line cook

server

dishwasher

host/hostess

decorator

The Cake Bake Shop

It's hard to even know where to being. I had so many high hopes working for this company and I truly believed in what I did. I literally gave my all 110% but anything I ever did, never seemed to be enough for this company. I truly feel this place failed me and so many others who really believe in working here. 

I worked for this company for nearly 4 years. In that time I watched the company grow from a tiny little shop to its gaint sister in Carmel. I got to be a part of that growth and I felt so proud. That's unfortunately when I truly saw the company for what it was toxic. 

I was promoted and transferred to Carmel to help open it's new store. When I was promoted kept asking "What was my job description?", "What was their expectations of me were?", "What my job duties were?", "What computer programs I needed to learn to do my job effectively and efficiently?", "Were they going to make sure I was trained for my role?",  so I would be setup for success, to do my job well, and "What was my authority." so I wouldn't overstep in my position.
Personally I thought these were all standard things to ask and know, but I kept receiving the same answer over and over again "There's no hand book on being a manager." I've honestly never worked at any place where they didn't train their management or go over their expectations with their employees who are in charge of running their business. 
So I just tried to do what I thought needed to be done to the best of my abilities and just tried to follow along with other people's steps trying to figure out my job. It became a problem when literally everything I did was wrong for example: I mopped the floor while closing, so the next morning I would get a phone call yelling at me for mopping the floor at night. (Because the morning people made foot prints on the floor). So the next evening I'd leave it to be mopped in the morning like I had been instructed, then I'd get a phone the next morning chewing me out for not mopping the floor the night before. 

I also had issues with upper management not wanting to back their mid level management if there was an issue with another employee. There were issues with employees screaming at managment, being insubordinate, throwing things and punching holes in walls and upper management did nothing to back their midlevel managment in these situations, let alone terminate these employees. 

They have an issue with over working their employees and management. They are chronically understaffed. They can't keep their employees and no one is knocking down this door to work there either. Then it leads the employees that they still have, to be over worked until they are chronically burnt out. I have witnessed employees having to stay and work over night, when their shift started earlier that morning, because they had no one to relieve them, or because we couldn't keep up with the demand. I've have to stay over night and work because they were so underprepared and understaffed for the heavy business they were expecting, my shift was 8am to 3am and I had to be back by 9am. Also because they are so under staffed these same people didn't have days off, including myself and breaks are nearly non existent.

It sadly seemed that some of the upper management would become threatened by other employees, any level of employee really. I've seen so many extremely talented people get hidden away or not be used to their full capabilities because of this. I've seen so many inspiring people that are so great at what they do, become so discouraged and quit because of this. They could have been someone that could have truly made the company great. 

It can also feel very discouraging at times just being an employee here, it doesn't matter what position you work, it seems to be an unanimous across the board. People have a really hard time because they pay they are receiving can seem really low for how hard everyone has to work just to keep up with the demand and the expectation for everything thing to be prefect. Then we all see 40k or more get drop at a time on decorations for the stores. Employees feel less valued than the decorations that hang around both restaurants. 

So many empty promises made to employees, you get so strung along because of it. I heard it all since I started, promises of profit sharing (made to everyone during a staff meet), promises of bonuses for hard work while opening Carmel, (that never happen), promises of vacations made, or trips, that never happen. At first you feel so excited about everything being said to, but then you only are let down in then end because they are just words not promises. 

I also want to advise anyone who is thinking of a supervisor roll or anything in management, to make sure you are paid for your worth and for the heavier work load you are taking on. They tend to not pay their supervisors not much more that other employees with less responsibilities, just be aware of that.  

Nepotism and fraternizing is a huge problem in this company. This is truly what has led to a very toxic work culture, that is based on favoritism. This has been an issue for years and has lead to people not qualified in positions of power and has lead to fast employee turn over. 
Another thing that has lead to a toxic work culture is that employees are constantly reminded they they are lucky to work there. In some sense yes, but they can't keep their employees, and people are not exactly banging door the door to work there either. This also comes across as very condescending to the employees who are already giving their all. 

