What can a potential new Taco Bell employee expect when it comes to working for the fast
food chain, and would you even want to? This is what it's really like to work at Taco Bell,
straight from those who know best, the people that work there.
Securing an entry-level job on the crew at Taco Bell isn't the most difficult thing in
the world, which is probably why it's a popular place for a person's first job. There's also
no need to pour over pages of internet job searches. Finding a job at Taco Bell is as
easy as hitting up their website and plugging in your location. Chances are, the Taco Bell
closest to you is hiring.
One person on Indeed said that upon filling out their online location they were immediately
notified that they had been selected for an interview the following day. Landing an interview
doesn't get much easier than that.
As far as the Taco Bell interview itself, well, let's just say it's not going to be
a long and grueling process. The questions tend to range from asking prospective employees
to tell a little about themselves to how they might handle certain job situations. Numerous
people on Indeed described it as relatively short and even "relaxing" with them being
either hired on the spot or shortly thereafter.
While nailing the Taco Bell job interview is a breeze, the demands of the job can at
times be a little more challenging. With Taco Bell being fast food, "fast" is an aspect
that factors into the job, and managers pay close attention to how quickly crew members
are taking orders, assembling, and serving food.
According to one employee on Reddit, when firing on all cylinders, their Taco Bell served
around "100-200 customers in the drive-thru" and "100 in the store" per hour. In order
to make these customer service numbers, employees are clocked on their speed per customer.
Another employee on Reddit said that for an employee working the drive-thru, they were
expected to take a customer's order and send them on their way in the span of three minutes
and 30 seconds. The one thing that really throws off this Taco Bell speed clock is when
a customer places a huge order of a bunch of small items. The employee said,
"I always feel bad for people who order like one item or just a drink and have to sit behind
three cars with 70 [plus] items between them."
So the next time you want 50 soft tacos, maybe consider cutting the Taco Bell employees a
break and going inside.
"And a Burrito Supreme with no meat. Is that correct?"
"She's gone already, chief."
Fast food jobs don't have a reputation for being especially high paying, and you won't
get rich rolling burritos. According to Indeed, the average pay for a Taco Bell employee in
a non-management position is around $10 per hour as of 2020. The good news is that Taco
Bell does give raises as well as promotions. A former employee on Reddit explained that
it all boiled down putting solid effort into the job, saying,
"If you stand out, you'll get it. I worked at Taco Bell for 14 months and I went from
$8 to $13."
Employees can also make a little more if they climb the ranks with shift managers making
an average of around $12 an hour and general managers making over $16 per hour. By and
large, the determining factor on how much a person makes starting out at Taco Bell mostly
depends on the rate set by the franchisee. Taco Bell makes this known on their online
job applications, stating,
"Franchisees are independent business owners who set their own wage and benefit programs."
Taco Bell employees seem to back up this statement with some saying their franchise location
had a policy of yearly raises. Others on Indeed said they were getting raises anywhere from
every few months to, well, never.
Store managers are the captains of the Taco Bell ship and are responsible for keeping
order and making sure a particular restaurant is hitting sales goals. It's no doubt a tough
job and if you're tasked in charge of running a Taco Bell you could probably expect to make
around $47,000 a year.
If you've got what it takes, however, and are working at the right Taco Bell, you could
be making a whole lot more. In early 2020, Taco Bell announced that it would be paying
some of its store managers a salary of $100,000 a year.
Here's the catch, remember how we mentioned that it's franchise owners who set the pay
rates for their employees? Well, this six-figure salary only applies to corporate-owned Taco
Bell restaurants, according to Fox Business. The big reason for paying some managers the
six-figure salary is that Taco Bell wants to hold on to good talent, and nothing keeps
people from looking for greener pastures quite like money.
Over 90 percent of Taco Bells in the United States are owned by independent franchisees,
so finding one willing to pay $100,000 could be tricky, but they are out there.
Is working for Taco Bell's corporate offices in sunny southern California like partying
at a music festival? Probably not most days, but their corporate promo video sure would
make you think so. According to The Muse, the Taco Bell offices are outfitted with Foosball
tables, and employees can opt for the standard desk or working on the couch in the "Boom
Boom Room." There's also an on-site gym, dry-cleaning, and yes, a nail and hair salon.
As for getting a job as a global marketing manager or digital analyst, it's going to
be a little tougher than landing a job in the restaurant. Those that do work for Taco
Bell's headquarters in California can enjoy onsite childcare, four weeks of paid vacation,
and of course , free Taco Bell. With those sorts of perks, it's no surprise it has a
relatively high employee satisfaction rating on Glassdoor.
Working at Taco Bell and having to serve inebriated customers is just part of the job, especially
for any employees stuck working the late-night shift.
