Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux

The store just opened up and it’s training process was pretty fun and exciting for a grand opening. My gripe is that the shifts are very long, and next to no breaks. As a server they want to pay you typical 2.13 hour, but want you to be a “Team Player” and do everything or you’re not a good fit for the team. They have already gone through 2 managers in the 1st couple weeks who were supposed to communicate with us, but seems to be a lack in the chai. Of command. We communicate through an app, but half the time I don’t get responses. Again NO BENEFITS, is my biggest gripe of all this. The flexibility is a nice handle, but you’re looking at working 9-11 hour shifts per scheduled shift, and not getting out on time most of the shifts. The tip system for credit card tips is kind of weird In my opinion. They set it up so a member of management at the end of your day processes all the tips, then you have to wait like 3-5 hours for it to deposit, which seems short sometimes after you actually receive em. Make sure that you try to get cash tips as much as possible honestly if you work for tips. Servers have to constantly run food for all tables, and you don’t use trays for food, so the process is kind of annoying, as you have to make multiple trips to the kitchen for bigger parties. The food is amazing though, and the kitchen staff is on point at making the dishes with consistency. The pay is awful for what they expect though. If you have another job on top of this make sure you communicate constantly because if you don’t, they will constantly mess up your availability and then say it’s on you to fix the issues. This is a job that monopolizes on younger staff, hoping they won’t put 2 and 2 together about the pay wall and gaps in the positions they hire for. If it’s your 1st job I can say they will give you a chance to get in serving experience though. No room for advancement honestly unless you know people and dedicate all your time to this place. A typical serving day includes coming in to setup and clean up your sections, typical Order taking, food running/expo, and then cleanup at end of shifts. The menus are kind of big so learning them can be a chore, but is your ticket to money. 

I was one of the original girls at this certain location. I applied to serve but because I had never done it before they put me as a host and told me in a couple months I’d get promoted. Lies. Never got promoted and stayed making 7.25 for almost a year. The uniforms weren’t bad. The first set is free but you have to buy the shoes yourself. $50. So I bought the shoes and then was told a couple months later that I had to order a new style became these were “classier and more appealing “. Again another $50. As a senior in high school that’s a lot of money. 

Managers sucked. Yes, SOME were nice, but NONE of them had a clue how to manage. I worked there for almost a year and they still had not set up a direct deposit. 

I left for a variety of reasons. 
1.) underpaid - the start pay is 7.25$  I had friends working in fast food , making $10+
2.) under appreciated - I did everything under the sun for these people and got no reward. 
3.) favoritism 
4.) broken promises- they never bumped me to server, even though they said they would. They promoted a whole group of hosts and TRAINED them to serve but never made the effort with me. 
5.) one of the owners is a creep. 
6.) someone was stealing out of my register. Unfortunately anyone can access the register. I’ve had about $150 stolen but couldn’t prove it because the security camera doesn’t point towards the register. 

Once I worked from 8 am to 9 pm. No break because I was the only one qualified to work my positron and they had made me work a double. (None of the servers would cover me if I went on break so the managers made me work). It was getting close to 9 pm so I sat for a minute and got yelled at. 13 hours I was standing and I couldn’t even take a minute to sit while we weren’t busy. Sad part was, I finished my shift and didn’t even make $100

I’d like to add that they are terrible at sanitizing and I’m amazed at how they weren’t shut down yet. He ice machine has gnats and we even found a roach in there once. Also I’d refrain from getting iced tea. My coworker who still works there said there’s mold.

I worked at the location on Airline in Gonzales where almost everyone is asked to participate in training MITs (Managers in Training) who go off to different locations after training to make up to 6 figures a year. However, pay raises and advancement are offered to a small select group, and it is easy to get fired and quite impossible to get rehired if you are not a family member of a manager or supervisor. Nepotism is clearly practiced on a regular basis, and helps the company to function, but its sad to say, (where race is involved) it is also abused immensely in the worst of ways that I will not write about. Besides that, protocol for cooking methods constantly changed, we were understaffed, they failed every Health Inspection, people were drinking on the line and constantly going outside to smoke (Including multiple managers), and underage girls can flash customers without getting in trouble at nights. Those are just a few of the things I feel comfortable enough to speak of, but there are too many unspeakable incidents in the short 7 months I worked there before quitting at the beginning of my last shift. With that being stated, if you decide to work here, I wish you the best of luck, regardless of your ethnicity or job position. WARNING: If you feel you are wrongfully fired and go through the process of attempting to get in contact with corporate or CEO, you will be wasting your time unless you go to the office IN PERSON. 

Walk Ons was one of the better places to serve in Hattiesburg. They have a pretty impressive training system that surprisingly taught me a lot of what I used in other serving jobs and creating training policies for other restaurants that had me help them open. Management was fine when I started, but definitely went downhill after one bad night put the current manager in a panic which resulted in egregious overstaffing and ultimately that led to my departure— it is not wise to have 12-14 servers on the floor. You will make at most $20-40 in an evening and you cannot support yourself in that economy. So this would work better as a second or third job if you are supporting yourself or the primary one supporting your family. The culture was decent in terms of a restaurant, I absolutely adored the other servers, but got very frustrated when there were clearly concerns with  team members that took several steps to address. I wasn’t fond of the lack of understanding that servers are the lowest paid members and they genuinely depend on those making steadier income or hourly to do their job— so when they cannot keep up that results in servers losing very necessary income and no one seemed to care about that. All in all, for the job market we’re in, it’s a solid job. You’ll make money. But I would not put more into it than what you’re receiving. 

