r/Culvers

The other day we had a guest come through the drive thru asking if we could make him an old fashioned soda if anyone knew how to. I asked someone who’s worked for culver’s since old fashioned sodas were a thing and they didn’t remember.

Does anyone remember how to make it? I know it wasn’t ordered often which is why they got rid of it but I wondered if there’s a veteran employee somewhere that remembers the recipe (how to make it, what was in it, different flavors, etc)

When on set and orders are starting to pile up and you have no runners how do you or the person on set deal with this? Will you personally help run inside or outside orders? Do you just let them pile up while you still bag and slide them down? What’s the correct way?

Hey everyone! I’ve been working at Culver’s for about 3 months now and I really enjoy it. I feel like I stand out in a good way, I’m fast when running, I focus a lot on customer service, and I try to help wherever I can. I’ll jump in to support other positions, cover people for breaks, restock constantly, clean, and usually take care of things without being asked. And yes I know these are literally the bare minimum but I can say I do go above and beyond when doing these things compared to other workers.

I’ve talked to my GM about becoming a crew lead, and she went over the expectations with me. A couple managers (and even a crew lead) have said they could see me in that role and that I should go for it, which was really encouraging.

I’m just wondering like after expressing interest, how long does it usually take to actually become a crew lead? I know at my store it can take 6 months to a year, so I’m not expecting it anytime soon, just trying to get a realistic idea.

Also, I want to learn more positions, but I don’t want to come off as annoying since I ask pretty often. Right now I know run, set, register, drive thru (both positions), some dine, temps, and I’ve opened custard once. Is that a normal amount for ~3 months, or should I be pushing to learn more?

For context, I’m 14, so I’m also wondering if my age might be a factor.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Sorry if this is a long post, I’m not sure who to contact about the situation at my store and could use some advice. (Whether it should be corporate, OSHA, State Department of Labor, Health department, etc) (I also know a certain manger at my store will probably see this and identify the location. If so, hello :) You are part of the problem)

So, I’ve worked at my current Culver’s about 6 months, and I worked at two other stores for 4 years before this, and this is by far the worst one. I’ll just list the recent events that are concerning me.

1. On Mother’s Day weekend our hot water heater stopped working. We found out around 4pm Saturday and remained opened Saturday, Sunday, and Monday despite having no hot water. (A manager happened to run into a Health Inspector in the wild and told him that day, but the water was repaired before he visited so he couldn’t cite the store for anything). The next week corporate came and did an evaluation of our store, and the Health Department went to every store the owner’s own and did an inspection there as well.

2. A minor employee informed me that within the last month the General Manager altered her time clock by a few minutes so she would not be over 24hrs for the week, which in my state is the legal amount someone under 18 can work.

3. The same minor also informed me in the past she has been told to clock out but continue closing to avoid going over 24/hrs for the week. She said it was about an hour she worked without pay.

4. The owners neglect our store. It’s literally falling apart. We have a missing ceiling tile, tiles falling off the floor trim, equipment that continuously breaks, we’re always understaffed, and those who do start either quit within a month or are just bad at their job and are not reciprocative to coaching. There’s a leak somewhere under our dining pop machine that is completely ruining the wall underneath, including black mold growth. Our walk-in freezer door hasn’t closed properly in months and no one will fix it.

5. The overall environment is extremely toxic. There is constant drama and people talking behind others’ back, and the General Manager and 1st Assistant only add to the problem. I feel like the GM has favorite managers and shows her favoritism. She will let her favorite do whatever, but if a different manager does the same thing she tells him off. She is also very passive-aggressive.

6. We’ve lost (or are about to lose) at least 7 people within the last month, with several others on the verge of quitting.

I will be quitting soon, but is there anything I can do to ensure some sort of consequence will come to the owners? Like I mentioned, someone told a Health Inspector (who was at another restaurant doing an inspection) about the hot water not working but it was repaired before he could make his way over. I filed an anonymous online complaint about the minor law violations to my state Department of Labor. Is there anything else I can do? I want to make sure some change actually happens at this location, instead of more empty promises. The employees work their rears off and deserve better. TYIA

Hello to all!

This post is somewhat similar to a post recently posted on this subreddit, which inspired me to post and share my experience. Trust me, it is somewhat of a similar experience. Fair warning, this is quite a long post.

To start off, I have joined this new location a couple of months ago, as it was near where I'm going to school and needed a part-time job. This is my 2nd time working at a Culver's location, I have worked at one during the weekends when I was in high school. Keep in mind I am currently 20 years old am in college (this may come in handy idk).

Anyway, this location is very different than the one I used to work at. The one I used to work at is always crowded, the one I am working at is quite the opposite. In fact, I have come to learn that the store has no GM and is solely operated on by the owners. Upon being hired at this location, I found it cool that I would be working directly with the owners on a regular basis. However, I've come to learn that's not the case.

I have worked at this location and I've noticed countless things gone wrong. For number one, the owners have zero accountability for their employees. I have had two coworkers that have been complete slackers for months. One of the employees' main job is GA(Guest Attendant), in which as you know the responsibilities of that job/position is to take care of the guests/dining room. Employee does none of that, gives the "not their job" vibe and only does so when reminded by the MOD(manager on duty). Said employee either leans on the counters (which is hella annoying when I'm trying to do my job, which is taking orders on register) or is just running orders back and forth. The second coworkers' job is setting orders(set), and constantly reminds me to run said orders. Normally I am okay with that, but spoiler alert we are severely understaffed, and in this case it is the set person's job to not only set orders but also run the orders as well. Again I'm not trying to complain that "oh I can't run orders", but the point here is that said employee isn't doing their job. Also, not to mention employee asks me in a sorta annoying way/tone, which does not make it easy for me . And also, it does not help that the two employees are related (they are sisters), and the set person telling the GA person to "run her orders" and shit when it should be the MOD telling her what to do.