I can say I enjoyed my coworkers. Everyone seemed very close with each other. We could have fun while working, when the season was slow. We enjoyed playing music in the kitchen. 




Pre-warning it’s a long post
My experience at the shop is definitely one I’m going to remember. 
I’ll start with the pros:
1) The staff is basically your second family
2) The moments when you’re able to go over and beyond for a guest, truly reminds oneself, why you would want to work there. 
3) The building is beautiful along with the decor 
Cons: 
1) the amount of miscommunication and lack of communication is ridiculous. ( you could literally have 1 day off, and come back to everything being different. Lol, and you won’t know unless someone tells you or you learn through the grapevine) .
2) The amount of unprepared days you go through are ridiculous. Half the time you don’t have enough staff or if you go through what I did, you’re left to run a sinking ship by yourself. ( 
3)  the building is, it’s not setup for success. The bar is beautiful but the moment you see it, you’ll Understand doesn’t make sense.
The to go bakery 
4)WHY IS THE PICK UP AREA WHERE  THE LINE IS SUPPOSE TO BE/ STAND. Again it’s pretty, but the flow doesn’t make sense. 
5) For the love that is all holy fix the door stoppers on all the doors. none of the doors stay open or they are just scraping the floor and hold on the groves. 
6) fix the tables and stop putting wobble wedges under it. guest tend to kick them, and it just looks ratchet to watch the table that has real crystal on it being held by a bunch of plastic holders.
7) fix the flow of the women’s toilet the water pressure is to low and it get clogged easily 
8) get air conditioning on the patio so the servers can stop feeling like death on 80-90° weather days.
9) those uniforms are hotter than the core of the earth.  
10)as a company that is primarily women we all know what happens monthly. white/cream pants is the most horrendous item to wear, and they have a lining it that want to bust any time you bend over.. also they don’t fit the staff. They have hips and God bless, some of these ladies And gents have height 
11) everyone get uniformed shoes, no one on Gods green earth wants to pay $90 for them, especially teenage gents and gals. I suggest finding a cheaper option or offer the first pair to the staff and have small amounts come out of their checks every pay period.
12) the tree on the patio is in the worse possible spot. It’s not so bad during Christmas, but as much money that went into the trees, especially  the one on petite, the branches are just being bent to the devil below. Daily it continuously get stuck in the window. Honestly surprised they have snapped 

Lastly: even with all that, it wasn’t the reason I left. Like I stated before the staff is truly amazing and doesn’t matter the department you’re in. Honestly If those were the only problems I would’ve stayed. The reason I left is due to the lack of trust, that my managers had in me.  I can’t manage and support the team if I don’t have that.  They want rules to be implemented and enforced but also want to live in a grey area. I’m all for grey area but also don’t get upset if I’m allowing grey area situation to occur. I can’t read your minds, I don’t know what rules you want to be grey and the others to be black and white. If there’s  something that needs to get thrown away trust I saw a reason for it.
 1) being the date stating it needed to thrown away 
2) the fact that the item was buckling and had been out and back in the frig multiple times when the air went out. 
3) Not yelling at an hourly that almost brought her to tears when she’s following her managers instructions( side note: who’s a rock star and picks up shifts when needed).  

To the staff wether I was least favorite, or the one you didn’t mind working for, I just want to say it was a pleasure working with all of you. I’m sorry I left so abruptly,  I hope things get better for everyone and that you all continue to prosper. Have a good one, please be safe in this crazy world 

 to the company I truly do hope the best in its future endeavors and the problems that occurred in the past stay that way. May the new managers thrive and succeed well. 

