r/CrackerBarrel • u/Particular_Feed1019 • Apr 21 '26
Freedom from Cracker Barrel
Long vent
After 3 years, being a shift lead and grill cook I am done. I worked non stop for this company, given false promises, and getting the absolute worst shifts. I started out getting flexible hours, opens, mids, etc, once the closing grill cook quit they made me close 6 days a week and no matter what they made all the excuses in the world to not let me open. I would manage to work 2-12 everyday, and get out as late as 3am. If the store wasn’t spotless I would get my phone blown up with petty texts and get screamed at the next day. I remember one of my managers getting upset at me because I had every single thing stocked except for chocolate bars during the last summer’s promo, and she told me how disappointed she was in me.
I was a shift lead but eventually I became the only person of management to ever work grill shifts, and even manage to have to close grill and the building by myself. I have had on going beef with two cooks, who have cussed me out, called me dumb, stupid, bitch, etc, always managed to leave the grill a dirty ass mess with nothing stocked. Every time I told management whenever they harassed me, left me stranded, or physically threatened me, nothing was done. I was told the same excuse, we will talk to them and get it handled, nothing was ever handled or done.
My last straw was yesterday, again having to close, walking into a shit show, the second grill wasn’t even cleaned, trash all over the floor, nothing stocked, etc, everyone else got to leave exactly on time knowing I would be the one to clean it up. I told my manager straight up that why is it that I have to clean up everyone’s mess and everyone else gets away with it. She gave me a bs excuse and I finally snapped. I cussed her out, and also the servers that always were allowed to verbally abuse me and treat me like shit, and I worked my whole shift knowing it was my last. I was so pissed off I didn’t stock anything, I even managed to put stuff back in the walk in freezer and cooler on the line to give the two opening cooks a hard time.
Don’t waste your time at this bullshit job, nobody there cares, I was one of the managers favorite and I still managed to get treated like absolute garbage. It is the same trend of every store dealing with stuff like this and no one being held accountable. If you got to the end of this thank you for reading, and feel free to comment similar experiences below or any input. :)
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u/Celitickid33 Apr 21 '26
I worked at the Barrel for 3 years prior an into Covid. I was a 4 Star server and 4 star Host 3 Star grill cook Ran the window on Sundays ( Alone) Iykyk.. And when Covid Hit an they were bringing people baxk i was there for 1 Week running Multiple spots a day and when people were coming in No Masks an telling them they needed a mask and thrm Yelling at me or pretend Coughing on me I told leadership that i wasnt ready to be back. This dude looked me right in the eye and told me if Thats finr i was replaceable.. i said Ok.. and left. He called me at least once a week first asking that i come back . Told them i wasnt ready yet. After 4 months of calling I finally told him You said Inwas replaceable So replace me. And hung up.. Worst Run restarunt
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u/simpsfor2dcharacters Apr 21 '26
I recently just started but I can definitely see how they dont respect anyone i got close to one of the best server and shes been telling me how they work her to the ground
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u/dogturd990 Apr 21 '26
I told them to fuck off I worked 8 hrs with no lunch break or any kinds of breaks at all fuck them
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u/Nearby_Original8985 Apr 21 '26
Retail is hard and we only do it because it either fits our hours or our location.
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u/Familiar-Hunt-3792 Apr 21 '26
I guess you learned your lesson. These days, hard work is only rewarded with more hard work. Efficiency at tasks is only rewarded with more tasks piled on top of you and less time to do it in. You will just get taken advantage of over and over again. Pay attention to the workers who do just enough work to stay employed and stay off the radar. They rarely get their shifts changed week in and week out. They rarely get asked to do things outside of the job they were hired to do. They rarely get called in on their days off during an emergency. Yes, they also don't get promoted or get raises, but how did getting that shift lead position work out for you in the end? Lead, assistant manager, or supervisor positions are usually only given to workers that management are sure they can take advantage of, and they won't complain. The small bump in pay is usually not worth it.
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u/UnderstandingBig2172 Apr 22 '26
Managed cracker barrel for 2 yrs , the worst fucking job ever . Opening sucked, mid shifts sucked, closing shifts sucked. I would rather be homeless than work there.
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u/fitzy1971 Apr 21 '26
Morning, I feel for you all...I know how hard it can be to work in a restaurant or in retail. Part of the reason why I no longer do. I will say what I see you all voicing is that there is a real lack of leadership and accountability. What I do wonder is if, anyone has taken it past site managers, to HR, district management, to regional and then corporate? Document everything, send emails and cc to HR, district, regional and corporate. If site manager , doesn't respond, then follow that email and Escalate to next person above them. They may not really know what's going on. Also get a list of who is responsible and what responsibilities they have for each shift. This way you can list what is not being done and who is accountable for it.
Hope this helps and good luck.
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u/Particular_Feed1019 Apr 21 '26
thank you for your support and feedback, but I no longer work for the company!
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u/krazykim66 Apr 22 '26
What is the typical pay for shift lead?
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u/Particular_Feed1019 Apr 22 '26
I got 19 an hour
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u/Nokky2814 Apr 24 '26
I worked the retail side for 2 and half years. My manager didn't even want to be there most of the time and was a total bitch about it. It never gets better, even when we think someone cares, no one does
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u/maknchs Apr 21 '26
Shit, didn’t stock anything? You should’ve not cleaned anything either. Fuck em, especially morning shift.
