were not too busy. By lunch time we would be doing plenty of dishes, especially me. Taking out the trash, cleaning the restrooms, and the dining room. Then repeat the process once the evening came.
I learned how to serve, and how to manage my time for work and school.
Management was pretty good. The one who had hired me was very friendly and cares a lot about everyone who had worked there.
The workplace culture contained multiple personalities and different characters. We all got along just fine.
The hardest part of the job was honestly the rush. There comes a time when you get a big crowd of customers and it made me nervous but I always did just fine.
Lastly, the most enjoyable part of my job was getting to see some people I met before or were friends with.

Sadly I was promised more pay than I was given. Not a huge difference but still seemed dishonest. Unfortunately I was not offered enough hours. I loved the job but the lack of hours and pay, paired with the commute of 30+ miles, made it so I had to find work elsewhere. Otherwise I did enjoy working there and I had fun most days too!

Most of the people that I worked with were helpful and nice. They seemed team oriented and weren't afraid to help others, which made the work environment more enjoyable and inviting.

The hardest part of the job was the commute, and moving quickly through the store since my size was a bit of a draw back.

The best part was the customers by far! A lot of them were travelers, many were regulars. And all around they loved my positive attitude and my friendly demeanor. I often got compliments on my service and I developed a great rapport with the regular customers.

When I started I wasn't informed about any of the online training by any management. You could tell some people want to be there but others did not. Within the first couple days you're expected to pretty much function alone without thorough training. With the fast paced environment people get really stressed at you if you can't keep up with the orders flying out of the kitchen. There weren't any designated breaks and if you were front of house and finished your cleaning duties, you were told to go help the kitchen. If you're over 21 you're expected to be cross trained to do kitchen cooking but they won't give you a raise. They are super nitpicky about people not eating any of the food at all unless you pay for it. They don't even give you a free meal, you still have to pay 50%.

Depends on the location you work at. I’ve been with the company for 6 years and have worked at 3 different locations. For the most part the stores are clean and coworkers are good. Only had one bad experience with one location. However, despite working at 3 different locations, I only feel valued at the one I started at and was promoted by. Some coworkers from location I work at currently treat me more as a regular crew member than a part of their management staff, which is very frustrating. I’m constantly feeling incapable and like I need to prove to them like I know what I am doing and how to manage a shift. The pay is decent. They work with my schedule during the school year which is really nice. The GM for the store I work at currently is understanding about things that come up in my personal life and when I won’t be able to make it in and will always help me find a cover.  

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Crew member 1 salary reported	$13.00 per hour
Shift manager 2 salaries reported	$16.50 per hour
Restaurant manager 11 salaries reported	$60,750 per year
Assistant manager 1 salary reported	$17.50 per hour
Manager in training 3 salaries reported	$60,750 per year

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