Pros
Good starting pay Some of the time management techniques are very useful for those wanting to advance in the food business, I learned quite a bit that is useful for any cooking job in the future Has some benefits for cooks that I havent seen elsewhere, like insurance and paid vacations (for those who work 30 hours + a week) I like the discount card we get (30% off meal for up to party of 6 once a month)
Cons
Only one week of training, and it is relatively unhelpful, especially the computer sessions. Unfriendly and rude management, to the point that I just dont care anymore (I dont get there easily, I am a very hard worker until I get to the point where I just dont feel appreciated for working my best) Very little, if not any breaks No dishwasher in morning, and no actual prep cooks at all, (they have a volume cook for 3 to 4 hours to help with the prep during busy dinner hours) cooks do everything including clean the floors and take out garbage when closing Management likes to CUT as many cooks as possible, even if it is busy to meet their labor budget, and it is really hard to keep up, especially in the mornings when management expects two cooks to cook through rushes, prep 10 to 20 things on a prep list, and keep up on dishes at the same time. They have no idea how much stress they put on us by doing this, and they expect us to do many different things at once and make every plate go out timely and right. They like to yell at us if we cant handle it, even when we are really putting a consious effort into doing everything fast and right. They are very greedy when it comes to labor costs. When managers say they want to maintain a friendly atmosphere, they shouldnt contradict it by treating all of their employees like dirt, obviously when they do that, their employees will not feel the job satisfaction needed to really try their best. I understand it is important to run a restaurant in a strict, and efficient manner (save money and make sure everything is done right and employees arent being lazy or careless), but at the same time, managers need to realize when people are really trying at their job and giving your employees the subtle satisfaction like telling them "good job" on busy shifts.. I see a lot of hard workers at my applebees but no real respect for these workers, that's when valuable employees get in the mindset that it doesnt matter if they try or not, because they are just going to get yelled at anyway, so who cares. Their are too many managers looking over our shoulders, and there is not enough cooks to do the job right ultimately hurting the customer. We have high turnover with new employees.