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      Potbelly Sandwich Works

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      Potbelly Sandwich Works reviews

      3.5

      44% would recommend to a friend

      (1,618 total reviews)

      Robert D. Wright

      42% approve of CEO

      35% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.6

      Diversity & inclusion

      3.1

      Culture & values

      3.1

      Work/Life balance

      2.8

      Compensation and benefits

      2.7

      Senior management

      2.7

      Career opportunities

      Potbelly Sandwich Works has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 1,618 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Potbelly Sandwich Works employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants & Food Service industry (3.7 stars).

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      2K reviews
      2.0
      Apr 24, 2014

      Worked here for 7 years, glad to be leaving

      General manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      -Starting pay. My starting pay was terrific, and one of the things that led me here in the first place. -No late nights. Potbelly is primarily a lunch concept, which means I'm home for dinner 5 nights/week -People in the shops are a LOT of fun to be around. They are encouraged to have fun on the shifts, which makes work more fun. -Customers love the brand.

      Cons

      -Favoritism is at a ridiculous level in getting promoted. I ran a 4.8/5.0 scorecard YTD for 6 month and was told I still needed to prove myself. Huh? -No ability to control my staff. They can, and will, get away with anything because HR will not let you fire them for anything. I've caught people stealing and been told I couldn't fire them. No Call/No Show? No problem! You can keep on going and working here, even though it explicitly says in the employee handbook you will be fired for it. -No development plans. Potbelly preaches about coaching, but my continuous development plan has been an utter joke. In the 7 years I've been with the company, it's merited 2 comments, total. Both of which were, "Good goals." -I've been promoted twice...neither promotion came with ANY raise. Huh? -Being forced out with little to no reason. I was told my inventory was out of control (0.51% variance is out of control?), and that I should start looking for another job because, I quote, "Improvement won't help. It's just a matter of time." Way to tell me my performance doesn't matter and you're considering termination for some political reason. Bye! -RIDICULOUS budget process. They ask us to write our own budgets, but by the time they come back they resemble absolutely nothing like what I wrote. I know I sure didn't budget myself a 15% increase in sales from last year, but that's what came back. Really? 15%?! -Benefits are rapidly disappearing. Used to get days off for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Took those away (from ops people only, Support Center works 3 day weeks for those holidays, we work 5)...prescriptive schedules for general managers...can't even write our own schedule anymore based on the needs of the shop...just what Alwyin guessed they would be for every shop that fits into one of 4 "brackets" from his ivory tower.

      1.0
      Feb 18, 2013

      some good, lots bad

      Accounting and finance
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      there are a few good people in the accounting and finance group. most of all other departments are great.

      Cons

      I would literally rather work for an unopened box of kraft macaroni and cheese than the manager I had at Potbelly. Be prepared to work very long hours. that includes nights and weekends (every weekend). The people in your department base their success in life off of how many hours they can clock in the office… even if its on facebook the whole time, checking ESPN, watching hulu, or chatting with their little groups about how much they HATE someone else in your department. It’s weird because they all have the same conversations about everyone else in the department when they are with different people in the department. no real advancement opportunities. arbitrary title changes comes with minimum salary increase (if any) but can easily double your workload. when people leave, they dont fill the position. they give you all of the responsibilities with no financial incentive. well call this "an opportunity to prove yourself". your boss will harass you into joining multiple groups within the company to improve your annual evaluation. these groups interfere with your time at work and force you to make that time up elsewhere. generally later nights or weekends. if you dont join these groups, be prepared for a terrible review overall the accounting and finance group is a toxic working environment. all other departments are better

      2.0
      Dec 31, 2019

      Not worth it.

      General manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      The only good thing was the experience of being stressed everyday for the entirety of your employment. Now every aspect of my new better job is minimal in comparison.

      Cons

      Work/Life Balance non-existent. Upper management very flawed. Probably going to end up like Quiznos within the next 5 years if run how it's currently being run.

      Viewing 1 - 3 of 1,618 Reviews
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      ReviewsPotbelly Sandwich Works reviews

      Glassdoor has 1,646 Potbelly Sandwich Works reviews submitted anonymously by Potbelly Sandwich Works employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Potbelly Sandwich Works is right for you.