surveillant du service alimentaire

directeur de restaurant

serveur au comptoir

restaurant manager

cuisinier

A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.

Nothing out of the ordinary here, you come in and clean things as you cook, prep food items, wash dishes, change garbage, take orders in front and drive thru, etc. Occasionally we get rushes and there is a large amount of customers that come in at once, it can be stressful because it can get intense, but as long as you communicate with your co-workers it is doable. 

Management was always so-so, sometimes there would be less people a shift for no reason and we would be expected to prep the same amount of food. (I found the lack consideration that summers can be busier a bit short-sighted.) At one point it was just me and one other person working at the end of the week in the late afternoon when there was three until a certain time. It is appreciated that at least they will accomodate any difficulties if you bring it up with them.

Co-workers are friendly, but are unreliable sometimes. There's been lots of switching of shifts, and one of them would outright not show up without even sending a message why they couldn't. Management hasn't given them any issues yet, which leaves me puzzled why someone can keep a job even though they don't go to their shifts.

In my time here, I've learned to hate customer service culture. I enjoyed being able to take the professional reins of making someone's experience pleasant, but I can't find enjoyment out of it anymore. People will always say that they are yelling at your uniform, and not the job. However, that doesn't change the fact that an adult is doing something as immature as yelling at a teenager because of their food.  I am highly empathetic and understand when a customer is disappointed/frustrated in getting a wrong order (I pride myself in doing a good job) and some people may have had a long day at work, but it is a frustrating feeling to see an adult vent their stress at one of my co-workers (who is hardly even a teenager) because there was a small detail off about their burgers. We are reaching a customer consumer culture that everything must be the best, for the lowest price, at the highest speed. And when these expectations aren't met, I am surprised with how vile and angry people, specifically adults, can be over fast food. Over three years of working part-time customer service in food here, it is just not for me.

On the flip side, I've been able to have positive experiences both at cashier and as a cook. I enjoy the professional peppy feeling of taking people's orders, as I feel it hones my diplomacy and conversational skills, as well as the ability to think on my feet if something is not quite right about their order. Additionally, it gives me opportunities to react quickly to an order and challenge myself to get things together and cook the food as fast as possible. On the side I've also learned skills included cleaning with machinery like fryers and grills, food prep, sanitation. 

The overall job is decent  and if you're not unlucky you can have a really positive teamwork environment with your co-workers. Rushes can be very challenging and certainly feels like a "make-it-or-break-it" moment if you've never worked in food service before. I still would recommend this place as a job because it does teach you all-around skills that are valuable to different work industries, but be prepared for difficult and frustrating customers.

I worked at more than one location (one was a stand alone and one was in a mall they were owned by the same person.) The work itself was easy enough and many of my coworkers were very nice. There is online training to prep you for your on the job training (I can still recite the menu three years after quitting). Employee turnover was high which is normal but this included managers and supervisors which made things hard at times. I had multiple managers and none of them were overly nice but on the other hand, I had supervisors I still love to this day. I was given many opportunities including opening/closing shifts and formal on the job training of other employees (which was a supervisor duty but was given to me for a couple of the new employees). My main issues with the job revolve around the managers I had and the owner which means this is a situational issue because I have since met managers of other stores that are extremely nice. Scheduling was flexible but I frequently had issues of my managers scheduling during times I had booked off months in advance (I was given the okay for my days off then asked to come in while in vacation ie actually out of the country already and asked to come in for a three hour shift).
I often was told my preferred shifts would be taken away from me if I didn’t meet the owners standards on minor things but at the same time was never thanked for the extra work done.
My favourite part of working here were my coworkers and many of my regular customer who I grew to have a good relationship with.
My least favourite part was only getting a single break (standard not my issue) during my shifts while certain managers/supervisors would take many breaks and leave us alone in the store.
Overall, I think A&W is a great company and a great place to work, I learned a lot but my specific locations were not the best and show the bad side of how things can sometimes be so I think my review should be taken with a grain of salt. My recommendation to A&W as a whole is to have a more in depth training program for the managers in terms of manager to staff communication skills as well as empathy.
The management of my store is my sole reason for quitting.

