server

cook/dishwasher

kitchen helper

food service worker

restaurant manager

Mandarin Restaurant

My interview process was extremely quick. I applied right when they began taking applications before completion of the construction of the location. Since I had experience working at a restaurant prior, I was essentially hired on the spot as a line cook. Since the building was not yet complete, I only officially received offer and invitation for the group interview a month later once construction finished.

The job started out alright. Everything was done according to health and safety standards. All restaurant work comes with risk of burns or cuts, slips and falls, and of course the constant heat of the grill which you need to sit through for your whole shift. So that wasn't an issue, I was already used to it. Some employees snapped and quit shortly thereafter, which didn't surprise me at all.

Lunch and dinner breaks were excellent. Usually left-over buffet food or when something wasn't made quite according to standard (e.g. too much pepper, slightly overcooked, etc.) so we were still able to get some pretty decent food for 2$ a shift (deducted from pay, so you don't need to bring a toonie each time.)

Mandarin is a relatively expensive place to eat at, thus people expect a higher quality of both food and service. Meeting those expectations isn't the easiest task, but I would say my team and I did a pretty great job. We rarely received any complaints whatsoever, aside from sometimes certain dishes being emptied quickly because of how popular they were. In a sense, that's another compliment on its own. Being able to meet those expectations and make people smile, as well as personal interaction with customers was incredibly rewarding in its own rite.

I will also commend their flexibility regarding position. You can't exactly ask to be a manager, but within typical employee positions, you were almost always free to change positions at will (although you would then start getting booked for different positions throughout the week). I was initially hired as a typical line chef, but later moved on to handle other roles in our kitchen. I was also offered the opportunity to join the serving team as a waiter, but I declined since I do love cooking and being in the back-of-house where all the chefs can be as cynical as we want and banter amongst ourselves.

But after a while, things changed.

Management got much more strict. They started to disregard some health and safety rules, or would claim certain rules didn't matter (or rather say the opposite of the rule was true, i.e. meat left out of the refrigerator must be kept on ice, but they would claim to leave it in a tub of water instead). They forced their interpretations onto the employees, then when inspection came around and ruled that we were considered to be a 'below average' rating compared to other locations, they would blame the employees, even though everyone I worked with was incredibly hard working, extremely friendly, always showed up on time and only left once all the work was done, and almost never questioned management's decisions, the last point invalidating anything the managers would claim.

But the nail in the coffin for me was the fact that there was a tip pool available to all employees. They briefly mentioned this during the group interview/info-session, but never acknowledged it to workers until they asked. I know personally that most employees there are working without access to that tip-pool share, and the few who are getting their share are only getting it because they personally asked and fought for getting it.

In my experience, upon asking for it, I was met with my manager saying that I did not do anything to 'earn' that money. Unfortunately for her, I quoted labour laws on tip pools (specifically how each employee who works applicable positions and completes relevant tasks within their job description is entitled to their share) and asked once more for my share, lest I call the Ministry of Labour. Although she walked off angrily still claiming something about only certain employees being allowed their share, I received my envelope minutes later.

A few months later I quit due to personal reasons going on in my life. There were certainly great reasons to work at the restaurant such as your meal breaks, as well as the satisfaction of putting a smile on customers' faces with whatever you make them, as well as being able to move around and gain experience doing a number of different tasks, but management really was insufferable, and most of the people I have worked with (and have also quit shortly after I left, or continued there) agree with my sentiments. 

Take my review with a grain of salt, perhaps other locations are better to work at, or perhaps the location underwent some major changes in the last year or so, but until management learns to take accountability and reduces their own hostility in certain cases, I can't recommend this place quite as easily as I'd like to. I had a great time with the people I worked with in the back and made some great friends along the way, but management really does love to lay down all their troubles on you.

While the people in the mandarin have been nothing but kind and welcoming. And when I first started, for 2$ a plate you could go into the food area and grab whatever you want as long as you avoid just one table. They removed that, and now started to prepare the plate for you and charged the same amount. I prefer to make my own plate, I don't know about you. The hours are pretty long, and you are always on your feet on very slippery floors, I highly recommend investing in a good pair of shoes that are comfortable well fitting and anti-slip. Otherwise the shoes will rub against your skin and the result is blistering. When I worked there, it was about a month before my first pay check, I worked about 100 hours and my first pay was less than 250$. I showed my manager this, he saw the problem and he fixed it all himself.The guy is amazing, kind welcoming and does not mind helping out someone who learns a little slower. But this is not the first time they screwed with my pay check, whatever company they used to make the paying of their employees streamlined is the biggest problem with the mandarin. 

What my job entailed was dish washer and bus boy which alternated shift to shift, as a bus boy I had to move plates out to the dining area and bring plates and utensils back, and make sure the waitresses are supplied. As the bus boy you get a cut of the tips, which amount to be a fair small sum.  

As for the dish washer, you get bin after bin of large amounts of plates. You sort them on these strays, you spray them down and put them through a machine. then collect it and put it on a cart for the bus boy to put that back out.  over all, its an okay job if you have a lot of endurance and patience.

This isn't at all a bad place to work if you thrive in fast-paced environments. 

I personally had bad experiences with the management- there was an egregious amount of workplace politics and I felt that my concerns and needs weren't met or taken seriously a majority of the time. I received little to no feedback on my job performance unless it was negative despite having been there for months without proper training, as my manager hadn't set aside the time to fully run through the company policies and procedures in spite of my multiple requests to do so. The position itself has an incredibly high turnover rate, which is to be expected in the restaurant industry, but this is only expedited by the poor environment behind-the-scenes. The actual job was easy enough, if not physically taxing (9+ hours standing/walking in dress shoes with little break time) and scattered in terms of responsibilities due to the management. 

