Is First Watch a good company to work for?

First Watch has an overall rating of 3.7 out of 5, based on over 1,926 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 63% of employees would recommend working at First Watch to a friend and 61% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about First Watch have been left by employees working as Director of Operations , Black Apron and Cafe Manager .

Does First Watch pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, First Watch employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at First Watch. This rating has decreased by 6% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at First Watch?

63% of First Watch employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated First Watch 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at First Watch?

Server (632) , Server/Waiter (294) , Operations Manager (124) , General Manager (70) , Line Cook (65) , Busser/Runner (46) , Server/Waitress (36) , Manager (34) , Director of Operations (30) , Dishwasher (27) , Cook (26) , Waitress (21) , Food Server (18) , Black Apron (16) , Busser (15)

What are the pros of working at First Watch according to real employee reviews?

"The pay structure/ tip out was typically solid making good money on most weekends." ((in 175 reviews)); "The pay is good and there's a program that pays for 20% of your college tuition." ((in 89 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 67 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 59 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 57 reviews))

What are the cons of working at First Watch according to real employee reviews?

"poor management and had managers try to make job difficult" ((in 139 reviews)); "Managers have a lot of responsibility and spend most of their time in the kitchen rather than being up front dealing with customers." ((in 71 reviews)); "long hours (serving shift is open to close because it is breakfast/lunch only)" ((in 38 reviews)); "Upper management is so completely out of touch it's almost as if they have never worked in a restaurant (spoiler: most of them haven't)" ((in 28 reviews)); "Also lots of favoritism" ((in 25 reviews))

What are the top reviewed First Watch locations?

Tampa , Orlando , Sarasota , Jacksonville , Raleigh , Louisville , Columbus , Houston , Cincinnati , Kansas City , Phoenix , Charlotte , Dallas , San Antonio , Atlanta , Saint Louis , Austin , Knoxville , Bradenton , Lexington-Fayette , Scottsdale , Naples , Tucson , College Station , Miami , Richmond , Fort Worth , Katy , Nashville , Overland Park

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First Watch

First Watch reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(245 total reviews)

Chris Tomasso

69% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Work/Life balance

3.5

Culture & values

3.4

Career opportunities

3.2

Senior management

3.2

Compensation and benefits

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

245 reviews

Reviews about "Culture"

Return to all reviews

1.0

Nov 21, 2024

Worst place

Server/waitress

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Money was good teamwork as servers great

Cons

Horrible controlling management who talks crap about all there staff amongst others

First Watch Response

Thank you for taking the time to share this review, which only help us improve. Although you are able to enjoy making money in a teamwork environment, we are so disappointed to learn about your experience with management and would love to hear more. Please call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963, so that we can better understand your concerns and properly address them.

1.0

Nov 7, 2024

No

Host/busser

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Cant think of any, besides the free food

Cons

Toxic Work Environment and very demanding

First Watch Response

We stive to be "You First" in all we do, so to hear that your experience wasn't makes us so disappointed. We would love to hear more from you by calling our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963, so that we better understand and address and your concerns. We appreciate your feedback, and it will only make us better.

5.0

Oct 29, 2024

Support

Operations manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-The customers! First Watch is known for our amazing menu. So happy to see our customers faces light up when we place their plates! -No nights(: -Easy kitchen with easy recipes -Uniforms. I see how proud our cooks are when where their coats. Much better standards rather than a T-shirt. -EVERYTHING!

Cons

-Our POS system. EOD’s can take up to 30 minutes. I’ve seen longer at some F.W.’s. -The POS could be simpler just for servers. I feel like it takes too long for “ring in” orders. Example: Asking for modifications when it’s not necessary. -

First Watch Response

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience while working at First Watch! We love that you’re energized by the (delicious) food, making customer's days brighter, the ease of recipes and the uniforms. Thank you for also including your experiences of where we can grow as a company, and this will only help leadership team to improve the experience of every employee. We're thrilled to have you on our team!

Viewing 37 - 39 of 245 Reviews

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