sous chef

assistant manager

deputy manager

line cook

general manager

Turtle Bay

I had three days of simply just bussing when I was supposed to be training to be a waitress. I didn't get put with anyone to shadow and simply had to ask other waitresseses for help learning how to use the tablets and things like that. On my fourth shift they told me I would shadow the head waiter to watch how he serves and from then I could try a few tables on my own. I went with him to one table and from then on I was left alone, as if I would know how to do everything. That night I got told off for not noticing a table and not taking their starter plates away, when I had literally been left to myself with a fair few tables, my first ever time serving and I've never worked in hospitality before (which they knew). That table ended up leaving as apparently they had been waiting an hour, but it was the first time I ever did waitressing so someone should have been watching me and helping me out when I needed it, that's what real training is. It wasn't until the following Monday and Tuesday that I had a little bit more training from two other waitresses who were very nice and showed me how to use the tablets and wrote on a menu so that I could remember which dishes come with which sides. This was about the most training I got, and that wasn't even by any managers. Plus this training happened after I had already done two shifts serving tables so using the tablets and my knowledge of the menu was guess work until then. I was there for two weeks and never did any food or drink tasting, meaning when guests asked questions such as "which pudding is the least sweet" and "which dish is the least spicy" I couldn't tell them. On my penultimate shift I was told that I spend too much time standing around doing nothing, something I have seen other waiters and waitresseses doing even before I worked there, just from eating in the restaurant. When there is nothing to do you end up standing there which admittedly is very bad, but there's only so much I can do. I was told this on the Saturday about half an hour before the end of my shift, after working there for almost two weeks. The following day I made sure to be on the ball with my tables and food, and as it was a relatively quiet Sunday I made sure when there was nothing to do I folded some napkins or did some cutlery. Only later that day when I was told to go on break, my manager asked for a word. She told me it was a job chat that they do with everyone, then asked me how I thought I was doing. I replied with 4/10 as they have constantly been telling me off about my performance, which is obviously going to get me down. She then told me they had a few concerns, as they'd had a complaint from a table saying they had been waiting for 15 minutes with no menus, and another table of mine made a complaint too. Another night she had a complaint about slow service. My last shift was a 12-12 with only two waiting staff in the day, me and the head waiter. I was told that the head waiter couldn't have a break because they weren't allowed to leave me alone, and that I should be able to be left alone at this stage. Personally I do not believe that waitresses should be left alone on a shift after two weeks of working there with minimal training. She then told me that they often see me doing nothing and leaning against stations, which I said I had tried to improve on today. Next thing she said was that she was going to "let me go" as she simply can't have that type of performamce over Christmas, and that I've failed my probation. So after one day being told there were concerns, they gave me no time what so ever to act on it, plus having absolutely shocking training. She also told me I could reapply in January, which I think is an absolute joke. Why on earth would they hire someone who they previously got rid of, and why would I want to work there after their shocking training and disgusting behaviour towards new staff. If they want new staff to be perfect over the Christmas period, they need to give intense training as being a waitress is not easy. They need to tell you every single thing you need to know in the first few days and give you as much help as possible in the early days, instead of just leaving staff who have never ever done waitressing, to deal with various different tables. To old staff 6 tables isn't a lot, but for someone who has never been a waitress and in general is new to the job, they need better training than that. I'm in shock at how rude some of the managers were to the new staff, the whole thing is unorganised and if better training was given and the managers were nicer, I think it would actually be an enjoyable place to work as I was a huge fan of the restaurant before I started working there, so I really couldn't fault any of the food or drinks. Plenty of restaurants have slow service but if you train your staff in the right way then you won't have to face complaints. Failing probation when the probation period featured such a minimal amount of training is just awful. I seriously hope they improve the training and the way they treat staff as it's no wonder they only have a few of the original staff left.

Company wants to get as much out of you as they can for minimal return.

Constant rule changes to minimise any perks to increase the bottom line. Understandable but also demotivating when every day is stressful.

If you make a financial mistake or someone walks out without paying then the staff member is either given the threat of paying or made to pay out of their own pocket!! 
Disgusting rule when everyone is on minimum wage. Even if it's not implemented the fear of it makes you worried to do your job.

