The Rec Room

Frustrating is the best way to describe working at The Rec Room. At first I thought it would be nice working for a larger corporation, but time and time again you realize how little they care about you as an employee. You are sent out with very little agency awarded to yourself: you can't discount, you can't provide anything complimentary, you can't do anything without a manager basically. 

In order to even get extra sauce, you are literally required to punch it in and charge a whopping 2 dollars for a small ramekin of anything. Things like this don't feel fair, but there's nothing you can do about it. 

It's more than just the price tag. High prices are understandable when you're receiving something clearly worth the number printed next to it—which is never the case. It's often heartbreaking to see the quality in which some of the food is ran, precisely because there is nothing you can do about it.

Wait times for food and drinks can be anxiety inducing at times, especially when it's a quiet morning and the wait is still exceeding the 20 minute mark.

While a lot of this may seem like a blame game for mediocre quality service, it's the only way to show you where the cracks start to show on the management team, not even just the direct management but also the higher ups making the decisions leading to all of these issues. 

Under-staffing, cutting corners, and raising prices while stagnating or even lowering the quality are all signs of a company attempting to maximize profits at the expense of service.

It's just incredibly frustrating to want to try and give a good experience to a guest knowing that so much is out of your control. Over and over again it seems like you have all the odds stacked against you, and the threat of tipping out from your own wallet is ever-present.

That being said, the staff here is amazing, there are some really great people working towards making this place really great, despite the hand they're given. 

The Rec Room is lively. It attracts a fun young adult crowd, and theme nights are bustling and energetic. You can find yourself enjoying a shift when you've got the right people on. I just don't that anything can distract you from the looming dread of all the issues I've described above. 

Banquet event orders are a positive aspect though, with the arcade side of The Rec Room there is actually a lot being offered. The combination of entertainment and dining is where it shines. Unfortunately, I just feel both fall flat on their own and guest complaints can be left to you to shoulder. 

Sometimes it genuinely feels like you're drowning, and it's unbearable. At the end of the day you are disposable to a big corporation but they kind of want you to forget that. 

Even when I mention the poor management, I don't blame the direct managers. They deal with quotas, archaic rules, and arbitrary protocols just as we do I'm sure. Some of them truly do go above and beyond, but the issues are fundamental—you can't treat a bullet hole with band-aids.

There are ups and downs as with any job, but you really have to be cautious here. They're a big corporation and they only care about themselves. As long as you take it for what it is—and never too seriously—you can find some good times working with the team. Just remember that moving up is generally not possible here, and they probably expect you to quit before you start to realize why.

This is still a fairly new company in Calgary, however since they have opened we have lost the GM TWICE. (Being two different GM’s) Four managers, and the lead Chef,  all in one month!!!! Totally unorganized. Some managers are really awesome! But most suck BAD!  There is no appreciation here at all.  You can work your butt off but the managers never seem to notice.  However they love to point out when you’re doing something wrong and criticize you for it!
 Any of the good managers have pretty much left and moved on to a better company.  The managers that most people do not like unfortunately have stayed,  probably because they’re not very good and can’t move to a better restaurant.
There is one manager that most people refer to as “USELESS”. 
 Personally I really hate working here, but jobs are hard to find.  Most of my coworkers in different departments aren’t very happy either. Mostly young people going to Uni.
 It is very loud especially where we have to stand at the front door, we have video machines right beside us,  speakers playing loud music turned towards us,  then customers talking loudly,  bright lights flashing from the machines.  It truly is quite an annoying place to have to work.
 Then of course there are not very good parents,  letting their children run amok.  Far too many people who don’t make a reservation,  and get super annoyed when you put them on a waitlist for an hour and a half.  But many customers are quite understanding and wonderful however,  depends on the people.  It is the most disorganized company I have ever worked for,  A few new hosts only last one shift to one month and then quit.  Honestly I think working anywhere else would be better!
 The tips are not too bad but you would be much better off being a server.  Once I leave this place I do not plan on returning.  Apparently we are far better organized than Edmonton and they have two locations there.  I have not heard good reviews about going to the Edmonton locations.
 If you plan on working here I hope you have another job currently we’re only getting two shifts per week!!
 Hard to pay your bills with less than 14 hours per week!

Pros: 
Overall work as a cashier is very easy and straight forward.  

Tip out is pretty good. 

Co workers, superivisors and managers are all easy to get along with.  

Some live entertainment events held at the rec room are really good and if you are on shift during one of these days you are basically getting a free show. 

CONS:
Work life balance can be challenging since majority of shifts end between 11pm and 2am.

Lots of slow shifts during the week forces workers to do random/mundane tasks in order to appropriately pass the time.

