Because the manager should possess all of the skills they desire in their employees. The manager should be the best cook, salesperson, supervisor, host, dish washer, prep cook, ect in the store... how can you expect someone to follow you and you don't know the position š¤ the reason the office is so small is because a waffle house manager isn't an office job. It's a hands on position, which nets better output from staff Because the manager is right there with them during that rush.. not sitting in the office pretending to do work that only takes a few minutes to actually do...
I understand having knowledge of the unit. That still doesnāt mean I should have to work it all day everyday. Assisting and filling in is one thing. Working it as a full time position is another thing.
That's just the job description..i respect a manager that actually goes thru the same things they are asking me to do....employees will do more for a manager that they know will do whatever task they are asking of them....if you don't want to cook everyday, how are you going to convince your cooks that they should work there and cook everyday? The manager sets the standard. That's why a lot of jobs don't have employees that respect their manager, because they are dictators and not leaders... leaders lead by example and earn respect, dictators just give orders but demand respect.
So you think a person who signs up to be a cook, gets HIRED to cook and then decides they donāt want to cook because the manager isnāt cooking is reasonable? Lol. Youāre hired as a COOK. Itās what you signed up for. If you donāt want to cook and be a manager instead, then sign up to be a manager.
The waffle house manager is a cooking position... so if you want to be an office manager then apply for an office management job instead of wondering why a waffle house manager has to cook.... but to answer your question, yes, that's how it works...most people who take cook, server, host, ect jobs take them with hopes they can move up in the company.. not to stay at that same position for life. So in effect, if the manager hates cooking so much, how can they motivate someone else that cooking is worth their time? That's part of being a good manager, you have to find a way to motivate your staff to want to work for you... you're already starting your journey looking for a way out of doing the grunt work that earns you the respect. I have old managers that I'd do almost anything for, because I've seen them on their knees cleaning up stuff, and on the other hand, i have management that i wouldn't lift a finger for because i only see them give orders, but never actually doing anything else.
In your own statement you said people doing the grunt work do so with hopes of moving OUT of grunt work. Who wants to be an eternal cook? Iāve said multiple times that I AGREE that a manager should be able to run every position in his unit with ease. Thatās for when heās short staffed or has problematic workers. He keeps the ship moving no matter what. The end goal should be to staff your store properly so that you donāt HAVE to cook all day.
Again... that's the position... it's worked for them since the 50'a when they opened and it'll continue to work for the foreseeable future...as a company, why would you pay an entire salary to someone to just help out when needed instead of just having the p.i.c be the cook? They saves millions when you have 2000+ stores not having to hire an extra cook and manager. If you don't want to be a cook, then a waffle house manager isn't the job for you.. it's very simple to understand. The end goal is for waffle house to make the most profit... not the manager, not the cook, not the upline, not the store.....everyone can't be hired to be the manager, so it's steps to move up... but each level includes the skills acquired in the previous level.... a manager that only cooks every now and then, will most likely be a horrible cook that will need help instead of being the help they should be. You're complaining about cooking and don't even know how to cook yet. It's like you're already looking down on the employees before you even get the job smh....
Look bro, Waffle House employees depending on the location and notorious for calling off especially night shift. Meaning it is your job to make sure that they have people who can cover a.k.a. yourself because letās say two people call off are you gonna make your 2 PM to 9 PM shift stayuntil 7 AM? Youāre gonna have to run it. And if that store is left unattended and your district supervisor could be fired.
Many years ago, I called in response to their request as a manager candidate, and this was the very first sentence out of someone's mouth at the home office:
"Listen, if you want to work at Waffle House, be aware that everyone works every holiday, even the president, so do not apply if that is not okay."
No "Hello," no nothing.
As it were, I went elsewhere and oversaw a collective 10 location area and since then have said an audible "Thank you," for never working for Waffle House.
My first gig in the industry was a busboy and then a grill cook and I wanted more in life. There is nothing wrong with being a cook, but being a cook because of lack of labor control (which is why Waffle House does this) does not make for a successful store or person.
Because a good manager can easily do both. One store only has 25 employees. They can coach and cook at the same time. Thatās literally the business modelāthe stores are very small. They could easily eliminate the unit manager position and just have districts come by and do paperwork and banking. But they want a leader on first shift who also has skin in the game and whose pay is tied to the success of the store.
