Employees Reveal What It's Really Like To Work At Raising Cane's
One love. One entree. One golden retriever...okay, actually three (RIP Cane I and II), but who's counting? The point is Raising Cane's was named the fastest-growing chicken chain of 2022, and as the business has grown, so has its reputation — not just for its chicken fingers, but for how it treats its employees. Raising Cane's has been listed as one of Glassdoor's 100 Best Places to Work three times, and the brand is constantly showcasing and thanking its crew members on its Instagram.
But, behind all the shiny news-reported work culture accolades and the Insta hype, what is it really like to work for the Labrador? We think actual Cane's employees would know best. After scouring reviews, Reddit forums, and TikToks, we compiled the voices of real members of Cane's crew. We're going to let them reveal to you what it is actually like to don a Cane's hat and shirt — and if working for the chicken finger lovin' chain is really as great as everyone says it is.
Employees get off, like, a lot
Aside from having to do war with Karens, one of the most challenging parts of working in fast food is arguably that employees barely ever get a day off. In fact, instead of being able to spend the holidays with their family, staff members will very likely be operating their restaurant stations. This is the case for employees staffing chains like Dunkin and IHOP — which are, depending on the location, open 365 days a year — but not for those who work at Raising Cane's.
As one employee on Reddit revealed, staff members at the chicken finger forward eatery don't have to work on any of the U.S.'s big holidays. That doesn't just include Christmas and Thanksgiving but Easter, the 4th of July, and Memorial Day. But wait, there's more to this Cane's-actually-lets-its-staff-rest infomercial.
The Louisiana-born chain's LA locations also close down for Mardi Gras, which is only right. The restaurant would be doing its heritage a serious disservice if its crew couldn't eat king cake and catch beads on Fat Tuesday. And, since the South loves its football, some locations have even been known to close down 30 minutes after the Super Bowl's kick-off so the crew can enjoy the big game.
The benefits are nothing to sneeze at
While the fast food industry is notorious for offering minimal benefits to its employees, recently, chains have begun to see the error in their limited-benefit-giving ways. Now, brands like Chipotle and Chick-fil-A provide their staff members with 401(K) to prepare for retirement and scholarships to pursue higher education. But as one employee on Comparably noted (citing the chain's benefits were "all very good" and unlike any they'd had before), Raising Cane's compensation package is a head above the rest.
Aside from promising Dental, Vision, and Life insurance,401(k) matching, and paid time off, the chain also offers its employees a phone discount through Verizon and no-cost high school diplomas. And if you're a restaurant leader, things get even better. In 2023, the company announced it would chuck out $10,000 in closing-cost payments to restaurant leaders who want to invest in buying their first home.
Raising Cane's reports, the reason it spends so much on its employees is simple. The company notes on its website, that it wants to ensure its members get to be their "happiest, healthiest, most chickenthusiastic self." AKA, good benefits are the best way to make their employees want to stick around and keep asking (with enthusiasm), "Chicken, chicken, chicken, what combo are you picking?"
Employees get to have fun with their uniforms
Here's another not-so-fun fact about most fast-food places — the dress code for employees is usually stiflingly strict. At In-N-Out, all staff members must throw a red apron with a (very specific here) gold apron pin over a white shirt and white pants get-up. In the domain of Ronald McDonald, employees need to ensure they pair their McDonald's sanctioned jeans and belt with a red button-down shirt. But at Cane's employees have a lot of freedom with their uniforms.
"You can express yourself," noted one of Raising Cane's crew members in a YouTube video. According to the employee, although Cane's staff are required to pair a company T-shirt with a solid-colored pair of pants, must keep their hair pulled back, and can never be seen without a belt or Cane's hat, so long as they adhere to those basic rules, they can choose the type of pants and belt they wear to work. The crew member noted she herself wore cargo pants on the job. And while the whole "company shirt and hat" requirement sounds like a fashion drab, the shirts, hoodies, and visors that Cane's provides its employees are colorful with fun designs. No wonder crew members at Cane's have so much fun showing off their work uniform of the day on TikTok.
There's a fun work culture
"Fun now comes in shifts" is one of the many logos Raising Cane's uses to recruit new staff members. A little eccentric? Maybe so, but unlike most restaurants, according to Cane's employees, the chain is not all bark, no chicken bite when it comes to its claim that it values a friendly work environment. Just read these employees' comments on what it's like working for the brand.