Schedules will sometimes arrive less than a week in advance even though workers are required to give 2 weeks notice when requesting time off.

Management doesn't ensure that new hires are adequately trained and confident before training shifts are over.

Old game tags in the form of bracelets are given to guests to be reused even when there's dried unknown substances on the tags. Instead of replacing the old ribbon on the tag with a new one it is simply "recycled" and given to a new guest as it is.  

Rec room event planners do not practice effective quality screening for live events that take place in the building which has left room for disturbing performances.  Workers can't really leave during this time regardless of how bad the performance is.

Cashiers are not allowed to sit down even on slow days or when there are no guests  present unless they have a medical condition. Even though it looks less professional We are allowed to hunch over the counter instead of sitting upright in a chair.

Cashiers are required to serve bowling guests under a "first come first serve" policy without a waitlist which is a problem on busy days. We have a computer with a bowling waitlist and a phone to call guests when their lane is available but management has simply chosen not to use it and has not explained why. This causes cashiers to be verbally berated quite often by upset guests. 

Management uses a "the guest is always right aproach" so when cashiers are being disrespected by upset guests when they can't get what they want, management chooses to placate them like spoiled children by giving them what they want and rewarding their rotten behavior.

- met a bunch of huge low-lifes and creeps here (some bartenders, games hosts, and all of BOH...all the kitchen people are creepy, desperate, and ghetto.) 
- some servers are rude to hosts and pretty much bully the hosts. A lot of them are stuck up with a high ego, and think they're the best. 
- management is biased and shows favouritism to those who know how to sweet talk 
- everyone here is a snake. People will throw each other under the bus just to avoid trouble because no one wants to own up to mistakes. It honestly felt like I was back in high school. No one is mature here, and there are cliques everywhere 
- a lot of people weren't smart and had no common sense 
- sales team is always overbooking the restaurant, and when chaos ensues, the hosts always get blamed for not "having control of reservations" even though it isn't our fault for being overbooked

This isn't your typical restaurant; it's worse. If you have zero restaurant experience, this place will kill you in the summer since it's tourist season, especially with the Jays and Raptors games. The whole place is extremely disorganized. It's already bad enough that the customers are annoying and rude, but to have your co-workers be like that too? Not comforting.

Start respecting your hosts more. There's a reason as to why out of all the teams in Rec Room, the host team is the one with the highest turnover rate. Managers and supervisors should own up to their mistakes, not just blame it on servers, hosts, and bartenders. Cineplex as a whole was not what I expected it to be. All of the people in corporate office are snobs every time they visit the place, and it's unfair how many employees got jobs here because of their connection with someone in head office, despite not having the experience for the position. This place is a JOKE, and I will never ever step foot in this establishment ever again and definitely won't give a single penny to them.

I’ve been with the Rec room who has been with them for awhile and speaking as an FOH hostess.  From what I’ve experienced, I really like it. The shifts range from 5 -8 hours. If you send in your availability early enough they will most likely approve it, and they’ve been super accommodating with me and my other jobs.  As any other host, your expected to invite guests to the building and to their tables. Take, confirm, and set up reservations. Not too much to it. Super easy. Of course weekends get busier but that’s just the atmosphere of the Rec room, it’s popular to the public.

From what I’ve read on here, I’d like to mention that the amusement side and FOH hostess side and kitchen All run on different types of management. different supervisors for each department. Yes the amusement side is a little bit of a gong show with the super long hours and lack of staff but they’ve definitely improved over the last couple months. Management wise for the FOH hostess, love them. They really get to know you as a person and how you’re doing. Recently took a trip to Mexico? They’ll ask you how it went. Had a new sibling? They’re excited for you. I haven’t had a problem with any of the management but I can’t speak for Everyone. As long as you come in with your positive attitude and not be lazy and not just stand around to look useless, you’re fine. The more higher-up management are pretty nice too. Never had a problem with them but then again our conversations are usually pretty short. 

I sort of wish we had a staff team party with the couple years I’ve been with this company. Something for the staff to show their appreciation. But it is a new company so I understand they’re still figuring things out.

I’ve been with the Rec room who has been with them for awhile and speaking as an FOH hostess. From what I’ve experienced, I really like it. The shifts range from 5 -8 hours. If you send in your availability early enough they will most likely approve it, and they’ve been super accommodating with me and my other jobs. As any other host, your expected to invite guests to the building and to their tables. Take, confirm, and set up reservations. Not too much to it. Super easy. Of course weekends get busier but that’s just the atmosphere of the Rec room, it’s popular to the public.

