Sonic Drive-In is a fast food restaurant chain based in forty-four states with approximately 3,500 restaurants. Many of the carhops wear roller skates to deliver your food. The founder of Sonic Drive-In restaurants is Troy N. Smith Sr. from Shawnee, Oklahoma. Mr. Smith delivered milk for a while and decided that was too heavy so then he decided to deliver bread. When he had saved enough money he then bought the Cottage Café, which was a small café in Shawnee. After a while he decided to purchase a restaurant which he named Troy’s Pan Full of Chicken which was located on the edge of Shawnee.
This restaurant seem to be working very well so he added a small root-beer stand the Top Hat Drive-In. When he discovered that the little drive-in was averaging $700 a week in the mere sales of root beer, hamburgers and hot dogs he then decided to focus on the more-profitable drive-in and scrapped plans to expand the restaurant into a fancier steakhouse.
At first his customers parked everywhere and walked up to the window to place their orders. After he paid a visit to a small drive-in located in Louisiana he realized that he could increase his business by using controlled parking. Afterwards a gentleman by the name of Charles Woodrow Pappe, an entrepreneur, paid him a visit since they hit it off so well it wasn’t long before they went into business together making a franchise. When the two men discovered that the name Top Hat was already a trademark name they decided to change the name to Sonic. The company name for a while was Sonic Systems of America which sold franchisees equipment, building plans and provided some basic operational instruction. Today Sonic is very famous Drive-In with thousands of locations all across the United States.
Hours of Operation: Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Minimum Age to Work Here: 16 years old
Positions Available: Crew Member, Crew Member — Kitchen Cook & Prep, Skating Carhop, Crew Leader, Assistant Manager, Co-Manager, General Manager, Market Supervisor
Background Check Required? Yes
Negotiation: There is no room for negotiation since the hourly rate is already set.
Job description / Average wage
Kitchen crew: The kitchen crew is responsible for preparing all the foods in a timely manner. The crew members are usually assigned to one station and must keep up a very fast pace. They are expected to learn all the different stations and are richly rewarded. The average rate of pay starts at $5.00 and a kitchen crew member can earn up to $8.52 per hour. Their wage depends on their experience and time with the company.
Carhop: A carhop must be able to take orders from the customers and then deliver them in a timely manner. They must throw away the trash and make sure that they collect the trays after delivery. Many carhops are expected to wear roller skates as much of their work is performed on roller skates. The pay rate starts at $5.00 an hour. They earn a lot of money by receiving tips from the customers.
Assistant Manager: An assistant manager is going to answer to the main manager of the store itself. You’re going to make sure that the store remains clean, as well as is running at 100%. You’re going to help any crew members with any jobs that they need help with. You will also perform various managerial tasks such as filing paperwork and more. The average wage is anywhere from $8 to $13 a hour.
Store Manager: The store manager is going to oversee all duties being performed by all crew members. You’re going to ensure that the store is running at 100%. If any problems are happening, you will report to the franchise owner of the store itself. For those that have downtime, you will help assist with various other duties that the crew members need help with. The store manager will make anywhere from $44,000 to $70,000 a year.
Benefits:
- Each Sonic Drive-In is independently owned and operated.
- You must be able to work on roller skates.
- The schedule is flexible to help you with your personal life.
- Wages are competitive with surrounding wages.
- All other benefits you must go to your local Sonic Drive-In and inquire
Atmosphere and Perks
Employees of SONIC are offered with various benefits like flexible work hours, paid quality training, and competitive and generous pay scales even for entry level positions. Qualified SONIC associates may also enjoy other perks such as financial planning perks, healthcare bonuses, and additional employment benefits at SONIC like discounts on food and services and paid time off; other SONIC employees may even access tuition assistance and employee assistance programs.
Interview Questions
Describe yourself as a person.
What is your experience related to food industry?
Why would you like to work in this company?
What do you expect in this company?
Can you work even under pressure?
What would you do if you caught an employee violating the company rules?
How long do you want to work here?
How do you define customer service? How will you apply customer service?
How will you deal with irate customers?
Are you available on nights or weekends?
Interview Tips
You will undergo the interview process of the company after you have submitted the required papers. You will be called for a panel or one-on-one interview after some stringent screening process. If you are scheduled for an interview, do your best to prepare and be in your professional attire and composure. The interview questions will usually revolve around your skills and abilities to handle the job excellently; your previous work experiences; your ability to apply quality customer services and to deal with your co-workers. The company hires people who have positive attitude; thus, make sure to show that you are energetic and that you have excellent human relation skills. You have to maintain an eye to eye contact with the interviewer to manifest your sincerity to all your answers. Exude confidence while remain being humble.
How to Apply:
In order to apply for a job you must go into your local Sonic Drive-In and ask for an application. The stores are individually owned and operated by local people who do their own hiring. You may find out more about Sonic Drive-In restaurants by visiting their website: http://www.areyousonicgood.com/drivein_benefits.html