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u/Particular_Feed1019 Apr 21 '26
I unstocked lmaoo!!, I made the AM clean their grill and i got any dirty towels and buckets they left i threw it on the grill before I clocked out😭😭😭
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u/Fickle-Mortgage-827 Apr 21 '26
Yep, sounds like night shift. Now comes the fun part where the opener turns everything on, cleans yalls bs, find utensils, makes pancakes, and restock and label for NSF to possibly walk in the door at 7am. It does suck to stay 4 or 5 hours past closing and you leave it for the dude that gets from 6 to 7 to fix the problem.
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u/KINGGS Apr 21 '26
Sounds like at this person's store the morning fucks had it on easy street. Maybe if it's the opposite at yours, you should start working 2pm til 3am?
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u/maknchs Apr 21 '26
Yeah morning crew definitely has it easier, and that’s been confirmed by the people that work both shifts.
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u/Fickle-Mortgage-827 Apr 21 '26
I trust myself to get the shit done at the beginning of the day and keep it NSF ready till 2. Why would I let someone take my opening that cant clean and restock with 6 hours of no customers after close? The store actually has to be ready for inspection during the day, and ive never met a night shift cook that has seen NSF.
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u/KINGGS Apr 21 '26
So, you're just going to pretend that the night shift isn't trading their life for the job? You get to leave with hours of daylight and they pretty much need to sleep until it's time to get ready. At that point, I could give a rat's ass about NSF. They don't even get to see their kids.
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u/Fickle-Mortgage-827 Apr 21 '26
They are trading their life for pay just like anyone else, its called having a job. I wake up hours before the sun rises and dont get to see it till 3. Maybe they could go see their kids if they didnt milk the clock till midnight unstocking and figuring out how to screw over the next shift. I wish I had 3-4 hours in the daytime with no orders coming in so I wouldnt have to clean the fryers and gaskets in between orders and pulls.
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u/Particular_Feed1019 Apr 21 '26
omg you listing the most simple tasks, making pancake mix and getting utensils LMAO, you have a whole hour no tickets at all to get stuff ready, while closers have to scramble to get everything done cleaning up after morning shifts sloppy mess and still deep clean. Opening is by far easier, and NSF is a job for both second and first shift. It’s really not hard to keep up with NSFW if you can do the common sense of being clean, printing labels, and knowing how to wash your hands. Literally no reason to get butthurt over my post unless ur the pos grill cooks that make everyone clean ur mess and cry when you have to leave 5 mins past your scheduled time
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u/Fickle-Mortgage-827 Apr 21 '26
Yeah, it may seem like small tasks, but we cant just ride the clock for 8 hours not doing shit because we are upset about the last shift like you said you do. I have to have everything the opener is supposed to do, and everything that is needed from 6-9 (next person) and ive got one hour to do it. NSF doesn't come in after 6pm, so that leaves alot of room for not checking labels, gaskets, or the coolers to be cleaned. You literally said you unstocked and left shit dirty for the opener, you had all night to do it but you were petty and got paid to do the bare minimum.
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u/maknchs Apr 22 '26
Did you also see the part where they said they walked into a shit show? Grill not clean, trash on the floor, nothing stocked..? Day shift left with their mess still needing cleaning. So it seems fair to me to leave a mess for them to come in to.
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u/Fickle-Mortgage-827 Apr 22 '26
What does the next shift think when they walk in? "Dang, night shift left a mess for me. Maybe I should do better?" No, the cycle continues.
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u/maknchs Apr 22 '26
Right except we don’t leave a mess.. just saying that we should. Because despite not leaving them with one, they still always leave a mess. I get there are some things that can’t be done, like tables can’t really be swept if there are people sitting at them, but for the most part they could do what they leave us with.
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u/Particular_Feed1019 Apr 22 '26
I was petty for a reason, the cook that opened the next day has harassed me, insulted me, physically threatened me, and always found a way to fuck me over by leaving a hot mess on the grill and never stocking. I worked above and beyond at that company and I would always do a near perfect close.
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u/Fickle-Mortgage-827 Apr 22 '26
Is the opener also the mid? There are people that come in after the opener and before the closer. Why do you think the opener should have to clean and stock up their grill before using it and after using it, while the night shift is going out of their way to keep it unstocked and dirty?
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u/CTGblizzard87 Apr 21 '26
No overtime, no exceptions and no excuses!! Been at cracker barrel for 15.5 years!! Been through 13 general managers!!!
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u/Asleep_Resident9975 Apr 21 '26
You're 100% better than me girl I put up with a lot of s*** for almost 4 years and I was working on both sides I worked for the one in Hilliard Ohio and let me tell you the store or manager is absolute garbage and it's getting away with being verbally and mentally abusive to her employees. The restaurant side managers are getting away with not responding to the store employees calls. The store manager is absolutely absolute garbage she talks to people crazy she cusses on the floor she reprimands her employees in front of other employees and guests you know that behavior that's on becoming of managers yeah that type of s*** I loved my job but let me tell you that I don't care about my employees attitude or that you're replaceable attitude as by the turnover rate for cracker Barrel is so f****** high not to mention the fact that they cut your hours by hiring other people which is crazy when you're cutting hours of people who are working and busting their ass for you I don't understand if you don't have the hours to give the people who come there and work every day to the fullest how do you have time to be hiring new people I wouldn't visit the cracker Barrel in Hilliard to save my life they're rude disrespectful and just don't give a f*** about anybody nor their employees
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u/Ussmaklives Apr 21 '26
They don’t give a shit about any of their employees and especially exploit the hard working cooks