"It's so much fun and absolutely worth it," reported one Reddit user. "It's been a lot of fun and honestly I mean that," said another. Are you seeing the pattern here?
However, while employees report the fun work culture is in part due to Raising Cane's ensuring its crew members have at least two holiday parties a year, staff members noted the healthy work environment at Cane's is mostly thanks to the company's commitment to hiring managers and staff members who are supportive of each other. No wonder Forbes voted the restaurant as one of the 500 best major companies to work for in 2021.
However, they don't get free meals
Do we even have to explain what the best perk of working in the food industry is? What else could it be but the free food? Chains like Starbucks and Chipotleguarantee their staff free-of-cost eats in exchange for working an entire shift. But for all its fun uniforms and great benefits, as one crew member on Reddit disclosed, Raising Cane's does not give its regular employees free meals.
Scandalized? So were we. Rather than offering its items to all its staff free of charge, Cane's gives its regular crew members a 50% discount on its famous chicken fingers. However, the chain does make free food exceptions for two groups. As the same employee noted, if a staff member acts as calvary at a different Cane's location than the one they're based at, they'll receive a free meal for their trouble. And per another crew member on Glassdoor, managers are allowed to dine on a feast of no-cost chicken every shift.
So, based on those little tidbits, it seems to us that our friend Raising Cane's whole holding-back-on-the-free-food thing is a business tactic. The chain appears to use the lure of free chicken combos to inspire employees to want to both move up the ladder and help in other stores that are low on staff. Very tricky, Mr. Cane's.
Employees must wear non-slip shoes
When it comes to the food industry's most frequent on-the-job injuries, hot grease burns and knife cuts are likely what comes to mind. But another less-known danger of working in food is slip-and-falls — which typically involves staff members slipping and tumbling onto the restaurant floor in the heat of working their shift. That's why several fast food chains require employees to wear non-slip shoes while on duty. Raising Cane's staff members are no exception to this rule.
However, although Cain's staff have to invest in a pair of non-slip shoes to ensure no one breaks their back while serving Caniacs, like other aspects of the chain's uniform policy, what brand of shoes employees buy is up to them. Still, it seems to be a running joke among Cane's crew members that employees gravitate towards one of two types of shoes. Let us explain.
In one video on TikTok, after a Cane's employee showed off that everyone on their shift was wearing a pair of leather docs, in the comment section, the original poster noted the rivalry between "docs and Crocs" at Cane's is very real and very serious. But at the very least, now we know why the company invested in selling Cane's themed croc charms.
You may spend an entire shift on sauce
At Raising Cane's, there's only one menu item more famous than its chicken fingers, and that's its sauce — to the horror of Cane's employees. Think about it. Someone has to prepare the sacred dip that comes in everyone and their mother's chicken combo meal. This is why, for maximum efficiency, employees report at Raising Cane's, one crew member is always "on sauce." In fact, according to employees on TikTok, Cane's staff are in danger of spending their entire shift prepping the restaurant's famous dip. And apparently, it's not a station you want to be manning.
Typically, when an employee is on sauce, they are required to pump Cane's saucy elixir of legend into cups before capping them off with a lid. Sometimes, to speed this process along, there will be one employee in charge of lids while the other is operating the pump. Aside from being a tedious job, employees report that when working on sauce, the sauce pump is known to break — which can result in the pump's cupeth running over with Cane's sauce (AKA the sauce leaks out of the top of the pump). Even more nefariously, some employees relayed in the same TikTok video's comment section that there are Cane's locations that do not even have pumps for the sauce. Instead, staff members manually scoop the sauce out. Well, at the very least, we bet employees on sauce duty can confidently skip arm day at the gym.
Yes, it takes some time to get used to saying the drive-thru phrases
At Raising Cane's drive-thru, simply asking a customer if you can take their order will not do. "Yo, Yo, want some chicken to go?" and "Thanks for switching lanes and picking Cane's." are just a few of the ways you may be greeted at the chain's drive-thru. But while these catchphrases are, quite frankly, hilarious to hear, according to one employee on YouTube, on the crew member end of things, having to say them can (understandably) take some getting used to.
