Free doughnuts? Cool coworkers? Is working at Krispy Kreme really as sweet a deal as it seems?
Krispy Kreme appears to genuinely offer a reasonably low-key working environment,
even for customer-facing employees. Employees reviewing Krispy Kreme on
Indeed have described the work as "relatively easy" and even "quite
simple”. They described the place as having straightforward tasks and a lowkey pace.
One employee from a Lincoln, Nebraska,
location even went so far as to describe the working environment at Krispy Kreme as
"pretty peaceful". For most fast food retail jobs, that description is almost unheard of!
Now, if you’re someone who doesn’t like downtime at work then you share some similarities with
those who call the environment “flat out boring”. However, if you’re the kind of person who loves
a chill environment, this appears to be a pretty strong mark in the ‘pro’ column for Krispy Kreme.
Now, to something a little less sweet. Some employee reviews suggest that, at Krispy Kreme,
work roles don't appear to be well defined. This means that responsibilities can shift at random.
If you're the type who prefers to know exactly what you'll do during every hour of every shift,
this may not be the most suitable environment for you to earn your
paycheck. But if you hate repetition and love to switch it up often, you could thrive here.
A former Krispy Kreme employee in New York, New York, found this disorganization meant no one
was really an expert at any particular task, so everyone just did what they could to help the
store get through the day but still rated the job as fun overall. A less satisfied former employee
from Bronx, New York, wasn't as thrilled with the lack of clarity. They lamented about how they had
to fill in for roles whether they knew how to do them or not – talk about on the job training!
One of the greatest joys of regularly showing up somewhere can be getting to meet
new friends. If you're someone who adores meeting new people and forging new bonds,
then Krispy Kreme may be the place for you but not for the reason you’d expect. It
appears the turnover there is quite high. More turnover means more people to meet!
But there are some not so sweet things about high turnover at Krispy Kreme. High turnover
can be a major stressor for the employees who remain. One former employee from Jonesboro,
Arkansas, who rated the location highly in an Indeed review and called it a fun place to work,
did admit that the high turnover made it a stressful work environment at times.
Another employee in Rancho Mirage, California, specified that heavy turnover left the store
shorthanded, which makes any job a whole lot harder than it should be.
"It takes a good team. Everybody has to do their part and in the end it all comes together."
Cooks and waitstaff in the restaurant industry are no strangers to unpredictable schedules.
It can be rare for them to know exactly what time their managers will cut them
as customer demand dies down after each meal. This unpredictability
is less often seen in retail, but it also depends on where you work.
Sure, you could argue that Krispy Kreme is a restaurant of sorts,
serving food and beverages as its primary business. But also consider this. Fast-food,
counter-style chains tend to have set schedules with managers adamantly adhering to them to keep
labor costs low. Krispy Kreme? They don’t follow that exactly to a tee.
One former employee from California complained they often failed to get
staff out on time. Their failure to stay on top of scheduling lead this
employee to leave a paltry 2-star review of the work environment.
One former employee who worked at a McAllen, Texas location described
that even though they were scheduled until 11 p.m., it wasn’t uncommon for them to be
there till as late as 3 a.m. Which means one thing, it isn’t an isolated incident. Sure,
you might expect to work an extra half-hour here or there at any job,
but an extra four hours, especially in the middle of the night, does sound a bit extreme.
Freebies are a beloved perk at any job that offers them, and you might assume that you'd
be able to score some free doughnuts by working at a doughnut shop. But you know what they say about
assumptions. Just kidding. Krispy Kreme employees do receive plenty of free doughnuts and more.
Exactly how many free doughnuts you'll walk away with appears to depend on the store that
employs you and how carefully the managers stick to corporate policy. One former employee in Bronx,
New York, raved about scoring free doughnuts on every shift. Maybe that's why they loved
the job enough to rate it a full five stars on Indeed. But that doesn't appear to be the norm.
Another former employee from Memphis, Tennessee, noted receiving a free box of a dozen doughnuts
every week. This was echoed by employees in Cedar Hill, Texas, and Toledo, Ohio, suggesting that
this may be the actual policy for freebies. A former employee dishing the dirt on Reddit
backed us up, so we're sticking with it. All of these employees noted that they received free
drinks during their shifts too, so no one needs to go thirsty while serving the hungry public.
A former doughnut maker from Queensland, Australia, described the training as minimal,
calling it more of a "watch and learn" model. Another former employee from San Dimas,
California, wasn't thrilled with the lack of training, which required employees to figure
out the job on their own, often leading to disapproval from management. Worse still,
a former customer-facing employee from Issaquah, Washington, claims
that this location saw trainees being forced to train even newer trainees,
perpetuating a cycle of no one receiving any legitimate training at all. Yikes. That said,
if you're an eager beaver, anxious to learn the whole business, you might end up as grateful as
the Glassdoor reviewer from New York, New York, who enjoyed all the responsibility handed down.
"The transformation that this company has done in the past five years is incredible. We've worked
on the brand, we've worked on the culture, and we actually changed the business model."
