cook

assistant manager

cashier

line cook

general manager

Sonny's-Bbq

Be prepared to wait for an interview for three hours after when they tell you to be there. You need to wear slip resistant shoes, blue jeans that are not skinny jeans, and a black T-shirt but I was not told that by management. 

Management here is horrible, if you need time off for a family event or doctors appointment weeks in advance you’re treated poorly and like garbage for even asking. You don’t get hired unless you have 100% schedule flexibility so working parents need not apply. You get a weeks paid vacation after a year but it is not guaranteed. Be prepared to pull your weight plus several others that claim they work but are mostly on their phones wanting to be paid for handing someone a sandwich and not really giving proper service because they would rather gossip about one another.

No one is made to do side work consistently by management  so if you work you’ll get stuck with all of it most days while everyone goes home without doing any and are never disciplined. There’s a reason you’ll get diarrhea from a drink, they can’t get their workers to clean the machines or bleach a tea urn to save their life.

No call no show? Don’t worry if you’re in the clique you’ll keep your job and come whenever you please. 

The whole place is very cliquey so don’t expect anyone to be nice to you unless you do everything for them. Otherwise they’re all mostly just hateful from the get go and excuse their behavior by claiming they’re a family.

Truck orders are almost always not done properly so you’re always out of something a customer requires to have a to go order done properly or their dining experience be enjoyable. Things are constantly breaking and only a few times did I see them call a professional to fix anything. 

Overall all issues when working here were honestly poor management. You’re either a favorite or they flat out hate you for not being involved in drama. Thus you’re not relevant. It’s clearly made known that you are not valued and you are replaceable. 

I have over fifteen years experience in retail and hospitality and I have never seen a business ran so poorly. I started working here because I always loved our waitress and the food. Now I won’t be back as a customer at this location.

-- A normal day here I would just run the cash register. I would sit customers at tables. I'd also take orders over the phone and get them ready for a customer to pick up. I was also responsible for keeping the entry-way free of dirt (sweeping during slow hours)

-- Here I learned a lot of responsibility as my first job. I learned how to run a cash register, and listen very carefully to orders requested over the phone.

--The management could have been better at the time, but they were a fun group of people. One was very poor with rushes, she would make the work environment more stressful with her presence. Another was very laid-back and down-to-earth, he always created a very peaceful environment. The last was a younger male who enjoyed picking on the servers, often making them cry. 

--Many of my co-workers were great! They were very helpful with aiding me to learn the equipment and menus. Some were distant but many were very friendly and although I have not worked there in over a year, I am still very good friends with one or two.

--The hardest part of my job was the rushes, where I would have to juggle seating customers, answering the take-out phone orders, and even running food for servers who were busy with their other tables.

-- The most enjoyable part of the day was at the end where I would count up the tips I made and the other servers were surprised, only because as a cashier I was not even supposed to be making tips. My customer service was great! I loved hearing people's voices I recognize over the phone when they made orders, and even recognizing by name. I also loved when they were very satisfied their orders were all done correctly!

Sonny's BBQ was my first real job because I used to clean houses with my mom, she had her own business. But I loved working at sonny's I worked their for two years I learned so much. I learned how to work the computer system which is where we would submit the customers order. I learned how to run my own cashier and manage take-out at the same time so I would have to multitask. I was trained to train new employees when they were hired, you could say I am very responsible person. I enjoy working with customers and making them happy. The management at Sonny's was great they always kept us informed about specials going on so we could tell our customers. We had a team meeting everyday before our shift to know what's going on, specials coming up, what are goal is today. the management always listened to our ideas/plan we had, they were great. co-workers were awesome as well we all had like a family bond towards each other, and if someone would slack off we were always there to motivate each other. The hardest part of the job was the clean up, we had monthly cleaning charts plus the closing cleaning which was exhausting. The most enjoyable part of the job was working with other employees and the great and interesting customers. A typical day at Sonny's is to always prep the food in the morning and evening. Always greet a customer saying 'Hello Welcome to Sonny's". Write down the customers order and putting it in to the computer system for the cooks. Giving the customer a great experience. and always check on your customer, and make sure they enjoyed their stay at Sonny's.

You will work endlessly for nothing. Management does not help nor cares if you have to balance more than one position. They will be in the back office like there is no priority. Hour long ticket times with no one there to care. The only good thing about this place is the guests. They see the countless running around . No one including the area director cares about how you are treated or the experiences you have with management. They will tell the managers and nothing will change except there attitude towards you.  Employees are treated like they are for sure expendable. Very unprofessional from most management. They do not care for employees. Once you get tired and quit they act like they do not know who you are nor you never discussed the problems you were having. When you have to call while working to the area director they continue to allow that person to continue working there making cashiers pay hundreds of dollars for a mixed up order. Or pay for an unhappy guests order out of pocket. No owner will contact you and ensure that the problem will be taken care of. Haines city Sonny’s was by far the worst place to work for and only getting worse. They are cutting hours because they can’t keep business. It’s not just myself who is tired of the work environment that is given to employees. But if you want to keep your job you just have to endure the stress like it’s nothing. 

