surveillant du service alimentaire

directeur de restaurant

kitchen team member

shift manager

kitchen helper

Williams Fresh Café

There were many other perks of the job including a flexible schedule and many hours to be worked. In addition, there was always training available for other positions including, kitchen, espresso, cash and opening staff. 
There were many friendships to be made in the workplace and with a diverse selection of staff, there was always different personalities. 
The hiring process was good, considering they would hire recommendations from the current staff which made new hires feel a sense of belonging right away. This was a blessing and a curse at the same time because it also formed cliques and outside drama.
Most managers were good team players and very helpful. 




On the other hand, 
Management had times when they were unprofessional, and any complaints were not taken seriously by customers and staff members. 
During my time working at Williams, they were very desperate for staff and it was unfair to the people who actually put time into their work. For example, people would walk out and then come back, as if it never happened. 
There were obvious cliques in the workplace, which made it difficult to work with some people, as well as a dramatic environment. 
The owner was understanding and obviously trying to keep the workplace tolerable, but there was just an overwhelming amount of "catty" behavior. 
Tips were minimum. The staff received one dollar per hour, no matter how little or how much work was actually being done. You could purchase your food using the "I owe you" system, which meant that the food you bought, would be taken out of your tips. Although this was a good system, many staff members did not agree with the tip system, especially when $10 bills were being placed in "your cup" and you can only take $4 home, on a 4-hour shift. 

Overall, it was a decent experience. There is obvious room for improvement. I made many friends with my co-workers during my time working at Williams and picked up many valuable skills that can later be applied to other work-places.

A typical day at work consists balancing the safe and tills and creating a deployment chart for the night shift or day shift depending on what time you arrive. Following that, we take a walk through dining and manage the dish area while the next worker arrives at their designated time. In the meantime I survey the entire store, follow up on all the staff and the customer's experiences. Throughout the night I manage the flow of the store, set up breaks for staff and end my night off by balancing the safe and tills once more, counting each one and following up with the close or duties of each of the staff members. At Williams I learned quite a bit, the fast paced environment of the restaurant really helps to improve speed and how you work under pressure. I've learned to manage responsibility really well by being professional but also keep a good rapport with both my staff and customers. The biggest thing during a shift is to maintain team work, the entire staff has to work as a well oiled machine to ensure that orders come in and go out successfully, everyone needs to help each other. The hardest part of the job is the constant pressure to not fail. As a shift manager there is humongous pressure to make sure everything works out properly, everyone is comfortable and the food and drinks are coming out properly. You are managing the happiness of the staff, the customers, and the over all appearance and opinion of the store. The most enjoyable part of the job is the rewarding feeling you receive after a job well done, the staff and the attitude really helps the job become easier. With how much you rely on each other at work, you become a family and want to help each other more to ensure a smooth shift. The friendly atmosphere and the feeling of a satisfied customer are my favourite parts.

I was asked if I wanted a full time or part time position, I asked for full time. Apparently that was great for them. I started off working there with great thoughts about the place and the staff I had the same schedule every week. I worked hard and stayed whenever I was asked.
 As time went on, the hours I was getting slowly started reducing. When I questioned about this they said they thought I wouldn't mind and someone else really needed more. I did mind, and I let them know that. I was relying on them to give me the hours I needed. I was making great tips and was never complained about. I was always early and could make it to work to replace someone who called in sick. I was asked to take shifts so much I started getting too busy trying to catch up with my home life I had to start saying no. Then slowly the owners started treating me very bad, and accused me of not doing my job right when the shift manager told them I did everything I was asked. 
In the last few weeks of working there, after telling them I needed them to stop giving my hours to the part time staff they watched every move I made and ignored me and gave me horrible looks.
One Friday after my shift I was expecting to go back to work on Monday, but instead over the weekend I got an email replacing my schedule for work, they were firing me. 
But since they had no reason to fire me they pretty much put words in my mouth saying I quit.
Horrible owners. I had talked to the manager (who had no problem with my work habits) and was told this isn't the first time they had done this to someone for no reason. And it continued after I was gone.

Training was nonexistent. I got a ten minute tour and then thrown onto cash, and then expected to be an expert at everything after a week.
Owners constantly breathe down your neck, and will watch you work using the cameras at their home. If you're not doing something they like, they'll phone the store to yell at you. 
There were about 3 supervisors, and the one I was stuck working with all the time refused to train me.They were unfriendly and constantly told me I might be fired. They were less than helpful and rude. If they didn't like you, they made it clear. Completely unprofessional for a supervisor. It didn't help that they've been caught numerous times stealing tips. One time the owner even witnessed it themselves, and somehow they still weren't fired. If that supervisor was splitting the tips that weren't already pocketed, they gave more to the people they liked and less to the ones they didn't. 
I highly recommend you don't work here, it's not worth the stress. The only thing that kept me there were the kind coworkers, and it got better once the supervisor left.There's a reason why this place can't keep staff, they quit after they've had enough of this.

