Overall There is a lack of training, unclear expectations, and poor communication. They do not enforce any rules including uniform. On occasion rules are followed, but only after an incident or the zoo gets involved. Enforcement of that rule ends when the incident is forgotten about or another incident takes it place. Poor relationship with the client, the Pittsburgh Zoo. The zoo tends to use SSA as their scapegoat for all their issues, its embarrassing. They expect a two week notice to ask for time off but they will call off young cashiers the morning of their shift screwing up the plans they had and sometimes their parents. Will make you work all holidays except Christmas and thanksgiving (The only days the zoo is closed) with no form or extra compensation. One time (after getting called out for this) they did try to give out a handful of $5 Dunkin cards to employees that worked a holiday (maybe Easter) it was honestly more insulting then anything. Employees are expendable to upper managment, turn over is embarrassingly high. Amount paid has nothing to do with years with the company, experience in the field, or schooling. They have no pay scale or reasoning for providing wage, just depends on what they want to pay that day. getting a raise is like pulling teeth especially if your part time or seasonal, no reason to come back the next year. Shifts are all day no matter your age. Not enough materials to go around (radios and golf carts) and the materials they do have are not taken care of, no preventative maintenance or updates, abused until they stop working, only then do they start to care and can not share what is left. All talk and won't listen. Employees that work hard are taken advantage of. If you think you'll ever get a raise or recognized you're kidding yourself. All you'll get is more and harder work. The company is broken into four departments at the Pittsburgh location. Administration, Food, retail, catering Administration Source of incompetence, clearly promotes favoritism among individual employees and the departments. Unorganized and immature, as an example they got rid of the office trash can because no one would take out the trash. Very rarely did I feel supported when I needed it in my job. Like when I tried to uphold rules or policies to the staff or customers. Very frequently people that try to do that get thrown under the bus. No diversity. 2022 was the first year that management even skimmed any child labor laws. So scared of their client, the zoo, they can not innovate. Not sure the HR department knows what HR is. Too much gossip. Managment is all talk. Food department The obvious favorite department. They gets whatever they want. Employees typically smell like weed. Proper uniform seems optional the most in this department. Main restaurant is usually taken care of well, other snack locations can be iffy. One summer there was a major bee problem in one of the buildings and the kids refused to work there so management tried to bribe them with gift cards. There are a range of methods to take care of that issue but that's probably too much work. Retail department The obvious least favorite department. No one would notice if the gift shops didn't open up. The POS system is out of date and discontinued. The computers are from the mid 2000s and are not in good shape. (The food team got multiple round of new iPad with a fresh POS system in just the last couple years). The warehouse is two dilapidated trailers that are full of mold and animals. (The food warehouse is up the hill attached to the newer Administration building). The office is also a broken down trailer (the food office is in the new administration building). Corporate buyers are behind. Product seems out of date and never the right quantities. Their excuse is supply chain issues but all other amusement parks in the region have plenty of products. They don't have the right suppliers. Rentals at the zoo are a joke. Up to half of the electric wheel chairs and most of the push wheelchairs don't work at a single time. The reservation system is broken, the voice-mail hasn't been checked in months and the reservations that do make it through are scribbled by what looks like toddlers in an beat up daily planner. Administration will jump into help the food department whenever its needed but they don't know the first thing about retail. Catering SSA barely has their own catering team at this point. The ones they do have are slowly leaving. Managers are unprepared, unorganized, unwilling to support, and unapologetic. It's rear if managers don't have a mental breakdown within the first two hours of setting up an event. Management would rather let the staff they've had for year leave unhappy and instead pay a temp agency more money per person per shift to fill the missing slots. Late hours. Don't go in thinking you just do food and beverage at events because SSA has terrible negotiation techniques with the zoo. The team is also expected to take down tables, chairs, and decorations. Long, hard hours for little appreciation.
