serveur au comptoir

store manager

teneur de livres

surveillant du service alimentaire

directeur commercial

The Alley

There's a lot to memorize, such as recipes, item descriptions, procedures, etc. When you get the hang of things, the job is quite easy. I first worked in another store in a different city for a couple of years and preferred that experience way more.  

The store I'm working at now doesn't value the same things the overall company values. Cleanliness is not a top priority and it's crazy. Lots of people don't care about making drinks correctly. If you try to give constructive feedback to someone, they ignore you and continue doing things their own way. 

The work environment has been really toxic in my personal experience. 
Management is probably the worst part where the owners don't enforce a lot, and that puts a lot of pressure on the Team Leads. Being a Team Lead, we can only do so much and I don't feel like we get paid enough to have to do so much.

There are some perks of getting free drinks every shift and the schedule is very flexible. 

Training is harsh and they have very high expectations. Trainees are expected to learn very quickly - memorizing everything they teach you in three hours. 

Some trainers are especially harsh. It is extremely stressful for trainees to work with someone constantly critiquing them or treating them like they are stupid when they are trying to learn a new skill. There have been cases where trainees are cut out after only one or a few 3-hour training shifts. 

For these reasons, I do not recommend working at this location unless you already have experience with bubble tea. 

However, once training is fully over, there is a decent working environment where the employees are friendly and close with each other. They obviously value hard work. They emphasize speed and making sure recipes are consistently made properly. They also seem to accommodate students well.

Fast paced environment and high expectations; however, it can be difficult to keep up especially if you are a new worker. When I worked there a few years ago at the Scarborough location, some staff would often had a terrible attitude towards me.  The staff favoured certain people and would often be rude if you are messing up. I understand that you have to listen to the shift leader, but at least have some decent human decency towards new workers because I am sure you would want someone to treat you the same way if you started at a new job. If staff changed their attitude and learned how to treat people with respect, I am sure the workplace culture would be somewhat better.

Loved the workplace culture here; although since it is a franchise, it really depends on who the owners and other staff are. From my experience, everyone was super helpful and was willing to be patient with new members. It is very chill and as long as you adhere to the guidelines and fulfill your responsibilities, there should be no issues. Perks can also vary but generally speaking: free drinks during shift (you can bring some home as well after shift), relaxed dress code, and 50% off drinks (when not working). Overall, I am extremely pleased with my experience at my specific Alley location and can infer that the company is a pleasure as well. 

"I've found the job to be a great experience, particularly for someone in a customer-focused role. It allows me to engage directly with customers, helping to resolve their concerns and improve their overall experience, which aligns perfectly with my passion for people-centric work environments. The team is supportive, and the nature of the tasks keeps me motivated and fulfilled.

As for the salary, it is fair and competitive for the industry. While it meets my current needs, I also appreciate the potential for future growth and increases as I continue to build my skills and contribute to the company's success."

The location I worked at was in Mississauga Ontario on central parkway. The manager was not nice and expected so much from new hires on the very first shifts and was not fair. The manager played favourites often and even though I was nice to him all the time he’d give me an attitude for no reason. 

Since each place is helmed by different people, the workplace environment depends on the managers' personalities.
On the corporate side, this company is prone to introducing unusual forms of making beverages (e.g. mashing straight-up, actual taro root, torching fruit, measuring powder in grams, etc.) All tea is brewed from real leaves, not a mix-in milk tea powder. 

Due to its reputation, the Alley has a wide range of clientele, which means periodically, stressful and busy rushes happen.

I would understand if hours were cut because of "xyz" and they had stated it to you. But my hours were cut like it was nothing. Toying with someone's income isn't cool. Training was also inconsistent. One day I'd be trained on two drinks, the rest I'd be on cash. Try to make drinks? I'd be told to get out of the way. Management come in, asks me why I don't know how to make drinks yet. Make it make sense.

It was all fun and enthusiastic to work with wonderful colleagues and store manager, until the management decided to cut our hours and gave us a pitiful raise. There's barely any rooms for career building. The worst part was that the management and hr even ghosted you when you asked for your ROE after you quitted. 

The venue was great. The Customers were awesome. 

Management created a very fear based environment for staff. Always threatening ppl to be written up (and often followed up) for the tiniest things. 

Constantly watched staff on cameras from their home. In the short time I was there they fired more than 8 ppl with very little cause.

Very little room to breathe or feel comfortable in a role.



Top Job Titles	Average salary
Serveur au comptoir 4 salaries reported	$15.50 per hour
Store manager 1 salary reported	$21.63 per hour
Teneur de livres 1 salary reported	$30.00 per hour
Surveillant du service alimentaire 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Directeur commercial 1 salary reported	$51.30 per hour

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