grill cook

cashier

cook

line cook/prep cook

prep cook

WaBa Grill

What is the best part of working at the company?
Some of the people I started out working with were very nice to me but they eventually got other jobs. The food was tasty, healthy, and very beneficial to surround yourself with if you were trying to be good to your body. The store was also quite close to where I lived.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Management seemed to single me out in negative ways. One small example is how I would be around coworkers and watch them eat food in the "unsafe" areas of the store all the time. Not just management. But when I would do it too, the store would receive a phone call ten seconds later with the boss on the other end telling me not to do that. That happened more than a few times. This sort of singling out would apply to tasks and operations around the store as well, as in I would often be held more accountable for things that went wrong than other coworkers even though I was a very good and diligent employee--just check the cameras. I recall one time having to defend myself over the phone for a mistake that was made by someone else, while I was on break, and over something that I had talked to about with that coworker a few times before--so as far as training him to be a cook, it was out of my hands by that point. Management called the store to chew you out if you took too long to close up the store even after very, very busy nights. I believe it is store policy to have two cooks and two cashiers working at a time and I was often scheduled as the sole cook, even though I spoke up about it all the time. Eventually I was fired with no excuse from my manager outside of mumbling, and I think I heard "it's not working out." But as far as a professional reason I couldn't give you one because they didn't give me one. There's more Waba Drama (TM) I could tell you about but I'll just be a gentleman and leave it at this.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Some people were friendly at first but most of my friends left and the job became a rather sterile environment after not too long.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Some days were better than others. Usually it started out slowly enough but it could eventually get busier than a single cook can reasonably accommodate. I often felt like I had 5-6 things that all needed to be done five seconds ago and I don't know how I was ever able to manage it all without ever receiving a complaint. Maybe once or twice a customer might have expressed dissatisfaction over how long their food took but there was never any controversy between me and any customer. Daily protocol would shift because the turnover for the cooks was a lot quicker than for the cashiers and they were usually hired from other Waba Grills where they had their own ways of doing things so coordination varied a lot. I would often go home sweating and panting, sometimes aching and shaking. For a health food restaurant, I don't think it was very good for my health.

Your required to wear multiple hats and learn and develop an expansion of responsibilities. However; if you choose to do work your way although is getting the job done is not considered acceptable. Yet, your able learn and progress your knowledge and skills. The hardest part of this position is being able to communicate, if you do one mistakes your bashed and they make sure to tell you how is unacceptable and they love to use the words "common sense" or "you should ask" but if you ask they refuse to help because you should already know but when you take the initiative to fix things on your behalf before you say anything is completely wrong. Yet if the controller makes a mistake nobody says anything. The only good thing is the free lunch. I only had one co-worker which was my accountant which I had enabled an extraordinary relationship and thanks to her I was able to expand my knowledge in the accounting field. This company has poor management, they lack of education, doing things right, everything is done wrong and they are inappropriate, the CPA is the worst one, you ask a question she doesn't want to answer, poor communication, she doesn't have a good education and if you put her on the spot by saying she is doing it wrong she gets offended and tells you not to question her authority or her work because she knows what and why she is doing what she is doing….BS if you tell me! She can definitely insult you if you don't do her way in excel meaning she doesn't like quickbooks, so if you don't follow everything she will definitely disrespect you through via email which i have proof she has done. They also lack as far as pay, they do discriminate employees because we have witness that if they don't like you meaning the controller she makes it her mission to get rid of you quickly. They give poor pay rate and don't appreciate employees, they think by giving free lunch is enough they have another thing coming…..HORRIBLE PLACE TO WORK!

Working at Waba Grill was a great experience, I would deal with many customers a day since I was the cashier. So I would take a customers order, and if it was a not so busy day I would get the orders ready for the cooks while they grilled the meat. So if the order had vegetables, and of course rice. I would prepare it for them. We had busy times between 11:30a.m. to about 1p.m. So there was three cashiers in total, and two cooks. So two cashiers would be taking the orders, and the other would be preparing the bowl and adding the teriyaki sauce and/or onions to the orders that were already done, and then calling out the number and giving the order to the customer. One cook would grill the meat and the other would prepare the vegetables and also prepare the bowl with rice. Another duty I had was to clean the dining area, be making sure each table was very clean, the trash cans were not overfilling, the soda  area was not full of spills, and that there was nothing on the floor. After our rush hour was over, each of the cashiers had a job, one would make extra bags, the other would make extra sauce and the last one would clean the dining area by sweeping and mopping. Each day we would switch jobs, because it was usually the same girls working at the same time. For the closing shift it was a little different, there was only two cashiers working and they would assist the cooks more often. We did not have a rush hour, it was just get busy on random days. Those were probably my favorite times because I was always good working fast-paced. I would take an order, put the vegetables in, and while those were cooking I would get the rice ready, and the other cashier would put the sauce and give the order to the customer. When we closed one would clean the dining area, and the other would clean inside and the restrooms. I loved working at waba, my co-workers and I got along very well, we had a great relationship. The hardest part I would have to say was dealing with rude customers.