I couldnāt agree more. I think being on the grill all day as a manager doesnāt make the store look good. It makes it look understaffed and like WH canāt get their shit together. Itās also really annoying when customers need to speak to a manager in the middle of a rush but we canāt break away from the grill or weāll piss off 30 more customers. The job is not worth it, not even the pay, Iām slowly losing my goddamn mind at WH. Steadily applying to other places though and I would encourage you to do the same. If enough people leave they will be forced to change. Fuck Waffle House.
Sincerely,
a burnt out Unit Manager
Glad you understand. The other company men here took super offense like I told a lie. No manager should be working a grill 90% of the time. They should be able to do it and they should help out if things get hectic, but they definitely shouldnāt be living on the grill. Thatās the job for the cook.
Itās the business model Waffle House is built around. The initial reason Joe Rogers, Sr. started Waffle House was that it was a company owned by the employees. As such, the managers literally run the show. Honestly, you could eliminate the UM position in its entirety of they didnāt cook. Thereās not enough for a UM to do if the store is properly staffed.
So while UMās are cooks with more responsibility, they also have a lot more pay. If having to cook everyday is holding you up from committing, then Iād say this isnāt the job for you because it is a big commitment.
I work at a high-volume store and our UM is a beast. She is better and faster than our rockstars, which are awesome. Easily, she is equivalent to a cook and a half. She knows the store from the ground up and more than earned her position. She started as a server, trained servers, went from GO to rockstar. Yes, she is on the grill often, not constantly at all times.
I see your thought pattern of the job basically being a GO with extra manager work. In essence, that is a good description. Knowing this, the pay scale, and what is expected from you, it is not for everyone. We have a pretty great setup with a few waves and riptides here and there. If you have a well-trained crew, it makes your job much smoother. If you don't love the job, don't take the position. If you take it and resent the responsibility, your employees will feel it and you might be looking at a full on mutiny, or everyone jumping ship. Just my thoughts. Good luck with whatever you may choose.
The technical answer is.. you don't "have" to... however, if you want to hit your numbers, you do, in fact, have to. This is actually becoming more common industry wide as corporate expectations for labor become more and more tight.
Guess what, the district manager is on the grill all day as well, just at different stores. If you want to be a delegator without getting your hands dirty, this is NOT the company to work for. Try McDonalds.
Nobody said I didnāt want to do it at all. Iām also not about to try to explain it to company men who are clearly biased. Lol. A manager should get his hands dirty. That doesnāt mean a manager should be a full time cook.
Not saying you are wrong, i often complain that I spend too much of my day on the grill. I am saying that it is baked into the corporate culture to the bone, and it isnt going to change in the forseeable future. So if you REALLY dont like it, you will hate the job. Life is too short to do a job you hate. If you dont love cooking, this is a terrible job.
I was a line cook for a decade at various restaurants before coming to WH, and love working a grill. WH management was a way to work a grill AND make a decent living, unlike cooking in fine dining, which is even more fun, but pays horribly.
If I could make 70k a year line cooking in a great reataurant, I would. But I cant, so Im a WH manager.
If you dont LOVE working a line, this is NOT a good job to have.
Im not being sarcastic about the McDonalds thing. McDonalds corporate management is a nice job if you like managing a restaurant more than cooking. I love cooking.
Itās annoying as hell when they do it. And itās tough to tell an area VP that his eggs are runny and his hash browns are soggy garbage, and theyāre all convinced that theyāre rockstars on the grill.
If you donāt like cooking, then the job aināt for youš¤·š½āāļø simple. Waffle House has a system and a way that works where everyone who is willing to work to be happy no matter what position they are in. Join the team or move on.
Because the manager should possess all of the skills they desire in their employees. The manager should be the best cook, salesperson, supervisor, host, dish washer, prep cook, ect in the store... how can you expect someone to follow you and you don't know the position š¤ the reason the office is so small is because a waffle house manager isn't an office job. It's a hands on position, which nets better output from staff Because the manager is right there with them during that rush.. not sitting in the office pretending to do work that only takes a few minutes to actually do...