Adding to that, I have brought it up with one of the owners. According to the conversation with the owner, there's nothing that can be done because they're both autistic and the owners don't want to lose a daytime person. Which no, I'm not making fun of autistic people, in fact I'm autistic myself, but using that as sorta an excuse for why someone can't do their job is just bs to me. And also, be aware that the owner told me that this has been going on for 3 entire years, way before I got there. And also, why have people who aren't going to be doing their job correctly? And also, literally only one out of the couple managers that they have do something about the situation, the rest don't seem to care. Usually because they're fulfilling their positions (cause remember, we're understaffed).

For second, one of the managers is a complete jackass. He makes me and other team members (and managers) uncomfortable and not want to be around said manager. And also, a couple of months ago the owners decided to make him the AGM (assistant gm), and he is still acting like an a*s. Leaving early, yelling at employees and fellow managers, etc. And of course, the owners won't do anything. I've tried several times to tell the owners to do something and nothing gets done.

Getting to the understaffed part, our location is centered near a lot of different restaurants, a Starbucks, apartments, and a retirement community. So we don't really get enough business to have a lot of staff during the day. Which sucks because I have had people point out that there's a big rush of people at lunch and I'm the only one on register (Psa the GA does not know register, messes up at set and custard, yet the owner wants to put her on custard even though the managers say no because they want to keep the business alive lol). I know Culver's is big on hospitality and stuff like that, but honestly we've all pretty much given up on that because nobody seems to care enough. Guests are rude in the drive thru and inside.

If not already made clear, the owners are extremely rude to the managers. They're constantly written up for things out of their control, some are underpaid, and they get treated like they aren't doing their job correctly. And honestly, there's one manager that I've sorta made friends with in a way that is constantly picked on by one of the owners.

Also, just found out that three of the employees are quitting, one includes a shift leader (crew chief, or the first level of management). I know a lot of managers who say they are also on the verge of quitting as well as well as some employees, including me. The owners don't seem to care, and the only reason why I'm staying is because I need the income. If I didn't, I would be out of there.

Also note that the owners keep hiring employees and they only have nighttime availabilities, or constantly call in.

I know this location is not at all what the location I used to work at is, but right now I'm just trying to get through it. I don't know if I can report any of this activity to anyone, or if I should just leave it alone and let the owners mess up their store. All comments and advice is appreciated!

Thanks!

As a Culver's employee I feel like we wouldn't waste as much coffee if we had more creamer options. Personally as a young adult I don't like black coffee. If I had more options I would really enjoy drinking coffee at work. I think it would be wonderful having a few flavors of creamer! I wish corporate would let us have more options

Anybody else hear this constantly from in-house guests ever since we started asking?

I understand the idea is to “add a personal touch” to the guest experience, but it creeps a lot of people out, and they don’t understand that they need their number as well, so that we can find them.

I get it’s not the end of the world, but it just seems like a tone-deaf decision from someone who sits in an office all day at corporate and needs to justify the existence of their job.

(It’s also quite awkward when you’ve had regulars coming in for years that they think you know their name but you don’t.)

We have seen a lot of questions/comments about Culver’s asking for names on orders.

The 2 biggest reasons this started happening was to a) help personalize the experience, as most people know, Culver’s is built on hospitality so we want to know our guest’s names for the orders and b) it is just another failsafe in place to help identify when we take food out, that it ends up in the correct hands. Nobody wants to get the wrong order and we certainly don’t want people to have an experience less than exceptional when they visit us.

So I’ve recently been tasked with opening custard and even though I’ve helped stock for opens before, I’m still kinda nervous about having to do it solo. I know the basics, but I feel like opening is a different kind of pressure when you’re the one responsible for everything being ready. Any tips or things you wish you knew before doing custard open by yourself would help a ton.

Hey if I ordered a meal and did ask for my main receipt to be printed- how can I apply the points of that purchase to my account using the smaller receipt attached to the bag since it does not have the loyalty number?

I’ve been at my local Culver’s for over three years, and I’ve noticed that the scoop sizes seem to change all the time. We’re told we’re over-portioning, but when I check the guide, it says 9-10 ounces for two scoops of custard with and without any toppings, and then it’s usually only 1 ounce for each topping. Our managers say that the guide we are seeing includes toppings, so if someone wants four toppings like the usual strawberry, pecans, fudge, and banana, does that mean we scoop a “one scoop around 5 ounces” in a 2 scoop and then add the 4 ounces of toppings to reach the 9-10-ounce goal for two scoops? That would be a huge lie and a loss for our customers. I’m not sure, but I’d love to hear what other Culver’s think and what they do. (And then customers always complain about our proportions being on the smaller level.)

I’m starting my first food job and idk if I should be scared my location is understaffed but I am one of many new hires (working the front) and I got my schedule for the week, should I be scared?

I do Curdside orders and lots of times I do not get the custard i ordered. What causes this? Do they add it only at the last minute so it doesn't turn to glop? Does the runner have to double check the ticket? Sometimes I'm late picking up. That can't help.

If they bring 2 paper bags out, I figure custard is in one of them and the hot food in the other. So I won't think to ask about it. Culver's owes me about $35 worth of custard so far. Should I ask for a gift certificate?

Ordered online and had an issue where the restaurant would neither give me my food, nor give me a refund. They said they had no record of the order, even though I showed them the receipt in the app. I called the Culver's corporate customer service (which the store said I needed to do) and they would only say that the store was responsible for refunds and "maybe they had a policy of not doing refunds". I asked them to at least send me this policy in an e-mail so I could use it to file a chargeback, and they refused to do this too.

So yeah, if your online order has some problem, you're just screwed and no one is going to help you.