9am turned on the lights walk through the restaurant to over see the dinning room was clean from the night before.
Had the AM shift do their cleaning duties for the day and check them to make sure everything was clean.
Counted the drawer from the PM shift 
Counted the AM drawer for the AM cashier. 
Held a AM shift meeting went over the specials for the day and gave a daily contest for a free meal.
Greeted the guest at the hostess stand. Helped the hostess seat 
Checked food quality that came out of the kitchen 
Great customer service for the guest 
Counted the AM drawer made the deposits 
Counted the PM drawer for the Cashier 
Made the schedule for the Servers, Bus staff. Hostess. Cashiers. 
Repeat the same duties for the PM shift as the AM shift. 
Lean you can catch more bees with honey by being listening and making sense of the situation. 
Being in management had to make sure I was fair to everyone and had no favorites 
Culture have fun and work hard as a team
Hardest part of the job was standing on my feet for 50-60 hours a week 
Enjoy what I do for a living talking with people and solve the problem to make them happyl

When the gm is not there, the energy is a lot better, and more positive. When he is present, everyone walks around on edge waiting to take cover at a moments notice.  Nothing anyone does is ever good enough and he believes he's the only one that does anything around there.  He is a very smart business man but not so much for a leader. He leads by Fear. Does not give constructive criticism, instead criticizes and gains enjoyment by embarrassing staff in front of other staff members and/or managers.  As far as the establishment itself, I did enjoy my job on Fridays and Mondays and love the friends I made.  I feel with a more positive GM, one who is  qualified to work with human beings and has a general respect for all people and can lead by example, give constructive criticism, has confidence, and patience but most of all a gm that has People Skills that the morale would improve tremendously.
To EARN respect, one must GIVE respect.

That is all!!

I worked various shifts. Night shift would be from 5 p.m. til 11 p.m. NIght duties would include: dishwashing via by hand or using an automatic dishwasher, food preparation, keeping food accessible for the cooks, helping servers with items needed and cleaning the dishwashing & kitchen area at the end of the night. Day shift would be from 8 a.m. til 2 p.m. Day duties would include: cleaning of the restrooms, cleaning the mats for the floors, mopping the dining floor area, setting up the dishwashing area, stocking incoming inventory twice a week and outside cleaning of the parking & sidewalk areas. I learned about the food preparation & cooking procedures, restaurant cleaning procedures and inventory management. I interacted with co workers and management throughout the day. As a team, we helped each other with tasks at hand and assisted in training new staff. The hardest part of the job was working in a hot kitchen. The most enjoyable part of the job was interacting with other staff members and management.

A typical day at Sonny's would be coming in at around 8:00 am putting away a truck dating all the necessary product followed by opening the kitchen and getting all the equipment running. I also make sure all the food is up to temp and ready for serving. I have learned multiple skills here I can do anything in this restaurant I started out as a dishwasher and by the time I had been there 2 months I was on my way to being 2nd in command in the kitchen. From there I learned prep work loading the smoker salad bar and serving.My co-workers, some of them I don't understand how they got through life sometimes, others are hard working like myself. The hardest part of this job is dealing with people that just want a free ride in life and just so happen to get this job, I can't stand laziness and slaw fullness, so I would say the hardest part is having what I built in that company be brought down before my eyes by people that just don't care about anything.The most enjoyable part of my job is the food and music.

At Sonny's, I started out as a cashier. After I had been there a while, I became a server. A typical shift was 11am-5pm, being busiest between 11:30-3 and then again around 4:30 on to the dinner rush for the evening. It's pretty standard as far as serving positions go. The management were always great no matter the situation, and even if a customer was upset or complained they made sure to get the whole story. Some of my coworkers are still close friends to this day, it made working together very simple because we knew each others' strengths and weaknesses and used that knowledge to help each other out. The hardest part of the job was remaining cool under pressure, at times when it was extremely busy and it seemed like it was never going to end, you had to remind yourself that it was just another day, and being so busy often made the shift go by much faster. The most enjoyable part of the job was the people I worked with, including coworkers, management, and even the regular customers who you would get to know on a friendly level from seeing them so much.

What is the best part of working at the company?
They have flexible hours depending on your needs. If you're going to school or have children in school that you have to pick up by a certain time.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Management is not always ready to listen when you have a question or concern that applies to your job. Cooks and servers don't always do their job. Too much drama.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Can be stressful at times when servers don't pre-bus or clean tables in their section so they can be seated again. Some of the nanagers get stressed when too much responsibility is put on them all at once.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Runs pretty smooth as long as everyone is on the same page and communicating with everyone as to what is expected of them. Most of the times managers are helping at peek times by running food, helping seat customers and cleaning tables.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Cook 18 salaries reported	$14.44 per hour
Assistant manager 15 salaries reported	$49,333 per year
Cashier 16 salaries reported	$12.56 per hour
Line cook 5 salaries reported	$15.50 per hour
General manager 6 salaries reported	$68,500 per year

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