Busser: Job is ok overall, depending on location and how busy the restaurant is changes how much you earn in tips. On a good two weeks (roughly 6-8 hours a day) I earn a little under $1,000 with tips and pay combined. If you have good managers then the day to day interaction is fun or even great but in the end you are another cog in the machine to them. Days scheduled are based on performance, you do you work and you get more hours. But if you work too fast and take time to relax then they think you are not doing your work and thus less hours. I have a pattern of walking around to check for dishes to pick up or tables to clean,  after that I check the bar to see if they need more ice or a restock, if none then I go back to the expo and relax for five minutes and repeat. Thing is when there is nothing to do for 30 minutes a lot of that is just relaxing which is what the managers see and even though I do my work I got reduced to working only two days then one without a single word as to why. The same day I got my one day schedule I decided to slow down, normally I am fast walking the entire time and cleaning tables fast, but that day I made myself relax and just do the work. I did not give my self time to relax but I also was not tired at the end of my shift. If you work as a busser then take your time on slow days or they will just see you not working.

I've been at walk-ons on and off for 2 years and nothing has change management always has played favorites. There is no way for you to be promoted unless you're up the managers butt, it doesn't matter if your an outstanding worker or how hard you work you will never move up unless your one of the favorites. I didn't mind the favorite thing when I was making money weather I got promoted or not what started bothering me is when the same 5 girls get the money sections (where everyone loves to sit or the party sections). It will never change. Also if you're terrible at your job you will never be fired and if you are, they'll rehire you so fear not! for example instead of firing the manager and bartenders who let their friend behind the bar shirtless and steal alcohol,  got suspended as bartenders but once again fear not since they're favorites they got to take all of the servers shifts who did nothing wrong and cut other server hours. :)  Also instead of firing the worst  bartenders ever they add more to upset the bad ones. currently they're 9 bartenders which is crazy because there is only 7 days in a week. lol From what management recently said each bartender has 1-2 days in bar like really. 

Like any other restaurant, it will not be a smooth shift if not equipped with the correct managers, bartenders, kitchen manager/expo, line cooks, and hosts. This is not a job I'd recommend if you have never served before. Walk Ons is, essentially, a sports bar, and unfortunately sports bars attract a specific crowd regardless of how "family friendly" they would like to be, so with that comes a lot of tough skin you need to handle patrons who have been drinking and balance the possibility that you will be doing more than what is outside your job description. You will have to have exceptional time management and it will be beneficial to use your voice when communicating with bartenders and the line because, like everything else, things may get delayed and human errors always occur. This is not an environment to "trust that everything will work and come when it comes" because you and your patrons will be disappointed. It is best to navigate this job understanding that you will probably do more than you're getting paid for, and that will be frustrating, but please learn to level emotions to get through shifts. It will not make the situation better, but rather more manageable. 

At Walk Ons a typical day starts out by setting up the restaurant and getting it opened and ready for business. After it is time for opening, waitresses wait for customers to start to arrive. A waitress' biggest responsibility is to provide great customer service by suiting to the customers'  needs and make all customers feel welcomed and happy. Working at a restaurant it is important to always be happy and have a great attitude therefore, the environment of a restaurant should always be positive and playful. Some of the negative things about being a waitress is your income is tips. A reason this can be a bad thing is because waitress' money all depend on customers and when it is raining or a "slow day" the waitress won't make any money. Some people, like myself for example, need dependable pay and a for sure promising check. Also, with waitressing there really isn't any moving up and some people, like myself again, like to dedicate their self to a company where they can commit to and with lots of hard work and patience see their self move up in that company.

Overall, I loved the culture and philosophy of working at Walk-On’s, but some of the cons caused me to start to feel not welcome and unwanted at my workplace. Any position in the kitchen is great for a hardworking, willing to learn, and energetic person. However, the back of house is a male-dominated environment and many women did not stay with the kitchen for very long. This wasn’t always a problem, however when I would be asked to get the waitress’s numbers for my coworkers, or asked other invading personal questions, it was quite off-putting. This didn’t happen often, but it was frequent enough. I never felt comfortable going to management about these issues so I just dealt with it. 
Besides this, the environment can be amazing at times. It’s hard work but you will always have the tools needed to succeed, and everyone wants to see you succeed as well. All you have to do is ask someone for help. Following protocol/recipes is a MUST but the company makes this easy with computers that will pull up any recipe you could need in no time at all. Just follow directions, be willing to learn, and you will succeed. 

Fairly new restaurant in south College Station, TX. This is all you need to know about working here: there are only 2 shifts available to work. You will often find yourself staying over if you're not friends the people that have to sign you off before you leave. Yes, you have to get signed off by 3 people, one bartender and two random team members who either check your section or side work before you can turn your ticket in to the managers. They will check your section with a flashlight, make sure everything is even and that the condiments on table (pre COVID-19) are throughly cleaned and stocked. Your side duties can either be a number of items or nothing at all depending on who you're working with and this is on top of the silverware that you need to roll and napkins you need to fold. Overall, this is a fun fast paced place to work at and the tips can range depending on the day and section you get, but keep in mind that there is a lot of favoritism and is not POC friendly. 

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