Good training program for managers with knowledgeable trainers, good atmosphere at work but always focused on achieving targets and if you hit them you would be rewarded with good bonuses. Changed big time after covid

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Not so good

Sous chef (Current Employee) - Whiteley, Hampshire - 22 January 2023

Wagamama should pay more because for all that work what managers can do other places paid more. No budget to train new starters. Cutting hours policy.

Pros

people

Cons

wage per hour

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Insights into wagamama

Based on 292 survey responses

Areas for improvement

General feeling of work happiness
Energising work tasks
Sense of belonging

Busy and fun place

Junior FOH Manager (Current Employee) - Brighton - 20 January 2023

Busy place but if you have a good team with you it makes the shifts easier and fun even though you are running lots. Every branch is a bit different all depends of the people who works there, but the company used to care more about staff than it does nowadays, to much exigencies but nevet well paid.

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Its okay

Waitress (Former Employee) - Bristol - 19 January 2023

The team members are amazing lovely people.Management are poor and kitchen management is poor.Very busy all the time.Hard to plan thing around the schedule as it comes out on a Friday for the following week.Pay is not good for the amount of energy you have to put in.

Pros

Free meals, met some of my best friends here

Cons

Bad pay, understaffed, most shifts are a disaster.

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Easy to progress

Manager (Former Employee) - UK - 17 January 2023

Wagamama is a company where you can easily get promoted if you work hard. Started really strong few years ago with their values, unfortunately these are loosing their meaning in time.

Pros

Easy to progress

Cons

Most of the times short of staff, long shifts - the same like in any other hospitality restaurants

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Favoritism is big in Wagamama

team leader (Former Employee) - Putney - 13 January 2023

Most of the time Wagamama is short of staff. The middle management is very poorly educated and bonus driven. If you are lucky to have a manager who is organised, and who will like you , you will do well.The job is very physical and the hours are fluctuating, one week you can work 40 hours and the next 30 or less. No incentives.It is not a place for faint-hearted.

Pros

free food

Cons

favouritism

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Stressful

FOH Team Member (Former Employee) - Leicester, Leicestershire - 11 January 2023

The job is extremely stressful for the pay you receive, it is not worth the money, and there are a lot of fake people working there as well. You may need to argue with the chefs from time to time in order to get food for the customers.

Pros

Free food

Cons

Stressful, always busy, bad management, too many demands, chaotic, bizarre hours

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Busy, sociable, value driven

General Manager (Former Employee) - North West - 11 January 2023

I had a fantastic 13 years at wagamama and was truly able to progress and develop my management style. I felt like the vision and values were well conveyed and I was supported to be who I wanted to be. The work life balance is difficult, especially when you have a young family. The salary is fair, but slow to pick up once you start climbing the management ladder. The salary is also a reflection of the long hours that you do. The bonus is good, but again there are a lot of caveats which mean you may not always achieve it.

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Bad work place

Waiter (Former Employee) - Leicester City Centre, Leicestershire - 10 January 2023

Management is usesless, they don’t help their own employees and expect the maximum from them. Wouldn’t give me time off to see my son but gave others tine off for nothing

Pros

Free lunches

Cons

Everything

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A Stressful workplace

Line Chef (Former Employee) - Manchester, Greater Manchester - 9 January 2023

Some management grade staff are very lazy.Always asked you to do everything and they just stand on side and DO NOTHING.20 minutes brakes are mot sufficient.

Pros

Free lunches

Cons

Long hours, poor management

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Jobs at wagamama

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Full of rubbish people

Sous Chef (Former Employee) - Birmingham - 4 January 2023

Will Never work for Wagamama and won’t recommend to anyone. Full of politics from top to bottom. Management in every site always keep playing politics.

Pros

Not available

Cons

Should be part of parliament to play politics

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fun but challenging

Sous Chef (Former Employee) - Camden Town - 3 January 2023

Wagamama is a bug group and it offers all the tools to provide u a good work atmosphere and offers u as well a professional learning about kitchen life style fast pace but healthy food no microwave use policy

Pros

free meals on duty

Cons

good working hours

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Poor management

Line Chef (Former Employee) - Manchester - 2 January 2023

Some of the sous chefs are lazy and just put their efforts on pushing junior staffs exceed their limits.Not work as a team.Insufficient support.You are required to work double shifts in a day.

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Flexible and good pay

Hostess (Current Employee) - Victoria, Greater London - 2 January 2023

Like working here as it’s very flexible with hours, everyone is very friendly with organised management. However can get extremely busy so have to work well under pressure.

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Lack of support from management

Waiting Staff (Former Employee) - Bullring, West Midlands - 28 December 2022

Team members are great, the management however is not brilliant. They belittle you and make you feel incompetent doing small tasks you’ve done for over a year at other branches. Don’t support you with progression and overall just needs some fine tuning of management because the way they speak to staff is not great.

Pros

£9.50/hour wage and food allowance

Cons

Management are rude and patronising

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Avoid

Front of House Manager (Former Employee) - Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire - 25 December 2022

Avoid at all cost if you like having a social life and running around like an idiot for hours as business is always understaffed. Poor management never on the floor always in the office doing “managerial stuff.”Management are all friends so they stick together.

Pros

Weekly Pay

Cons

Long Hours

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Average

FOH Staff (Current Employee) - Hammersmith, Greater London - 23 December 2022

Good job if youre a student i guess because its fairly easy and hours are not bad but as a full timer hours/rota is very unsociable and work/life balance is very poor if you’re working long 10h shifts and especially with the environment being so fast paced it’s stressful trying to keep up

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Brilliant Team, Fast-Paced and Lively Atmosphere

Front of House Staff (Current Employee) - Dorchester, Dorset - 11 December 2022

Fast paced work, often very busy in the restaurant. Can become very stressful. Lively atmosphere and a brilliant team to work with. Good pay with tips, however hours can be irregular so can be difficult for security.

Pros

Generous food allowance on shift and staff discount, Brilliant team, Feel well supported by management, Lively and relaxed atmosphere makes me feel I can express and be myself with staff and guests.

Cons

Unsociable hours, Stressful work due to the pace and can be physically exhausting too, Hard for body clock to adapt to this, Pressure to meet targets can detract from employee wellbeing.

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Good

Sous Chef (Current Employee) - Didsbury, Greater Manchester - 8 December 2022

20 mins break paid. Average life balance , depends on the branch you work, not easy kitchen,lots to learn and to remember.Payment should te much more higher

Pros

Tips break

Cons

Payment

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Bad

Front of House Staff (Former Employee) - Covent Garden, Greater London - 8 December 2022

Overworked and underpaid too stressful of an environment also a very toxic environment. It’s not worth minimum wage. Management is terrible there is no team.

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Difficult

Kitchen Porter (Former Employee) - Cheltenham - 6 December 2022

Being a kitchen porter at a restaurant that produces its food so fast it means you have very little time for a break, especially as there is only one KP at a time. When I took on this Job i was 16 and the legal time for me to finish is 10pm and my shifts were finishing at 12:30 some nights which is highly illegal so if you cannot get yourself to and from Wagamamas I do not reckon taking on this job.