cake decorator

baker

shift leader

bakery assistant

bakery manager

Sprinkles Cupcakes

I started as an associate before the pandemic, and while customer service jobs generally take a toll on your sanity, it was a breeze compared to working there during/"after" the pandemic. They kept us as a skeleton crew for months once Covid started, despite the demand remaining high. Constant online orders printing, lots of confused people ignoring the signs plastered all over the storefront resulting in repeating directions endlessly, all while getting reamed by aggravated  guests for higher priced, lower quality product/practices. Us associates were drowning post-Covid, and when I contacted HR about hazard pay/compensation for doing much, much more work on a daily basis (while, mind you, no longer being ALLOWED to accept tips despite receiving a tipped wage), I was told to quit if I felt I could no longer perform the job duties. Seriously.

I loved my coworkers, and sure bringing home free overpriced cupcakes was appreciated (because otherwise they were just *throwing away* all unsold product EVERY NIGHT), but Sprinkles cares solely about maintaining the image of being a luxury product. I will never forget how terribly the company allowed us to be treated by guests, and how terribly the company itself treated us when we needed them the most.

I've been working at Sprinkles for a little over a year, started at $10 an hour as an associate (think cashier/customer service) and was promoted to a shift leader at $14 dollars an hour where my duties grew to include handling the safe and tills, helping develop and follow up with associates and leading by example by providing excellent customer service and upholding all of Sprinkles values. The job itself is not difficult but it does get very busy and hectic later in the afternoon, particularly on weekends. The benefits are average. A free item every day, medical insurance which is a little overpriced and a decent 401k package. Vacation starts accruing after 1 year of full time work and you get 1 week/year for the first 2 years and it goes up from there . The pay is very competitive. I will say that working in an "upscale" cupcake shop brings "upscale" customers which basically translates to difficult customers. You have to be able to keep a smile on your face through difficult transactions. There is room to move up in the company BUT it seems that this company is not exceptionally family oriented with its late hours (until 1 am or later on weekends) and pretty much necessary relocating for promotions. Basically, you go where the openings are, which span across the country. A lot of our associates are college students making a little extra money.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I met some great people when working there. The hours were consistent and I enjoyed the option of daily pay. It was very helpful!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
It was stressful walking into the shop first thing in the morning and being overwhelmed with order tickets and having to finish them before the shop opened and customers start coming in. The third party ordering was insane, the dashers and Uber eats people were rude and pushy, and that took me away from my actual front of house duties.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment was clean, but I feel like it wasn’t very welcoming as far as colors and decorations. The sprinkles theme song playing every 15 minutes was the biggest headache! Seemed like the company was very full of themselves. The customers were so used to getting their way so when they came in they would throw a big fit just to get their way again.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I enjoyed getting there and listening to my music while setting up the orders, no interruptions or customer interactions. And it helped me get into work mode for the day. I kept the front of the store cleaned and stocked. And I would tell customers about our new cupcakes to boost sales

The Chicago location is in a ritzy area surrounded by high end name brand stores, so you can already imagine the type of people who come through those doors. Rich people are cheap, they’ll complain about the prices but still buy a dozen cupcakes. They’re very entitled and will complain and try to get a free cupcake. The customers are what makes the job harder. You’re dealing with people who are in their 40’s & 50’s getting worked up over CUPCAKES. THAT BLEW MY MIND. You’ll get those customers who will file an imaginary complaint for the sake of a free cupcake. Our jobs do not matter to these customers, as long as they get a free cupcake. And that’s part of the issue. The customers know if they complain, they’ll get something free. The turnover rate is high even in management. They had to find a new store manager as well as assistant manager because of how stessful this place is. Also, the dress code is that you cannot wear anything that’ll block your Sprinkles t shirt from view. So even if you’re in a cold place like Chicago, you can’t have on a light jacket when the line is out the door or when the door is constantly being swung open. The heat couldn’t be up too high or the cupcakes would sweat so we had to freeze for 8 hours.

