HotSchedules reviews

Scheduling, messaging, and forecasting have never been easier! If you own a restaurant, you need this.

Customer service used to be excellent, but lately, it hasn't been good at all. I went from a 2 minute wait to talk to 6+ hours to get a callback—usually by the time I'm home. I'm confident they're just going through some changes and it will be back to the high standard.

Great for scheduling and staff communication. Makes handling a large staff easy. Logbook is great for communication on all issues with mangers and staff, even starting to use it to track our hr.

Want to see the inventory system improve as well as better ease of use across multiple venues other than that continue to grow and develop

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.

What I liked most about hot schedules is always being organized and being able to see my schedule ahead of time, eliminating the need to write it down or call/go in person to see when I was working next.

What I liked least is that not enough companies are using it! It’s a great platform, so I have nothing negative to say.

I like how shifts can be swapped and picked up without having to involve a manager. Managers can set certain rules, but within those rules employees can handle it on their own.

I don't like how clumsy the app was in 2014 when I used it. It was not mobile friendly, and didn't sync well with email and google calendar. This may have changed since then.

Love Hotschedules!! They are amazing at what they do and make my life so easy when it comes to scheduling my staff and letting them switch and pick up work shifts. This is definitely something that employers with many employees need to use to make their schedule!

Non at all. This software does exactly what it says and it is amazing!

This product easily allows me to pick up or post shifts for work so that other employees can pick up, release, or trade shifts.

The only thing that is a little tricky with this software, is setting up availability requests/schedules.

This app allows you to easily see your schedule, communicate with staff, and request time off. You can see who else is working as well which is good.

The notifications can be obnoxious and frequent whenever there is a change. Overall it was a good program

I do not recall the scheduling system my previous emplyer used however Fourth is 10 times better.
I can easily see my schedule (although I alternate between two shift patterns anyway).

My favrouite part of Fourth, as an employee, is how easy it is to request holiday and check my allowance/ usage.

I personally would not, now, want to use any other shceduling system.

If you have booked holiday for the following allowance year (for example April 2024 however it is March 2024) you cannot see your remaining holiday allowance until that holiday year has begun.
You can simply work it out as you can see the dates you have booked/ requested off so it's not the end of the world.

It is very easy to navigate for both users and administrators, Not only you can access schedules but also you can swap, request time off and also sent personal messages between users.

none. Completely love app and nave nothing negative to say

Being able to see when you work, the ability to request time off, the ability to message coworkers/managers, switching shifts with someone else is awesome to me too. It's a very simplistic layout too, very easy to navigate the website/app.

I wish that the app didn't have a paywall behind it. That's the only complaint I have.

I loved this ease of hot schedules compared to other software. Much better ease-of-use and staff LOVES IT. Swapping shifts, requesting off, and keeping track of shifts is streamlined!

I LOVE hotschedules. It is the preferred software for restaurant scheduling! No drawbacks!

Hotschedules makes schedule creation and updates ridiculously easy. Not only can you input the schedules you need covered to receive optimization suggestions, but once you post the schedules, you don't have to track down your staff to inform them of their schedules.

When I utilizied Hotschedules my employees were not able to input one-off requests or identify preferred shifts, limiting the efficacy of the schedule optimization features.

There was also not an option to send internal communication notes to management emails so there was no way to verify when management was reading the information.

As a user, I love how easy this product is. You can view your schedule, see who else is working, and swap and release shifts without an issue. It has an easy to use web browser, and mobile ap (although you do pay for it) so you can use hotschedules whichever way you prefer. It also has a great messaging system which allows you to message entire groups of people at once (management, kitchen, servers). It also tells you how many people are ahead of you on a wait list for a shift you picked up. The autopick up function is excellent as well for when you need to get a shift and non are available.

I am not a fan of the most recent update. Prior, you would be able to "see all schedule" and see the entire week, alphabetically, where everyone was working etc. Now however, you can't see the weekly schedule at once and you need to click day by day. This can be challenging when trying to swap shifts with other staff, or see others schedules.

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.

The best thing about this product is the ease of use. It's easy for managers and also for our employees. They give you step by step instructions on how to first create your account and utilization from there moving forward.

The worst thing about this product is customer service. It can be very hard to get ahold of someone and it takes days if not weeks for service tickets to be received.

This app makes it very easy to check your schedule at anytime. Makes requesting time off or switching a shift with another employee easy as well. Far from time consuming and easy navigation around the app. Your schedule is with you where ever you go!

Having to pay $2.99 for the app is pretty much everyone's only dislike about this app.

The fact I can access my schedule for work whenever I need to. And I don't have to remember all the shifts I am scheduled.

How messages sent or recieved don't recieve notifications for it. WIsh I would get a alert when someone sends me a message or notification on tab showing I have a message.

Hotschedules was introduced to the restaurant a few years ago, and it saved so much stress! Employees were able to switch shifts, request time off, and view schedules so easily!!

The only con is user error or awaiting on a manager to accept the requests that are sent in. If they are not in the office, they cannot see the requests to accept or deny resulting in the employee calling to confirm the action requested.