One of the most demanding jobs I’ve ever had to work and an absolute mess. The coworkers were amazing but the past few months they’ve just been dropping like flies with a huge turnover between school and—yes the job being terrible. Barely does any cuts, over staffs most shifts, and hardly does cuts so at the end of a slow night there are just 3-4 servers looking at each other. Job requires people to all be present for 3:30 and most managers are terrible with cuts. It’s hard to accommodate another job as well as wastes people time when one of the managers made it a rule you must stay with your table AFTER they are cashed out causing servers to often stay  1-3 hours later than necessary. No AC in the enclosed patio except flimsy fans so during summer both workers and customers alike are sweating to the point where people have passed out and puked on tables because it’ll be baking past 90 degrees. Appearance such controlled expectations from clean white pink  uniform, certain nail color—write ups if you have the wrong shade or a design but yet they want you cleaning all the time to a point where you’re in the drain as a server or bakery associate. Going to the uniforms—there hardly clean uniforms and when they are it’s a struggle to find a correct size even though you pay the company out of paycheck for it. Other girls and I have literally come in the next morning and picked through a dirty pile of clothes from the day before. It’s a management fault to an extent as they do have to adhere to all the rules of the people in charge in the office below. I guess the beauty of it being a locally owned job is you can do whatever you want and who cares if it makes work life harder for other people—you’re not the one actually doing the actual job role AND as long as the customers are happy.  “Who cares about the workers”  even if they get stitches or have a miscarriage on shift—you get a nice write up instead as well with the hospital bill and you can finish your shift (both which have happened). If they also promised you another position when they hire you— expect the promise to take months or never happen even with reminders. The workers do an amazing job working hard to please guests and make it a good experience but if you have to fake it because one for the tips and two for the customer service role of “it’s fine everything is fine.” If Cake Bake will actually do better about taking care of their employees and listening for less than “saying or show” or dismissing issues as rumors (interesting reads about Cake Bake on Reddit) or getting defensive to a condescending fault AND proving actual results then I’m sure they wouldn’t be struggling as hard as they been to hire servers, baristas, food runners, etc. because everyone wouldn’t be wanting to quit. It’s all empty glittery talk and I hope for my ex coworkers that management and above at Cake Bake will wake up and do better because they deserve better from Cake Bake. 

I got a job at cake bake and I was so excited. All I had wanted was to work at a place like it. I have had over 5 years of working in the restaurant business, and with that job being toxic, I was hopeful in Cake Bake. When I received the job, they promised me after two weeks of being fully trained, they would train me to be a server. I soon found out about Cake Bake's empty promises. That day never came and I watched them hire new people in every position except mine, including serving. I had amazing coworkers who made this job fun, but I was miserable so much of my time. The management would hang out in the back room in the kitchen until some higher-ups would be up. I would have to help the dishwasher, as the dishwasher would leave at 2 pm, right after a busy time, and then I would get in trouble for trying to help, even when I didn't have anything else to do. I spend most car rides home, crying and not getting paid the amount I had anticipated. When I also interviewed, I also mentioned I was a student and that with my rigorous school schedule, I would have to cut back on my hours. They agreed and were understanding. However, once that time came, they got upset that I needed to change my hours. It all got too much and my parents had to have an hour-long conversation to tell me to leave due to how much stress and anxiety I was having. I have nothing but respect for the servers, hosts, bakery, and kitchen staff. They were all amazing to work with and I miss them all dearly. But my school and mental health comes first. I really want this company to succeed, however with the way things are going and things I have heard from other coworkers who left, I don't know anymore. 

This was the worst case of smoke and mirrors I’ve ever experienced. More than anything I wanted to embrace this brand, but not getting a single benefit/perk being so close to the mouse should have been my first red flag. With any other company that’s issued me a required uniform, I’ve never had to pay for my own laundry. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

In short, the guest experience is something they harp on you for, but in every way is something they actively sabotage for you every second of the shift. 
For myself, giving a warm and memorable experience was what made this position and location so exciting for me. I couldn’t wait to create memories. 
But quickly it became clear that you were expected to juggle more than humanly possible. 
I couldn’t stand being the face associated with each family’s negative experience. Not only that, but the guests saw how thinly stretched we were. 
With prices like theirs, the guests deserve so much more than what they’re getting. And because the rest of the staff is starving for another table just so they can make a few more dollars, they’re fine cutting corners. When realistically, over loading isn’t the vibe of this restaurant, giving your staff time to bond and connect with each family is what drives higher tips. 

