Pros
If you love cooking, and I do, this is a fun environment to work in as far as employees and customers are concerned.
Cons
The benefits leave a lot to be desired. Full-time employees pay a reasonable contribution to cover themselves for medical/dental. However, if you are married or have dependents, the coverage is exhorbitant. The 401k match is only $0.50 on the dollar up to 4%. The bonus program is not generous and usually only includes full-time managers. When the company began to perform really well in early 2009, too many stores were meeting or exceeding forecast and qualifying for bonus, so they created a higher bonus goal in order to avoid paying out so much in bonus money. The stores tend to be dirty and understaffed as a result of not budgeting enough payroll to handle the task load as well as provide the high level of customer service that is expected. Hourly managers working off the clock in order to fulfill their job requirements is a rampant dirty little secret. District Managers look the other way. There is a serious lack of respect for the work/life balance of the store managers.
