Loved my coworkers. Loved the teamwork. Loved the free food. Just no room for advancement. No paid time off. But manager was flexible about time off schedule if you give advanced notice.

Pros

Free food. Strong teamwork

Cons

Minimum wage. No room for advancement

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Good coffee

Barista (Former Employee) - Montréal, QC - 11 January 2023

Good service and nice employees, very helpful, good coffee and espresso. Flexible schedule day, evening and week end. Good for a student who eant to work part time

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Insights into Second Cup

Based on 59 survey responses

Areas for improvement

Fair pay for job
Trust in colleagues
Support from manager

Very Good job for a student

Barista (Former Employee) - Québec City, QC - 30 December 2022

the manager is very friendly and easy to get along with, the environment is very positive overall. The tips are really good too. Really good summer job or as a student

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Great team and relaxed work environment

Barista/Cashier (Former Employee) - Mascouche, QC - 5 December 2022

The free coffee was a great plus, and my team was amazing. It's a cool place to work at, and you get to learn something new everyday!

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OK for a temporary job, horrible management

Barista (Former Employee) - Montréal, QC - 18 November 2022

It's a fast-paced environment and can be stressful during rush hours and when dealing with rude customers, but other than that the job itself is pretty straightforward. Minimum wage and tips are usually good. You get to meet nice people and some coworkers you can get along with.However, management is insufferable, at least at my location. They barely provide any training at all and expect us to learn on the go, so the quality of drinks and service is extremely inconsistent, and they could not care less as long as they're meeting their weekly sales goals. They keep hiring new people as the turnover rate is high. You're often stuck working with someone who knows absolutely nothing, which is an absolute pain when there's a long lineup. Hours keep getting cut, sometimes last minute for the reason that labour is too high.We are expected to work on weekends, holidays, and school breaks while the manager gets to have those days off. It's almost impossible to reach them when they're off duty or anyone else too so good luck handling a broken barista machine or workplace injury by yourself.Oh and the kicker is that the managers play favorites! So if you want a promotion or more hours you better become their best friend.

Pros

discounted/free food and drinks

Cons

terrible management, insufficient training and hours

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Unorganized and messy

Barista (Former Employee) - Toronto - 1 November 2022

Management inconsistent with what they say and what they do. Stores are really dirty and they cheap out to save on everything. Coworkers are nice but all levels of managers are terrible.

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The owner is ridiculous

Barista/Cashier (Former Employee) - Grande Prairie, AB - 28 October 2022

Called me for an interview, didn't have questions prepared, acted like I inconvenienced him when he booked the interview. I refused to work here when the interview went as poorly as it did. Awkward and he was rude and short with me. Do not work here

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avoid

Barista/Cashier (Former Employee) - Edmonton, AB - 24 October 2022

literally had to report to the labour board. management was the most unprofessional i have ever seen and the scheduling was so bad. they wouldn’t even pay me for a month after my final day.

Pros

none

Cons

long hours, bad management

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it was an enjoyable work place

Cashier (Former Employee) - Square One - 21 October 2022

it was an enjoyable work place, i was really stress with my old job and decided that Second cup would be really nice and i was right everyone was good to me and it was a job that i really enjoyed

Pros

the costomers and workers were good people to work with

Cons

it got closed due to covid

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Great part time job

Barista (Former Employee) - Canada - 18 October 2022

Would recommend for part time work while in school or on the side. It is a fun place to work, easy work, most customers are nice. Very dependent on location.

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Full Time Job Barista

Customer Service/Barista

Extremely unprofessional

Barista (Former Employee) - Edmonton, AB - 17 October 2022

Beyond unprofessional. Scheduling and management was absolutely horrendous. Was treated like a second class citizen, a way that I never thought I’d be treated at any workplace.

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good job

Barista (Current Employee) - u of t - 27 September 2022

not bad but bit busy and disorganized but fairly workable, very long hours or disoriented schedule. work environment is great but forced to move around alot

Pros

free drinks

Cons

long hours, low pay

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Hard labor with little reward to be frank

Barista (Former Employee) - Montréal, QC - 24 September 2022

The job wouldn't be so bad if management was more robust. Instead, you find yourself breaking your back for minimum wage with tips - for those of us who actually get it because believe me, a lot of owners cheat the tips - when you could be doing something less demanding and more lucrative tbh... Working the barista machine IS fun tho, and you get to have all your fav drinks / pastries.

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Productive and fun

Barista (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 9 September 2022

I loved working here. Lots of customer service experience. Expect fast passes and good relationship! The only down side was the early mornings. Other than that it was good

Pros

Coffee

Cons

Mornings

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Good for students

Barista/Cashier (Former Employee) - Montréal, QC - 23 August 2022

If you are a student and don’t have any prior experience, second Cup can be a good place to start. However, in a long term you should not rely on this job.

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Great place

Poste; barista (Former Employee) - Quebec Province - 16 August 2022

Friendly staff , good atmosphere, pleasant working space, many regulars so, with time, it becomes easier, many regulars always order the same coffee.

Pros

Free lunch

Cons

Sometimes early start

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Fun workplace

Barista (Former Employee) - Bathurst - 8 August 2022

Was a good job while it lasted, good Co workers and owner. Customers were friendly and and visit frequently. Could get busy at times, but was jot stressful.

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not bad, could have better scheduling and owner could be a little more involved

Barista and Cashier (Former Employee) - Ottawa, ON - 22 July 2022

honestly the employees were running the cafe from stock to serve. everyone was friendly (very few unpleasant customers or coworkers) but its not really the place to learn customer service bc its so casual and often empty. owner was in on most weekends but would randomly skip weeks and if you wanted to get in touch you had to message them and wait around 24hrs.

Pros

free coffee 1 per shift

Cons

poor management

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Free food and drinks. Great coworkers. But hours weren't ideal

Barista (Former Employee) - Toronto, ON - 13 July 2022

Hours were long 6 AM to 2 PM or 2 PM to 10 PM. But the people were nice and there was a sense of teamwork behind the counter to get drinks out to customers. Hourly wage was minimum wage for everyone. No room to grow, which was why I left. I liked getting free food and drinks though!

Pros

Free food and drinks

Cons

Long hours

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Fast paced and stressful

Barista (Former Employee) - Ottawa, ON - 5 July 2022

Management was horrible and the experience could have been great if the owner and manager cared about their employees. Hours were guaranteed but management scheduled people out of their availabilities.

Pros

Free lunches

Cons

Scheduling was never accurate to availabilities

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Stressful place to work

Shift Supervisor (Former Employee) - Burlington, ON - 5 July 2022

My interview was over the phone as they were desperate for hires. I filled out 0 paper work(no tax forms, nothing) when I started working here and was never asked to fill out anything. I never saw any pay stubs and you had to pull hairs to get them, (if you ever got them) even after asking for them multiple times. Most of the staff had to pay on their taxes because not enough was being off even after discussing this with the owners.Other employees were allowed to show up late or NCNS with no repercussions. This happened all the time. If someone called in sick or never showed up the staff working that day were expected to stay overtime and close even if they started at 6am.Repairs went unchanged for months. Staff was told/enforced to sell expired food items to drive thru customers, and grind non flavoured coffee in the flavoured grinder even after customers expressed allergies and complaints. If you want a barista job where you have to fix toilets, clean up human feces, be berated by managers to other staff behind your back, work long hours, and never have time off, this is the job for you!