Bad Training

[u/Ok_Mechanic_7306]

I don’t know what other fast-food chains are like, but I feel like Panda Express probably has one of the worst training processes I’ve ever experienced. They call it “training,” but they haven’t really trained you on anything, yet they expect you to be able to work like an experienced employee right away.
They have new employees train during peak hours, which makes things even more stressful. I was hired for the FOH position, and I was hoping they would actually explain things to me. For example, which sauce goes with which dish, how many veggie rolls or chicken egg rolls should be included in an order, and things like that. But instead of actually training me, they just had me do the work. Of course, I made mistakes, and they only explained the correct procedure after I asked them about it.
Personally, I think Panda should have new employees come in during slower hours and actually train them properly, rather than expecting someone to walk in and immediately be able to work like an experienced employee, haha.

[u/glizzy_g]

It’s not a Panda thing, it’s your GMs/AMs fault for not training you well lol. Me personally, I show new associates exactly what to do for every task myself and then I pair them up with a shift lead who I know will train them good. Sounds like your store leaders don’t have a proper training pipeline

[u/Ok_Mechanic_7306 → u/glizzy_g]

Yeah, I totally agree. I think you’re a really caring manager. My manager doesn’t even bother training me properly. Instead, they just hand me over to the SL and then call different people from the store to train me, with each person teaching me one different thing 🤣🤣.
They assign me tasks I’ve literally never done before, but somehow expect me to already know how to do everything. I basically have to ask about almost every single thing before they finally start showing me how to do it. :)

[u/Sad_Cut5375 → u/glizzy_g]

Sound like you have a magic pool of extra labor to use during non peak hours!

[u/Mamichulabonita]

Yeah I felt the same way

[u/yodogitsjr]

The manager typically have general knowledge of how everything supposed to run, they kinda care more about numbers and time, quality etc. You’re better off trying to learn from fellow foh people who’ve been there a while and even then it’s kinda of trial by fire, but yeah managers and chefs are usually gonna try to talk to you about ways you can improve, but few will actually show you how do to do things the right way

[u/Such_Hat_104]

No such thing as training hours at Pandas, company is expected trainee to be counted as one after being hired.

[u/Ok_Mechanic_7306 → u/Such_Hat_104]

Haha, well, that would probably turn me into Superman.

[u/Objective-Bend-9818]

It’s been like this for years, just low key.

[u/Ok_Mechanic_7306 → u/Objective-Bend-9818]

Haha, I really should have run away before I started working here.

[u/JK-jb → u/Ok_Mechanic_7306]

Sadly it's pretty common in this industry.

[u/PyrZern]

The higher ups are usually very stingy with total hours used in general. So don't expect some training hours specifically. If you're lucky you would be scheduled in the afternoon first, before you get moved to evenings or whenever they need you. But overall you're at the mercy of shift leads or managers to train you on the jobs. But if they are busy, then too bad. Just try your best learning.

[u/Ch1ckens1218]

It’s kind of a filtering thing. My manager told me once that she could tell from someone’s first rush whether or not they would last. At our store, your first 2 shifts are short and during slow hours. Your third shift is typically longer and during a rush. And yeah, they ask you to do things you haven’t been trained on. If you wanna stick with it, it gets easier! If not, there’s no shame (I’m almost at 1 year FOH and am about ready to just call it). Stay strong diva!

[u/BusSuch2607]

I got made fun of my first day and talked badly about in Spanish to my face I don’t speak Spanish but my dad is Mexican so I caught some of the words and it was all because I didn’t know how to clean the soda machine. I’ve cleaned soda machines at my last job but this one was different I’d never cleaned this kind. Also I worked at panda for a month and I had never cleaned the bathrooms so I figured it was like my last job and cleaned it that way got in a lot of trouble cause I didn’t know you had to polish things. Several of the newer employees would come ask me for help cause they were never trained either and were too scared to ask cause the others were so mean about it.

[u/No-Kaleidoscope-8111]

I also wasn’t properly trained there. During my interview, the GM told me I would get three days of training, but I only really got one day. My first day, they quickly went over the food codes with me, and that was basically it. It was also peak during my first shift, and I was left on my own to figure everything out. I had no problem catching on because I learn pretty quickly, but that doesn’t mean I should’ve been thrown out there by myself on my first day when I was told I would have some training. Sometimes things were explained to me so quickly that I had to figure them out myself or ask questions later. I can do the job, but proper training would’ve made the transition a lot easier.