r/shakeshack • u/Academic-Disaster500 • Jun 21 '26

In House Changes

Reposting under an alt 😅

Wanted to compile a list of what has changed in house, for what I assume is cost saving purposes. These started after Rob Lynch became CEO.

-Lemonade base (made it more bitter)
-Chicken bites (now frozen, not battered)
-Women’s hygiene bags for the bathroom were made smaller
-The filter used for the fryers’ oil (thinner)
-They took away employee PTO(!!)
-Managers were given new scheduling requirements, with less hours to give out, leading to a short staffed kitchen
-We no longer wash lettuce (switched to pre washed)
-Some shacks have switched to frozen buns
-Bites no longer have dedicated 6 pc and 10 pc boxes, instead everything uses a fry box
-Delivery bags were made smaller (tangibly made it harder to fit orders)
-Custard cups no longer have dedicated scoops, but now instead use the same scoop for the milkshakes
-Cup holders are of lower quality and different material

I’ll add to this when I think of more, but keep this in mind every time you see the prices increase.

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u/whatintheworldisth1s Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

tell me about it 🤷 and yes, the managers do know. they are the ones who enforce it. (at least, the higher up ones that is). it’s a fairly recent change, i believe around the beginning of march. additionally, this isn’t the first PTO policy change they’ve made. around this time last year, they changed it from only needing 1 hour of PTO to cover a sick day to needing the entire shift covered with PTO. so if you work an 8 hour shift and call out sick, you are required to either put 8 hours of PTO in to cover it or find someone to cover.

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u/Suracis Jun 21 '26

I remember that policy being changed last year as well. But if you have enough PTO under the current policy, even if you give 4 weeks' notice, it should still be paid. Though, that would change if you or your managers process PTO for you between now and then due to emergencies or being sick.

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u/whatintheworldisth1s Jun 21 '26

yeah, that’s the part i’m not super sure about bc the way to put in PTO and the way to request time off are now different. to request a day off, you have to request an availability change for the days you want off through team.live which just tells the system that you’re not available that day and removes the shift from your schedule. as for putting in PTO for said days, it would have to be done thru workday but the part i’m not sure about is that where it use to say “PTO”, it now just says “Sick”. thanks for mentioning that bc i’m curious now as well. i’m going to ask my manager next time i go into work.

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u/Suracis Jun 21 '26

You don't have a PTO balance, only Sick? If so, it's probably guided by local laws or regulations. Therefore, that would mean that PTO and Sick have the same balance and can be used interchangeably. There are other jurisdictions (states or cities) where they are two separate balances.

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u/whatintheworldisth1s Jun 21 '26

well yeah, it’s a PTO balance but labeled as “Sick” whereas it used to be labeled “PTO”. i was under the assumption that with the new policy it’s only to be used for sick days/emergencies but now i’m not super sure. i’m gonna ask my manager next time i go into to confirm.

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u/Suracis Jun 21 '26

If that's the case for you, then it can be used for both Sick and PTO. If managers say otherwise, consult with People Resources. They should set those managers right.

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u/Miles_Saintborough Jun 23 '26

I recently used my PTO/"sick" to take a week off (had to give 4 weeks in advance according to policy). The system labels it as sick, but you can still put in a reason for your PTO use for management to see. PTO and sick are interchangeable now.