shift manager

server

lead cook

controller

bartender

Smashburger

I worked at a newly opening franchise of Smashburger over the summer. The restaurant offers gourmet burgers in a setting that is halfway between fast food and a sit-down restaurant. Customers order and pay at a till, but are served their food with a goal ticket time of under six minutes.

A typical day include food prep for several hours before the restaurant opened as well as cooking duties when necessary.

Some of my co-workers were fantastic while others were terrible. The main problem was that some treated the job as low effort fast food work.  Yes the food is served quickly, but most everything is cooked and prepped fresh, so shoddy/slow prep and cooking slows the whole kitchen down.

Dealing with management was extremely frustrating because they put more emphasis on the speed of cooking than the quality of food. Because of the type of meat used, it was okay for the burgers cooked to have some pink in the middle, and the temperature we were originally supposed to cook burgers to reflected that. However, the franchise was in Canada and customers weren't used to pink, so we increased our recommended internal temperature because burgers were often sent back. Even though our cooking times were now longer, our goal ticket time was not altered to reflect that.

Because of the time pressure, cooks would sometimes take shortcuts to get food out faster---especially during dinner/lunch rushes. Management didn't approve, but in circumstances when an employee no-showed and management helped with cooking duties, they would use the exact same shortcuts when cooking. In one instance, an employee was working the grill and a manager asked him about two burgers that were approaching the time goal. The employee said that he taken their internal temperatures and that they needed more time, but the manager replied, 'they're done, I can see it, just take them off'. The burgers were served and then both returned for being under-cooked. The manager then told the employee to get off the grill and replaced him because of the under-cooked burgers.

As a whole, the management had little idea about what went on in the kitchen or which of their workers were more effective. They were reasonably pleasant people but made poor decisions because of their lack of knowledge.

What is the best part of working at the company?
While it was coperate it's was amazing but the Canadian franchisee is the worst employer ever cuts corners and expect the world from you for peanuts .

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Delayed wages , rude unethical behavior and if willing to work for peanuts go ahead 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Exhausting tense and unbearable. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Never looked foward to going and just couldn't wait to get out .

Work at smashburger is almost the same everyday. You work with almost all the same people and do most of the same work. The only thing that changes is how many customers come in for lunch and dinner. Management and staff are friendly. The job it self is enjoyable. The hardest part would be when it is busy and customers are getting mad over the wait and the front staff are getting mad at the kitchen to get the food out faster but the kitchen can only go as fast as it can.

working at smashburger is sometimes fun when it's busy but it's boring when the store is dead. It is a very easy job especially when you are at the front!  you take people's order and serve them and touch tables atleast once and do refills, clean and check the washroom often. It's not a stressful job especially when you get along with your co-workers!

Working as a cook in the back was very stressful when the restaurant would get busy. With so many tasks and very little room and not enough employees, we were forced to work harder and faster than regular. That being said, smash burger does a great job on delivering good quality food and getting peoples order on time.

STRICTLY keeping everyhing clean and organized makes me impressed for a new employee.
ask to move my hour ahead coz of my other work schedule ended up of chopping my hours of 30-hrs. Is that fulltime??

It was a fast-paced environment with the staff well trained to encounter a lineup of more than 50 people. I was trained very well to manage all of the work alone including the closing.

Fun place to work but sometimes getting busy and the managers are all accomodating and kind. A good place to start for a career advancement. They are promoting crew that is deserving.

I learned how to get stuff done quickly within a time frame. The workplace culture is very diverse. Most enjoyable part is cooking the food. The hardest part about the job is trying to get everything done in a short period of time.

Fun but stressful at certain times especially if working with only 2 people, food is great tho, and once a year staff appreciation during christmas, one manager is very unproffesional tho.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Shift manager 2 salaries reported	$41,090 per year
Server 2 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Lead cook 2 salaries reported	$22.74 per hour
Controller 2 salaries reported	$85,000 per year
Bartender 2 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour

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