A job you don’t put on your resume - Host Second City Employee Review

1.0
24 July 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It paid my bills. Met a few cool people

Cons

No OT, no consistent schedule, schedule doesn’t come out more than a week in advance, low pay even relative for hosting work, late and inconsistent hours. The job of “host anchor” has the same extra work and responsibilities as a shift manager/lead but no extra pay. They ask new hires to do this job because they don’t yet realize this and those that work there long enough don’t want to anchor. The work culture is unfortunate, many don’t like the job but stay because they are students. Cliques definitely arise, it’s theatre. They have zero tolerance policy for no call no shows, but don’t seem to take harassment as seriously. One of my coworkers had a male customer trying to touch her and her male manager and coworkers laughed about it in front her, for one example.

Explore other reviews about Second City

5.0
10 July 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

From a day-to-day angle, this was my favorite place to work. The staff was friendly and supportive of one another, the managers were helpful and understanding, and the job itself made it easy to get through a shift. The hours were on a regular schedule, so I didn't have to keep track of what days I'd be working which week--something that can be overwhelming and confusing at other part-time jobs. Plus, the staff was large enough and the hours flexible enough that it was easy to get time off when needed. The job itself also allowed a certain level of freedom during shifts that helped get through the idle periods (for example, they didn't seem to care too much what you did on the computers when there were no customers, as long as it was SFW and didn't distract you when there were customers). Just a really positive work environment.

Cons

Nights and weekends are a must -- which isn't really a surprise for that kind of business, but it's still a reason I'd hesitate to return. Upper management (as in beyond the managers of my department) felt very disconnected from the base-level employees and often made dumb policy decisions, but that upper management has since been overhauled, so this may not still be accurate. Also, between customers, they encouraged (and some nights required) us to perform this sort of data-entry task that felt a little mindless, which was mainly annoying because this task was the result of the computer systems regular error that they could never seem to fix or were even interested in fixing. I just was somewhat resentful that this mindless task was then put on us, as the bottom rung of the employment ladder.

4.0
14 Sept 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fun, enjoyable staff and general vibe. It does get hectic (all nightlife hospitality does) but the treatment of employees is 10/10 and you'll never have a serving job quite like this one

Cons

They do split tips, and everything is a bit unorganized. Again, par for the course in this industry, but if you want uncomplicated money, I would say bartend on your own at a regular restaurant

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All