The Cheesecake Factory reviews

You are only a # in a sea of other amazing managers and it is difficult to shine. There's no room for ideas and everything is decided for you already. 55-60 hours a week guaranteed unless you're the GM. Shifts are high stress from start to finish. Advancing your career requires jumping through hoops of fire to impress the right people; and somehow finding the time and mental capacity to add studying and test taking to your daily routine. Schmoozing and overachieving is also required, and "I'm so sorry" or "Absolutely!" will become your most common vocabulary.

They are pretty adamant about their "steps of service" even when it really doesn't facilitate the guests overall experience. Even if a guest stops you from performing one of the steps, you may still be held accountable for missing it to your managers. Secret shops are graded on numbered scales for the most part so you can get a poor score and have to discuss it with the manager even if in the commentary the guests talks about the wonderful service you provided. There is really no room to move up, managers are usually hired from outside of the company and shuffled from states on the other side of the country. To be "promoted" to bartender is generally based on whether or not the managers like you rather than particular aspects of service. Favoritism is rampant and clearly and unapologetically shown, which is great if you are one of the favorites, but otherwise life can prove a bit difficult.