Steak n Shake Reviews

Pros

VERY flexible with scheduling and they do understand (sometimes) that you have a life outside of Steak n Shake. Also, considering probably about 80% of the employees are young, they are very aware of school scheduling and will not schedule you during the school year when you are unavailable.

Cons

The management is fairly terrible. Some managers are great, while other managers get away with yelling obscenities at the employees and in hearing distance of customers. Even when customers complain, upper management and HR do not care. HR does not represent employees like they should, they represent and support the company and the management and ALWAYS take their side over the employees. In addition, they do not pay employees enough and do not care about them enough to add gratuity to checks of 8 people or more. They think it is okay that servers get stiffed or get 5% because people who can't afford to go out to eat decide to eat there. The amount of work is way more than it is at any other restaurant.

Advice to Senior Management

Work the HR section of the company - it's terrible and they do not do their job properly. Also, upper management needs to come into the stores and actually work shifts because they do not understand that they are asking too much out of employees. We cannot be at 10 places at once and should not be expected to when we don't make any money.

Pros

It paid the bills
Loyal associates

Cons

No balance between home/work life
Not appreciated for hard work
No support from upper mgmt
Incompetent mgrs being hired for more $ than qualified internals
Constant menu items being introduced every 3-4 months
Coupons, coupons, coupons
Work every wknd/holiday
Doesn't care about the people just results
Associate benefits taken away - no real incentives
Improper training
Insane amounts of paperwork (checklist after checklist)
Salary caps/cuts
Haven't had a raise in 3 yrs

Advice to Senior Management

Work a full month in the life of a manager to understand demands being put upon them
Use the money that's being saved to give back to associates
Train new mgrs more effectively (stop rushing the process)

Pros

In my opinion, there is not much to be said in a good way. They are good at getting the associates off for days they need off.

Cons

Managers are hired from outside of the company and are not trained properly. When told that the managers are not trained properly, the Division President said, he wasn't trained right so everyone else should be able to be just as good. He also talks to his managers and associates like they are nothing to be concerned about.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat your employees and customers like they are the most important thing in your company, because they are. Take care of them and they will take care of you.

Pros

The majority of the people I work with are awesome. Management normally helps out when we have our hands full and are willing to assist any customer complaints or issues. It can be a fun day at SnS when you are working with good servers, cooks, and management.

- There have been a lot of complaints about not getting scheduled hours off but I have personally not had this issue. My managers have always been very flexible with my schedule and understanding of my social life and extra curricular activites. (This issue still exists in my store, but I haven't had any problems...*knocks on wood*)

- When we aren't getting slammed with business, the atmosphere is pretty lax. I hate to say it, but I have definately had fun at SnS.

Cons

Of course there are a select few employees who are loud mouthed, lazy, selfish, and rude to me, other employees, management and to customers. I don't know why they aren't fired. I guess SnS is just that pathetic. Lets rattle of some other cons:

-God help you if the managers are busy in their dinky office space counting money or giggling about somebody else's business or whatever. Just last night I need a manager to approve the use of a coupon for a customer. I told the customer that he would be righ to out and it took him three minutes. THREE MINUTES of just standing there at the register with a customer. All he had to do was type in his password. I was embarrassed for the company.

- You never get off on time. And I really do mean NEVER. Getting off an hour late is considered good. Once in a blue moon it'll be so dead that they practically kick you out of the store early, but don't worry---like I said, that happens only once in a blue moon.

- It's gross. I mean, you're working with food and ice cream all day. You go home smelling like a dead cow dipped in chocolate syrup. And that stench in your apron? Yeah, no matter how much you wash it its not going away.

- Another issue, for servers at least, is that once you are "cut" or "off the floor" aka "no longer taking any tables because it's no longer busy or you're scheduled off" you have to do what they call "side work". I definately don't mind doing sidework. Each server has a different section that they serve in and they're color coded (ex: red, blue, green, yellow etc). Each color has different side work. Like blue section always has to clean the bathrooms. Each server always completes their "fills and shines" which is filling up ketchup bottles, salt and pepper shackers, stocking the sugar caddies, mopping and sweeping the floors within their section. You also have to wash and roll all clean silver ware. Not a problem. BUT it can take a very long time if its busy and you constantly have to cash out people or seat the door. Its terrible when servers slack off and you are left with a ton of silver ware to roll or a ton of ketchup bottles to fill. Plus, once you're done with all of that, management likes to take their good ol' time before actually checking your sidework (because no one ever wants to check it) and giving you your credit tips (which 2.5% of them are taken away to pay processing fees).

