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Working at Red Lobster

Zippia score 4.1

Overview

JobsSalaryRevenueLocations

Reviews

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Red Lobster overview

Industry
Restaurant
Revenue
$2.6B
Headquarters
Orlando, FL
Employees
55,000
Founded in
1968
Website
Organization type
Private
Social media

Red Lobster is a hospitality company focusing on seafood dining, innovation, and exceptional guest experiences. Established as a leading seafood restaurant, the brand aims to be the world's go-to destination for generations of seafood lovers. With its commitment to great seafood, great people, and great results, Red Lobster continues to grow and adapt to the ever-changing market.

Under the leadership of CEO Kim Lopdrup, the company thrives on diversity, with a workforce that is 56.4% female and 36.5% ethnic minorities. The company culture is notably Democratic-leaning and boasts a high employee retention rate of 3.8 years on average. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Red Lobster employs approximately 55,000 associates and generates $2.6 billion in annual revenue.

Red Lobster's mission statement

To be where the world goes for seafood, now and for generations. That includes sourcing in a way that ensures there is high quality seafood available to enjoy for generations to come. Our commitment is that all the seafood we serve is traceable, sustainable and responsibly sourced.

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3.7/5

Red Lobster employee reviews

Based on 18 ratings

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Red Lobster employee reviews

Red Lobster employee reviews
3.7/5

Based on 18 ratings

Work at Red Lobster? Share your experience.
Employee reviews
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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2024
Cons of working at Red Lobster

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Pros of working at Red Lobster

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Red Lobster benefits

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1.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2023
Pros of working at Red Lobster

Setting The Guest

Cons of working at Red Lobster

Some Of the Staff Is Rude

Red Lobster benefits

I Like Hosting By Myself Because I Could Take My Time

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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2023
Pros of working at Red Lobster

I enjoyed the environment and what I did. My co-workers were friendly and the management was excellent.

Cons of working at Red Lobster

The smell of fish.

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1.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2023
Pros of working at Red Lobster

The fact that they annually bring in 2 billion$ but can afford to pay the veterans raises.Ive been there 16 years an make 15.40.They start people out at 15$.restaraunt store 6315 shameful place to work.Management looks out for there selves.

Cons of working at Red Lobster

Being used when your the hardest worker they haveNo room for growth Favoritism

Red Lobster benefits

Anniversary pay only advantage that an 401 k

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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2022
Pros of working at Red Lobster

What I like about working there is the job in general, it’s a like able assignment you have to do and I really enjoy it.

Cons of working at Red Lobster

What I don’t like about working there is the other employees.

Red Lobster benefits

My favorite benefit of working in this restaurant are the employee discounts.

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4.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2021
Pros of working at Red Lobster

The atmosphere, the friends I made while working there, and flexible schedule.

Cons of working at Red Lobster

I was a server so some of the customers could be rude or impatient sometimes but honestly there wasn’t one thing that I didn’t like.

Red Lobster benefits

Being able to bring home the money I made that same night.

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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2021
Pros of working at Red Lobster

Talking to customers

Cons of working at Red Lobster

When it’s slow, not a lot of people to talk to

Red Lobster benefits

When my tables leave happy

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4.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2020
Pros of working at Red Lobster

The managers, my coworkers and the customers

Cons of working at Red Lobster

Low pay and little hours

Red Lobster benefits

Tip share received every day

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4.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros of working at Red Lobster

Good tip and customer service i enjoy making guess satisfied

Cons of working at Red Lobster

Limited hours and no overtime avaliable

Red Lobster benefits

Free meals clean environments. Quality co workers

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2.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros of working at Red Lobster

Flexible hours, discount on food

Cons of working at Red Lobster

Corporate culture, worked really hard for the money you made, management is not organized

Red Lobster benefits

Cash tips

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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020
Pros of working at Red Lobster

Great Communication with tasks and structured my belief in standards of food service, cleanliness,& professionalism

Red Lobster benefits

Many options and optional opportunity in perks

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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020
Pros of working at Red Lobster

My coworkers and managers are like family

Cons of working at Red Lobster

The inconsistency of my paychecks/hours

Red Lobster benefits

Tips

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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019
Pros of working at Red Lobster

Team atmosphere

Cons of working at Red Lobster

Not in my field of study going to school to finish my accounting / human resource degree

Red Lobster benefits

Make my own schedule

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2.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2018
Pros of working at Red Lobster

It is almost always fast paced, so the time goes by quickly. Weekly paychecks are a nice touch. I have worked at three different locations, and it has always been very easy to get along with coworkers. Management can be okay, sometimes. Better than not having a job.