When I started here, I was in high school. It was a really good job, had some nice customers, and management was really nice. Understood and cared for us. Then came a couple months later. Got a new management system which kinda messed up the whole system We had. Had so much stress thrown on me as I was one of the good workers they had. Had some shifts with select workers who wouldn’t do their job, and made me do their jobs. When I talked to new management, they just shrugged it off, saying that I had to “carry” the slack. I was really young (15) at the time, and was expected to do so much work at $15 an hour. Customers sometimes were very rude, and wouldn’t care about the workers at all. Some would yell at me demanding refunds, and lie when complaining to management. I’ve also had to cover a lot of shifts while I worked here. When I was first hired, the manager (who I loved) didn’t schedule me too much and made sure to give me breaks. New management has made me work 6 days a week at times, even when I’ve told them I have other jobs at home I have to attend to. The A&W here has relied off me so much because of how good of a worker I was, they would just keep the staff who didn’t do their jobs because I could carry their workload with me. Some of the workers here were very nice, and would help me get through work, but some wouldn’t help, and as previously mentioned, make me do their work. One of the worst things I would say is how they treat the workers (a&w). It seems that no matter how much you work, you are expected to settle with your $15 an hour. We can accept tips here, but rarely get them from customers. Another thing is that we only has security cameras focused on STAFF, not CUSTOMERS as well. We are also not allowed to defend ourselves if someone is cussing at us for no reason, we just have to put on a fake smile, and tell them to have a good day. I used to love this job, but had to quit not only because I was moving, but the workload was mentally affecting me, and wouldn’t let me attend to other jobs i had at my house. Would NOT recommend this job mainly because of the pay, customers, and some workers doing nothing to help at all.

I had worked there for 3 weeks everything was great . I'd arrive 30 minutes earlier, Customers would compliment me on my great smile and positive attitude, Customers would also compliment me for delivering fast service . I always kept everything stocked and would triple check with my team leader to ensure I had all task done before pre-closing. Everything was fine until the next week they had told me I didnt have a schedule that week but I'd be working the next week. Next week comes they tell me to call again on Tuesday then Wednesday to discuss my scheduling that for that week . By wednesday I had called and they had told me again i had no scheduling that week and to call next week for my schedule . And can you guess what happens next ? the same thing! Obviously frusterated  I asked if I could have a talk with the regional manager who said hed figure out what was happening because he had not heard  anything . So after not hearing from him for two days I called my store again and they had told me that they had terminated my training and that I'd no longer be working there confused I had asked why and she said she couldnt tell me why and that I'd have to talk to the regional manager. So I contacted him and he basically said that my supervisor had said I wasnt "a good fit" and there was nothing he could do about it. Keep in mind I had not been scheduled for about 3 weeks and within those weeks my supervisor had been telling me to call back so I could be scheduled . and then two days later she tells the regional manager that I am not a "good fit" and they refuse to elaborate on that .. Other than that its a fairly easy job , you get 40% meals worth no more than 10$ while working. I had great co workers but Management was very poor and I had barely made any money because money from uniforms was deducted from both paychecks . I you want an easy fast paced job with great co workers this is a good job but beware your managers can fire you with no notice and reason.

I worked at A&W in Ontario for approximately one year as a cashier. During my time there, I gained valuable experience in customer service, working in a fast-paced environment, and following food safety and company standards. I consistently greeted customers courteously, prepared food and beverages according to A&W guidelines, and worked hard to maintain cleanliness, accuracy, and efficiency during busy periods.