Advice to Senior Management

I don't know what the problem is, but you guys need some better organization or more staffing or SOMETHING. GMs are worked to the bone and are too tired to properly check sidework so the uncompleted work goes unnoticed.

Pros

The people I work with are pretty great
Sometimes good tips
Fast Paced
flexible schedule
good shakes

Cons

Some of the people i work with are incompetent
Cooperate does not care about the little people
Not enough people when it is busy

Advice to Senior Management

Care more about the guests and the people working than unimportant things. Give more incentive to work harder and better.

Pros

Opportunity to establish great relationships with repeat guests.
Working hand in hand with today's youth to help mold their life's career.
Ability to work near your home.

Cons

Total reduction in benefits to management and hourly associates alike.
Reduction in vacation time, sick days (PTO) and 401k matching.
Lack of consistency in the promotion department.
Inability to maintain fundraising standards.

Advice to Senior Management

Get back to some of the roots set by Peter Dunn. Place the workers in the center of the circle along with the guests and shareholders. You have taken away vacations, drastically reduced bonuses, made a mockery of the 401k, reduced meal discounts for associates and placed a cap on the management. Promises were made for new uniforms thus the reduction in meal discounts yet, no uniforms and no explanation. The 401k was reinstated to a meager 20% of what it should be and Mr. Biglari is reaping huge rewards off his turn around of the company. I watched a $200,000 increase in sales occur and personally pocketed less than $800 in bonus money. As I turned in my notice I was offered my own store over an hour away. The pay increase that was offered barely covered the gas expense. Jobs are scarce so please take care of your employees and they will return the favor two-fold.

Pros

Decent pay
DM support
flexible vacation
great food

Cons

Crew turnover is outrageous.
Managment is not on the same page.
The area has poor quality workers.
Long hours
irregular schedule

Advice to Senior Management

Be ready for a huge puzzle every time you go to work

Pros

The associates are normally fun to work with, as long as they are hard workers. The tips are decent on busy nights.

Cons

-you are sent on break the moment you walk in the door, whether it is a 5 hour shift or 10.
-the management system is completely unorganized
-higher managers treat their employees terribly and unfairly.
-if you request a day off, more than likely you will not receive it, or get your hours cut tremendously.
-mistakes are not okay. if you make a very minor mistake you will get screamed at and written up.
-the stress levels are insanely high, numerous times I am crying during my shift.
-if you are called and asked to pick up a shift and politely decline, your hours will also get cut.

Advice to Senior Management

Realize that over half of your employees are working their way through school and do not plan on spending the rest of their lives working for your company. We need days off without being criticized or risk losing our jobs to make plans. Take into consideration of how young most of your employees are and treat us with just a little bit more respect and we will return.

Pros

There is a lot of opportunity to advance, and you advance at a pace relative to how hard you work. The scheduling is fairly flexible.

Cons

The stress level you have to put up with at some locations can be overwhelming. My store has lost about 8 employees because of the high stress and low pay. I am trying to find a different job for reasons including this one. There is very little accountability for poor performance and calling off, which means the good workers continuously have to pick up the slack, but don't even get a thank you most of the time.

Advice to Senior Management

I would suggest a program that rewards the excellent associates with a higher rate of pay so the turnover rate of good employees is lower.

Pros

Decent Pay and a good product.

Cons

The first Core Value is to treat others as you want to be treated. I dont think senior management has even read this. They treat all General Managers like they are worthless and can be replaced at anytime. The CEO has NO appreciation for hard work and will quickly belittle you in front of your colleagues. Long hours and phone calls throughout the night since its 24 hours.

Advice to Senior Management

Read your values, and live by them before you try to enforce them on your associates.