Pros

Wage + tips was very high for a 16-18 year old to make. Fast paced so shifts went by fast. Good because I like interacting with a lot of customers on a daily basis. Always something to do. Very understanding with the my other schedules (school, after school activities, games) so I could get time off whenever I needed. When I went to college, I was always allowed to come back and work summers and school breaks. Management was very friendly. I started working there when I was 16 and stayed until I completed college (22) so the overall benefits outweight the downfalls by far.

Cons

Could get stressful at times, some of the other employees could be unreliable. We always had something broken or out of stock or cooks were messing up orders so I had to deal with a lot of unhappy customers- but this allowed me to learn about customer service. Night shifts were difficult to deal with a lot of drunk/high teenagers. A very seasonal store- extremely slow in the winter and cold months and extremely busy in the summer- hardly any in between. Managers sometimes played favorites and let certain girls hops out more orders than others (which meant more tips for those girls).

Advice to Senior Management

Make sure that lower managers and shift managers are qualified and have a desire to work and understand the business.