A typical day of work from coming I opening at 9:00am (store opens at 10am) to closing. If you are opener you come on turn on the grills,flat top, boil water for dumplings. Cook white and brown rice throughout the whole day as needed. Make sure veggie containers,sauce,onions,avocados,plates, salads, dumplings, chicken , steak and taco toppings are all in stock and ready by 10:00am lobby check makes sure sodas are stocked napkin’s lids for beverages straws chop sticks etc. prepare for the lunch rush and hope you are properly staffed for the day. 
   I learned that there is no growth opportunity and you aren’t valued as a employee with the company. 
     Management who actually works with the employees and knows there strengths and weaknesses is limited in decision making by owner. 
  The workplace culture is great you kind of make it your own
So the staffs energy Carries weight. 
    The hardest part of the job is being overworked, overlooked, under appreciated, micromanaged not properly trained.Workdays or weeks were NEVER consistent. Everyday was different and difficult. Only having 1 manager on staff there is no shift leader or no assistant manager. Owners and manager are extremely unprofessional they lack communication and leadership. 
     The most enjoyable part was working with co-workers and getting to know all the regular customers. I like to serve customers and have them 
Enjoy the food and have a good experience so they will be returning to the  establishment as regulars. 

The only times that we did not have customers inside the restaurant were on holidays.Everyday was started off with preparing ourselves for lunch hour. We had customers placing orders over the phone while we had about ten to fifteen people on each line. We would not stop moving for about three hours straight and after that little rush we had to clean up and refill for the afternoon. 
I learned a lot of things. I learned to be quick with everything, to keep everything clean and organized. But i think that the most important thing that I learned here was to keep calm. If I ever got mad or frustrated for any little thing it would make my work area unenjoyable. It was the type of job that in order to keep up and not fall behind you should stay positive through out the shift. 
Management there was always great. Always informing us of everything. We were always treated with respect.
My co-workers at Waba Grill were the most respectful individuals I have had the opportunity to work with.

A typical day working at Waba Grill included preparing to open the store by cooking the meat and boiling the vegetables. I would count out the drawers so that they are ready for the other cashiers when the door opens. At opening, I would take orders and make the food. This included grilling the meat and packing the rice. I would also toss salads and grill salmon and tofu. Through my shift, I would make sure the dining area remained clean and all items are stocked. Working at Waba Grill has taught me how to take on a leadership role. Being responsible for others and watching over the store was a great experience. However, this was probably the most difficult part of my job. Being younger than most of my co-workers, earning their respect and having to give orders did prove challenging. With guidance from management, I persevered and was able to handle situations on my own. My co-workers made the job fun and inviting. They were my favorite part of the job.

Working at Waba Grill, I learned a lot more about how to be a team player (on top of all the years in sports) in order to achieve your goals at the end of the day. I was a Chef there, who was able to do everything from taking orders, to cooking with quality, to serving people and leaving them with a smile. The most enjoyable part of the job was the simplicity of the Waba Grill as a whole, and not in a bad way. As a Chef at "Waba", I had no other requirement other than to provide the customer with perfectly cooked meals that will benefit them to max (health wise that is). We serve nothing but the best meals "to make gains" and maintain a healthy/athletic lifestyle. Waba Grill serves everything from Chicken, Steak, Ribs, Salmon, Shrimp, and even Tofu.
Working here was great and enjoyed every moment of it. It had a huge influence on myself as well, I was really able to grab hold and critique my own personal eating habits for the better.

The company is very fast paced and inclusive. After a week of training I was closing and assigned tasks with a huge responsibility.  The manager will try his best to instill as much knowledge as possible but the need for competent and not lazy workers is high. This job requires the ability to easily carry 20+ lb. without breaking a sweat. There is a constant flow of product being prepped in bulk for the morning rushes that the work force unleashes upon the minimum wage workers that at times instigate arguments with the workers and management. Sorry but if you ate 95% of your food and are barely now complaining, you're out of luck. Yet, being part of a group of people that come together to make a simple yet delicious meal is very full-filling because as a cook, I feel proud when my meat comes out cooked to perfection.

This was my first job I had and it was mediocre. I liked my co-workers, everyone was nice for the most part and would help if needed. However, you have very little say in when you work and how much you work. A typical week was 4-5 days and shifts were 4-8 hours long, most being 5-6 hours. Most of the time we were understaffed so some shifts were solo which was very hard to manage. You also have to close on your own, with unrealistic expectations. My manager was the scariest and honestly was so hard to work with. The overall mood most of the time was tense and stressful. From the beginning, they have very high expectations. It was very draining and lowered your self-esteem when you made a mistake. There have been a few times were my manager threatened to cut my hours for mistakes. Overall I would give it a 4/10.

A typical day at work would be to clock in, count the register to make sure its 100 dollars for us to start, get change if needed. Then we would start to restock napkins, sauces, forks, etc .. then cleaning, sweeping, mopping, etc ... in between of course take the customers order and get their food out to them. Working for this company I learned to be more personable, customer service skills, and handling money. My co workers are great, they taught me everything when I got there. We're all friends. There really wasn't a hard part of the job everything was easy to learn and manage. The discounts, the tips and the free food can be the most enjoyable. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Grill cook 20 salaries reported	$18.68 per hour
Cashier 5 salaries reported	$17.57 per hour
Cook 17 salaries reported	$19.54 per hour
Line cook/prep cook 8 salaries reported	$18.38 per hour
Prep cook 11 salaries reported	$20.57 per hour

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