HotSchedules Reviews

Hotschedules changed the restaurant industry when it came out. I have worked in the industry for over 10 years, so when this software came out. It really changed the industry. Before we would have to wait for a photo of our schedules and sometimes we would miss our shifts or getting our shifts covered was so difficult. When hotschedules came out , you never wondered when your shift was. You are reminded when you have a shift and if you need a shift covered you simply post it up. It is a secure way to have everyone feel accountable and be accountable for work.

The only thing I had a trouble with when I first started using hotschedules was understanding how to update my availability for work but once someone showed me its a no brainer.

I have found that HotSchedules solves the ever-present problem in any workplace: "I didn't know I was scheduled!" Even when employees swap shifts or take another employee's shift, the software shows them that they maintain ownership of their originally assigned shifts until manager approval.

The fact that users have to pay to download the app on their smartphones is challenging. Although the workplace pays for the software, employees have to pay to get the software on their cellphones. This problem is compounded by the fact that the website doesn't have a very interactive design, much unlike the app, so employees often have to get the app to have a decent experience using HotSchedules.

Users can be grouped into categories based on department, allowing for effective communication without clutter. Also users' title and contact information is kept in a master directory readily available to other users. Another great feature is push notifications regarding company announcements, published schedules, and schedule changes. No need to constantly check the app for changes.

There is no free version of the app, which could be problematic for some employees. Although not expensive, some users don't like to pay for an app to view their schedule.

I like how this software has all of the features needed for restaurant scheduling. You can view who is working each shift and be notified when the schedule is created. It also makes it easy to request time off without having to talk to somebody.

I haven't encountered any problems with this software so far.

This program was super easy to use and I enjoyed the level of communication

The only thing that was no fun was when I would be half way though a schedule and something would go wrong and I would loose my work

Easy use for employees, the web page navigation on a cell phone works well. The app is definitely a plus.

Negation is hard to understand for upper management. Would like to be able to add daily notes on the schedule for events happening that day for the employees.

Integration with our POS (sales and labor reporting), ease of use for managers and employees, wide variety of reporting, writing schedules takes no time at all

Messaging function (email notifications don't include what the actual message is), no longer have the ability to manually sync new employees from POS

It’s very helpful in the food service industry. When I previously worked as a server, the restaurant used this. It made trading shifts or picking up shifts much easier. The schedules were sent out weekly and it allowed trading shifts. It’s easy to read and use.

The most annoying thing about is the notifications. I think everyone gets all the notifications. So it’s notification overload.

The communication side of it is great. I have less meetings now that I can send out mass messages. The scheduler itself is top notch. I can move shifts around quickly using the quick keys and copying schedules is a snap. Having the freedom to do my schedule anywhere and being able to approve or deny schedule changes from my phone makes those decisions more informed. We use it to document all incidents good and bad on employees, so when an evaluation comes around you have all that information at your fingertips. It makes a great reservation scheduler. The roster report is the first thing I print out in the mornings to make sure everyone is here and where they are supposed to be and if they are not I have all the phone numbers on that sheet. The fact that it gives you the number of hours for everyone helps with creating budgets for the week.

My biggest complaint is that part of the expense for the is put on the employee. I know it's very little but some employees don't have a bank account or credit card and have trouble making the purchase. It seems to me that the revenue generated by that could be built into the cost of the software on the employer side.

Hotschedules won our business by having the best Aloha POS integration of all the companies we spoke with. Employees that are added to our system are automatically synced with Hotschedules so you can quickly begin adding them to the schedule. The integration also allows us to restrict employees from clocking in too early or late with saves labor and allows you to quickly identify the less punctual employees. Finally, the integration also pulls historical sales data from our POS and uses it to establish a good sales forecast that you can use to budget your labor accurately.

The app and website are just not as intuitive and streamline as I would like. Previously we had used PeopleMatter schedule, which had a much less cluttered and more user friendly interface. Hotschedules also starts to think it knows how to schedule better than the manager and will start adding "House Shifts" to your schedule that employees can pick up, which frustrates me when I really don't need that shift covered.

Hotschedules was our go-to scheduling software for years in multiple restaurants, even as many more options came on the market. It was easy to use as a manager/scheduler & also for our staff

Hotschedules customer service was not quick to address issues but The price kept going up even as fixes weren’t betting put in place.

Hot schedules makes scheduling different departments and coordinating everybody extremely easy. The platforms are easy to understand and can be accessed by anyone given authority to use the system.

The system allows for people to request for time off and to make comments. One of the only downsides of this product was that employees talked last to management about scheduling and tried to do literally all of it through hot schedules which sometimes lead to some conflict Over all hot schedules is a solid platform that is definitely beneficial to a smooth running operation as far as scheduling and management communication goes

I like that you can see your schedule for the week laid out in one spreadsheet. I also like that it gives you the option to do group messages with all of your coworkers and swap shifts if needed. This software offers a lot for your work scheduling and helps you stay organized and be flexible when you need to be.

I do not like that you have to pay for the app. I also do not like how hard it is to find someone's contact on the app and then be able to copy something like an email address or phone number. I wish HotSchedules also had a better notifications system in place.

It was clunky and difficult to use. Did not work for mamy staff members

It waant intuitive to use. Felt that i needed a special certification just to get started.

I liked how much easier it made my job. No longer was I receiving phones calls from employees wanting to switch shifts and then having the other employee call and verify that they were picking up the shift. The request was made online and all I had to do was approve. It also helped greatly with accountability since it recorded who was working what shift and when.

It wasn't an easy program to learn how to use. I struggled with learning all of its functionalities which made schedule writing very stressful until I figured it out.

Its super easy to get new schedules and the managers know we have seen them. Also we can trade, drop and pick up shifts as needed. Overtime is already tracked so accepting a new shift is fine as long as the dining room is covered. I like that I can see my paycheck too great way to budget.

The app is 2.99 ok not a lot but without tje team app why should staff pay for an app the company is already paying for?

I like the functionality of the software

I am so disappointed in the customer care. hotschedules continues to charge me after I request to suspend services. I have contacted them 8 times over this and my account was drafted numerous times after cancelation. Everyone I speak to says they do not have the authority or ability to refund me or suspend or cancel my account.