server

cook

restaurant manager

line cook

host/hostess

Uno Pizzeria & Grill

I took a job on the dish pit, I know it's crumby hard work and from time to time I find myself doing it moonlighting or in between jobs to generate a paycheck, I have been head dish at resorts and seasonal places so I know its hard. I have been doing it enough at resorts, seasonal joints and regular places like Unos. I applied online, got a call the next day or so to come in and meet the GM, I had my interview and thought it went good and went home to tell my wife. Later that day I was offered a job on the dish line. I went in for my first day and they put me by myself with tons of dishes leftover from lunch at 2pm, this is what I do though so I bust them all out and at 5 a non english man joined me to be my trainer, I was scheduled till 6. I was then ignored and brushed aside for my last hour where I proceeded to watch him do everything and show me nothing about the machine or procedures. I trained a whole night with him the next night[Thurs] where the same thing happened and I felt stupid and almost quit like 10 times because this was not training, this man gave me the impression that I was in his bat cave and he didn't want me there big time, I hung in there though even though all signs were pointing south, he was real snappy and had me on my hands and knees doing special cleaning, I was like whoa this guy really don't like me, I have trained dozens of people and you stick to the basics the first day or so, this guy had me underneath tables scrubbing in the prep room while he washed dishes and was supposed to be training me on the machine. I fed in to none of it and stayed out of his way, did what he asked and manned up. He was the Mon-Thurs Guy, I was going to be on dish Fri-Sun so I never had to see him again, cool.
Here is where my review begins.
I show up at 4 Friday to news that I am going to be alone all weekend , I never washed at a busy place where you were alone FRI and SAT night, never,  this is what I do though right so I jump right in, BTW I had all of the Lunch dishes when I got in waiting for me, I get going and 3 hours passed of waitresses throwing things, not cleaning the plates of of paper and food and demanding things of me that I didn't even know where they were on my first day alone,  noone even remotely checking in on me, me getting beyond buried while the assistant manager cooks with only 2 line cooks. I asked the kitchen manager if this was the norm and he says they can't keep washers, they keep walking out. I ask for a five min break and was granted one. I walked to my car 3 hours in so wet, dirty and disrespected that I went in quit and cited the reasons I gave you the reader. The GM who hired me never told me what I was in for and actually told me I was going to be Full time but The guy who trained me made it clear to me he works Mon-Thurs and the assistant mgr verified to me my first night they didnt have full time so they also lied to me to cover their butts and get some idiot in the dish pit for the weekend coming up which fell on me and my new job that I told everyone I had, Headslaps myself again. 
So anyone that wants to work at Hanover Unos, don't believe the hype, might as well try it, they don't want you to succeed and its sink or swim real fast there. I have been in kitchens all my life and believe me this place is understaffed with bad middle management. The GM was a nice guy, hired me and I never saw him again but he knew. Bring a raincoat.

Management:
They had 3 managers at my location, and they were often contradictory to each other to the point where all of the cooks (I was a cook) were getting scolded by one manager, after the other had just told that person to complete that task in a certain way.
Managers at my location often exuded catty behavior by talking negatively about the other managers and how their styles of coaching people differed. This was not something that should've been openly discussed with a new employee like myself. Generally, all of the employees seemed to have a problem with one manager in particular, who seemed to have failed to iron out some of his own issues in life.
Clearly since managers sort of lay down the foundation for people to produce, it created a lot of discomfort, stress, and arguments.
They also seemed to not care at all about my concerns that I attempted to address with them such as other co-workers who were harassing others, lack of pay compensation for the incredible amount of duties at hand, extremely unpredictable scheduling (like having me work quite a few double shifts in a row, alone - I'm not kidding), and the overall morale of the place.

A typical day at work was walking in, putting an apron on, and starting to tackle tasks. There's often a large list with a quantity next to it, as the manager predicts each morning how much you should make of everything. This includes dough, mashed potatoes, crostini cutting, vegetable roasting, cookie making, Lunch of the Day preparations, sausage portions, really portioning of any kind. In between, you are taking orders. Another thing, servers were never taught how to stagger orders. So each lunch rush, dinner rush, or a rush of any kind (events were often held at Uno's) the kitchen would be FLOODED with receipts to the ground, and often there'd be a shortage of cooks, so inevitably mistakes were made, stress was high, and there was a huge chunk of time after these rushes where there was nothing to do. Inconsistent.
This actually happened every single time I worked, and if I was working alone, I'd be running around trying my absolute hardest to produce food, remember breadsticks, communicate, plate properly, and there's often times where servers need to come back and converse with you. So all-in-all, each day was overwhelming, but it was all in control of the managers, who as I said, were unable to properly communicate.

