What's it like to fry solo at a fast food job? Work at Zaxby's and you just might find out.
Let's start at the top. While many new employees often start out with
dreams of reaching management, hoping to snag greater pay for less work,
most people realize that's not really the case. While there may be less physical work,
the added responsibility and time commitment can be a lot worse. This appears to be the case
at Zaxby's, where management claims to have little escape from the job.
General managers of any business are usually responsible for just about
everything that happens on-site, so it's not surprising to hear one
Zaxby's manager tell Payscale that it's a stressful and demanding job,
where vacations aren't really possible, and being on call 24/7 is necessary.
Does this much oversight from a general manager leave assistant managers with a bit more freedom?
A Camden, South Carolina, assistant manager says that they're also on call all the time. So,
what about the higher-ups who work off-site? The situation appears bleak for them too,
with one district manager echoing that the position leaves no time to
spend with their family. There's just no rest for Zaxby's managers at any level.
"There's simply times when you have to do whatever it takes."
Many fast-food gigs are entry-level jobs,
so few people expect the pay to be very much. These jobs are typically paid hourly,
and often near minimum wage. Employee reviews of Zaxby's reveal that no one's earning a
fortune slinging chicken fingers, either. It may even be a little worse than usual here.
A former Zaxby's cashier from Rockmart, Georgia, claims to have loved the job,
but had to leave because the wages weren't enough to survive on. Another employee from Tallahassee,
Florida described the pay situation at Zaxby's as, quote, "not good at all." And before you claim
that pay just isn't good anywhere within the fast food industry, take note that a former Zaxby's
crew trainer specified on Glassdoor that the company's pay is even below industry standards.
One strategy many low-paid employees use to build bigger paychecks is snagging overtime,
provided they don't have a lot going on outside of work. It's not an option for many,
but it appears to be an option for almost no one at Zaxby's.
A crew trainer in Decatur, Tennessee, put it simply, saying one just plain "cannot
get overtime" at Zaxby's, even when plenty of people call out, leaving holes in the
schedule. An assistant manager at Zaxby's reported on Payscale that the company is,
in their words, "stingy on overtime," which leaves at least a glimmer of hope.
But that's not all; not getting enough regular working hours at all is another problem.
A former employee from Winchester, Massachusetts, was clearly unsatisfied with Zaxby's, leaving a
series of complaints that included not getting enough hours. A Hot Spring, Arkansas, employee
claims to have interviewed for a full-time position, but received just 24 scheduled hours per
week, only to be reduced to a mere 6 hours per week, and was made to leave some shifts early.
It's certainly a shock to anyone to go from an expectation of 40 hours to only receiving 6 hours,
and at least one employee from Athens, Georgia had reported quitting over a similar situation.
So, what really happens when someone doesn't show up for work and doesn't find a replacement
to cover the shift? We already know that replacements aren't always called in,
but short-staffing isn't exactly a surprise.
A former Zaxby's cashier in Morristown, Tennessee, claimed that their restaurant
was constantly understaffed, describing a more chronic issue that raises questions
about company policy. Another cashier in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,
described an extremely understaffed Zaxby's with a manager that wouldn't even assist when
there was only a single employee to serve both the drive-thru and the front counter.
A July 2022 employee review from Charlotte, North Carolina, says the job was fine until
everything fell apart when the restaurant became short-staffed, demonstrating that
it had previously operated with proper staffing and that things had, at least once, run smoothly.
Low pay and no overtime doesn't sound like a great way to lure new employees to Zaxby's,
but what about the tasty job perks, like a free meal once in a while?
Unfortunately for the hungry hopeful, Zaxby's does not always appear to offer free food to its
employees. An anonymous Zaxby's cashier indicated on Payscale that the low pay and high demands
of the position might have been more bearable if there had been a free lunch during shifts,
but there wasn't. Not all stores seem to follow the same rules, though. Reporting an entirely
different experience, a former cashier from Camden, South Carolina, who panned the job
with a one-star review, did acknowledge that free meals were an okay perk. Another anonymous
reviewer specified that a 50% discount was the only benefit extended to part-time employees
at Zaxby's, so it seems that a free meal might depend entirely on local management.
What's worse is employees of Zaxby's report that they don't always get to take proper breaks,
according to a former cashier from Chattanooga, Tennessee. A cook from Florence, South Carolina,
says that breaks weren't even scheduled, and they would only get a break if they specifically asked
a manager for one. Worst of all, a cook from Jacksonville, Florida, claims that day-shift
employees over the age of 18 could never get a break no matter what, implying that younger
employees only received their breaks because of stronger laws protecting minors in the workplace.
We've already seen that free food policies aren't followed across the board at Zaxby's locations,
so it's fair to wonder what's going on and who's making the rules here.
While favoritism and management may certainly be factors in certain instances,
there's a more legitimate explanation, and that's simply that not all Zaxby's
restaurants are owned by the same people because it's a franchised brand.
Franchised restaurants sometimes have a degree of consistency between locations,
but that may apply more to the customers than the employee. Those who've undergone a change of
ownership have reported some pretty significant changes, as reported by one employee on Lensa.
Another review on Lensa describes a similar situation with new ownership bringing new
management so inconsiderate and, quote, "power hungry" that they left the position after sixteen
years in the same restaurant. You'd think a sixteen-year veteran would have already seen
everything, but apparently, this buyout brought some pretty severe changes that prove different
owners can quickly bring about a different culture, even in a large chain like Zaxby's.
"I was very professional. You're fired.”
“Right.”
“Get out. Get out of my sight!"
Fast-food restaurants are magnets for first-time job applicants looking to gain work experience
and put a little cash in their pockets, and many of those tend to be students. The sight
of teenagers staffing a drive-thru or standing behind a burger counter is no surprise to anyone,
and the same scene plays out at most Zaxby's locations, according to its own staff.
An Athens, Georgia employee estimated that 95% of
the hourly employees were of college age or younger.
A former Zaxby's cashier from Greer, South Carolina, claimed on Glassdoor to often be
the only employee in the store who wasn't in high school, so perhaps 95% isn't too
far off from the actual figure. A different Zaxby's employee of six years reported on
Indeed that their store had plenty of college students, particularly in the back of the house,
and enjoyed the fun atmosphere that created, so at least it's not all bad news.