barista

boulanger-pâtissier

cuisinier

line cook

cook

Aroma Espresso Bar

This was the worst management I've ever encountered. The working team was really great for the most part but the branch owner made no effort to communicate with one of the chefs who was super difficult to work with and threw literal temper tantrums (on top of being super unsanitary). There was very little training offered and the new hires were always unfit for the job probably because the pay was not proportional to the amount of work that was required, so we were always understaffed. Despite the lack of guidance and effort put in, the owner was constantly micromanaging and monitoring cameras outside of work hours which felt really intrusive at times. The schedule was also always shuffled around randomly but there was no grace if you needed a sick day off. All this lack of involvement and appreciation for the team really showed in the declining quality of food and service and I personally felt I couldn't take pride in working there. Since then, I've worked for companies where the management is genuinely caring and involved and only now do I see just how badly managed Aroma was. Every branch is going to be different though, depending on who owns it. 

I worked here as a line cook for a couple weeks and initially had an okay experience, however it quickly became clear that they didn't have enough people working in order for the new employees to learn.  The location I worked at seemed to also have an extremely high turn over rate for new line cooks as i was told by one of my coworkers that they hired 5 new line cooks within the span of 2 months.  

I was usually paired up with one other person in the kitchen and didn't really have opportunity to learn as during busy hours there is really no chance for new employees to soak in all the new information.

Although the manager was nice, it was a very high pressure situation as I was expected to be alone in the kitchen only on my 3rd week, and was given a number of closing duties that I was not prepared for.

Overall, although it was quite fun working with my coworkers, the training process was not thorough as there was no training system in place.  It was basically job shadowing the entire time which means I had to learn everything at once with no an unorganized training process.

This company is a hit or miss. Some of my coworkers were actually amazing but some were really dishonest and bossy.

People from the head office were really clueless on what they were doing and instead of teaching store employees on how to properly make food/drinks, they would ask us instead on how to do it. Some of them were really mean too even if you ask a simple question. If you’re unsure on what to do and head office is around, don’t even bother asking them. 

Customers were very toxic and they always had to be “right” even if you’re being harassed. Literally this company has the most toxic customers. 

Full time hours are not as guaranteed. You’d probably only work for 6 hours a day even how busy the store is. Lots of drama based on working here.

Otherwise, Aroma is a good start if you want to learn about different roasts of coffee or becoming a Barista. Really easy cashing system too. But it’s not the place where you can work longer. If you’re looking for a full time job, apply somewhere that will guarantee you at least 40hrs a week. 

You really can't beat the culture around it, just a block away from Spadina Street when on Queen St yourself. The Alley way leading to the Café is a running collage of art. The busy street hums as artists, small business owners and hipsters walk about as you're in the back supporting Barista's working away on cocktails of coffee and teas while you are putting together Israeli inspired dishes. 

Imagine a small corridor separated into three area's, two crunched lines with a flattop beside the pass, a prep table and a dish pit. You'd be handling all of this at times by yourself, your help coming to replace you and the shifts only briefly overlapping. Throw in full time school and the Russian owner can be asking for too much when asking for help to fill a gap left by a vacationing employee. Great place to hit overtime as a full time cook, but not student friendly unless you have a real passion to be challenged routinely throughout a single week.

This place is actually a bigger chain in Israel.

I have worked at Aroma for a year, and it has by far been the most stressful job I have ever had. I experienced a change in management, which resulted in 90% of staff being let go, and I was taken off the schedule indefinitely for calling in sick (I was in the hospital and provided appropriate documentation) was told “the business can’t have the risk.” Certain locations get extremely busy, are very understaffed and customers frequently complain about food accuracy and quality (FOH is often apologizing for BOH mistakes, with no attempt to rectify these mistakes from management.) I have also worked at two other locations, which were unexpectedly shut down, with little information from management and poor if any, severance. The amount of tasks that are expected of you, in addition to zero job security makes this a terrible place to work. Head office is rude and treats employees with zero respect. This is a good place to learn the absolute basics of coffee culture, but I would recommend planning to leave sooner rather than later.

Due to Aroma being a franchise, your experience may differ greatly between different locations. It truly depends on your management/ franchisee.

In my case it was quite poorly managed, the owner was a penny pincher and the manager was intentionally stirring drama between employees. They also intentionally understaffed the store during busiest hours just so the owner could save an insignificant amount of money. 

I worked here before minimum wage increased, so needless to say my hourly wage was pretty horrible. Even after 2 years of being their most valuable and longstaying employee on their team, I was still making less than the current minimum wage.

The management (boss) was very unprofessional. I called in for work 1 time for being sick and was terminated. Without notice and without being spoken to. Nothing. I only learned about my termination when I opened the group chat where we get our schedule and noticed I was removed. I messaged “the boss” and he said that what I did was unacceptable. As for the staff. 1 person was nice and all but when you mess up or take too long (for being new) they don’t offer help, and they give side comments to the other staff. It was an okay job, but for being offered as a permanent job. This is truly the worst location.

There are lots of things to do and they expect you to do everything perfect for this little payment they offer.

Some coworkers are really nice and some are extremely toxic. 

Lots of discrimination going on in company. They treat certain people different than others. Some people can chill at work and they can get away with it but some can't. 

Managers are unprofessional, can't handle stress really well. They are just trying to save money and they don't care about their employees. They think they can make you do everything they want just because they pay you 14.35 dollars for an hour.

I haven't had any problems with the head office. 

I don't recommend working for this company. Just do it if you have no other option. 










Every shift I go to my workplace, I would have to deal with the cashier and what I've learned is not to do mistake because when I take customer's, I'm the one dealing first so if I take the orders incorrectly it would all affect the rest of the workers. Management wise, they're very strict with uniforms, orders, time management and its all written on the manual book that I have to follow by the rule. Co-workers are great to work with. Very considerate and reasonable people. The hardest part of the job is working late night and the most enjoyable part at work is when I learn more from mistake and try to avoid it.

I worked as a cashier and barista. Had to deal with rude customers and no matter what I tried to do to please the customer, they somehow told my boss about me and I would get in trouble. 
I worked so hard and my boss still likes the employees who do the minimum. 
As for salaries, my boss always paid me 10% less from what I should get (aka I got paid 1 hour less) when I brought up this issue he said he will take care of it and its been several months now

I would only recommend this job for high school students who need experience (short term kind of employment)

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Barista 14 salaries reported	$18.92 per hour
Boulanger-pâtissier 6 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Cuisinier 5 salaries reported	$26.15 per hour
Line cook 2 salaries reported	$19.80 per hour
Cook 1 salary reported	$18.75 per hour

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