Moreover, they were dishonest in their interview. During orientation, we were told that weekly meetings with a regional manager would take place for the entire staff as an opportunity to address workplace concerns and report any potential employer misconduct or mistreatment to a higher-up. During my entire time working with Mandarin, we didn't once have a meeting with anyone from corporate and upon asking my senior co-workers, I was informed that over a span of 5 years, they'd held meetings only a handful of times, none of which were satisfactory at all. 

The nice thing about working here were the (relatively) flexible hours, fairly priced lunches and my coworkers themselves. They were all lovely people that I still keep in contact with.

Working for this restaurants have it's up and downs. Only reason why I said it that way, it is because; I have been working with them for almost 6 years and for the first 4 years of working, I had the best managers.  Up until they switched the management with rookies who have no idea how to run a place.  Two managers who used to be a bus boy and a server then all of the sudden just became managers.  Privileges, got taken away, especially coffees (which really does not make sense, cause customers either orders them but does not drink them), lunch meals are only for servers and kitchen people (meanwhile, hostess is part of their employees), they respect their "chinese" culture more than other ethnic backgrounds and most of us are filipinos. I guess the hardest part of the job was to interact with the manager, just cause they think they know how to manage us. Most enjoyable? would probably be working with people you really love working with and of course not work with the manager you have with.

The work pressure is big, the pace is fast, part of the management staff and the old staff attitude is very bad like to bully the new. The work schedule is unstable, the boss is very demanding, will temporarily reduce the working hours of workers because of poor business, will let workers leave early, or let workers rest and wait in the restroom. Part-time workers will also be temporarily canceled because of bad business, not in advance. Working hours are erratic, leading to erratic income. There were a lot of turnovers and a lot of new staff, probably because they wanted to reduce welfare costs, so they didn't want to keep too many full-time workers. There is a three-month probationary period, during which lay-offs are usually made.

First of all the management is horrible, the manager does not properly train you and gets mad at you for messing up, the waiters are so rude and entitled, only a few were nice, and one of the managers were so racist. You also have to pay $2 from your salary to eat the leftovers there. You only get a 10% discount when eating there and its only valid if you pay in CASH. See usually people complain about having to deal with the customers but really it was the management and the co-workers in other departments that were horrible, the hours were either too long or too short and breaks would be between 2hr-30min (unpaid)The hardest part is having to memorize all the tables in a day and then getting yelled at because you didn't memorize them "fast" enough. Decent experience for first time workers but I wouldn't stick with it, not worth it at all, know your worth and leave while you can.

The only reason I stayed so long was because of the close friendships I created with some other employees. Overrun with drama, managers playing favourites, and senior staff treating you like garbage. I was also expected to work split shifts with no break during my second shift in a day which was generally 8 or 9 hours long. When my manager fired another bartender they immediately went on vacation and had me work 6 days a week often times for 13 days in a row. When I brought up that this was far too demanding to another manager they told me if I don't like it I can just quit. This lasted for 2 months until I was finally able to train a new employee. The management are absolute slave drivers who look to cut corners in any way possible and they care neither about workers or customers. The only thing they care about is their bottom line and grade given by head office. Also bartenders don't receive tips. Just a cherry on top. Fake date's for anonymity.

The restaurant opens at 11:30 am, which is when my lunch shift starts and ends at 3:00 pm. In 3.5 hours, I greet customers as they arrive inside, make small talks and then walk them towards their assigned table. In between, I take phone calls regarding reservations, inquiries, or take-out and delivery orders. Then when my lunch shift is over, I take my 1.5 hour break (the buffet closes to prepare for dinner time). At 4:30 pm, the restaurant is open again and I basically do the same routine once again.

Everyday is a new experience at my current job. I meet different people almost all the time. Some are very nice and approachable, and some are just the opposite, and what I've learned is to be patient and understanding, act professional and never fail your management. Not everyone is the same.

My co-workers are amazing people. They are like my siblings -- we are like a family in this restaurant. This place is also diverse, which expands my experience in this job.

management is really poor. There are three managers which ends up being no actual communication between them. The hours are really weird and are short. Basically all just split shifts. You get food but it’s $2 fee every time you have a plate which are just left overs. I was supposedly fired in my probation period but the only way I found out about that was when the schedule was posted and my name was taken off, so I had to call and ask. I hadn’t done anything wrong, and if I did none of the managers talked to me about it. Maybe I missed giving a mint to someone (which they are all super on you about giving mints to departing customers), but if anything I was an asset. I learned everything quickly and did my job. Also they have girls who don’t have their smart serve do the bar. Which is ILLIGAL

Management is HORRIBLE. They take tips from the servers. Hostesses like it because their job can be done by a six year old. NEVER apply there if you wanna be a busboy or server. This job is only good for fourteen year old girls that can get a job as a hostess anywhere else. Bartenders should also have nothing to complain about. I really suggest not working here especially if you cant deal with bad/disrespectful/mean managers. They make the busboys do the servers job a lot too which is really shameful. A sushi chef has literally punched a manager in the face, so yeah dont work here if you love yourself

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Server 6 salaries reported	$21.96 per hour
Cook/dishwasher 6 salaries reported	$18.50 per hour
Kitchen helper 4 salaries reported	$18.80 per hour
Food service worker 2 salaries reported	$18.60 per hour
Restaurant manager 3 salaries reported	$20.30 per hour

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