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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

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).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
2.0
Sep 16, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Love the upbeat atmosphere and having a great time making people happy. Certainly a lot of potential for personal growth. Teamwork is great and it can really foster a family environment.

Cons

Profit is more important to Potbelly than people. Ultimately, you are judged on results (more specifically how much profit you bring in) over actual performance. If you make the company money, they love you. If things aren't going well despite working 60 hours a week, they will toss you to the curb. Expect to be stretched thin on management and stressed out. They are struggling with growth, as there are not enough people to fill their positions in new shops and they are not concerned with making their employees happy, which is leading to turnover. Many jobs are available for similar compensation and much less work and stress.

1.0
Aug 15, 2014

Going crazy

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some fun coworkers company has good values

Cons

Most of the management don't respect the feelings, and rights of their workers. Standing next to a hot oven, and breathing in smoke from the oven. Management wont hold themselves accountable when a mistake is made or when they are violating the rights of their employees.Management also disciplines the wrong people for the wrong things. An example of this would be they let coworkers of mine have their hair down, but get mad at me when I ask to get water or use the bathroom. I have offered solutions to help improve my specific shop, but they don't listen. They also only promote favorites regardless of work ethic. Only received a raise of 11 cents an hour, and that is supposed to be good. District manager insulted me, and didn't take my concerns seriously.

1.0
Dec 13, 2013

Poor quality of life!

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are no pros to working here other than a free over-rated toasted sandwich.

Cons

I have worked for this company since it was in it infant stages with only a few stores in major cities. Back then there was a sense of pride working for a company that cared about it's employees. I would wear my uniform to work and not feel ashamed of being seen in public. About 5 years ago the company changed CEO's and it's gone down hill ever since. We used to get a bonus every month only to have it taken away and returned quarterly with only a small fraction of what we used to get. We had our salaries frozen for 3 years and when they returned they are quite frankly a slap in the face for all the hard work we put in each year. We're asked to do things that are downright embarrassing like wearing brown paper bags scribbled with crayons advertising our latest promotion. There is miscommunication at all levels of management. We're told one thing from corporate management and something completely contradictory from local management. The main focus is to bring in as many sales and as much to the bottom line as possible, all while neglecting the well being of the managers and staff. There is a void of morale in the stores because the employees are asked to do ridiculous amounts of work for very little pay and after working in these conditions for entire year they are only given a small raise, usually somewhere between 10-16 cents per hour. The salary increase for managers is just as poor. We're not given the support we need at the store level to run effective shifts and when we aren't meeting our sales per man hour budgets we're forced to cut even more labor, making the work that much harder and it ever more difficult to meet our goals. Salaried managers are spending most of their days making sandwiches and taking care of customers, only to go home and work on the administrative aspects of the job because they simply cannot get them done while they are at work. I used to have a social life, now I feel like I'm tied down to a job I've grown to detest. My life has become work and sleep and has even gotten to the point where I work while I eat lunch, if I get to eat lunch at all. I honestly don't see myself working here much longer.

Viewing 10 - 12 of 1,618 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.