Steak n Shake Reviews

I have been working at Steak n Shake part-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Great company to work for, positive environment, proper training.
Hours flexible around school scheudle.
Open 24 hours
Great opportunities for advancement

Cons – Majority of income depends on tips. Pay could be very inconsistant from month to month. Menu and job procedures change frequently.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Steak n Shake part-time for less than a year

Pros – Decent tips for the type of restaurant, no previous serving experience required.

Cons – They expect a lot of their servers; hosting, working the cash register, cleaning the bathrooms.

Advice to Senior Management – Hire hosts and a cashier instead of having servers do these jobs. These responsibilities took away from our precious serving time and didn't allow us to give the highest quality of customer service that we are capable of.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Steak n Shake

Pros – Good place to work while in school

Cons – Depending on which store management is often not helpful

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Steak n Shake

Pros – Not overly stressful
Flexible schedule
great training

Cons – Long hours and Not great pay

I worked at Steak n Shake part-time for less than a year

Pros – It's easy to get hired at the erstwhile Steak 'n Shake, but that being the case, some of your coworkers will be typical fast-food types. Most were cool, some were idiots.

Cons – The pay is low for what you do. Low prices (all those meals under $4) mean that often a table of four only yields $4-5 in tip, far below what would be offered at a more prestigious establishment.

Advice to Senior Management – Raise prices and quality of food, Steak 'n Shake is a classic American brand and should be treated as such, instead of the Waffle House competitor is has become.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Steak n Shake full-time for more than a year

Pros – The best thing about working for Steak n Shake are the opportunities for growth within the company.

Cons – Staff is overworked. Servers are expected to do the job of server, host, cashier, busser and food runner. New staff members are not allowed to work more than 28 hours a week. The pay is low, uniforms outdated and

Advice to Senior Management – Push for an employee to cover each station instead of overworking your employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Steak n Shake full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Its easy money if your a waitress that can work well under a hectic enviroment

Cons – Majority of the people there are miserable
Its stressful
My manager use to treat people like crap
We went through 5 different managers over the course of 3 years.

Advice to Senior Management – Train your supervisors and store managers how to deal with problems and employees

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Steak n Shake full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Fast-Paced work environment
Hard work is noticed if you have decent upper management
Free meals up to $12 per day pre-tax
Decent Benefits
Opportunity for moving up - company is rapidly expanding, so corporate positions and franchisee positions are constantly opening up
2 weeks paid vacation, 2 floating holidays
Quarterly bonus pay based on store performance

You develop a rapport and camaraderie with fellow associates and managers (if the managers are decent) because you spend so much time with them. It's a great feeling walking out of a busy shift that runs well (quite frankly it doesn't happen very often) because it certainly requires every bit of your attention both mentally and physically, and your associates and upper management respect you for it. If you enjoy customer interactions, there is a lot of opportunity for that here. There is a lot of interaction and contact between your and your General Manager and District Manager.

Cons – Very Low pay considering the work/hours/responsibilities
Minimal opportunity for pay raises unless you are promoted (even for very high performing managers)
Extremely high associate turnover rate from management down to entry level associates - makes it difficult to build a team
Very high, near unreasonable expectations from corporate concerning store metrics and operations
Consistently dealing with either incompetent management (upper and lower) and/or incompetent associates
Extremely long hours - 50 hours per week minimum ( five 10-hour shifts), often work in excess of 60 hours
Management responsible for every aspect of store operations from working one specific station all the way up to HR duties, store landscaping, store maintenance, etc.
Systemic Incompetence at EVERY level of operations from entry level all the way to upper management
Company is transitioning to maximum 28-hour work week for hourly associates to avert offering insurance - makes it difficult to attract decent, qualified applicants
Work late nights, early mornings, weekends week-in, week-out
Company focuses a lot on profits and store metrics. Customer satisfaction seems to be an afterthought which makes it difficult to build sales and acquire a good reputation in the area
Extremely low pay for entry-level associates, extremely high expectations and excessive responsibilities for them harbors a very poor morale and negative culture (causes high turnover rate and customer complaints; customers don't like grumpy servers!)
Excessive amounts of paperwork required for associate station certification, delegated to one manager with no raise in pay
Very difficult to get fired (this is a con because it means even the worst associates and managers continue to perform poorly with no repercussions)

Cons unfortunately massively outweigh the pros in my opinion. I don't mean to 'toot my horn' per se, but I was a very good manager, and I consistently worked alongside incompetent managers and associates. I was delegated excessive responsibilities with no compensation. I never got a raise nor was I offered one until I put in my two weeks (2% raise!). I was responsible for associate certification paperwork as well as drive thru time metrics. I did grocery orders and put up the orders when they came in at 2am (I was scheduled 3p-1a!). My store ran perfect metrics for 6 months straight (14 pts out of a possible 14), but they seemed offended that I expected a raise as a result.

