BLAH! - Restaurant Manager Denny's Employee Review

2.0
Mar 17, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Love the regular guests. One of the main reasons we get into this business is because we enjoy taking care of people. It's great to see so many regulars walk in through the door. Strictly speaking on the restaurant level, it can be a very enjoyable work place from time to time even though I'm overall dissatisfied.

Cons

It's all about who ya know, not what ya know. Been here for a couple years now and I learned early on that if you don't kiss butt, you're not going anywere. In fact, if you dont, you're likely to get demoted or even canned. Through my time here, I've also come to learn that upper managment (area managers and up) are very good about setting managers/employees up for failure, and will never take the blame for anything. Way too much focus on labor. The company wants you to use a crystal ball to forecast guest counts and put labor on accordingly. God help you if you go over, and if you go too far under it's even worse! Cooks are expected to handle 32 guests per hour solo, on top of their prep duties, and lets not forget that kitchen has to get cleaned at some point in time too. So anything they can't do, we the managers have to jump in. Constantly changing the "vehicle" in which we communicate our core values, vision, mission, etc. All the same info, just packaged differently. At this point im constatnly mixing up "old" terminology with new terminology, although I'm trying to say the same thing. The pay is abmyssal compared to other business in the industry coupled with the the work load we are expected uphold. They tell you right out the gate you get scheduled 50 hours with the idea you'll actually be working 55, i havent spent less than 60 hours in the store yet during a normal work week. And of course let's not forget none of the actual restaurant personnel have seen a raise in 2 years...who knows maybe this year?

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5.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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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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