Extreme staff turnover. Overwhelming lack of proper support because managers have to fill staff gaps. Shifts can be up to 60hrs pw. Expected to come in early or cover shifts to fill staff absence with little notice. Staff are made to feel like they've got no choice but to work or cover a shift. Borderline exploitation of young people/ students.

Zero hour contracts so no job security! Little to no warning for shift changes but you're told its your responsibly to keep checking the rota to see if anything had changed even if it's changed on the day. Rota is issued a week in advance so it's hard to make plans without knowing you'll need to get a shift covered. Which feels awful.

The job would be good if the culture wasn't 'like it or leave'. This seems like a company culture rather than the individual restaurant. If you raise an issue it's just excused away instead of fixed or looked into.

The staff are all friendly and work really hard. The managers really do try their best but no one gets a chance to do their job properly because they're fire fighting and extremely stressed all the time.

It's a deflating, depressing, stressful place to work most of the time with some good days. Really affects your mental health.

A typical day at TB is coming in for your 9 1/2 hour shift. You are then given a busy section (or 2) of people who are on a bottomless brunch. Unfortunately, if the restaurant is full, the bar will never be able to produce drinks fast enough to satisfy customers leading to hours of complaints, poor tips and walkouts.

 I was assaulted and sexually harassed on several occasions with managers unwilling or unequipped to deal with distressed staff members. On one shift where I was assaulted several times and left in tears, I was offered a '5-minute break' and then sent to finish the rest of my 12-hour shift. 

Floor team members get shorter breaks than any other member of staff with management only having to offer 20-minute unpaid breaks for every 9 1/2 hours of work. If you work longer than this they do give you an hour break which is also unpaid. 

After resigning from the company (primarily for health reasons). I was excluded from staff events and barred from entering the restaurant  (despite other staff in the same position as me not facing these consequences). Management also told other staff members that I quit because 'I didn't want to work a shift' which wasn't true and really unprofessional for them to gossip about me. 

Overall, I would not recommend Turtle Bay, you could easily find other places to work that will pay above minimum wage and actually respect their team that put in hours of unseen and unpaid effort on behalf of the company (who really doesn't care about them). 

Working for turtle bay was awful and I walked out of the job. I usually started at 10 and didn't get a lunch break til 5pm. I was told that I got free food per shift. When I ordered food it would sometimes take 2-3 hours after ordering because "I am not a customer so my food isn't a priority. So i'd either have to starve or go and buy food if i was fed up of waiting. The food sucks and I was treated like a slave. I left the job within the first month of getting it. When I got the job I told them I am also in university and have a disabled mother so keep this in mind when scheduling me into the rotor but they didn't care that I had responsibilities and tried to make me work 12-13 hour days. its been about 3 weeks now since I walked out of Turtle Bay after not getting fed and the bad pay and I still haven't been paid for the shifts I have done. Another guy was quitting the same day I was for the same reasons. There was many vacancies when I joined and I am realising why, possibly people like myself who were fed up of the sweatshop they are running. I felt trapped and anxious since they take a percentage out of every bodies tips which nobody does anymore.

The only positive thing about working here was the colourful interior and the reggae music. This was my only source of energy since they didn't give me a lunch break.

When I first joined Turtle Bay, I enjoyed it. However it got progressively worse and worse. I wasn’t treated like a valued member of staff. The managers were awful, there was only one I actually liked. I never got give any proper training and if I made a small mistake (due to my lack of training) the managers would go off on one. It was embarrassing when I had to deal with customers and they’d ask about a product and I’d have no clue - due to me not being taught about food either. I tried my very hardest at my job but it went unnoticed by managers and they would never appreciate the work I put in. One manager in particular would stand and watch me, waiting for me to make a mistake. I once got told off for not looking after a table which was not even mine. There’s so many things wrong - mainly the managers. Other staff members made me feel left out, there was a few I was friends with but the majority of them didn’t treat me nicely at all. There were sort of cliques of people (like in school) and they made you feel uncomfortable. One of the managers were friends with particular members of staff and treated them better than they did with other people. Horrible experience, could not wait to leave. I don’t think Turtle Bay the company is necessarily bad and you’d probably have a better experience if members of staff were better.