Cons of working at Red Lobster

Constant heat, sweat, grill smoke, stinking like fish every day. Being shouted at by servers. Being insulted and degraded by management. Being called a racial slur by my district manager behind my back. Crappy pay.

Red Lobster benefits

None. They don't even give us a free lunch.

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A reddit user wrote a review on Oct 2016
How often to you have someone in the kitchen do something disgusting to the food because they don't like the customer?

I can 100% say that this has never happened in our restaurant. For starters, Back of House has zero interaction with the Front of House. So they don't necessarily know who it's for. And to be honest, the kitchen is always so busy they don't have time to mess around. Managers are very good at monitoring the kitchen to make sure all safety and health regulations are in order since it is their *** on the line.

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A reddit user wrote a review on Oct 2016
What was the rudest customer you ever served? Do you have any advice to customers not to be rude? (I've heard some stories)

~~I can't specifically pin point a time that stood out to me.~~ Actually...There is a couple that often come in. An older man and a rather young woman. (Approx. 60 - 25) They always come in and order multiple drinks, multiple entrees, and tip like 2 bucks. It is important to note that we do not allow guests to exit the building (be it the parking lot or the patio) with any glasses at all. Empty or full. Alcoholic or non. They wanted to take a smoke break (took about 7 in their span of being there) and took their drinks with them. Personally, I just simply tell them once and if they do it, they do it. The manager can deal with them. So they took their drinks out all times and the manager sees it. She tells them they can't do it and they raise the biggest commotion. Flipping her off, calling her names, etc. She walks back in with them and they're yelling at her some insane things. She came up to me and said, "If she comes back out here, trip her for me." as she walked outside with her drink in one hand a pack of cigarettes in other. As they completed their meal and left the building, they left us with a scream of "F*** You B****". They still come in weekly...

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A reddit user wrote a review on Oct 2016
Have you ever dined at a Red Lobster on your day off? If so, what do you usually get?

I've never dined in on a day off but have taken an extended break to eat with my visiting family. (We get personal discounts of 50% when we were and 25% when we don't work and that is for up to 7 people.) I got the endless shrimp. Coconut Shrimp, Scampi, Garlic Grilled, and popcorn shrimp.

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A reddit user wrote a review on Oct 2016
How often to employees hook up with each other?

It's a restaurant, so probably all the time.

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A reddit user wrote a review on Oct 2016
how horrible is it compared to other jobs youve had? i tend to only work food/service industry jobs in the back of house, and i worked my first front of house job recently. it was hell! also, why did you apply to red lobster? also how sick of lobster are you?

Honestly I don't mind my job. I've worked Back of House (Small chain fish taco place) once and Front of House once (Red Lobster). I have also worked at an Office Job and I will never do that again. However, I like Red Lobster more than my other B.O.H job because I am in the A/C. Also, I get to be more personable with people and make friends with the regulars. I applied at Red Lobster because it was at the top of the job list in my area on Snagajob. Recently Found out my Dad, his 2 brothers, and his dad also worked at Red Lobster. (not the same one) So that was interesting to find out. Also, I don't eat much lobster. In fact, I tried it for the first time like 2 months ago because my manager said it was weird to not of had it and like sea food. So he comped my meal and it was okay. Wouldn't buy it but would eat it for free again :P

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A reddit user wrote a review on Aug 2016
Have any crazy customer stories or bad food stories to tell?

Nothing too crazy, fortunately or unfortunately- I can't tell.

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A reddit user wrote a review on Aug 2016
Has anyone tried to rescue lobsters from the tank before?

Not during my time there. Although I do have customers vent to me about how sad it is.

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A reddit user wrote a review on Oct 2012
What is the most you've been tipped? Can you tell us the story of your rudest customer?

me personally ive been tipped $100 on a $20 check, i was pretty stoked and it made my night! they must've really liked me or have had some money to blow. rudest customer: some dude came up to me while i was hosting and asked to be seated immediately and continued to snap at the staff. His main point was that a section of the restaurant was empty. The way it works is that servers can only take a 4 tables, so i had 3 servers on the floor and all had 4 tables. It didnt look good that i said that he had to wait but its just how the restaurant runs to keep "VIP" service. in general he was just a socially inept person, never snap or yell at staff, its a good way to get *** service. just sayin!