When I first started working here, I really loved it. The decor and ambience of the restaurant made it feel so "magical" and exciting but that unfortunately changed pretty quickly. For the most part, I made some long lasting friends through the job, but the work place environment in general is toxic and stressful. I had maybe one and sometimes two managers who I could really trust while the others gave me a huge amount of anxiety and stress. I'm usually one who can work under pressure, but doing it daily for almost 10 hours long became exhausting. It's a very physically and mentally demanding job but it pays pretty well. Overall, I do look back at my time at Cake Bake fondly, but I most likely would never go back there again. As I said, there are some really great people who work there and who I miss dearly, but unfortunately the bad always outweighs the good. I mainly focused on the people of the job and not the actual job itself because it's just like any other restaurant job but with some stricter rules. You just have to be over the top customer friendly and always be "on brand" in whatever you do and I never found that to be a challenge. I do believe that the people you work with highly affect how good a job is which is why I focused on my coworkers and not the job itself.

I’m sharing this review to provide a realistic look at what it’s like to work here. While the front-of-house aesthetic is beautiful, the internal management and work environment tell a very different story. The primary issue is a lack of professional communication and organization. Leadership often feels disconnected from the daily realities of the staff, leading to a high-stress atmosphere where expectations are unclear and support is minimal. There is very little room for professional growth, and the "premium" brand doesn't seem to translate into a premium culture for the employees who keep the place running.
For a company that markets itself on a "magical" and premium experience, their internal hiring process is disorganized and disrespectful of people’s time and livelihoods. Dealing with this level of unresponsiveness shows a complete lack of integrity and basic professional courtesy. If you are a professional looking for a stable, communicative, and organized workplace, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere. There are plenty of other businesses in the hospitality and events industry that actually respect their candidates and follow through on their word.

I had high hopes for this place. After waiting a very long time after my hire date to finally get to train and open the restaurant, putting in tremendous effort along the way while keeping a positive attitude, it finally became evident to me that Cake Bake Shop was never going to get it together and fly right. From constantly changing expectations, to not even knowing the way we were to be paid out into our third week opened, Cake Bake is quite frankly “building the airplane in the air” and leaving its employees bloodied on the runway with their poor communication and management. It’s sad to say because my coworkers there are amazing, but they really are being taken advantage of at this point.  It truly felt like an abusive relationship where you are hoping and hoping things are going to improve and clinging on because you’ve tried so hard to make it work. Eventually though, there has to come an end to making excuses for your employer and giving them grace, and you must see the writing on the wall and leave no how much it hurts to walk away. 

The amount of stress this job will cause you is crazy. I worked there durning the summer and felt heat exhaustion nearly every shift.. to the point where you feel you might faint. Also, expect to never have any breaks. My position was probably the worst, because they never hired another busser so I was stuck working every single weekend and never had availability to switch shifts. Management made me feel really guilt if i took a shift off... even when I got sick at work and left 2 hours early. A lot of people who work there end up quitting within a year, sometimes a couple of months, with the exception of bakers. It pays okay, but it could be better considering you bust ur a** everyday. Best recommendation I have to anyone considering applying is to have the confidence to stand up for yourself, and not let them abuse you. One time they made me work from 1:00 to 10:30 shift with no breaks. Some mangers are great and really sweet, but others can be condescending and a bit rude. If you can handle the clientele and love being sweaty and hungry all the time, then you should have no problems working there.

The management is extremely cliquey, and if you're not a favorite, you're out. If they don’t personally like you they will turn around and leave when you try talking to them, talk about you to other team members and give you impossible boards while others have an easy day.

Good luck finding other managers; they are either in the office eating and watching TikToks or nowhere to be seen.

The managers often talk badly about each other and team members to others, and they will lie about team members and place their own mistakes on them.

This used to be a good team. When working well together and supporting one another, we could achieve incredible things. However, with poor management the team members and product quality suffer immensely.

The one positive aspect I can highlight is that your team can be a great support through the hard days. They want to create a great product and strive to do so despite the poor management specifically trying to create a toxic competitive and catty environment However, there is only so much you can do with the resources you are give

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Line cook 70 salaries reported	$18.13 per hour
Server 47 salaries reported	$39.68 per hour
Dishwasher 53 salaries reported	$16.88 per hour
Host/hostess 34 salaries reported	$16.13 per hour
Decorator 55 salaries reported	$17.45 per hour

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