Does First Watch pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, First Watch employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at First Watch. This rating has decreased by 6% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at First Watch?

59% of First Watch employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated First Watch 3.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at First Watch?

Server (627) , Server/Waiter (291) , Operations Manager (124) , General Manager (70) , Line Cook (64) , Busser/Runner (45) , Manager (34) , Server/Waitress (34) , Director of Operations (30) , Dishwasher (27) , Cook (26) , Waitress (21) , Food Server (18) , Black Apron (15) , Busser (15)

What are the pros of working at First Watch according to real employee reviews?

"The pay structure/ tip out was typically solid making good money on most weekends." ((in 181 reviews)); "The pay is good and there's a program that pays for 20% of your college tuition." ((in 86 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 72 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 58 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 58 reviews))

What are the cons of working at First Watch according to real employee reviews?

"poor management and had managers try to make job difficult" ((in 136 reviews)); "Managers have a lot of responsibility and spend most of their time in the kitchen rather than being up front dealing with customers." ((in 79 reviews)); "long hours (serving shift is open to close because it is breakfast/lunch only)" ((in 35 reviews)); "Upper management is so completely out of touch it's almost as if they have never worked in a restaurant (spoiler: most of them haven't)" ((in 30 reviews)); "Lots of cliques and Favoritism." ((in 22 reviews))

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First Watch

First Watch Reviews

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3.6

59% would recommend to a friend

(1,882 total reviews)

Chris Tomasso

68% approve of CEO

59% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.8

Diversity and inclusion

3.6

Work/Life balance

3.5

Culture and values

3.4

Career opportunities

3.2

Senior management

3.2

Compensation and benefits

First Watch has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 1,882 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The First Watch employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants and food service industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

2.0

16 Aug 2018

Not a great company to work for

General manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Day time job it’s hard to find that in this industry

Cons

Low salary, long hours I average 12-16 hours a day because although I’m the GM first watch still requires me to be an hourly employee in a position for 10 hours before I can start any of my GM duties. And the benefits are the worst I’ve seen in this industry

1.0

25 Aug 2014

Cranial Rectosis

Operations manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

The pros? Pretty much just the schedule, and then only parts of it. Some managers come in as early as 4:30am, most are in by 5:30 or 6. You are however usually done by 5pm (though some RVPs find ways to keep you later. )

Cons

The RVPs are complete hypocrites. The usual contradictory direction from upper management is taken to a whole new level here. The "open door" policy is a complete sham. Your salary looks fine until you break it down to an hourly wage (most of the cooks do better.) The turn over among managers is higher than anywhere I've seen in my 15 years in the industry.

5.0

27 July 2021

Good company

Operations manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Never work nights again. Work with a company that has potential for growth and opportunities for advancement.

Cons

Haven't really had any bad experiences at my location. Can't speak for all of them.

First Watch Response

Thank you for submitting this review. We agree that you just can’t go wrong with our daytime-only hours and the opportunities for advancement as we continue to grow. We appreciate all your hard work to ensure our customers and employees enjoy our “You First” experience.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 1,882 Reviews

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