Management worked to death - General Manager Cracker Barrel Employee Review

1.0
11 Jul 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The pay was highly competitive. Other companies have now started to catch up.

Cons

What you are sold on in the interview is not reality. This job is not worth it, no matter how much they sell you on how they've changed in the interview. Stores are routinely understaffed with managers, meaning if your store is fully staffed with managers they will pull managers from your store to help run other stores, causing your store to run with shift leaders that are not properly trained because you are not allowed to use the labor required to train them. I spent 2 and a half years as a General Manager and had a fully staffed management team for 3 months. You are routinely expected to work in position because not enough labor dollars are provided, and you might as well forget about training your staff properly. Their labor budget only allows for half the training hours that the training program calls for. And you are really up a creek if you have to train more than one person. Your choices are miss labor goal (not an option), managers work extra to cover shifts (probably already are), or cut training short and hope the person works out (most likely). Upper management cares nothing of their people, only results. The pressure to achieve results is extremely high, to the point I've seen good people do shady things to make it. Also what they did to their retail managers was incredibly sad.

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Cracker Barrel Response
8y
Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We're sorry that you didn't feel like Cracker Barrel was a long-term career fit for you. We do believe very strongly in supporting our employees and their professional growth. We wish you the best in your future endeavors and thank you for being part of our family.

Explore other reviews about Cracker Barrel

5.0
8 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great career with a reliable schedule and pay.

Cons

High stress environment with some physical adjustments.

2.0
3 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Most coworkers were genuinely great to work with and made shifts more enjoyable. * The guest interaction and serving aspect of the job is something I personally enjoy. * Some shifts could be positive depending on staffing and team on duty.

Cons

*Management was often unprofessional with inconsistent communication and expectations. * Certain coworker behavior occasionally affected morale and created a less positive work environment. * There was a noticeable blame culture where issues were not handled in a constructive way. * In my experience, bringing up workplace concerns or uncomfortable situations did not always feel welcomed or supported, and it sometimes felt like speaking up led to negative attention. * Scheduling and hours were inconsistent, making it hard to rely on stable income. * Inconsistent scheduling sometimes resulted in difficult shift patterns, including working split doubles (such as 9–3 followed by a 4–close shift), which often meant not getting out until around 10:30 PM and then repeating the pattern on consecutive days. * Training was limited, and expectations were often unclear, which made the job more stressful than it needed to be. * In my experience, HR concerns or formal complaints did not feel like they were taken seriously or addressed in a meaningful way.

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