Unfortunately, my overall experience was not a positive one. Management and workplace culture were significant challenges. There was a lack of support from leadership, poor communication, and insufficient staffing, which resulted in an overwhelming workload for employees. This often made it difficult to provide the level of customer service A&W is known for, and customer concerns were not always handled with the care or urgency they deserved.

Morale among staff was low, and teamwork suffered as a result of ongoing stress and burnout. Despite employees doing their best, the work environment felt disorganized and reactive rather than supportive and proactive. At times, concerns raised by staff were not acknowledged or addressed, which contributed to frustration and disengagement.

I ultimately chose to leave the position due to the cumulative impact of management issues, workload pressure, and a lack of compassion during a very difficult personal period in my life. While I remained committed to my responsibilities, the environment made it unsustainable to continue.

I believe A&W could greatly improve by investing more in employee support, proper staffing, clearer leadership, and a stronger focus on both staff well-being and customer care. With better management practices and communication, this location could become a much more positive workplace and deliver a better experience for both employees and customers.

In the beginning it seemed like a great place to work.  Most of the staff was friendly enough, and the instruction seemed pretty thorough.  As time went by however, I realized that there were more and more things that were expected of me that I had no training on how to do it.
The manager also plays favourites and it is very easy to tell.  Most of them knew her outside of work, so I definitely expected them to have a stronger relationship.  However, she would go from talking to one of her friends and when turning to face me, her welcoming smile would instantly turn into a "bad day" scowl.  I can recall her smiling at me a grand total of 3 times in the nearly 2 months I worked there.  It made working with her very intimidating and stressful.
I usually pride myself for my hard work ethic, but as I worked with this manager more and more, I became less and less confident in my work.  Because of this, my work ethic also suffered and I probably didn't work to the best of my abilities, which I wish I could have done.
I felt isolated in that environment.  During the last few weeks, some of my co-workers seemed to join the manager in her spite for me.  They would be carrying on a conversation loud enough for the entire kitchen to hear, but when I would add a comment into the conversation I would  get a dirty look and they would go on conversing as if I hadn't said anything.
I also found that just about every employee there had a big mouth and would all talk about each other behind their backs.  It made me so anxious wondering what bad things they were saying about me when I left, to the point that I had to quit without warning.  The amount of stress they were putting me through was NOT worth the pay cheque,
I feel like the actual job itself was easy and straight forward, but the environment definitely suffered.  They are a tight knit group and I felt if VERY difficult, if not impossible to wriggle my way in, even enough to simply be comfortable.

A typical day was cleaning, cashier duties and the definite rush during the morning, lunch and dinner times.

  I learned that it's not best to get too close to co workers by watching other interact too closely unfortunately. I learned to always remain calm in sticky situations least it get worse for everyone. Lastly I learned to not lead by the example of others if they themselves don't follow the rules, that I found out the hard way.

  The management tried from what I could tell but there didn't seem enough management to me. The Management lied about some things, didn't properly train staff and took to favouritism which became noticeable at points. They took out their frustration on some cashiers and placed blame when blame is a shared situation. One management member even went so far as to alter time cards for those who worked through lunch breaks and did not stop until the head office was called in.

  The hardest part isn't the customers but dealing with the negative feedback from others around you. From this I try not to see all the bad in someone and to praise them for their good and try and let them see what might be wrong without pointing any blame directly.

   The most enjoyable part was when I just started. They were teaching me things and I enjoyed learning and the new situation and everything but they started to slack on the need to keep training me. I wasn't taught how to cash out my own register at all first and then I was taught one by the assistant manager very sloppily and then properly by the actual owner only when they finally saw how much problems I had since no one formally had done it with me. I did enjoy the co workers for a while until they became too "comfortable" and got lazy I guess. I ended up following their example and it makes me ashamed to have followed in their footsteps like that.