The co-workers were the best part. I met some great people who were hard working and didn't understand the same sets of points I just brought up. 

The hardest part of the job was really a combination of everything, because it wasn't ever just one factor. Along with working alone for several double-shifts, battling the different ways of the 3 managers, and being flooded with work in an inconsistent manner, they all made it very hard to continue.

The most enjoyable part of the job was getting free meals during training, being able to cook my lunch, and meeting the cool people that I was able to meet. I also enjoyed learning how to make a deep dish pizza.

Unos was pretty good to me in the beginning of my career.As the company which is a small franchise grew-one would figure opportunity for advancement would happen. I was brought on with a lot of experience and was compensated ok for it. I was a Franchise group that had a lot of their management in "build through the ranks" and never seemed to welcome in the outside individuals into the circle. I was a FOH MGR  and was known as "the mayor " of the restaurant. I would work 50-60 hrs a week -doing schedules ,inventories,shift running and helping to develop subordinate staff. The training piece left a lot to be desired --they as a franchise would pick and choose which way would be the right way of doing things ,and a lot of what you learned in your training module did'nt always apply from store to store. I enjoted my role and brought my 25 years of exp and could tag team with any manager during a shift --I was intrugal in setting sales by hour records. I was in charge of servers an hosts --and had the hospitality piece as a way of life for my FOH staff.  I was out of training and needed to complete my module with my GM'S assistance. Well this was hard to arrange --the GM I had had his own issues and demons health wise,not to mention excuse wise.

I had an RD that would avoid our restaurant due to the GM. I still was held to the standard -while others who had been in mgt before me were not --I was not one to complain and point fingers  so i took on the role by myself.  My salary was $48,000 when I started. I was sent to Maple Shade Unos because that mgr woul make time for me to go over my Module. That didn't happen either --then a shift opened up and I was back in Deptford --and resumed my way with FOH -i also took a role in the Bar mgt and inventory weekly of that. The store at that time was very payroll heavy and they made some cuts in $$ and I could see that advancement was no longer their focus --My father had taken ill so I chose to be closer to him and home -and worked for my brother in a family landscaping business.--I felt that was a good chance to get out of the rat race called the restaurant business. so I worked with him until a position with the Internal Revenue Service opened up.

A typical day at Uno Chicago Grill was first starting off by setting up the restaurant for the incoming customers. Before every shift started the manager on duty would have a what we called "pre-meal" meeting about the focus of the day. For example the food focus for the day could be to sell appetizers or desserts. They would also discuss what they would like the over all shift to consist of and let the employees know if there was anything big or minor planned for the day, like a party or kids tour. With a meeting before each shift we would all learn what to expect with the upcoming shift, we would all be on the same page about things, and because of this we were able to efficiently work as a team. Everyone at this job worked well with each other, they were always there to help another co worker out, especially during high volume times. The high volume part of the day I would say was the hardest part of the job, but only when we were short of staff for whatever reason. Our main job was to give excellent food and drink service to our customers in a fast pace environment. I would have to say that during this part of the job the most enjoyable part was the other co workers. Getting help from other people who are experiencing the same thing as you while keeping a smile on their face and the atmosphere light made the job the most enjoyable.

A normal day at work for me is filled with organized chaos. Often times I find myself answering many questions and providing excellent service to all of my guests. Bringing drinks, food, napkins and a fun experience to the table. It is vital when working in a resturaunt to be able to anticipate peoples needs and wants. Body language and a friendly personality are key.The managers at Uno are amazing. They would bend over backwards to help anyone and do as much as they can for both their guests and employees. I have learned many things in the three years being employed at Uno. Being able to work with a variety of people and in many different scenarios is defintitly the first. Next is learning to become a salesman and not just and order taker. No one wants to go out to dinner and feel like their talking to a robot. The most important thing though that I have learned is hard work and determination. My co-workers are by far the best people i have ever worked with. They-re genuinely funny and easy to work with. The hardest part of my job is being able to deal with people even in the most difficult of situations. However the easiest and most enjoyable part would have to be helping others to enjoy themselves and being part of a tremendous team at Uno.