front of house generally takes care of guests and displaying cupcakes for the guest 
they also keep all items stocked at all times and they do general cashier/cleaning duties
when promoted to trainer you learn how to help new hires the best way possible on everything there is to know about the bakery
back of house employees take care of pumping out the cake at an appropriate time (they frost cupcakes)
they also prep the back of house items (frosting and sprinkles) for the next day
they take care of the cleaning duties for the kitchen
management is very amicable and flexible with any situation that might occur
they are very approachable people
workplace is diverse but also a close group of people since not to many people leave or get hired
everyone gets along fairly easily with each other
hardest part of the job is keeping up with the late night rushes of guests and getting orders out in a timely manner
company does a good job of making everyone feel inclusive by hosting free lunches on how well the bakery scores on their secret shoppers
they also reward bakeries with merchandise and gift cards when there are competitions bakery wide

OK, so this place is cheery and often fun. Usually you go in and go straight to work the second you clock in and dont stop working until 2 seconds before you clock out. But if youre like me and like the grind it honestly can be quite fun. You'd enjoy it if you like setting your own goals for the day related to the job, ex: finishing stocking in record time, pack for an hour without messing up a single cupcake, ect. I had this job as my first job ever while I was in college and I was honestly greatful for it but it was exhausting and had I done everything over again I would have just taken out more student loans and kept my grades up, 99% of the time I was too tired after work to be able to concentrate. The work is hard. You have to run around constantly and keep track of 20 different things at once while smiling and acting like you're super chill and having the best time of your life. But it taught me what its like to have a job and the free cupcakes were too good of a perk - I guarantee, you will gain weight working here. 

The job itself is easy, all you do is package cupcakes and at the ds location scoop icecream. The real issue is management, half are petty highschool mean girls despite them being grown adults (30+) and the other could not give an f. This includes Area directors and above. Don’t expect any of them to care about you or any issues you might have. When your fellow team members can’t even do the job properly and are constantly complained about, management will do nothing. No write ups, no improvement plans and if someone deserves to be fired you can be confident in the knowledge that they won’t be. The rest of the team will just have to pick up the slack and receive nothing in return. Better not get a complaint though because you will be fired immediately, or atleast when it’s convenient for them. Disney springs has fairly good starting pay and good benefits, but the business is so horribly run i wouldn’t be surprised if Sprinkles went out of business within the next few years. So don’t rely on job security or any opportunities to move up. 

Sprinkles is a really great place to work at. Although sometimes corporate doesn't justify the company properly (posting odd social media posts that confuse the customers), concrete training is still under transitions which could make training staff a little hard (especially for newer hybrid stores: both cupcakes and ice cream), and most of the management teams are overworked with not enough compensations.

The environment is great to work in! The ideal candidates usually have the same personalities, so the coworkers make it fun to work in. From the many years that I have worked for the company though, many of the management teams (through out all stores) have dealt with too much stress than necessary and have all often felt neglected by corporate.

Corporate doesn't care about its FOH associates, even though they are basically the only thing holding that company together. 
I have worked at a lot of different locations, but one of my more recent ones, is the worst. (can't say due to legalities) Very odd management energy. Its like they want to help, but then they don't know how. Management either is super chill and fun or screaming and yelling and stressed about everything. There is no in between. You either get Bruce Banner or The Hulk, and you never know what you are gonna get until you walk through that door to start your shift. 

Most of the problems I've had with this company has been with corporate. I've never seen a company so poorly managed. They give cupcakes away for free like there wasn't a cost to it. They waste product and then keep wasting and then keep wasting the wasting. 

There is such a high turnover rate within every aspect of this company and it look me 4 long years to finally see why. 

Sometimes being the best, just might make you the worst.

Sprinkles used to be great. They used to care about people first (guests and associates) and it was a fun, positive environment and a job I looked forward to every day. All of that was lost when corporate changed. People came in to "save" the company, but their approach was completely wrong. They stopped caring about people and all the values that made Sprinkles great - it is strictly about cutting costs and making money. They are not willing to pay people what they deserve and the hours required are absolutely ridiculous. There is little to no support from leadership, but even if they were helpful, nobody had a clue what they were doing or how to help at a bakery level. Nothing is a conversation, they don't want to hear opinions or feedback - especially if you are a female leader. Hopefully one day they will return to their roots and realize what matters is the people and the product - not the dollar signs.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Cake decorator 28 salaries reported	$15.38 per hour
Baker 30 salaries reported	$15.61 per hour
Shift leader 45 salaries reported	$17.83 per hour
Bakery assistant 34 salaries reported	$14.18 per hour
Bakery manager 12 salaries reported	$20.96 per hour

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