Buffalo Wild Wings Interview Questions & Tips

How to Get a Job at Buffalo Wild Wings

As a sports bar, Buffalo Wild Wings loves to hire energetic, friendly, and attentive workers to staff over 900 locations nationwide. Applicants wishing to join staff must first submit employment forms online or at preferred locations. Hiring managers review preliminary employment requests and typically contact prospective workers within a week or two to schedule 1:1 interviews. Locations experiencing staffing shortages may contact applicants within one or two days and sometimes offer on-the-spot interviews. Entry-level applicants generally secure employment after a single interview with a restaurant manager, while managerial candidates undergo multiple interviews with district and regional managers before receiving job offers. Managerial candidates face more intensive sets of questions during Buffalo Wild Wings interview processes.

How to Dress and How to Act

A Buffalo Wild Wings applicant should dress presentably for each job interview and arrive five to ten minutes before scheduled meeting times. Prospective restaurant associates should come prepared to answer questions about experience in the restaurant industry, skill sets, and availability. Applicants should remain calm and answer interview questions clearly and concisely. Candidates should portray positive, professional attitudes throughout the interview process and speak kindly of previous employers. Some locations may favor applicants with restaurant or bar experience, so interviewees should speak to customer service aptitude when opportunities arise. Hiring managers may also require applicants to mock-sell special menu items to gauge communication skills.

Specific Interview Topics

Applicants should become familiar with the typical menu items before any interview, as common questions include, "What is your favorite item on our menu?" and "Is there anything you would change or add to the menu?" Buffalo Wild Wings hiring representatives also pose mock-scenario questions to determine how applicants will behave in high-pressure or stressful situations. Other inquiries revolve around how potential managers might treat angry customers or resolve conflicts between two employees. Answer each question confidently and provide examples of leadership experience in the past.

General Timetables and Showing Persistence

Entry-level applicants typically complete the entire hiring process in a week; however, potential managers may spend two weeks to a month attending interviews and fulfilling the various requirements for upper-level candidates at Buffalo Wild Wings. Remain patient throughout the hiring process and keep in touch with hiring staff. Three to four days after the final interview, follow up with hiring managers via email or telephone. Managers may appreciate candidates with persistent qualities who consistently demonstrate desire for the job.

Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: I was a hostess and cashier, so I’d seat people, I’d cash out any online or telephone orders, I’d take orders over the phone, or if people walk in and have an order, I’d take their order and put it in. Oftentimes, I’d slide to the back in the kitchen and help bag up orders, but that’s about it.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: It can be busy, especially on the weekends or when there’s a game going on. During the week, like Mondays and Tuesdays, it’s kind of slower because there’s nothing really going on, but we do have like trivia nights that get pretty busy. People are pretty enthusiastic about that. It’s fun because it’s like a bar environment, so it’s usually really loud, but all the coworkers, they’re usually pretty enthusiastic about what they’re doing.

Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: I’d have to say, when there’s games going on, the customers are pretty enthusiastic and they’ll talk to you about the game, and they’ll come up and ask you a question, stuff like that. When trivia is going on, it’s pretty exciting. The environment’s pretty exciting because you win prizes. You can win like cash prize, gift cards and stuff, so everyone’s kind of rowdy and it makes it kind of more fun, I guess. But yeah, I’d say probably the customers talking to me is probably my favorite part.

Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: You’ll go in, I went into the Buffalo Wild Wings that I applied at, and they have like a business card with the website on it. But I also asked to speak to the manager and asked what kind of positions they’re hiring for, just so that the manager gets an idea of who I am and what I look like so that they’ll know, when I put in my application, that they know, “Oh, I talked to this girl in person.” So online, you’ll go and you’ll apply, you’ll state what position you’re applying for, you’ll put your availability in. You can upload a resume or put everything in manually if you don’t have a resume already. And then, after you apply, they will call you saying whether or not they want you to come in for an interview. The interview process is pretty similar to pretty much any other job. They ask you why you want to be there, if you have any restaurant experience, stuff like that. The training process was you have to memorize the menu, especially if you’re looking to become a server after you are a hostess or a host. So I’d say that’s probably the most tedious part, is memorizing the menu. But other than that, I mean, it’s not too bad.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: They ask you why you choose Buffalo Wild Wings, if you know any history about the restaurant chain or anything like that, if you know anyone that works there, things like that. They’re really focused on the history of Buffalo Wild Wings and carrying out their quality. So they’ll ask you if you know anything about that, and if you do, that’s pretty good.

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: It took about a week. They called me back and said that they wanted to have me come in and do some paperwork, things like that. They were very nice about everything. Training was not hard at all. Everyone was really nice and very helpful. But yeah, they’ll just give you a call if they think you’re a good candidate for the position.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: My mother worked at Buffalo Wild Wings for a really long time, so I was always in Buffalo Wild Wings from a young age, so I was familiar with the food and the menu and things like that. So, I think that might’ve set me apart, just because I’ve been going to Buffalo Wild Wings for so long. And again, I’ve worked with lots of people, so I guess that could be it.

Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: I was a hostess and cashier at Buffalo Wild Wings. Basically as a hostess, I would just greet everyone that would walk through the door, and seat everyone, and bring the menus to the table, and tell them who their waitress was going to be… or server. Then, I would keep a seating chart. It wasn’t complicated at all. As a cashier, I was in charge of the takeout, doing the counter menu, all cash handling. Then, I also would bring food out to people at the table. That was a big part of it. You’re just kind of like a server’s assistant. When you’re a cashier, you definitely have more than one duty. You’d either be at the front counter, or you could be making takeout orders, or you could be taking orders to the table. A lot of it was bringing food to people.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: Definitely fast paced, kind of crazy in a way because there’s just wings flying everywhere, and you don’t want to have a customer mix-up, where you take the Caribbean Jerk wings out to someone that ordered Teriyaki because they look so much alike. You have to have a lot of attention to detail in that way. Especially with wings, everything kind of looks alike. You have to bring it out very quick. A lot of Buffalo Wild Wings are really big in size, and you need to be able to go out there, give the guests their food, and come back to get the next thing that is up and ready to be taken out as fast as you can.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: I usually had the shift that was started around 4 or 5pm, so I’d show up and everything would be in full swing already. I wouldn’t really need to do any setup or anything like that. I would usually take over for someone that’s already cashiering and getting off work. That means I would just take food out to people, be the one doing the counter service, ringing out takeout orders, answering the phone to put in takeout orders. It was basically those three main things. Then if you’re closing at night, you just have to put all the celery and ranch away. That’s like a big deal there, since that’s what everyone orders with their wings. And just clean up. Nothing too complicated.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: I applied online and then I heard back through an email. I showed up for an interview. It’s like a really super laidback kind of interview. We just interviewed in the dining room; not a big deal. They just asked me a lot of the questions of course about guest service, but a few of them were about, like: “What would you do if there was a guest problem? How would you handle the situation?” I always say for all questions like that: if I can’t resolve it, I just get a manager. That usually is the answer they like.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: I think having experience in food and hospitality helps, but I just think having a friendly personality. They don’t want people who are like depressed sounding or angry working around guests where there’s trying to be a happy, fun environment.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess: I would just prepare for work in a fast-paced environment where there’s going to be a lot of demands. Especially as a cashier, if there’s not more than two of you, one of you will be running the food, but then you have to answer the phone, put in the takeout orders, do all the takeout orders, do all the cash handling. You kind of have to be able to multitask.

Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier: Well, I was a hostess and a cashier. As the hostess, you kind of just … People came in, you had a floor plan that you had to deal with, and it rotated between all the servers. As a cashier, there’s only one person assigned, and it was either morning or night. You just dealt with the take-outs, and bagging up the orders, and then cashing them out when they came in for it.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier: It was really fun. I mean, it’s like a sports bar, so it’s loud. There’s a ton of TV’s, music always playing, and it’s like a young environment. It’s just a fun place to be.

Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier: I really liked UFC nights, because it was crazy. The restaurant was packed four hours before the fight started, and everyone is just like really fun. It was just a really fun night.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier: When you come in, you have to clock in, do all of your stuff. If you’re a host, you have to go right up to the host stand and figure out what servers are here, what servers are shift-changing and leaving, and make sure you have the floor plan down and you know where to sit everybody. Because if you sit the wrong people, you’re going to get in trouble if they’re leaving and no one greets them. As a cashier, you’ve just got to get the drawer changed over with the manager, so then you have the nighttime drawer when the morning person leaves. Then you just start answering the phones.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier: The application process was online. Once I did everything online, I called about a week later to follow up, and then that’s when we set up my interview time. They didn’t really call me. I called, and then they pulled up, and then we figured it out.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier: They asked really basic questions like what my previous jobs were, why I wanted to work there, if I had any type of restaurant experience, if I wanted to be like a cashier, hostess, server, cook … Whatever I wanted to do. They asked about if I was going to be leaving for college, which I was, but it was like a year beforehand. They still hired me, but they were a little iffy about it.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier: I did have restaurant experience. They really liked that, because Buffalo Wild Wings is a hard place to jump into because it’s such a fast-paced environment. If you have no idea what you’re doing and then all the sudden you have a two hour wait at the door, you’re going to get really overwhelmed.

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier: It was like a week process. It was over the phone.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Buffalo Wild Wings Hostess and Cashier: I would definitely say to follow-up, because the application … Getting the job is like a slow process. You have to kind of be like … They say they’re hiring, but you have to be like, “Hire me.” Don’t just like go through the stuff. Make sure they know you, and then once you keep on them about it, they’ll call you in. They don’t usually turn down a lot of people once you’re in.

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Related Links:
Buffalo Wild Wings Application
Buffalo Wild Wings Cook