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A reddit user wrote a review on May 2010
is endless shrimp the worst time for employees

When I was in high school, I used to work at a place that had all you could eat crab nights. We would use butcher paper as tablecloths and just bring people crab after crab all night long. Here's some things I learned: 1) Crabs smell horrible 2) Spending 12 hours in a kitchen where crabs are being cooked makes you smell like crabs 3) Crab night makes you smell horrible 4) Fat people *** love butter The most horrifying thing I've ever seen is people shrieking to get their elementary school children serving after serving of melted butter. "HE NEEDS MORE BUTTER!"

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A reddit user wrote a review on May 2010
Ahh Red Lobster. I was in Jackson, MI for a week (I live in the UK) and Red Lobster was right next to our hotel so we spent most of our night in there. Questions: Any incidents of Lobster claws (while alive) injuring customers?

Not to the best of my knowledge. I have heard of stupid cooks playing with them and getting pinched, or sometimes they get shipped to us and a band has come off a claw. It is not the funnest thing to be untrained in lobster-wrangling and try to rubber band a lil seat rat that can break your finger off. But beware the lil pinchers on their little legs... They are small, but if they pinch a spot like the back of your hand, it doesn't feel awesome

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A reddit user wrote a review on May 2010
I heard your servers/waiters have to go through a rediculous amount of training in order to work there. Is that true?

We go through the basic resturaunt training you would expect, but on top of it, we are "certified seafood experts." We all have to get certified by a manager under a couple categories: Shrimp + Shellfish, Crab + Lobster, and a crap ton of different fresh (NOT frozen) fish.

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The team at Red Lobster

  • The founders of Red Lobster are Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby.
  • The key people at Red Lobster are Kim Lopdrup, Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby.
Key people
Kim Lopdrup
Bill Darden
Charley Woodsby

Red Lobster rankings

Red Lobster is ranked #64 on the Best Hospitality companies to work for in Florida list. Zippia's Best Places to Work lists provide unbiased, data-based evaluations of companies. Rankings are based on government and proprietary data on salaries, company financial health, and employee diversity.

Read more about how we rank companies.

Red Lobster salaries

Average Red Lobster salary
$11.98
hourly
$24,916 yearly
Updated March 14, 2024

Evaluate Red Lobster's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

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Red Lobster diversity

9.7
Diversity score
We calculated Red Lobster’s diversity score by measuring multiple factors, including the ethnic background, gender identity, and language skills of Red Lobster’s workforce.
Red Lobster diversity summary. Zippia estimates Red Lobster's demographics and statistics using a database of 30 million profiles. Zippia verifies estimates with BLS, Census, and current job openings data for accuracy. We calculated Red Lobster's diversity score by measuring multiple factors, including the ethnic background, gender identity, and language skills of Red Lobster's workforce.
  • Red Lobster has 55,000 employees.
  • 56% of Red Lobster employees are women, while 44% are men.
  • The most common ethnicity at Red Lobster is White (64%).
  • 14% of Red Lobster employees are Hispanic or Latino.
  • 13% of Red Lobster employees are Black or African American.
  • The average employee at Red Lobster makes $24,916 per year.
  • Red Lobster employees are most likely to be members of the democratic party.
  • Employees at Red Lobster stay with the company for 3.8 years on average.

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Red Lobster office locations

Red Lobster is headquartered in Orlando, FL

Biggest Red Lobster locations

RankCityJob countAvg. salary
1Austin, TX15$22,991
2Phoenix, AZ14$26,686
3Charlotte, NC9$23,054
4New York, NY8$29,801
5San Francisco, CA8$29,582
6Indianapolis, IN8$23,114
7San Antonio, TX7$22,993
8Dallas, TX7$23,056
9El Paso, TX5$23,254
10Denver, CO4$26,514

Red Lobster financial performance

8.5
Performance score

Highest paying Red Lobster competitors

Compare Red Lobster salaries to competitors, including CKE Restaurants Holdings, McGrath's Fish House, and Logan's Roadhouse. Employees at CKE Restaurants Holdings earn the highest average yearly salary of $55,377. The salaries at McGrath's Fish House average $35,686 per year, and the salaries at Logan's Roadhouse come in at $33,589 per year.
RankCompanyAverage salaryJobs
1$55,3770
2$35,6860
3$33,5890
4$33,1970
5$32,5070
6$32,3510
7$31,8390
8$30,5080
9$30,0720
10$29,4960
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    Updated March 14, 2024

    Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Red Lobster, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Red Lobster. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Red Lobster. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Red Lobster. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Red Lobster and its employees or that of Zippia.

    Red Lobster may also be known as or be related to Red Lobster, Red Lobster Hospitality LLC, Red Lobster Hospitality Llc and Red Lobster Management LLC.