P.F. Chang's Reviews

Pros

Good pay, good company atmosphere, delicious food. If I had stayed longer I would have been able to advance to a server position but due to extenuating circumstances I had to quit this job.

Cons

The sort of people that come into PF Changs are difficult at times, and can be rude to host staff.

Advice to Senior Management

At times they tended to be a bit pompous, and acted far more superior above the other employees, which made employees less likely to agree with them and respect them.

Pros

Great flexibility for college students
supportive team environment

Cons

fast paced
overly corporate
stressful
tons of little details

Advice to Senior Management

Keep the quality of the food high, do more interactive/ digital training for the servers and bartenders.

Pros

Orientation was very organized - this is a new location. Company philosophies were impressive - the language and content make you want to work at PF Changs. Organizational structure and strict adherence to policy was well documented in the manuals and publications presented during this orientation period.

Cons

Unfortunately, everything that was presented in the orientation is not, in fact, part of "real-life" daily management practices.

No cross training. Hard work is never recognized. Management has "employees" are expendable attitude. The 1-800 number is referred to 1-800-GET-URAF. Broken equipment not fixed or replaced; Fundamental Five - NEVER enforced - accept when "regional" is watching. Great employees will quickly find other opportunities and resign - leaving the mediocre, at best, to crank out impersonations of "PF Chang" recipes. I could go on and on.

Advice to Senior Management

Follow your "printed" company philosophy - it is what propelled you to success. Your original quality has been replaced by a facsimile that is driven by quantity only. This continuing philosophy will be the destructive catalyst that spurs a decline that cannot be stopped. Remember where you came from - big is not better if you do not consistently practice what you preach.

Pros

Always busy
They open in nicer malls to attract better clientele
Changes often to keep guests happy
Very customer service based

Cons

Chaos when busy
Very customer service based ( notice it's a "pro" as well, figure it out)
Publicly traded, slaves to shareholders

Advice to Senior Management

Learn how to roll out new stuff! Promos come out without any notice to adjust schedules, customer service at home office sends any complaint directly to your boss in .0064 seconds, while praise letters come in and we see them 2 months later if at all...

Pros

they r not going out of businness anytime soon

Cons

everything is about labor and numbers. Not enough about the food. Bonus' are compared to least year sales.

Advice to Senior Management

make set salary so quality is not jeopardized to reach numbers

Pros

- Management open to discuss advancement
- Very accommodating to schedule
- Fun culture: team-based and interactive
- Good training: learn a lot by actually trying all the food/drinks

Cons

- high turnover (continually working with brand new ppl)
- need to work nights if you actually want to make money

Pros

The training process are very good. And it really helps because you really know how to sell their food, making it easier for you.

Cons

Hours are too short can range from 1 hr to 4 hour for breakfast. You only have 3 table per shift and rotating those 3 table 2.5 time you will probably make $30. Care too much about customer service and basically server don't really make money.

Advice to Senior Management

Employee need to really make more money to make a living

Pros

Decent money, health/dental/vision benefits, flexible scheduling, fun coworkers. Basic perks of waiting tables, which are found at nearly every restaurant.

Cons

Bad managerial communication, too much fraternization by management, BOH employees make the job a lot harder than it needs to be.
No such thing as positive reinforcement, though it was promised at every staff meeting.
Difficult to be moved up within the store, though they claim they "promote from within."

The main problem I encountered at this location was with corporate. Someone would pop their head in about twice a week and "observe" (stand in the way of servers while pointing out things to change that didn't need changing). They were always tweaking policies and organization with no reason behind changes. Basically these people had all the decision making powers over a restaurant and staff they didn't even work with regularly.

Advice to Senior Management

I think everyone else has said this too - POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. It's just not that hard. They're just words, but they go a long way.

Pros

Customers, employees are nice and friendly. You get tips and discounts on food. Managers are really nice and will do their best to understand you and help your situation.

Cons

Trays get really heavy. You get burned a lot.

Advice to Senior Management

None...satisfied.

Pros

The business is good and there is always an opportunity to make money. If you need time off the management is very accommodating

Cons

Serving is hard work in general. It would be appreciated if they offered some sort of health coverage for part time employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Consider offering affordable health care to employees, since healthy employees are more productive than ones that are sick ones and they also take less time off of work.