Server Review (~5 years there, started at age 16) - Server Denny's Employee Review

2.0
Aug 10, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The tips used to be good and if you can get it right, it can be a fun environment to work in. I must say this, for my first 2-3 years at Denny's I had amazing managers. They would get down on their hands and knees to work with us and scrub shelves and whatever needed to be done they would be there along side us. They made us laugh, they were calm, collective, and thoughtful. They knew how to have fun and make sure we all had fun at work while remaining a professional business. Two to three years ago the Denny's i worked at was so much fun I never thought of leaving, but around two years ago... that all changed.

Cons

The rules are out of this world. You cannot touch another human being or you will get fired. If YOU SEE someone touching another person you are too report it immediately or you can be put up for termination. Denny's tries to hard to make everyone feel comfortable. This is America, we are a country, and we are a country where it is OK to hug someone as a greeting. Let us not forget that now you cannot shake someone's hand either for FEAR that the next customer complains that they did not get their hand shaken as they walked through the door. This is a paraphrase from the last meeting I went to (the 3rd one in my 5 years of working at Denny's, started when I was 16) from the area manager. People complain way too much and Denny's just lets the customer walk all over you. I am a pretty big guy and very nice/cordial so I rarely have any problem's with customers but I have seen it happen so many times with other servers. My problem is rarely with the customer but with how the company treats its employees.

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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.

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