Is Caribou Coffee a good company to work for?

Caribou Coffee has an overall rating of 3.6 out of 5, based on over 1,817 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 65% of employees would recommend working at Caribou Coffee to a friend and 37% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Caribou Coffee have been left by employees working as Barista - Caribou , Barista, Shift Supervisor and District Manager .

Does Caribou Coffee pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Caribou Coffee employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Caribou Coffee. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Caribou Coffee?

65% of Caribou Coffee employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Caribou Coffee 3.3 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 2.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Caribou Coffee?

Barista (401) , Shift Supervisor (173) , Cashier/Barista (80) , Shift Lead (68) , Store Manager (62) , Shift Leader (55) , General Manager (43) , Barista, Shift Supervisor (35) , Team Member (29) , Manager On Duty (25) , Assistant Manager (24) , Manager (23) , Assistant General Manager (17) , Barista - Caribou (17) , District Manager (17)

What are the pros of working at Caribou Coffee according to real employee reviews?

"Tips are a nice perk as well as free coffee and shift drinks." ((in 123 reviews)); "Flexible with school schedule and great coworkers" ((in 122 reviews)); "Discounts and can meet some pretty great people" ((in 118 reviews)); "Flexible hours and easiness of the work itself makes for a perfect first or college job." ((in 79 reviews)); "The free drinks are great and really appreciated." ((in 65 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Caribou Coffee according to real employee reviews?

"Fast paced and low paying" ((in 171 reviews)); "Poor management and bad relationship with the wmployers" ((in 128 reviews)); "If you end up with a bad manager it can make your experience a living hell" ((in 75 reviews)); "Some team members would get little to no hours, while others would be scheduled almost over 40 hours a week." ((in 31 reviews)); "No breaks (how is that even legal)." ((in 23 reviews))

What are employees saying about Caribou Coffee layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Caribou Coffee layoffs and their outlook for job security at Caribou Coffee in 2026.

What Caribou Coffee locations have received the highest employee ratings?

Lakeville , Elk River , Kansas City , Fargo , Maplewood , Chapel Hill , Mankato , Woodbury , Brooklyn Center , Raleigh

Caribou Coffee reviews

3.6

65% would recommend to a friend

(1,787 total reviews)

Scott Kennedy

49% approve of CEO

37% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Culture & values

3.3

Work/Life balance

2.9

Senior management

2.9

Compensation and benefits

2.9

Career opportunities

Caribou Coffee has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 1,787 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Caribou Coffee employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants & Food Service industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

3.0

Aug 6, 2009

Great place to work for a student (college, grad school, etc).

Barista

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Fun environment and the company is good about educating its employees about the products they sell.

Cons

Typical gripes about any food service job - obnoxious customers, unmotivated co-workers, low pay, etc.

4.0

Mar 24, 2009

Caribou Coffee is an ok place to work.

Shift supervisor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Caribou provides staff with a half pound of premium free coffee every week. It's a friendly place to work with great relationships between regular customers and staff. Most of the Store Managers I've worked with have been very good. Caribou provides opportunities to move up in the company. Throughout the recent downturn in the economy I feel like my job has provided a great deal of stability. It's great to not have to worry about layoffs coming just around the corner.

Cons

There's a disconnect between the corporate offices and the stores. This is especially true of problems within human resources. The amount of sick days and paid vacation is less than desirable and the requirements to to receive paid time off do not mesh well with the operations of a coffee shop. There are no lunch breaks, which leads to shorter shifts, making it very difficult to work full time in a five day work week. There are no holidays. Caribou is open every day of the year and only pays holiday pay for Christmas and Thanksgiving. I can name many more holidays than just those two.

2.0

Dec 13, 2008

Caribou, They just didn't learn from the Lawsuit.

Store manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Caribou by far has the highest quality coffee available and the customer service that is free is by far in the top 10percent of companies out there. All employees receive 1/2 pound of coffee each week, a free drink for every shift worked and 10% off all merch and products. The atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable and the customers are the best. Supervisors and store management is pretty good, they listen to you and seem to follow through on what they promise.

Cons

Wages are horrible, senior management only cares about themselves and will stab you in the back to protect their own backside. Upward advancement is a joke, they will promise and promise while asking you to do more and more by holding the proverbial carrot in front of you only to come up with an excuse of oh, sorry its going to be probably 3 to 6 more months till that position is available because the company is restructuring and that actual position does not exist anymore, but if you can show us that your more than willing to big we will promise you something else.

Viewing 1783 - 1785 of 1,787 Reviews

Jobs at Caribou Coffee

Coffeehouse Barista

Saint Pete Beach, Pinellas, FL

Team Member - Reynoldsburg

Team Member - Wooster

Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Great place to work for a student (college, grad school, etc).

Caribou Coffee is an ok place to work.

Caribou, They just didn't learn from the Lawsuit.

Jobs at Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Caribou Coffee reviews FAQs

Jobs at Caribou Coffee