There are numerous fast-food restaurant chains throughout the United States and around the world.
One of those many chains is White Castle.
White Castle was founded in 1921 by Billy Ingram with its first restaurant in Kansas.
Today, White Castle has restaurants in many locations, including Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Nevada, Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, Florida, and Louisiana.
With the many different restaurants and manufacturing plants that White Castle has, there are plenty of job opportunities to go around.
What do employees say about working for White Castle?
Keep reading to find the pros and cons of working for White Castle.
Table of Contents
Pros of Working for White Castle
Below are some of the pros that people encounter when working for White Castle.
1. Good pay
Unlike some of the other fast food chains, White Castle pays its employees pretty well.
According to employee reviews on Glassdoor, many people are satisfied with their pay when comparing similar places of work.
Fortunately, many employees can afford a basic way of living without worrying too much about paying their bills and putting food on the table.
While the vast majority of employees are happy with their salary, there are a few that believe they should be paid more for what they are doing.
This seems to be specific to location and job responsibilities.
2. Great benefits
On top of the decent pay, White Castle offers great benefits.
White Castle offers health benefits including:
- Health insurance through Aon Hewitt’s Corporate Health Exchange
- A direct reimbursement vision and dental plan
- Life insurance fully paid by White Castle
- Fully covered disability coverage
Other benefits offered by White Castle include tuition reimbursement if you are a student, a retirement savings plan, eligibility for scholarships, paid time off, and other employee incentives.
Many employees are encouraged to stay for the many benefits that White Castle offers to them.
Unfortunately, other similar companies do not have as many benefits as White Castle.
The benefits offered are one of the big reasons many employees choose to stay at White Castle.
3. Nice people to work with
Many employees on Glassdoor talk about having amazing people that they work with at White Castle.
Most of the people there are nice and fun to talk to and work with.
Working with good people brings a certain positivity to the workplace that employees and customers alike can feel when they walk in.
Unfortunately, there are a few employees who work in locations where their coworkers and managers are not very nice or positive to work with.
The people you work with significantly affect whether the atmosphere is negative or positive overall.
With that said, the locations where the work environment is negative are few and far between.
4. Free food
One of the biggest perks of working at restaurants and fast food chains is the possibility of free food.
Many locations offer free food to employees right before their shift starts, during their shift, and right at the end of the shift.
The main catch is that employees have to make their own food.
This is a huge positive, especially for those people who fall on hard times and can use that extra food for themselves or at home.
5. Flexible schedule
Along with the great pay and awesome benefits, White Castle allows flexibility in the schedule.
This is great if you have more than one job or other commitments to take care of.
For many employees, their supervisors take those needs into account when creating the schedule.
All you have to do is talk to them when you have things to schedule around.
As long as there isn’t much conflict, the scheduling is pretty flexible.
6. Great management
Many employees talk about how great their managers and upper management are when it comes to meeting the needs of the employees.
Unlike many companies, White Castle seems to value their employees, and they show that they care.
With that said, a few employees haven’t been so lucky with management.
Some employees were sad to say that their managers or upper management hadn’t been so kind to them.
Fortunately, this seems to be a location problem rather than a company problem.
With any company, you always have those few that are the exception to the rule.
7. Promotions and overtime
When working at White Castle, there are plenty of opportunities for promotions and overtime.
White Castle is one of those companies where you can start from the bottom and work your way up to the office with time, hard work, and consistency.
It definitely isn’t easy, but if you work hard, you can make a decent career out of it.
Along with plenty of opportunities for promotion, there is plenty of work available for overtime.
If you want more opportunities to work or make more money, you can take more shifts and get paid overtime.
Cons of Working for White Castle
If you want to know some of the cons of working for White Castle, keep reading.
1. Poor training for management
When you begin a job, you need to have training so that you know all of the policies and procedures of the job.
Some places have decent training, but some don’t.
Unfortunately, White Castle has poor training for its employees, especially the managers.
Many employees have commented that once they were promoted as managers they were told to figure it out themselves rather than receive the proper training.
2. Sometimes stressful during rush times
While the work and the pay seem to be great, many employees have reported feeling stressed during the busy rush times.
With that said, most restaurants get chaotic and stressful when they are bombarded with lots of hungry customers.
Unfortunately, this one is just a part of working at a restaurant.
There is not much management or anyone can do about rush hours.
3. Short-staffed and overworked
With many people not wanting to work and since the pandemic, lots of places do not have enough employees.
Unfortunately, this leaves many people feeling frustrated and overworked.
While this affects many employees, managers are the ones who feel the effects the most.
Oftentimes, the managers are the ones who have to step up and work many extra shifts so that the needs of the employees are taken care of.
The good news is, those employees and managers who take the extra shifts and overtime are paid well for it.
4. Lots of standing
If you want a job that doesn’t require lots of standing and moving around, then White Castle isn’t for you.
Most restaurant and fast food jobs require lots of time on your feet, and White Castle is no exception.
You have even less time to sit and take a small break during times when it is really busy.
5. Rude customers
Unfortunately, rude customers are part of working at any job where you work with people.
This is especially true when you work in a restaurant or a store.
Anywhere you work, you can come across people who are rude and entitled.
As much as you want to fight back, most of the time you have to keep your cool and pretend that their words and entitlement did not make you feel angry or hurt.
You are human, after all, and sometimes those rude customers are hard to deal with, especially if you are having a bad time.
6. Fast-paced
There are many different types of jobs available.
Some jobs are slow while others are fast-paced.
While some people enjoy working at a fast pace, some prefer to work in a slower environment.
The fast-paced work at White Castle can be hard for some people to handle.
Fortunately, not all jobs go at a fast pace.
If you can’t handle a fast work environment, then maybe it is time to find a different type of job.
7. Unpredictable hours
With the unfortunate shortage of employees, the hours and shifts at White Castle can be unpredictable.
Sometimes you might only get a couple of shifts for one week and then work several shifts and overtime during another week.
Some employees are not bothered by the unpredictable hours, but many wish that they could have a more predictable weekly schedule.
Fortunately, the unpredictable hours are location-specific, and some people are not affected.
14 Pros and Cons of Working for White Castle – Summary Table
| Pros of Working for White Castle | Cons of Working for White Castle |
|---|---|
| 1. Good pay | 1. Poor training for management |
| 2. Great benefits | 2. Sometimes stressful during rush times |
| 3. Nice people to work with | 3. Short-staffed and overworked |
| 4. Free food | 4. Lots of standing |
| 5. Flexible schedule | 5. Rude customers |
| 6. Great management | 6. Fast-paced |
| 7. Promotions and overtime | 7. Unpredictable hours |
Should You Work for White Castle?
For the most part, the pros far outweigh the cons when working for White Castle.
With that said, it depends on the location of the restaurant and the type of work that you prefer.
If you are used to the hustle and bustle, then you should give White Castle a try.
If you would prefer a slower-paced environment, I would not suggest working at White Castle or any restaurant, for that matter.
With the many benefits that White Castle offers, it would be a good idea to at least try it out.
If it doesn’t work for you, then you could always find a different job and quit.
