Save your time and work at any other restaurant - Server/Waiter Puesto Employee Review

1.0
10 Feb 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Discounted food and drinks for employees

Cons

Like many restaurants Puesto does not care about you as an employee, only about meeting their bottom line. In my time there, I was treated like a child - needing to find a manager to get permission to clock in or clock out every single day, asked to police my coworkers for their time on the clock, and monitor them for their time on the tip pool. To me this was a way to divert accountability from management and back on to the servers. I also do not think the tip pool is fair, because youre not earning tips from the tables you’ve served but from a percentage of time spent on the clock for the whole day. There is no incentive to work evenings, and someone can work 5 hours in the afternoon on a slow shift, and still cash in on the tips earned from a busy evening equally if not more - because again, it’s based around the amount of time you spend on the clock for the entire day. Working the evening doesn’t mean you earn evening tips and Vice versa - it’s a pool from all tips from all tables served all day : to the ratio of hours spent on the clock. The tip pool was said to be “transparent” however there is little clarity on how much your are making and how the money is divided - told that as a server you make “55% of your total tips” but bartenders make much more and you find out there is also a “point system.” The managers walk around and play favorites all day, letting the people whom they like do things like snack, or be on their phone. If you are deemed unliked by them, regardless of your work ethic, you will be treated as such. It was once insinuated to me by a manager that I looked like someone who would get in to fist fights - I wasn’t sure if she meant it in a racially charged way, but I don’t fight people physically and to me it really set the tone for how I thought she felt about me. All in all, I had a poor experience with puesto because I worked very hard, diligently, and never missed a day of work. They fired me for having one day in which I needed to call out as I was dealing with personal issues. Back to playing favorites - a coworker of mine slept through a shift and no called no showed, he still was not let go. I experienced a true difficulty, they guilt tripped me for “letting everyone down.” I understand being at my job is apart of the job, however I felt I was disposable so didn’t have the capacity in me to bend over backwards when I was really going through it - and just as I suspected, I was let go without remorse. Not to mention capping hours so that you are not considered full time and don’t qualify for benefits.

Explore other reviews about Puesto

5.0
14 Mar 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fast-paced, but still fun, coworkers can help out with small tasks when needed

Cons

Very busy, so you’re on your feet the entire time (but I loved that aspect of it)

1.0
10 June 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Discounts at all restaurant locations. Food is delicious. Great team members Complaints are heard and addressed by HR.

Cons

Very high turnover Disagree with upper management’s vision Not a long term job

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