The most enjoyable part of being a server is the face to face communication you get to have with your guests. I even left my salaried 9-5 job to be a server at Uno's. 

It was a decision I came to when I realized that my current position was making me more miserable than it was making me happy, and Uno's allows me to not only be active and busy at work, but to meet new people. Working at Uno's I have met numerous interesting and amazing people. (we get a lot of travelers--we are right off the turnpike)

The only downfall to a day at work is something that comes with every job, and that is just rude people. Life is hard enough when you are waiting on someone else hand and foot, & let's face it, we all get those people who are NEVER satisfied. They come in the door expecting to complain, and once they start, they never stop. However, taking the bad with the good is part of every day life for everyone, and you do your best to satisfy the picky individuals and keep it moving. :)

Another great aspect is the management. They may have their grumpy days too, but I am supervised by a great group of managers who really do care about their staff and do everything they can to help us out. My team at Uno's is like a second family. We can always count on each other when we need it.

Uno's was often dirty and the floors would always have dirt and bleach on them when i walked in, not to mention food. The place was so dirty in fact, that maggots were found in the locker room and dead knats were on the wall. I only worked there because i had to and did not enjoy my stay. It is a good thing that the place got shut down. I want to work in a clean, well kept, environment where i can breath fresh air. I learned how to cook and made sure the food was fresh and editable. My co-workers, often lazy would leave stuff behind that i would have to clean up. Management depending on who was there, would make sure the place was well kept. Other managers, however, would care less what happened to the place and often gave that impression off, driving away valuable customers. The hardest part of the job wasn't the job itself, but dealing with the slops others left behind. I'd say the most enjoyable part was when i cooked meals and saw the customer's happy face when they enjoyed a well made meal.

-A typical day of work required full customer service. Greeting, seating, and making customers feel welcomed was crucial. When not hosting. Bussing was pretty much just cleaning tables and taking the cups and dishes back to the dish wash area. I would also take calls from customers, and provide take out duties for customers.

-I learned more about customer service skills, how to read a seat chart, and I had to learn to menu to provide take out duties for customers.

-Management made me feel unnapreciated and were sometimes rude to their workers.

-I met a lot of great/fun co-workers at this job. Though sometimes things would get hectic for all of us when the restaurant was busy, and some would react to their stress in negative ways.

-The hardest part of the job was when the restaurant got very busy. Keeping on top of the seating chart while trying to perform take out duties was sometimes difficult. But I did enjoy it.

-The most enjoyable part of the job was interacting with new people all the time and improving my sales and customer service skills.

A typical workday was always filled with excitement and new products to learn, but for me it kept the job interesting. There"s were slow days but the employees helped the time go by quickly. The customers would come in unsure of what exactly was the kind of food we serve, but always left satisfied and came back with more friends. My job as a hostess was to make sure they were practically family as soon as they came in to whenever they left.
I learned a whole new scale of cooking and preparing items that will benefit me even in my own household and future functions. Management was always there for you whenever you needed them, great people to work with wen you know that you can count on them.
The hardest part was to make sure that my fellow prep cooks would finish their part of the work the same time as me, but we always managed to get it done in the nick of time.
The part i liked the most was that due to me working more than one position at the job, it felt great to jump back and forth whenever we were a man short.

I arrived at work and would start by taking the chairs off the tables and wiping them down. I would wipe the tables off and set up the silverware. I would refill sugars, salt and pepper shakers. After this was completed I would then wait for customers to arrive and be seated in my section. Once I had customers I would greet them and take their orders. I would get drinks and put the orders in the computer. Once the food was ready I would then take it out to my guest and make sure they were satisfied with their orders. When they finished I would hand out the checks and cash them out. When they left I would clean the table. I liked my managers but, there was no structure. They were sometimes too laid back and let workers slack off. I did not like this about the job. I enjoy a work place better when there is order and structure. It is easier to work in an environment that doesn't let people slack off. I also didn't like that there wasn't any team work in the restaurant. Co-workers would only help out if it was convenient for them. This also made the job a lot harder.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Server 113 salaries reported	$19.41 per hour
Cook 57 salaries reported	$17.55 per hour
Restaurant manager 12 salaries reported	$58,766 per year
Line cook 4 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Host/hostess 3 salaries reported	$12.33 per hour

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