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?

"Money is Good and consistent." ((in 182 reviews)); "The pay is good and there's a program that pays for 20% of your college tuition." ((in 92 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 64 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 59 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 53 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 141 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 74 reviews)); "long hours (serving shift is open to close because it is breakfast/lunch only)" ((in 40 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)); "Lots of cliques and 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

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

First Watch

First Watch reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(1,898 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

First Watch has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 1,898 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The First Watch employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants & Food Service industry (3.4 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

5.0

Jan 25, 2016

Operations Manager

Operations manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Company culture is great with all its values and beliefs. I love the AMD manager training and its focus on developing managers through various leadership principles. The food quality is the primary focus of what drives the brand and the food is definitely top quality. Quality of life is better than any other 50 hour a week manager job. Every shift is open to close that consists of 6-4 and 6-5 on inventory Sundays.

Cons

A growing company with around 130 First Watches and they have bought various other chains, so some markets are stronger than others when it comes to support and focus. More emphasis on manager and employee develop will lead developing markets.

3.0

Jul 21, 2015

General Manager

General manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

No late nights. No alcohol served. No alcohol related issues or challenges. Food quality is exceptional. Cleaning and sanitation programs are some of the best in the industry.

Cons

Early hours. Low management pay . Advancement possibilities are limited and slow to materialize. Virtually no weekends off.

1.0

Apr 20, 2015

Not Recomended

Manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Free food once a day, and its pretty good job security as long as you are willing to suck up to your bosses.

Cons

VPs, Regional managers and GMs have sexual relations with servers. (try managing someone who is sleeping with your bos...) Managers will LITERALLY tell you to put on a dog and pony show when their bosses come to town. If you are not willing to backstab and play politics then you don't get to socialize with the in crowd. Plan on coming to work well before 6 a.m. and putting in 11-14 hour days. When someone goes on vacation they like to have you work a 6th day that you won't be compensated for. Forget anything you hear about occasional Saturdays off, its not going to happen. Reviews are an insult and raises come once in a blue moon. You will answer to boot-licking toadies who spout off the newest buzwords but are absolutely clueless about day to day operations.

Viewing 37 - 39 of 1,898 Reviews

Jobs at First Watch