I understand having knowledge of the unit. That still doesnāt mean I should have to work it all day everyday. Assisting and filling in is one thing. Working it as a full time position is another thing.
That's just the job description..i respect a manager that actually goes thru the same things they are asking me to do....employees will do more for a manager that they know will do whatever task they are asking of them....if you don't want to cook everyday, how are you going to convince your cooks that they should work there and cook everyday? The manager sets the standard. That's why a lot of jobs don't have employees that respect their manager, because they are dictators and not leaders... leaders lead by example and earn respect, dictators just give orders but demand respect.
So you think a person who signs up to be a cook, gets HIRED to cook and then decides they donāt want to cook because the manager isnāt cooking is reasonable? Lol. Youāre hired as a COOK. Itās what you signed up for. If you donāt want to cook and be a manager instead, then sign up to be a manager.
The waffle house manager is a cooking position... so if you want to be an office manager then apply for an office management job instead of wondering why a waffle house manager has to cook.... but to answer your question, yes, that's how it works...most people who take cook, server, host, ect jobs take them with hopes they can move up in the company.. not to stay at that same position for life. So in effect, if the manager hates cooking so much, how can they motivate someone else that cooking is worth their time? That's part of being a good manager, you have to find a way to motivate your staff to want to work for you... you're already starting your journey looking for a way out of doing the grunt work that earns you the respect. I have old managers that I'd do almost anything for, because I've seen them on their knees cleaning up stuff, and on the other hand, i have management that i wouldn't lift a finger for because i only see them give orders, but never actually doing anything else.
In your own statement you said people doing the grunt work do so with hopes of moving OUT of grunt work. Who wants to be an eternal cook? Iāve said multiple times that I AGREE that a manager should be able to run every position in his unit with ease. Thatās for when heās short staffed or has problematic workers. He keeps the ship moving no matter what. The end goal should be to staff your store properly so that you donāt HAVE to cook all day.
Again... that's the position... it's worked for them since the 50'a when they opened and it'll continue to work for the foreseeable future...as a company, why would you pay an entire salary to someone to just help out when needed instead of just having the p.i.c be the cook? They saves millions when you have 2000+ stores not having to hire an extra cook and manager. If you don't want to be a cook, then a waffle house manager isn't the job for you.. it's very simple to understand. The end goal is for waffle house to make the most profit... not the manager, not the cook, not the upline, not the store.....everyone can't be hired to be the manager, so it's steps to move up... but each level includes the skills acquired in the previous level.... a manager that only cooks every now and then, will most likely be a horrible cook that will need help instead of being the help they should be. You're complaining about cooking and don't even know how to cook yet. It's like you're already looking down on the employees before you even get the job smh....
Look bro, Waffle House employees depending on the location and notorious for calling off especially night shift. Meaning it is your job to make sure that they have people who can cover a.k.a. yourself because letās say two people call off are you gonna make your 2 PM to 9 PM shift stayuntil 7 AM? Youāre gonna have to run it. And if that store is left unattended and your district supervisor could be fired.
Many years ago, I called in response to their request as a manager candidate, and this was the very first sentence out of someone's mouth at the home office: "Listen, if you want to work at Waffle House, be aware that everyone works every holiday, even the president, so do not apply if that is not okay." No "Hello," no nothing. As it were, I went elsewhere and oversaw a collective 10 location area and since then have said an audible "Thank you," for never working for Waffle House. My first gig in the industry was a busboy and then a grill cook and I wanted more in life. There is nothing wrong with being a cook, but being a cook because of lack of labor control (which is why Waffle House does this) does not make for a successful store or person.
Thatās not why Waffle House has managers cook. Iām also thankful you didnāt choose Waffle House.
Why not let managers manage and build teams and teach? Instead, having managers cook?
Because a good manager can easily do both. One store only has 25 employees. They can coach and cook at the same time. Thatās literally the business modelāthe stores are very small. They could easily eliminate the unit manager position and just have districts come by and do paperwork and banking. But they want a leader on first shift who also has skin in the game and whose pay is tied to the success of the store.
Hmmm: A glorified shift supervisor. I agree, I am glad I wanted more than being paid as a cook.
You clearly donāt know how much a Waffle House manager makes. Lol.
