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 96 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 64 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 56 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 56 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 74 reviews)); "long hours (serving shift is open to close because it is breakfast/lunch only)" ((in 39 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 26 reviews)); "Also lots of favoritism" ((in 24 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

(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

3.0

Aug 10, 2018

Operations Manager/Assistant General Manager

Operations manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good brand philosophy, Great people, team members and customers make it worthwhile. Decent pay, good hours ie Close at 230pm.

Cons

Lack of support from superiors and sometimes we are left for the wolves, so to speak. Weekends/Holidays are mandatory and Sunday is a long day always.

4.0

Feb 14, 2018

Server

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great hours, 6:30-3:00. Great pay; 20.00-40.00$ an hour. This is a seat yourself restaurant, you are in control of how much money you make. Most of the customers are great, I have had long lasting relationships spanning over years. The other coworkers are great. This job can be a lot of fun!

Cons

The management can be hostile or demanding. If you are not able to keep up in a fast paced restaurant this is not the job for you. The kitchen staff constantly "taps" or bangs on the helm when food is ready to be ran, this includes yelling at servers to run food or go to the front door. This job is also part time. The management will not let you work more then four shifts a week, usually about 25 hours a week.

5.0

May 7, 2013

Great food, growing company, and free nights

Management

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

One of the rare companies in the restaurant industry that has free nights. Great opportunities given company is growing. This company has high standards at every level. It's a place people are proud to work for.

Cons

It's hard work. Physically and mentally demanding- more so than other places I've managed. Upper Management wants it done right- there is no room for doing something halfway... not a bad thing, but high expectations!

Viewing 10 - 12 of 1,898 Reviews

Jobs at First Watch