When I got hired to work at Chuck E Cheese, I basically thought it would involve working around kids most of the time, and maybe some cash register operation. On my first day of work, I was totally disappointed and overwhelmed with the amount of work I was expected to complete each day.
First, I showed up in my plain red polo, navy blue pants, black leather belt and white tennis shoes. The polo had to be tucked in, and finished off with a Chuck E Cheese name tag. It’s not the nicest looking uniform in the world, but I dealt with it.
My first day involved “training”, which wasn’t that thorough at all. I began work at 7 am, 2 hours before the store opened. During these 2 hours, cashiers are required to complete different cleaning tasks and set up and prepare everything for the salad bar. I never thought salad bar would entail so much work. There are “crocks” where all of the salad items go, and there are about 15-20 or so crocks to fill and set up. Each full crock is kept refrigerated overnight, and the next morning, they are required to be flipped and filled, bringing the older stuff on the bottom to the top to be used first. This is a lot of work, and it’s especially hard for a new employee like me to get everything done and set up by 8:30. Each crock has a specific place in the salad bar, and you must follow the chart. Chuck E Cheese follows strict standards, and everything in the salad bar needs to look close to perfect. Each slice of cucumber must be sliced perfectly; all the ladles in the dressings should be pointing in the same direction, etc. It is a lot of work to prep for the salad bar. On Saturdays when it’s the busiest, you have to cut every thing. It takes a good bit of time to complete all of this work, and if you don’t do it by the time the store opens, you have to try to prep while running the cash register. It’s such a mess. Also during the day, you must make sure there is enough ice around the crocks, and that any crock that isn’t full is filled to the top. Try doing this on top of running the cash register and doing merchandise. It’s fun at all.
As far as running the cash register, it can also be a lot of work. Luckily, I have had experience as a cashier before, so I know the basics. However, I never had to run back and forth between the cash register, fixing and icing the salad bar, and tending to the merchandise counter (where kids exchange tickets for prizes). It really keeps me on my feet, and there is never a dull moment, especially on the weekends when Chuck E Cheese is like a zoo. For those who have never had cashier experience, it could be a little difficult. Don’t let your trainer leave you by yourself unless you’re comfortable. You don’t want to be stuck up there with a line of people at your register, and you are stuck with something. Most of the time, there is a manager around to help you, but there have been a few times when I had a question and I couldn’t find help. It really made me look like a total fool, and the people really start to get upset and impatient. My trainer pretty much made me do cash on my own. She showed me all of the buttons, rang one order, and then had me do it for the rest of the day. Some training that was. Again, I’m lucky I had some cash register experience, but if you don’t, make sure you get the most out of your training.
For the merchandise counter, it can get really frustrating, because most of the time you are the only cast member working there. There can be a line of kids and parents standing and waiting, and then you have one little kid who just can’t decide if he wants the yellow lizard for 40 tickets, or a snake for 20 tickets. There really is no way out of it, since you want to make the kids and parents happy at all times. However, it’s no fun having to wait either. I can’t stand when parents want to pay you the difference for a prize. I don’t mind a few cents, but there are parents who bring their kid up with 100 tickets, then they want something for 399 tickets off the wall. If this happens, I have to ring it up on the register and figure out the difference. A lot of times, it’s not even that easy to figure out the 299 difference. Parents can really make it difficult on us.
During the day, you get a lot of complaints, especially from kids or parents who tell me that a certain machine ate their tokens or didn’t give them tickets. For that, I call someone who is available to go in the game room and fix it. Cashiers are usually not allowed to leave the counter. On the weekends, it’s hard to keep track of broken machines and lost tokens.
Sometimes, you’ll have to do Kid Check, the system that matches kids with their parents when they enter and leave. Basically, all you do is stamp everyone in one group with a special ink that has the same number. The ink can be seen in black light only. When a group leaves, it’s your responsibility to make sure all the numbers match. If they don’t, there’s a problem. Something I’ve learned is to stamp the arms instead of hands, since the ink may wash off in the bathroom sink. Kid Check can be boring, since you’re standing in one spot the whole time. But if you don’t like to do a lot of work, Kid Check might be for you.
During the times business is slow, you may be asked to do some various duties in the kitchen. My first couple days consisted of making cotton candy and bagging French fries. At any time, you might have to leave in order to take care of a customer at the front register. Usually, the person at Kid Check will ring a bell to let you know someone is ready to order.
There are many other tasks throughout the store that need to be completed each day. I haven’t had the pleasure of being a party hostess or dressing up as Chuck, but I’ve heard some different opinions on the jobs. The Chuck E Cheese costume gets very hot inside, and sometimes stinks like sweat. That doesn’t sound too appealing to me. Hosting birthday parties also doesn’t sound too appealing either, especially on a Saturday. Although I love party planning, I would not want to do it at Chuck E Cheese.
Overall, Chuck E Cheese could be a great place to work, especially if it’s your first job. I’ve learned that you either love it there or you hate it there. However, if you’re like me and have several years of work experience along with a college degree, you’re probably not going to like doing all that work for minimum wage. Personally, it’s not worth it to do full time, that’s why I decided to only work part time. Depending on your own situation, you’ll need to figure out what works best for you. Good luck!
