food service worker

assistant manager

expeditor

kitchen manager

assistant restaurant manager

Winking Lizard Tavern

This company does not believe in staffing appropriately nor investing in their own people. My time as manager at WL was spent taking on progressively more and more responsibilities all the time and not once was given a raise to go along with additional titles / tasks. My workload increased at least threefold in the first year and when the time came for raise review, the 'raise' they offered was insulting at less than half of what the inflation rate at the time was. I went from running shifts on a day to day basis to doing scheduling and hiring for the entirety of the FOH staff, conducting weekly orders and inventory for the large bar menu, and filling in every day somewhere in the kitchen while also being expected to run the entire shift completely solo. Much of this was due to other managers quitting or moving on for the same reasons. Instead of hiring a qualified candidate at a decent wage, they left myself an GM to flounder about struggling to keep up. When I started we had 5 managers, and when I left it was just me and the GM, the tasks of the other 3 managers fell mostly on me with my GM picking up some of the slack. If you want to do the job of 4 people for the pay of just one, then by all means WL is for you.

I understand that every location in a chain will be a bit different, but the employees at the Winking Lizard tend to store hop. Our store in Independence was one of the largest locations. I was told there was only one other store that was worse than ours when it came to in-house politics and job unhappiness. If you decide to work there be ready to run around like mad to cover a section that is overfilled, screamed at for not helping everyone around you when you yourself are sinking, and coworkers that go out of their way to throw you under the bus for things you were not involved in because they are bored. There was also a pretty bold thief on the crew, but as of my leaving the store they had not been caught yet. The customers were usually rude and expected 5 star service at a 2 star location, and the management always backed the customer and not the employee. I personally witnessed 2 walk offs during shift over poor treatment of staff. Also, there is no set shift or time you will work. A shift could be 2 hours or 14 with no warning before hand, and the schedule can change less than 24 hours before your shift.

When I first started here I loved it. We had great management. My coworkers quickly became family. I became a bartender which was a goal of mine and have made the most money I have ever made compared to other serving jobs. However half way through my employment they did a complete change in management. The gm has my respect he has tried his best to turn the location around, improve business and will help you in any way he can professionally and personally. However there is a manager who has made the work place so toxic that everyone has left. Will not help you at all, talks down to you, enjoys catching employees going against policy or making mistakes. Has made employees stay at work even when a death has happened or are too sick to work. Has favorites and targets those who arnt a favorite. Has been rude to guests and cussed out guests. Kitchen times on a Saturday night can be up to an hour for food while we are bar food. And can never have adequate staffing because they do not pay enough and refuse to raise the hourly pay. 

Prep for next shift, rolling silverware, restocking table condiments (eg. sugar, salt/pepper, ketchup and etc. 
Restock cups and other back-up condiments if needed. 
Refill ice. 
Cut lemons and limes. 
Clean up break table. 
Sweep the floor and if needed mop the floor. 
Prep extra dressings. 
In the AM put all chairs down and set up tables for the day. 
In the PM put chairs up and sweep floor, move tables around to make sure floors are good and clean. 
Assist other servers if behind on any duties because they are busy.
Always assist other servers if I wasn’t busy.
For all new menu items or limited time items, there is always a test so you are able to explain to you guests. 
When not busy either clean, organize or run food. 
Food runner whenever in kitchen and not busy. 
Always tired to help others, servers, bartenders and kitchen staff including washing dishes.

Canton is the absolute worst location to work for. Go somewhere up north, they won't suck the happiness out of you. They run things a bit different than any other location, which for the most part was fine except the pettiness, drama and unhappiness the managers caused. I had to up my antidepressant to get through a measly shift with certain managers. Nate was the best thing that happened that store but because of the culture, he got moved and now its back to rock bottom. Hopefully the managers dont run out anymore of their good emOtherwise, my experience at other locations was fantastic. I worked with an amazing team that brought me up when I was down. I started out of high school and the team helped me grow up. Sure you have your bad days, but it wasnt near what I had experienced at Canton. Only reason I didnt go back was I lived too far to make it work. I love the friends I made through the company, I learned a lot and I hope they continue to help people grow.

Was an amazing job when I started, but has gone downhill very fast. High turnover rate in every department, so there's always people training and not a lot of staff who have been there for longer than a year. This means there's a lot of mistakes/general lack of knowledge in staff members, and others are often left to pick up the slack. Clientele has also declined, a lot of entitled and rude customers coming through the door as of late, especially since our hours have changed. Management is becoming increasingly difficult to work with. On the bright side, as a server the side work is very minimal, and we're not generaly harped on to "find something to do" when it's slow. Sections are big if you are a closer, otherwise they're 4-5 tables. Has the opportunity to make good money if you can get past all the previously listed frustrations, and if clientele returns to what it was a year ago.

The job is a very fun one. My coworkers are extremly friendly and open to new employees and team members. We are continuously busy with alot of repeat guests. The management is overall fairly decent. There are some issues with favoritism and unfair treatment towards some team members. The most enjoyable thing about this job is the people that I work with. They make the long nights fun, entertaining, and seem to speed the night up. The most difficult part is dealing with rude guests who dont understand the way the The WInking Lizard does things when it comes to seating tables. Many people choose to seat themselves in the bar area because, despite the signs and hosts standing up front, they think it is open seating. Many people compare us to Buffalo Wild Wings where, at many locations, guests can seat themselves in the bar area. However, that is not the case at the Winking Lizard.

Once I started out at the Winking Lizard I was both surprised and excited by the level of respect, help, and responsibility given to me. I thrived off of that for a few months, until my immediate kitchen manager started to make me feel uncomfortable. At first I thought he was just trying to be nice because I was the only girl in the kitchen, but it then escalated to full on harassment. Although I was eventually issued an apology after I made it very clear the actions were unwanted and extremely inappropriate, I just couldn't remain working there and left soon after. On a positive note, I do feel I learned an incredible amount from my peers on the line, and would go back if that manager was no longer there.

I worked at the Peninsula location for almost 2 years. The managers here are very close with specific people and those are the ones they cater to daily. I was never given fair sections to work in the restaurant. Completely unfair and political move by management. After nearly 2 years of hard work I finally left after Covid due to the shutdown. You cannot fight for yourself and get the shifts you deserve because management plays favorites. The women that work here are extremely competitive and mean. The bartenders are awful and rude. Main bartender that has been there for 20+ years is the absolute worst and I pray for anyone that has to work here. If I could give my best advice I’d say try a different location if you absolutely have to. 

The amount of hours that my former coworkers had to do was nuts. I worked in the back of the house and boh is understaffed. To make up for this, they are always scheduling the kitchen for multiple double shifts per week. Management feels like they are always breathing down your neck about everything. They are uptight about everything you do. The pay isn't good. The only way to make good money from this place is if you're a server in a good section and it's busy. Customers are rude half the time and demanding. They only good thing I can say about this job is that they were flexible with me and my schedule. Everything else was just awful.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Food service worker 52 salaries reported	$692 per week
Assistant manager 2 salaries reported	$56,500 per year
Expeditor 2 salaries reported	$12.00 per hour
Kitchen manager 12 salaries reported	$56,167 per year
Assistant restaurant manager 47 salaries reported	$56,500 per year

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