Personally, I have really bad anxiety and the fast food environment worsened it but it also toughened me up. I really do not recommend working in fast food unless it's your only option and you absolutely need to survive. Typical day consists of taking orders, serving customers, cleaning tables (which is normal) and bathrooms constantly (which is kind of annoying) when they were open, cleaning the restaurant, packing deliveries, stocking the front, etc. Management was kind of bad. I started working in COVID and I got a lot of shifts but recently I had gotten no shifts and had to manage the front alone which can be stressful if you have the need to have someone there with you or you get overwhelmed easily. All my shifts were 8 hours, so i got really tired of it. I worked in downtown so I had to deal with a lot of rude customers and had to call the police a lot. Fast food workers get treated really badly so if you can't handle people threatening you, arguing with you, being rude, throwing drinks at you, etc then i really don't recommend. The people I worked with were really nice and fun which helped shifts a little bit. I learned a lot of skills though. Hardest part of the job was in my opinion getting too many deliveries and in store people at a time OR having to deal with really bothersome customers while having a rush of people ordering OR just being treated horribly honestly. Most enjoyable I find was any moment that is easy and peaceful for example when there are no customers or deliveries or when you have your favourite co-worker working with you. For the most part it was a good learning experience but I'm definitely never working in the fast food environment ever again unless it is my last resort.

On a typical day at work, I would arrive at the store for 6:15AM and begin my morning routine for opening the store. My routine included vegetable and condiment preperation for the burger toppings, turning on all of the appliances in the kitchen, and preparing food for when the store opened at 7AM. I also had many responsibilities throughout the day including sweeping and mopping, wiping down all surfaces throughly and frequently, as well as preparing a large number of food items to fulfill all customer orders. This job helped me to improve my multitasking and time management skills. The management was very friendly and accommodating to all the needs of their staff members. My co-workers were an absolutely wonderful group of people with whom I have developed many life-long friendships. The hardest part of my job was learning the best way to handle our rush periods, which took place during lunch (12:30-2:30pm) and dinner (4:30-6:30pm). These rush periods were quite stressful at first, however with constant practice and the encouragement of fellow staff members and management, these rushes were a lot less daunting. In fact, it became more of a fun competition among staff to achieve the lowest service times within our store. Finally, the most enjoyable part of this job was definitely the work environment and atmosphere among staff. The A&W company has a "Climate Standard" for each of their store, which sets guidelines for how staff members should be treated at work, as well as setting a no tolerance policy for abuse or harassment of any kind. This "Climate Standard" greatly enhanced the work environment and benefited all staff members, making A&W a superb company to work for.

What is the best part of working at the company?
There was no best part of working for this company. Honestly, it was one of the worst employment experiences of my life.

I did not receive proper in-house training, I was not scheduled the hours I was hired for, management was rude, accusatory, lacked communication skills, and often the cause of the very problems they complained about. Many people there were afraid to bring up concerns to management due to their complete lack of self-reflection and ability to manage conflict.

Lots of backchat, gossip, and two-faced behavior. Which is not a good aspect to have in management. It all starts from the top, and unfortunately that behavior came down upon the staff as well.

The location I worked at in particular was notorious for it's extremely high turnover rate, and I can see why. Avoid at all costs.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part about working for the company was, as I mentioned, dealing with management. They were utterly incapable of self-reflection or conflict management. Everything needed to be blamed on someone, rather than simply accepting the restaurant business for what it is.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
At first, it seems great. And my fellow employees were actually rather kind and easy to get along with. However there is an underline of strict and often unreasonable expectations that prevented true collaboration between staff.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Often overworked and underpaid. Short-staffed and expected to deliver the highest quality service on an incredibly short time frame. Getting an order out in less than a minute was considered the bare minimum for service.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Surveillant du service alimentaire 499 salaries reported	$19.79 per hour
Directeur de restaurant 190 salaries reported	$31.18 per hour
Serveur au comptoir 71 salaries reported	$16.93 per hour
Restaurant manager 129 salaries reported	$18.82 per hour
Cuisinier 116 salaries reported	$18.52 per hour

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