cheap labor of wait staff may be exploited - Server Denny's Employee Review

1.0
Jul 17, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I was hired with no previous experience in this industry. I got to follow around a server during my training. Co-workers were friendly to me.

Cons

I'm reluctant to say that my experience is typical as this was a number of years ago, and things may have changed since I was there. Maybe it varies from location to location, too. However, I was hired to wait tables and ended up spending a lot of time doing things like filling jugs of salad dressing and folding silverware into napkins, all while being paid the tipped minimum wage, which is less than minimum wage. As a server, I'd thought I would make tips to supplement this very low amount, but every hour spent not waiting tables meant that my average earnings were decreased. I ended up making half as much as I would have if I'd been waiting tables during my scheduled hours. My training hadn't informed me as to how much time would be taken up with these activities and it seems that they were exploiting the fact that servers are paid at less than minimum wage. Again, with no experience in the industry, I don't know if this type of scheduling is to be expected, but it really turned me off to this job.

Explore other reviews about Denny's

5.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fun place to work and learn

Cons

Very long hours no breaks

2.0
Jul 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The restaurant was always kept clean. I loved most of my coworkers and miss working with them.

Cons

Every day was a dumpster fire. It was a very chaotic restaurant. Most of my employment was spent with the owners, cutting corners with broken equipment (fridges, coffee makers, sinks), and not enough kitchen knives or containers to complete sidework. There were never enough hours to go around for the number of servers, but we were always required to be available every weekend and holiday. The kitchen was disorganized, so food was prepared at different times for the same table. Pancakes would be made after eggs were cooked, so items would come out cold. It is a busy restaurant on the weekend, so food would be left dying in the window because management would refuse to help run trays out to tables, resulting in upset customers regarding the long wait times and cold food. The small ticket tabs and pissed customers led to low tips. The stress wasn't worth the small paycheck.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All