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The Cheesecake Factory

Engaged employer

Stressful Place - Grill/Fry Line Cook The Cheesecake Factory Employee Review

3.0
17 Feb 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

During Summer you get a lot of hours but it all depends how willing you are to work. You can get up to 12 hours a day but you cant complain if you can not get off a schedule like that. Usually if you start off that shift in the morning you will end up leaving at around 3 o'clock rush hour or til 5, if you come in around afternoon you get to leave around 7 or even up to midnight. if you come in at around 5 pm you get to leave around 1 am or even 3am all depending your job. During slow season you may be sent home after about 4 or 5 hours of work. There are some people who understand the stress and can cooperate by being a part of the solution, then there are those who become a part of the problem.

Cons

If you didn't get sent home early during the slow season you are being left alone to do the job of two people which can be stressful and happens quite often, so you are more or less lucky if you didn't get stuck by yourself. They start you off with a decent pay but you will rarely see any increase unless you can really impress somebody. During peak periods you will have managers who expect for you to go "above and beyond your work of line" but can also backfire if you fall behind on your main task and then you give everyone a reason to blame you. A lot of times the company would have new items on the menu and requires the company to order new ingredients everyday but if the item is not available, you cant sell the item and becomes an issue with everybody until it gets resolved which can last of up to an hour at times. A lot of the Expo are unreasonable at times and like to yell instead of being of some help.

Explore other reviews about The Cheesecake Factory

5.0
18 Dec 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

If you want to work at one of the world’s best run dining businesses, this is where it’s at. I work at the Union Square, San Francisco location, and although it is intense, it’s rewarding, financially, physically and spiritually IMO. It’s clear that decades of effort have gone into crafting the business. They run it lean, so it’s an effort to deliver an excellent experience. But that is part of its greatness - if you are at all interested in understanding how to run a business well. The managers and general manager are all well chosen, character-wise, which is refreshing in the hospitality trade where difficult personalities can often be a drag. It’s probably due to the extensive formal training, that creates a high degree of professionalism. Far above average for the industry.

Cons

It’s a struggle to get all the hours as a server you want. This is due to practical/economical considerations, since the restaurant needs a deep bench of staff, to guarantee staffing, and accommodate changes to schedules by employees- and as far as I can tell, it’s no different across the current restaurant industry in SF. Obviously the more tenure you have, the more trust and hours they give you. So expect to be assigned server and runner shifts, and ‘breaker’ shifts where you relieve other servers. But in all cases you still make tips. Though working as a server is best.

2.0
2 Jul 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good co-worker. They are fun and cheerful.

Cons

One of the manager doesn’t seem like she want to work. Every time I asked for help she will get annoyed.

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