I primarily worked at one location, but I noticed most of these same problems the handful of times I volunteered to work at two other nearby locations:
A pretty high turnover rate (at least when I was there)
- During my 3 years working here, I've gone through about 6 or 7 different managers
- There was a period when a staff member would quit about every 2 week
- The work environment wasn't hostile, but it definitely wasn't sunshine and rainbows. While we all clearly signed up for this job none of us wanted to be there and in many cases, it showed.
Not enough (reliable) staffing
- There were multiple occasions when I've had to jump between being the kitchen, drive-thru, front counter, and the back of the house (dishwasher area) all at once because multiple staff members either called out at the last minute or showed up super late and there was no replacement.
- Multiple people constantly showed up late, called out due to "emergencies", or simply didn't show up. Personally, after 3+ warnings, I believe these people should have been fired, but I can understand why the management couldn't fire half of the staff.
- There was a point when we didn't have a manager and the staff members had to divvy up the duties for about a month.
Inconsistent managerial skill levels
- To start off, I want to say that not all of my managers were "bad". There were 2 that seemed to garner significant respect from the staff. This cannot be said for the rest.
- Most of the staff (including myself) were young (typically high school/college age). The managers that I believe had the most respect, least pushback from workers, and the most efficiency were the ones that didn't act like everyone's friend. A laid-back manager leads to a laid-back (lazy) staff.
- If I am to be working under someone, I expect them to at least understand how to do the basics of my job. Sometimes sending in a half-trained staff member to take the place of a fully-trained one is more trouble than it's worth. They end up getting in the way or just overall slowing everyone down, especially if said staff member is the manager.