My typical day at Williams would revolve around admin work, inventory, scheduling for up to 32 people, Forecasts, Profit and Loss statement analysis, dealing with staff complications, equipment failures, maintaining a safe, healthy and enjoyable work environment and many more tasks. Best of all was serving, interacting and building relationships with our guests. The hardest part of the job was to always be fair to all team members in regards to maintaining proper staffing levels and still reach forecasted labor cost targets. 
I went though numerous in house training courses during my time at Williams as a franchisee as well as my time at the cooperate stores. Their director of training as well as my personal training manager who prepared me to become a franchisee were phenomenal. They reinforced my believe that proper preparation and training are most valuable in any work environment.

Working at Williams gave me the opportunity to put customers in a good mood the first thing in the morning! Although waking up early was a challenge in the beginning, within a few weeks I got the hang of it and enjoyed being the first one in and the first one out. Remembering my customers orders went a long way as well, they began to see me more than just an employee and looked to me as a friend they could talk to. The hardest part of the job would be handling a mid-day rush, but of course I'd finish successfully. The most enjoyable part of the job would be when we were able to take time out of our busy shifts and ask how each staff member was doing. Management had to lay down the rules and be very strict but they also made me feel comfortable enough to talk to them about anything. I learned that not everyday is going to be a good day, or an easy day but if you have the right people working with you and as long as you're constantly pushing yourself to be great, you will be just fine!

Working at William's was a really great experience; it was hard work during peak hours, but fellow co-workers were always supportive and motivating of each other. Regular customers knew us all by name, greeted us, and took the time to ask us how OUR day was going. My co-workers and I frequently got together outside of work hours, and have still maintained a friendship a year after most of us left. Overall, the atmosphere was one that you really look for when working in a cafe-style environment. With this, however, management was lacking. The managers themselves were fantastic, but the new owners cut costs wherever possible, which usually meant in full-time employees' hours (reason I left: started with 45+ hours a week, left when only given 10/week). The owners were not involved with the day-to-day workings of the cafe and managed in a way that wasn't necessarily the easiest to cope with. Saying this, I did enjoy my time there, it was just difficult to find reasons to stay after several months.

It started out easy, didn't stay that way. Customers were rude and often never cleaned up after themselves. There were three dining locations, main dining room, the upstairs level and outside patio that stretched halfway around the building. 99% of the time customers would leave a mess for me to clean (outside usually) in which consisted of chocolate sauce all over the tables from the waffles they'd order as well as syrup which attracted so many wasps and hornets. I was lucky to not get stung but I'd usually be bringing them in with me whether they were attached to my person or the dishes. It would get crazy busy and the wait times for food would grow from 1hr to 4hrs real quick due to the chef who'd usually take their time making the dishes. Management were nice but never put their foot down to deal with said issues.  I never got breaks and during the summer often felt like I'd fall over due to being incredibly hungry and overheated. 

Cons- You're much better off working at someplace else like a clothing store, simply because its 10 times less work for the same hourly wage. Training was poor because there were instances where one manager would show me the proper way of doing something and another manager would make me do it a completely different way, causing confusion. During my time there, we were always understaffed causing me to do extra work for the same wage. The management expects you to be a superstar worker but won't ever pay you like one. The work environment there was very uncomfortable and overall a terrible experience as my first job and I definitely wouldnt recommend this to be your first job either. 

Pros- I did learn some cooking skills and I learned the responsibility of having a job. The hours are decent and most staff members are very kind and helpful. Finally, this job has made appreciate my current job a lot more.

WillIams Fresh Cafe was a great place of employment. 
The staff were all professional, positive and upbeat. I was with the store from the first day the doors opened, until it unfortunately closed down a few years later. 
The customers and cafe environment was always bright, even on the busiest of shifts it was well balanced with exceptional management and understanding by staff, management and customers alike. 
I was a day cashier / server and thoroughly enjoyed the position. I enjoyed serving my regulars and my dining room responsibilities which included sweeping & mopping of floors, dusting of fixtures, bathroom cleaning and windows. As well as assisting with stocking new food orders, making coffee's and working the barista station. 
Team work, and a positive attitude was consistent here.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Surveillant du service alimentaire 4 salaries reported	$32.38 per hour
Directeur de restaurant 2 salaries reported	$32.25 per hour
Kitchen team member 2 salaries reported	$17.20 per hour
Shift manager 1 salary reported	$30,380 per year
Kitchen helper 1 salary reported	$19.00 per hour

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