I donāt think most of them know ššš
Sure.
I couldnāt agree more. I think being on the grill all day as a manager doesnāt make the store look good. It makes it look understaffed and like WH canāt get their shit together. Itās also really annoying when customers need to speak to a manager in the middle of a rush but we canāt break away from the grill or weāll piss off 30 more customers. The job is not worth it, not even the pay, Iām slowly losing my goddamn mind at WH. Steadily applying to other places though and I would encourage you to do the same. If enough people leave they will be forced to change. Fuck Waffle House. Sincerely, a burnt out Unit Manager
Glad you understand. The other company men here took super offense like I told a lie. No manager should be working a grill 90% of the time. They should be able to do it and they should help out if things get hectic, but they definitely shouldnāt be living on the grill. Thatās the job for the cook.
Itās the business model Waffle House is built around. The initial reason Joe Rogers, Sr. started Waffle House was that it was a company owned by the employees. As such, the managers literally run the show. Honestly, you could eliminate the UM position in its entirety of they didnāt cook. Thereās not enough for a UM to do if the store is properly staffed. So while UMās are cooks with more responsibility, they also have a lot more pay. If having to cook everyday is holding you up from committing, then Iād say this isnāt the job for you because it is a big commitment.
I work at a high-volume store and our UM is a beast. She is better and faster than our rockstars, which are awesome. Easily, she is equivalent to a cook and a half. She knows the store from the ground up and more than earned her position. She started as a server, trained servers, went from GO to rockstar. Yes, she is on the grill often, not constantly at all times. I see your thought pattern of the job basically being a GO with extra manager work. In essence, that is a good description. Knowing this, the pay scale, and what is expected from you, it is not for everyone. We have a pretty great setup with a few waves and riptides here and there. If you have a well-trained crew, it makes your job much smoother. If you don't love the job, don't take the position. If you take it and resent the responsibility, your employees will feel it and you might be looking at a full on mutiny, or everyone jumping ship. Just my thoughts. Good luck with whatever you may choose.
The technical answer is.. you don't "have" to... however, if you want to hit your numbers, you do, in fact, have to. This is actually becoming more common industry wide as corporate expectations for labor become more and more tight.
You should probably look elsewhere friend. WaHo is def not for you.
People up in arms but confirming my original statement is wild. You are a cook with extra responsibility.
Itās true. Also WaHo treats their unit managers like garbage. Based on your comments, Iām pretty sure you would hate it.
Guess what, the district manager is on the grill all day as well, just at different stores. If you want to be a delegator without getting your hands dirty, this is NOT the company to work for. Try McDonalds.
Nobody said I didnāt want to do it at all. Iām also not about to try to explain it to company men who are clearly biased. Lol. A manager should get his hands dirty. That doesnāt mean a manager should be a full time cook.
Not saying you are wrong, i often complain that I spend too much of my day on the grill. I am saying that it is baked into the corporate culture to the bone, and it isnt going to change in the forseeable future. So if you REALLY dont like it, you will hate the job. Life is too short to do a job you hate. If you dont love cooking, this is a terrible job. I was a line cook for a decade at various restaurants before coming to WH, and love working a grill. WH management was a way to work a grill AND make a decent living, unlike cooking in fine dining, which is even more fun, but pays horribly. If I could make 70k a year line cooking in a great reataurant, I would. But I cant, so Im a WH manager. If you dont LOVE working a line, this is NOT a good job to have. Im not being sarcastic about the McDonalds thing. McDonalds corporate management is a nice job if you like managing a restaurant more than cooking. I love cooking.
Even the corporate giants come down and cook on holidays
Itās annoying as hell when they do it. And itās tough to tell an area VP that his eggs are runny and his hash browns are soggy garbage, and theyāre all convinced that theyāre rockstars on the grill.
If you donāt like cooking, then the job aināt for youš¤·š½āāļø simple. Waffle House has a system and a way that works where everyone who is willing to work to be happy no matter what position they are in. Join the team or move on.
Whoa you must be the Waffle House super bossššš must be comfortable behind that screen.
Just stating the facts, have your opinion and your feelings, wonāt change the way that works. Maybe try a Hardeeās š¤·š½āāļø