First Watch reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(245 total reviews)
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Chris Tomasso

69% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Reviews by job title

245 reviews

Reviews about "Culture"

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1.0
May 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good hours to leave no money to make tho

Cons

Frat boy culture all mangers care about is their bonuses. 90% managers, operational managers, general managers, regional managers. Can’t cook or run the line but in positions because somebody they know. I had a manager refuse to fire somebody because it would’ve messed up his monthly bonus but would rather me 13 out of 14 days in one pay cycle avoid this job at all cost for any position

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First Watch Response
1mo
Thanks for the feedback. We pride ourselves on our “You First” culture and are so disappointed to hear that you felt that way. It sounds like we really dropped the ball somewhere. Would you mind reaching out to us by calling our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 with more information? Thanks again, and we hope to hear from you soon.
4.0
Apr 17, 2026

Great staff. Horrible management

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The teammates are amazing. I can’t say anything bad about 90% of the staff they lead a good culture as long as it is followed and created by the manager.

Cons

Managers work way over the pay. The salary of a OM or GM is not worth the amount of work and stress put into it. I’ve been in the business 20 years and multiple roles. I can honestly say that I have never worked as many hours after close and on my “days off” the “you first culture” definitely does not apply to salary staff. And don’t ever think you’re not expendable.

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First Watch Response
3mo
Thanks for the feedback. We are happy to hear waht a great team you had, but it is also important for us to understand your concerns. We pride ourselves on our “You First” culture and are so disappointed to hear that you felt that way. We'd love to learn more about any experience that led you to feel like we don’t care for our employees., and it sounds like we really dropped the ball somewhere. Would you mind reaching out to us by calling our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 with more information? Thanks again, and we hope to hear from you soon.
4.0
Apr 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pretty consistent pay, easy workload, quick turnaround with guests. Management is consistently nice.

Cons

A pretty significant disparity with veteran servers. They make much better money and have better shifts/sections because they get to choose. Decent program set up but bad scenario for new servers.

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First Watch Response
3mo
Thanks so much for the great review! We’re happy to hear that you appreciated the pay, customers, and management! If you would call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963, we'd like to follow up and better understand and address your concerns. Any feedback helps us to re-evaluate our approach, and we're grateful for yours.
Viewing 7 - 9 of 245 Reviews

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