Cracker Barrel Interview Questions & Tips

Company Overview

Cracker Barrel restaurants form one of the largest restaurant chains in the United States, with more than 600 locations across the country. The nationwide chain of Southern-style eateries currently employs upwards of 70,000 full-time and part-time workers. Thanks to a large amount of turnover in the restaurant industry, stores across the country routinely interview eligible individuals for employment openings. Confident and well-prepared applicants usually receive the strongest hiring consideration. Additionally, job seekers who fit with restaurant environments also receive the most consideration.

General Interview Process Information

The Cracker Barrel interview process operates mostly laidback, especially for entry-level positions. For example, retail, cashier, and server jobs usually call for a brief and informative one-on-one interview session with a manager. Some locations may find a group interview necessary, especially in cases of multiple applicants. Candidates invited to second interviews should feel pretty comfortable, as the invitation demonstrates genuine interest in returning applicants. Job hopefuls must maintain professionalism and patience throughout the interview process. While some candidates enjoy hiring on the spot, other interviewees encounter slightly longer hiring processes, usually lasting around one or two weeks.

Typical Interview Topics

Cracker Barrel interviewers use many standard questions regarding availability, job skills, and general attitude. Similar to job interviews held at competing restaurants, interviews feature extensive customer service questions, which mainly revolve around how to handle certain situations with patrons. However, the restaurant chain also uses many interview questions specific to the company, such as, "What do you like most about Cracker Barrel?", "What sets us apart from other restaurant chains?", and "How would you encourage customers to come back to Cracker Barrel?"

Attitude is Everything

Hiring managers take interest in how applicants provide answers during the Cracker Barrel interview process. Candidates with strong communication skills typically earn higher levels of exposure and hiring consideration. Applicants should prepare for interviews by practicing answers to typical restaurant industry questions. Bear in mind interviewers want to see the authentic personalities of prospective employees. Restaurant job seekers should essentially sell personal attitudes and work ethics during the interview process and convince hiring personnel of representing ideal fits for available or desired jobs.

Cracker Barrel Busser Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Cracker Barrel Busboy: I was a busboy, so the main thing I would do was go out and clean the tables, take the dishes, and bring them to the dish room, cleaning dishes. Then for closing shifts and opening shifts, we would have to take down the chairs and put them up, and mopping the floors.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Cracker Barrel Busboy: I really liked it. A lot of the waitresses and cooks were all really nice. All the managers were trying to get involved and see if you ever need any help, so the people around were always really nice and I really enjoyed it.

Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Cracker Barrel Busboy: Probably the people that I worked with. It didn’t take long for them to start talking to me, even on my first day. I felt really welcome and it was really nice to see people come and talk to the new person.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Cracker Barrel Busboy: Really, really busy. I worked Saturdays and Sundays a lot, and for breakfast we always had people waiting outside the door, and the managers were always rushing to get new tables cleared and get people, and we always competed with the other Cracker Barrel’s around the city to see who could bring in the most money. So we would always get reports on who was winning and who was losing and always really busy with everyone working really fast.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Cracker Barrel Busboy: I filled out the application and technically I wasn’t supposed to work for them I was still too young to work. I think they wanted 18, and I was just 17, but they said they’re going hire me anyway. And so I came in for an interview and after that they called about a week later and said that I had the job.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Cracker Barrel Busboy: Mostly theoretical questions, like situations with customers, how I would handle it, and to see if I was right for the position.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Cracker Barrel Busboy: You definitely need be very friendly in your interview. They’re really big on being friendly. That’s the environment at Cracker Barrel, the family atmosphere. You definitely need to come in and not being shy and quiet, you definitely need to get yourself out there and show them what you’re doing.

Cracker Barrel Dishwasher Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Cracker Barrel Dishwasher: I started out as a dishwasher. When I first started there, I wanted to go into business for myself, and a friend of mine there told me that Cracker Barrel was a good place to start from the bottom and work your way up. So, of course I had to start out at dishwasher. I made it all the way up to applying for manager. Then, that’s when I went back to school.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Cracker Barrel Dishwasher: It was friendly. It was nice. It was fun in the back. It wasn’t fun washing the dishes, but everyone had a good attitude, everyone worked together. It was fast paced, but you had some down time, but you kept busy. It was fun. I had a good time.

Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Cracker Barrel Dishwasher: The food. It would have to be the food and the people. Everyone in the back was cool, and we ate well.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Cracker Barrel Dishwasher: Typical day… well, being in the back, all you really did was wash the pots and pans, dishes and forks. Different people come in every day with different shifts. Every day was something different. It was a variety. The only thing that stayed the same was the pots and pans, but other than that, the people changed.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Cracker Barrel Dishwasher: A friend told me to go out there, and I got hired on the spot. Filled out an application, handed it in, got asked a few questions, asked me when I could start, and hired at the end of the night.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Cracker Barrel Dishwasher: Basic ones: “Are you a felon?”, “Do you have experience?”, “What’s your goals?”, stuff like that. Just basic information: when can you start, what’s your schedule, what are you looking for, part-time, full-time, stuff like that.

Interviewer: What set you apart from the other candidates?
Cracker Barrel Dishwasher: I told them I wanted to start at the bottom and work my way up, learn the company from inside out as I moved up, and learn every aspect of the company as I moved up, instead of just coming in at a higher level and not knowing anything about the lower-level employees. I think that’s what it was.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Cracker Barrel Dishwasher: I’d tell them to do like I did and start out at the bottom and work your way up. That way, if you do get in management, you’ll have a company aspect, and you won’t just come in to be in the office and not know about how the kitchen works or their needs and wants down there. Best way is to start at the bottom and work your way up.

Cracker Barrel Host Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Cracker Barrel Host: I was a host so I worked at the front podiums. I would take people’s names in, greet them, seat them to their table, also keep areas clean, help bus down tables, and just sweep up the floors as well.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Cracker Barrel Host: It was really nice. Everybody was friendly. If you need help, everybody would help. All in all, it was a great working environment.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Cracker Barrel Host: First, you have to go to the front desk and ask for an application. Then, one of the managers will come out and they’ll take your application. They’ll call you and let you know when you can schedule an interview. Interview takes about 15, 20 minutes. They just want to get to know you. If they call you in for a second interview, then you pretty much got the job. They’ll work with your hours. What days you can work. Once you get your job, you start dressing in the attire, khakis and a button up shirt. You have to take these tests that will last a few hours, learning what to do in the store in case of emergencies, and once you get your promotions as well.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Cracker Barrel Host: How do you use the fire extinguisher. What to do when a customer has an accident, what to do when you have an accident in the kitchen. If a customer is having a problem and they get rowdy, how do you handle that? A thing called “STARS”.

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Cracker Barrel Host: Taken a week at the most, it will take. It took me 2 days. You’ll give them your personal number. They’ll either give you a text or they’ll call you back.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Cracker Barrel Host: You’ll love it. They’ll work with your hours. Good pay for starters. It will help your social skills out too. That’s what it did for me. I thank them for that a lot.

Related Links:
Cracker Barrel Application
Cracker Barrel Server