The YouTuber revealed that, at first, it can be pretty awkward to call out these quirky, TV commercial-esque phrases in real life. However, time both heals all wounds and allows employees to more confidently blurt out these out-of-the-box drive-thru sayings. As the YouTuber noted, having co-workers who can make the sayings feel like a joke the whole shift's in on is especially helpful. Of course, the employee also noted that the fact that most customers laugh at these phrases when they hear them makes things much less awkward.
They pay is higher than many fast food places
The current state of the U.S.'s minimum wage is a hot topic. And Raising Cane's is all about staying ahead of the curve when treating its employees with respect. This information actually comes from a former employee, who made a video on TikTok saying they wanted their job at Cane's back ASAP. Why? In April of 2023, Raising Cane's started paying all its shift managers $18 an hour, making the chain's average pay $19.50 an hour — significantly higher than most fast food chains.
In 2022, a survey revealed that at least 50% of 14 fast-food brands' workforce made under $15 an hour. So, as of October 2023, this means Raising Cane's is one of the few fast-food chains whose average hourly salary exceeds that number.
The reason for this increase is the same reason the chain feels it should give its employees impressive benefits. Although one of Raising Cane's CEOs reported to Yahoo Finance that the significant wage increase was "the right thing to do," he also noted that the company views upping its pay per hour as a way to invest in growing its team — and, by extension, its profit.
There are several ways to make extra cash
Higher-than-average-for-the-industry wages aren't the only monetary incentive Raising Case offers its employees. According to one YouTuber, there are several ways employees can add extra dollars to their salary. Staff members can become certified trainers (which mostly involves watching training videos) to add an extra $2 to their hourly wage. Cane's employees can also become bird specialists — which entails being in charge of the kitchen and involves a more rigorous training process where they'll be supervised while frying up Cane's famous chicken fingers. Although we were unable to confirm how much more a bird specialist makes, we do know the role knocks up the numbers in Cane's employees' paychecks while also giving them the skills they need to become store managers.
Also, though the YouTuber didn't mention it in the video, Cane's offers one more way for employees to make a little extra ka-ching on payday. For any time worked past 10 p.m., crew members will be rewarded an extra $1 an hour for their efforts. And they quite frankly deserve it for the night hours they have to work — want to know why?
Cane's late hours means employees work late into the night
Usually staying open until well after midnight, Raising Cane's is an establishment where the freshly partied out can drown their sorrows in chicken and Cane's sauce. That also means that employees at the restaurant tend to work very long nights.
When working close, Cane's crew members risk not getting off until as late as 3:00 a.m. – which is probably why one former employee declared, "I HATED closing" in the comment section of a TikTok showcasing a Cane's closing shift. Per the comments of another TikTok made by a few exhausted Cane's night shifters, closing out a day of spreading "one love" can be tedious due to the process of cleaning "the bird" — which is Cane's employees' lingo for chicken, so we assume the two staff members were begrudged about cleaning Cane's grease fryers. Plus, the staff may also need to do an extra time-consuming deep clean if inspectors are coming to check their location in the morning.
However, despite the long hours, Cane's employees seem to make the most of the late-night closing madness. On TikTok, some employees have shared videos of their late-night shift breaking out into dance and listening to music while wiping down the kitchen during a close — the epitome of dancing through the pain.
Most employees are cross-trained
Imagine this. You see your local Raising Cane's is hiring cashiers. You apply, get the job, and are gifted some cool Raising Cane's T-shirts. But when you start your first day of training, you may be shocked to find you'll be taught to do a lot more than handle the cash register. According to employees, Cane's usually cross-trains its staff, or in other words, while you may be hired to cook, you'll be trained (and expected) to stand in as a cashier if need be and vice-versa. Even managers need to know how to work and help out with every position in the front and back of the restaurant.
As always, there's a strategy behind Raising Cane's insistence that it cross-trains its crew. This method for training staff has been around for a very long time because it benefits both employees and employers. By having a cross-trained staff, a Raising Cane's location will always be able to sustain the flow of its service. If someone calls out sick or if the restaurant is short on staffing, it's much easier to ensure all positions are covered if everyone in the crew knows how to handle every station. In that same vein, since staff members are trained in various roles, they can also build a skill set that will help them in future jobs. So, while cross-training may seem annoying initially, it is a win-win for everyone.