"I'm ready to party."
Multiple Taco Bell employees have said that they had their fair share of interactions
with some less than sober customers. One employee said on Reddit,
"High [and/or] drunk people make up a solid percent of the people we serve."
Another employee said that it wasn't uncommon for people to get in fights at the drive-thru
lane or fall asleep before even picking up their orders. The worker explained,
"People would pass out in their cars at the order speaker, but we didn't go outside once
the doors were locked for security reasons, so we just had to call the cops and wait."
In US states where marijuana has been legalized, working the graveyard shift seems like a whole
different beast. One Taco Bell employee said that they had seen everything from a customer
confusing them for KFC to a guy who regularly comes in and, quote, "pays almost 30 bucks
for a bag of 24 tortillas." As weird as some of the encounters may be, it's bound to make
the night a little more interesting. One employee said,
"Surprisingly (or maybe not), stoned people make really good customers. They're mellow
a lot of the time, and they become regulars more often than not."
Once in a blue moon, a fast food company strikes gold with a certain menu item that catches
fire with the public and in no time flat, the brand is serving up its new item like
gangbusters. In 2012, it was Taco Bell's moment to shine with the rollout of the Doritos Locos
tacos.
Just like the fast food phenomenon of the Popeye's chicken sandwich in 2019, Taco Bell
employees scrambled to keep up with the demand for the tacos. One former Taco Bell employee
said on Twitter,
"I empathize with them Popeyes employees, because I was working at Taco Bell when the
Doritos Locos came out and whew! Talk about tired."
The new tacos were such a hit that Taco Bell hired 15,000 extra workers to help with the
taco frenzy, according to Business Insider. Taco Bell pulled some of the Doritos tacos
versions in 2019, so at least that gave employees some relief from the Doritos Locos mania.
In order to make sure that Taco Bell employees can keep up with the rotating menu and assemble
food orders correctly, training videos are a regular part of the gig. One former employee
and team trainer wrote on Quora,
"There is also a video every month that you will watch to learn about new items or review
safety and current product builds."
While one employee on Indeed did say that the training process is frequently ignored,
employees are compensated at their regular hourly rate for watching whatever training
video is assigned to them.
As for what some of those training videos look like, well, they're a combination of
live-action and low-budget-looking early 2000s animation. Some of the videos also include
quiz portions. For example, with a video detailing how a Crunchwrap Supreme is made, employees
have three choices for how long it's supposed to be on the grill. Answer incorrectly and
the animated Taco Bell trainer scolds you.
"Ouch. 45 seconds is way too long. This guest will probably be in shortly to complain. Try again."
The rather simple list of ingredients that dominate the Taco Bell menu, compounded with
the fact that it's fast food, could easily lead one to believe that microwaves and freezers
are the only things in the kitchen area. But while the cooking at Taco Bell isn't gourmet,
the employees are definitely involved in making your meal. One employee on Reddit revealed
that they don't have a mixer, they whisk everything by hand. They added,
"We do everything. We fry everything, prep everything, make the food (no premaking food
either), make the drinks."
Another employee went on to say that the beans aren't from a can, but are shipped dry and
Taco Bell employees boil the water for them each day. As for the ground beef, well, that's
one thing that Taco Bell seems to have a unique way of cooking. One employee who worked there
in the '90s, said the meat prep actually turned them off from eating there. They explained,
"The one thing I distinctly recall was that the 'meat' came in preformed tubes, and I
had to run it over some sort of grater. It was beyond disgusting, watching it slice through."
More recent employees noted that this process has changed, fortunately. While the preparation
may be less than appetizing, a worker did state that they're "100 percent required to
wear gloves on the line at all times," thankfully.
Fast food can be tiring and hectic work and if your coworkers aren't pulling their own
weight, it only makes that job that much more exhausting. Reviews on job sites like Indeed
are littered with both good and bad reviews of working at Taco Bell, and if there was
one aspect that could make or break a person's job experience, it seems like it was the people
they worked with.
Several folks on Quora reiterated just how crucial the coworkers were for a good experience
working at Taco Bell. One former employee admitted,
"Co-workers can be great and show up every shift and do their jobs, or they can call
off frequently and not do much when they manage to show up."
While one employee on Indeed said their managers were "great," other former employees said
they had a "horrible" experience and generally summed it up as being the result of bad managers
and apathetic employees.
Taco Bell's own corporate video culture paints the job as a fun and energetic environment
with employees citing their coworkers as being like a "second family."
"There's an energy here that's just rad."
If you're thinking about picking up a job at Taco Bell, perhaps scouting out a location
first and paying attention to how the employees interact with one another wouldn't be a bad
idea.
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