Mainly work on weekends as they are the busiest days of the week. These days are good for those who enjoy staying spontaneous at work. 
I have learned how to work effectively within a team and have worked well in improving communication skills. 
Management are understanding and supportive. 
The workplace culture would be staying busy but having fun and learning something new everyday. Whether it's something a customer is up to or how to do something at work to make things more efficient (hard skills). 
The hardest part of the job would be when it's really busy usually Saturdays and it's bottomless hours. Especially from 3pm - 5pm. Customers can become a little impatient with their drinks but as long as you talk to them and reassure that they'll still have plenty of drinks it's all good. Long shift hours such as 12hr shifts are quite hard too, but you learn to adapt to it and you do get a decent break.
The enjoyable part of the job is seeing the team, having a laugh during work. And even the customers can be fun to serve, you meet different people everyday and sometimes the regulars but it can be interesting as long as you learn to engage with them. Tips are always an amazing bonus too.

In Turtle Bay as a member of the management team you simply feel like a number, however the staff do get rewarded and are encouraged to have fun on shift. The higher you go, the more corporate it becomes, and the organisation of communications between head office and restaurant is absolutely awful. 

Turtle Bay's "3% policy" which is something which involves front of house staff paying 3% of their entire takings for their shift back into the company out of their tips, if they don't receive tips they must take this out of their own money. This to me seemed absolutely disgraceful. However the staff do sign a contract agreeing to this it is a very shady act and I believe it is the only reason the company is still alive. 

This policy was said to go towards higher earnings for all employees and staff parties etc. However the earnings are lower than many other companies without a similar policy and the staff parties are mediocre at best. 

Just a scam to squeeze more money out of every hole they can.

Working at Turtle Bay started off well with great music and a friendly atmosphere, but after a few weeks the majority of managers had really cut into my confidence, always needing me to work quicker and faster being the only busser on shift. I was constantly checking toilets, replacing loo roll and handwash, running about in order to get everything done and by the end of my shift my feet would ache because breaks were rarely allowed
In my time working there myself and other bussers received little to no tips because even though I'd clean tables for all the waitresses and waiters getting a % of any tips they made for me helping them provide good service was not compulsory and this made me feel undervalued as a team member
Some of the waitresses/waiters would refuse to clean their own tables and would wait for me to do it, only to complain I wasn't working fast enough for them, even though I had to clean several tables at a time which was especially problematic on busy weekends and nights

Overall it wasn't a great experience

I was only here for two months, but it was okay. The best part of the job was the people, not all of them. A lot of them were very kind and welcoming to me. 

I just found this place not to be the right fit for me, the pot wash section was quite small. They said the biggest thing was communication, yet nobody would communicate with me at the end of a shift, whether it was plates coming back from the floor or kitchen equipment coming back from the line.

A couple of the front of house staff would spend much of their shifts on their phones. 

The kitchen team were alright, they taught me how to do a few new things, like helping them with closing down the kitchen and plating up dishes during service, so i'm grateful for that. I don't mind doing extra stuff or helping out when asked. But when they would leave stuff such as cardboard stacked up or the prep area untidy because they intended for the kp to do it. 

It felt like a lack of common sense and teamwork there at times. I don't hate this work place, but it became very mentally and physically draining. 

typical day would be serving about 6-8 tables in your section. Constantly being told to flip tables to make more money, it gets plugged into you that money and speed is above service. I learned how to cope with up to 15 tables and I can work well at a quick rate and make sure the service is at a high standard. the co-workers are fun to work with but the turn over rate was so high, you didn't see them for very long. Hardest part was having to repeatedly clean tables because people from the bar who are only drinking have taken the table. The closes took forever! The most enjoyable part was working with other members of staff. what I hated the most was the cash out, you'd have to keep an eye on how much your takings were so you're not cashed out wrong. You'd sign a contract when you start which you must agree you give an extra 7 percent of your takings. If your table had a bill of 100 pounds, you'd then have to give 107 pounds to the companys, so if you didnt get you're standard 10 percent tip from customers, youd be leaving with less money in your float than you came with.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Sous chef 26 salaries reported	£31,538 per year
Assistant manager 19 salaries reported	£31,347 per year
Deputy manager 11 salaries reported	£34,182 per year
Line cook 224 salaries reported	£12.64 per hour
General manager 24 salaries reported	£41,667 per year

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