From what I’ve read on here, I’d like to mention that the amusement side and FOH hostess side and kitchen All run on different types of management. different supervisors for each department. Yes the amusement side is a little bit of a gong show with the super long hours and lack of staff but they’ve definitely improved over the last couple months. Management wise for the FOH hostess, love them. They really get to know you as a person and how you’re doing. Recently took a trip to Mexico? They’ll ask you how it went. Had a new sibling? They’re excited for you. I haven’t had a problem with any of the management but I can’t speak for Everyone. As long as you come in with your positive attitude and not be lazy and not just stand around to look useless, you’re fine. The more higher-up management are pretty nice too. Never had a problem with them but then again our conversations are usually pretty short. 

I sort of wish we had a staff team party with the couple years I’ve been with this company. Something for the staff to show their appreciation. But it is a new company so I understand they’re still figuring things out.

The SUPERVISORS are very caring and kind, they care about your life and health and like one manager was great. After that most of the managers were bad. Didn't care about your mental health, never got time off and they expect that you go above and beyond for minimum wage. 
If you did book time off, forget about shifts for the next week because they would punish you for booking time off by taking away shifts or not scheduling you for a week. 
It was fun for the first few months but things went downhill. People's  stuff like purses and cash would get stolen, and they would do nothing about it. They would make up a whole bunch of stupid unnecessary rules like 'no more cups or water bottles allowed.' 
One employee came into work high constantly (and not on weed) and was very hard to work with, he would get aggressive, loud and angry over very little things and most of the void staff told management about this situation but still "there was nothing they could do." 
I talked to management about this situation and said I did not want shifts with him anymore because he scared me and I didn't feel comfortable working with him, their response was "I can take away the shifts you have with him but it'll deduct hours from you. I cant play favourites." Cool I'll just work with someone that terrifies me.   
Most of my co workers were nice but they were always under staffed and would never think to call anyone in.  
TOXIC MANAGMENT DO NOT WORK HERE

Personally, it was a terrible place to work. Very loud environment. 

As a cashier: there's literally not one nice or smart customer that comes here. Any customer that comes is either dumb or rude that try to fight you if you correct them. You try to explain anything to them either they are not smart enough to understand you, or they are loud and rude and treat you with utmost disrespect.

As a host: It's pretty chill. You basically have no tasks you just walk around the games. If it's a slow day, you basically start cleaning tables out of boredom. But if it's a busy day, prepare to pick up a lot of glass.

Management: two of the managers and one supervisor are literally perfect (everyone who works there know who they are). The rest are really unnecessarily strict, which leads to them being rude at times.

Co-workers: The only positive reason people work here are the co-workers. They are very sympathetic which feels like family.

Hours: DO NOT work here if you need hours. This is not a job to work if you're trying to make money. NOT a job for anyone trying to support their family. Many people have left the job due to the lack of hours. Worse time is summertime, when everyone prefers to be outdoors. Also, there is pretty much 0 opportunity for advancement.

If you struggle to manage stress and/or need hours then I am warning you, DO NOT APPLY to this job. You're going to hate your life by the end of each shift. Despite voicing my concerns to management multiple times, they do not care at all.

Work-Life Balance: Highly flexible hours and work days, ideal if you have another job or you're a student.

Salary/Benefits: No benefits whatsoever. Salary is understandable and comparable to other low end restaurants

Job Security/advancement: Managers clearly have unfair but clear favouritism; they favour certain servers and set up other servers to fail, neglect, or to not schedule at all. Advancement is only possible if managers like you, completely ignoring factors that should matter: hard work, personality and customer service skills

Job Culture: Overall very fun work environment, everyone wants to work except some managers were barely on the floor and hardly seen doing anything outside their office. You are forced to deal with angry guests complaining about their food (food coming out of the kitchen are really poor quality, having inexperienced cooks working in the back), affecting your tips amount, which lowers your self-esteem as a server. Lack of communication between higher ups and workers, not knowing about unavailable food items and drinks or anything worth knowing actually, until the very last minute. 

There are way too many managers sitting in the office, so ya he never you need them, you find yourself running around the building, leaving customers waiting. 
I thought the money was going to be great. Given the location and the amount of people in and out. 
But it’s not, the tip out for kitchen and managers is way too high. So basically in order for you to make money your tables have to tip you 15-20% every time. Let’s say you get one table that doesn’t tip and their bill was pretty high, it comes out of your pocket. 
I know sucks 
When it comes to events sometimes managers “forget” you were part of one and they don’t give you tip out. Most of my coworkers and I had to constantly remind the manager in duty we were part of the paid out events. 

I am someone that works a lot so I don’t mind working 23 hrs a day. 
But let’s say you wanted a day off, you let the managers know two weeks in advance, you won’t get it. 
Most servers will just not show up and the restaurant will be extremely understaffed. 
Your money really comes from the long hours not from tips. So if you’re a good bartender go somewhere else.

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