First Watch reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(1,898 total reviews)
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Chris Tomasso

69% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

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).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
5.0
Mar 18, 2023

Starts at the top.

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people in HQ are just that, people. They know it's a company made of people and they will treat it as such. You're more than just an employee to be productive to their profit. You're a person who agreed to do just that but has a life and friends, family, kids, Dr. Appointments and so on. They make it a point to guide leadership to have a accepting and patient mentality in how they treat their teams. Competitive pay for management and hourly employees alike. They continue to remain competitive in their pay even in these times of inflation they have increased starting salaries for new hires and are getting tenured staff caught up.

Cons

Despite the members of corps. best efforts, at the operational level things break down. There is boast of "pay per performance" as in seniority is a smaller factor in advancement opportunities in pay as well as position. However people will be people and "politics" has creeped into their weigh in with those decisions. The GM work load to pay ratio has become too imbalanced, ever since the company went public on the market. The bonus structures becoming watered down and more difficult to obtain. Promotions from hourly employees into a management positions, as well as new hires being hired into management are part of "quantity over quality" hiring era to keep up with growth.

1.0
Apr 14, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company is expanding rapidly, potential room for growth - if you are in with the right people.

Cons

Expect to work 7 days a week, nights, weekends and holidays - especially if you have a supervisor who does not advocate for you. Major disparities between upper level management (director level and above) including having your own office, bonus-eligibility, invitation to leadership conference and more. The HR department is lacking so expect to never err your grievances without potential repercussions. Benefits are minimal (low insurance contribution and 401K match is pathetic), and now they have taken away free or discounted First Watch meals.

2.0
Apr 14, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work all day time hours.

Cons

Restaurant length shifts, 10-12 hours. Not management I've been used to. Required mostly to work hourly employee positions and do any management duties after shift. Benefits very expensive. All vacation time needed to be determined at begining of year, taken one full week at a time not broken up.

Viewing 25 - 27 of 1,898 Reviews

Glassdoor has 1,926 First Watch reviews submitted anonymously by First Watch employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if First Watch is right for you.