According to employees of Krispy Kreme, the chain is chronically understaffed.
While one employee in Clemson, South Carolina,
noted that work at this location could be overwhelming because the store was
sometimes understaffed, employees at other locations had harsher critiques.
A former employee from Alexandria, Virginia, placed the blame on weak managers who refused
to hire new employees because they didn't like the process. This left the store understaffed,
even on holidays they knew would be busy. There doesn't seem to be any position at
Krispy Kreme that doesn't suffer from a serious shortage of peers, leaving everyone
a little bit worse for wear. The upside here is that it's also pretty hard to get fired.
Employees report the company advertises flexible scheduling and that they tend to deliver. For
students, parents, or anyone with unpredictable schedules, this is a major perk. Krispy Kreme
employees have left plenty of appreciation for this amenity in their reviews of the chain.
Finding positive comments in the most negative reviews can be very telling of how legitimate
a perk is, and schedule flexibility appears in plenty of otherwise negative Krispy Kreme reviews.
One former employee from Orlando, Florida, grew to hate working for the popular doughnut
shop but still admitted in their two-star review that flexible scheduling was a plus.
Another former employee from Pooler, Georgia, failed to elaborate much on why the experience
of working for Krispy Kreme only warranted a one-star review. But they praised the very
flexible schedule and ease of requesting days off. Finally, a former employee from Victorville,
California, rejoiced that it was easy to arrange their work schedule around their
school obligations. They also mentioned that their managers didn't give them a hard time
when they needed to call out. For better or worse, that's some serious flexibility.
Plenty of Krispy Kreme employees hail the company as a good fit for entry-level employees looking
for their first job. Several former employees from different locations had a lot to say about it.
One former employee from Elk Grove Village,
Illinois, says it's a good place for high school and college students to
work when compared with other fast-food companies. Another from Rogers, Arkansas,
agreed it was a simple enough first gig for anyone looking to learn about customer service.
A former employee hailing from New York, New York offers a bit more insight,
explaining that a job at Krispy Kreme isn't difficult and is a great place for beginners.
But there isn't significant room for growth, so it's better as a first job than as a career move.
Another former worker from Glendale, Arizona, agreed that working at Krispy
Kreme was the easiest job they ever had. They also said they believed the low pay
is suitable only as a first job and not for anyone with significant expenses.
Money may be the reason most people choose to work at all,
but if there's one thing that keeps employees returning to the same job day after day,
it's their coworkers. Krispy Kreme seems to excel at hiring fun, lovable people to staff
its shops because many of them rave about how much they love working with each other.
One former employee from Sacramento, California, admitted to not really liking the job very much,
leaving a disappointed two-star review. That same employee confessed that the only bright
side was how awesome the staff was. A manager from Clarksville, Tennessee, left a generally
favorable review of Krispy Kreme. But that employee also made a special point to mention
that they loved all of their coworkers, which isn't something one often hears. And in Manassas,
Virginia, a former cashier also seemed to universally love their coworkers, calling
them "wonderful and very fun to work with." This same review mentioned disliking the job overall
and left only a two-star review. The general consensus, from positive reviews to negative,
seems to be that Krispy Kreme employees have a knack for getting along well together.
"Like all good businesses, Krispy Kreme kept expanding, as did their donut making machines,
which turned out a steady army of donuts locked in two-step and glazed to perfection."
Many employees have said that Krispy Kreme positions are fairly easy to pick up — so
much so that they're even great for first-time applicants. The atmosphere
tends to be laid back and less stressful than many retail and restaurant jobs,
but it does seem there's one exception that appears in multiple employee reviews: promotions.
Sales and coupons mean a break from the norm, and if they come too frequently and with too many
special conditions, it's not hard to imagine how they could make anyone's work life more difficult.
A former store manager from Smyrna, Georgia, claimed that Krispy Kreme released new coupons
every two or three days, resulting in unusually long lines that were impossible to keep up with.
Another manager from Menifee, California, concurred that the chain's incessant
promotions and limited-edition doughnuts were too much for the understaffed store to handle.
Another manager said that constant promotions could quickly lead to professional burnout.
"Some Chicago restaurants are changing their hours and it's
not because of a lack of customers. Instead, it's a lack of workers."
No matter how much you love your job, you'd probably be lying if you said you didn't
look forward to your breaks now and then. Unfortunately for employees of Krispy Kreme,
these don't appear to be a guarantee at many locations.
Things can go wrong at any company. If someone volunteers to pitch in and help out in a pinch,
it could be understandable for a break to be missed in an extreme situation. But a former
employee from Lone Tree, Colorado, noted that breaks were impossible to get when
the store was understaffed, which is far from an unusual circumstance, as we have learned.
Another employee from Kansas City, Kansas,
indicated that the lack of breaks wasn't always unplanned. But managers
didn't even schedule breaks for the staff sometimes, and there wasn't a break room.
And, even though they rated their Krispy Kreme job as a four-star experience,
a McAllen, Texas employee claimed that management never allowed them any breaks,
even during 8-hour and 12-hour shifts.