Overall, the company delegates massive responsibilities to its store associates, managers and associates alike, but constantly takes from them. Takes benefits, takes pay raises, cuts their hours, cuts their pay, all while telling them it's a privilege for them to work there.

Look elsewhere, please! The stress is not worth the pay.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop demanding more and more while giving less and less! Forget your bottom line and maybe you'll see an increase in your stores' performance, and subsequently customer satisfaction and profits. You can't chop away at the legs of those responsible for running your business and expect to see a positive effect as a result!

Stop making servers who are paid $4.95/hour on third shift deck scrub the dining room three times a week and they won't walk out on a shift. Stop expecting managers who are scheduled off at 3a to stay until 7a after a 10 hour shift because the aforementioned server got fed up with the crap. Stop expecting one production associate to run the entire kitchen after 2am and your drive thru times and customer satisfaction metrics will improve. Stop expecting managers to cut associates early on weekends and your customer satisfaction will improve because the customers will actually ENJOY their experience and come back (higher profits!). Stop calling your interview process "Select the Best" and then paying ALL new associates minimum wage and you'll attract better, more qualified workers (perhaps the best!). Stop rolling out new products that even you at the corporate level are unprepared for (the $4 menu rollout was hilarious and systemically doomed from day one. The biggest rollout in the company's history, and ironically the one they were the least prepared for. It was truly pathetic.) Stop hammering away at drive-thru times! 2:15 isn't that far from 2:30! Customers want their food hot and correct! Not given to them 15 seconds quicker, cold , and incorrectly and poorly put together! Stop hiring unqualified managers and harboring the poorly performing ones, and your stores will run smoother. Ease up on labor expectations. If I have to cut all my associates at 3p because it's slow and you demand me run -1 hours budgeted to actual, and I have to complete inventory, line check, and health standard checks, I can't be wearing a headset to take drive-thrus and make shakes!

Make an investment in your business, and you see profits! Hire a cleaning crew to come clean your floors once a month, hire landscapers to groom your exterior once a week. Replace broken equipment. Offer a viable career option to entry level associates with appropriate compensation. Hire an office manager for each store, not one for 86. Reward your highly performing managers! A meager quarterly bonus that adds up to 1% additional to salary does not cut it!

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Steak n Shake part-time for less than a year

Pros – Most of my coworkers were easy to get along with. the hours were okay. the food is good. very good. that's it.

Cons – you can count on not being able to get out on time. stress if you work on the line especially if you work the shake fountain on happy hour. they don't stop coming.

Advice to Senior Management – they need to hire more people. at least 10 more.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Steak n Shake

Pros – The only good thing about this company is SOMETIMES they allow for a flexible schedule, but they still make you work weekends, no matter what.

Cons – Where do I begin? The management is a joke. The majority of them are hired from outside of the company so the employees that have been there over a year know more than the managers.
The company doesn't care about it's employees at all. You cannot get benefits if you work under 29 hours, which the company doesn't allow you to work over 29 hours unless you are a manager.
No visible piercings or tattoos are allowed. One piercing per ear for women, no piercings for men. You get paid minimum wage and are forced to do excessive work such as scrubbing floors, bathrooms, silver steel, tables, grills etc. You may be stuck at work hours after your scheduled time. Employees do not get along. very hostile work environment.

If you are a server you get paid the server minimum wage and the customers can be so cheap and do not even tip you, and you are not allowed to tell the customers that gratuity is not included in the bill or you will possibly get terminated.

If you work in the back you are expected to work extremely fast, to the point where you want to pass out just to meet the drive thru times because the managers are only concerned about meeting times and getting their bonuses.

Promotions? Raises? Not happening, this company doesn't believe in promoting or giving raises to their employees.

This job is the worst job I have ever worked at. You are better off collecting aluminum cans out of a dumpster and turning them into an aluminum factory. At least you'll have your piece of mind.

If you plan on working here, I highly advise you to pleassssssssse change your mind! :)

Advice to Senior Management – Start caring about your employees and realize they are actual people with lives outside of work. If you respect them, they may respect ypu.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend