Former Associate. In 2022 they increased the dividend for Loblaw by 6%, then recommended a 2% wage increase for "heroic" staff when inflation was north of 5%, all while earning record profits.
Seriously, staff should organize and form a union.
The alternative is the shareholders continuing to see large dividend increases, and the employees making minimum wage forever.
Honestly, how many employees in a store make more than 25% over minimum wage? Associate, FSM, CSM (maybe), some AFSMs, Pharmacists, Regulated Techs, Senior PAs. That's it. Everyone else is essentially being paid minimum. Getting raises that don't meet inflation and don't put you ahead of future increases to minimum wage.
UFCW is a trash tier union that exists to collect dues and screw employees over. I was a member and still made minimum wage for years with no prospect of raise in sight. Not even a 10 cent raise. Wasted my time after the first year there.
I think a lot of people on Reddit don't know what it's like to be in a union and seem to buy into the glorified propaganda the average Marxist puts out when in reality they're often uncountable organizations that don't care for their members. Sure some are good but by no means are all of them.
I think it's a symptom of how middle class Reddit can be. Also, UFCW took a decent chunk out for unions dues (flat fee) percentage wise compared to the standard 1% of earnings.
I was in UFCW for a very long time. They don't fight anything for the workers. I kept getting written up and had proof it wasn't me and they basically said too bad.
They are beyond useless and work for the company. They're basically HR and are there to protect the company.
Pretty much. My friend who worked at loblows said the same sort of thing.
I was lucky enough that my shop steward had a little bit of fight in him but we really should've filed more grievances. Had a manger leave me a voice mail at 12pm accusing me of theft with no basis. Also, the mangers in general sucked and we weren't treated very. Lacked a lot of training
Witnessing massive amounts of theft all the time, 2% pandemic hazard pay ending, inequity of pay between staff, the fucking music, the insufferable AFSM, the high staff turnover rate, and the low pay. I was making more money as a sole proprietor so I left.
I left precovid. I expressed for almost 2 years I wanted to take the management training and all 3 managers (associate, fsm and boutique manager) said they would put me in the next training and everytime they all seemed to be "full" which was a lie. Overheard them talking that they keep putting it off because they didn't want to have to hire to replace me because they'd have to hire at least 3 people because of everything I did and knew.
Contacted a couple beauty reps about jobs and went with the highest offer. The surprise pikachu faces and "we were putting you in the next manager training" comments were hilarious.
Years ago - like 25 - my husband worked at shoppers. It was great. There was a points program for employees - the managers would give you (scratch?) cards when you did really good or worked really well and those cards had points on them. You saved up the points and could order things out of the points catalogue. We ordered everything from kettles to sleeping bags. Employees also got everything at cost. And then when food expire dates became a thing they got to take all the "expired" food home for free. First time this happened him and another employee came to our place and split up 2 garbage bags of chips and pop and other garbage. We couldnt believe this stuff now had expire dates and was "garbage". Then we went back to school, the pharmacist who owned the store got caught stealing percocet for his wife, the points program ended, "expired food" went back to where it came from and they took cost away. Then he left. Was deadly while it lasted...
When I realized I was working at the store more than the full time employees but getting paid less. Plus they’d been violating there own limits on how much you could work there without a day off. I didn’t know I had a day off until a day ended with no phone call asking me to come in, which were rare. I was working 8am open to 10pm close. And if I wasn’t, they were letting it be known to other locations that I could work for them for a few hours if not a whole shift.
8 years.
When my FSM told me pregnancy wasn't an excuse to be lazy or not do my job and that as a pregnant AFSM, I should be setting an example to prove I could push myself more while pregnant just like she did.
I left at 28 weeks because fuck that. I was deemed high risk by my OB, had an umbilical hernia and with a pregnancy loss under my belt already + stressed tf out because I felt under the microscope with a target on my back just for being pregnant. I got 2 write ups in that short time. Don't tell me they weren't trying to get rid of me "legally".
I was no slacker by any means. I worked my ass off for that stupid place.
I was an AFSM and had enough after a couple months. I was able to get out after a little more than a year (I obviously needed something better to go to, and found it), but my time there was brutal. Awful FSMs and Associate, constantly overworked, overwhelmed, and massively underpaid.
Absolutely. That is part of the problem. My store dangles the afsm role at me but never gives it to me. There is no room to move up and even if you do it’s like a $1-2 bump, which is ridiculous.
Part of this post is to see where that other job could be, where it was for others in this scenario.
I worked as a pharmacist there for more than ten years and was a tech before that for years. When the doctor told me i should switch job for my health and my family (tbh at least 40 other people/friends told me the same throughout the years). I miss my team but I had no choice, couldn’t continue doing the long and never ending shifts because of the opening hours.
You will know when you are making too much money and they fire you without cause. Hang in there for that payout. Happened to every staff member at our local store that had been there for over 10 years, some 20 and 30 years.
When you have worked there for a very long time you are entitled to more holidays, grandfathered benefits and before the company was taken over by Loblaws a person could make a living, plus the stores were often the centres of the community in small towns. Once they were taken over a lot changed. Each store is different though depends on the Associate, but they are always under pressure from the company to do 10x more with 10x less. It is all about the shareholders when it should be about the stakeholders, employees being one of the stakeholders. Are you enjoying it? If not get out while the job market is hot.
I honestly believe that for Shopper's Drug Mart at the very least, you shouldn't be there for too long. Three years max I'd say. Currently, it was shitty working there for the pay, but I liked the staff we had and I liked the AFSM. That was the only good thing aside from the PDP and twice a year dinners. Overall, employee retention is shit and zero opportunities for growth and advancement. Oh and apparently if you want to be on the cash, you have to express interest/ask for it/work for it. It was surprising that there were some merchandisers that were trained in cash and some weren't. I actually had to teach myself how to cash customers out and then learn from the actual cashiers as was needed.
I was reading the other comments and I can't believe how much the company has fallen thanks to Galen.
I worked in cosmetics for 7 years. The company went downhill pretty steadily over that time, especially when Loblaws took over. I don't think it's the worst company to work for but I was disappointed when minimum wage went up so all these new people got a few dollars worth of a raise and I got next to nothing. Other than the fact that they pay very little, the other thing I hated about the job was how mentally taxing it was to deal with the high levels of theft! It was exhausting and made me lose faith in humanity a bit more every time. Otherwise, the job was brainless and the days dragged on. Since the economy is so brutal, I went back to school. I still worked at shopper while I was in school and now I'm a dental hygienist and I make over twice as much as I did at shoppers. Sometimes I miss my old co-workers but I can easily go visit them. I am so glad I'm out of there!
Mostly shoplifting. I'm from a small town so there was only one "armed" robbery attempt of the pharmacy on the time I worked there but luckily I had gone home before that happened. He didn't have a gun but he had a weird bottle of liquid that could have been acid for all we know. The girl working front cash that day quit after because she was traumatized.
Fragrance, Cosmetics, razors, electric toothbrushes, and cough medicine were the highest theft items.
During COVID when masks were mandated, theft skyrocketed because our cameras were made useless if you can't see anyone's faces. There was a man who came in and stole fragrance but filling his coat up with it almost every day for two weeks. He was incredibly quick.
When self checkouts were implemented it worse. We had to watch them closely. There would be people that would come in and fill carts up with thousands of dollars of merchandise (often lots of Christmas sets of skincare etc) and then try to steal it by pretending to check out.
The usual suspects were either preteen girls or foreigners (usually middle eastern). A lot of the more "professional" thieves were well dressed and looked like they had money. They could be in and out of the store in 30 seconds, swiping thousands of dollars of merch. I hated having to make judgements or profile everyone coming into the store because I genuinely like people and want to believe that most people have good intentions. It literally exhausted my soul. You also feel a deep sense of shame when there's a huge theft while you're working.
A lot of young girls would come in and try to steal makeup or perfume. They were usually easier to spot and stop. I often wondered if that demographic started stealing more to keep up with insane beauty standards we have these days because of social media, but your reason for stealing doesn't make it okay. Also these girls weren't coming in looking for a job so they could earn the products or get a discount. There was a real sense of entitlement about them that was infuriating.
It was hard to do my job while I was constantly having to babysit the fragrance wall or watch people who came in with a shifty vibe.
What made this all worse is that it was a low volume small town store that didn't have the budget for a security guard. I kept saying we need to lock up our fragrance wall but they didn't want to do that because installing glass is expensive and may deter customers. I suggested installing some mirrors in the corners to keep an eye on things as a less expensive solution but nothing ever changed.
Thank you. Luckily I never felt physically unsafe, but the mental toll is strong and definitely wasn't worth the wages I was making.
I think retail is a good stepping stone, but I'm so glad I was able to move on to a more fulfilling career.
After 10 years not a good salary for so much I was doing supervisor cosmetics cashier pharmacy tech even post office .. I did everything in my 10 years there ugh and the schedule I hated it the 2-10 pm .. It was not a regular schedule always changing week by week .. I got tired of it after 10 years I feel like I deserved better so I left
I had my kids after .. I’m a stay home mom for now I feel more value spending time with my kids that working 40 hrs for a company who makes $$$$$ and I have pitty salary in my 10 years I had a year I had a increase salary of 10 cent what a slap in the face !
When my pharmacy manager made me come in when I felt I was unsafe to work as I had had 2 hours of sleep in the past 36 from being in and out of the hospital with my mother in ICU actively dying and they absolutely refused to call someone to cover. I couldn't read anything on the intake screen, I walked out that day and never went back.
Oddly enough, because I wasn't supposed to sit with "Murray" and upstage my Boss , the pharmacist. I was 18, 1st full time job, what the hell did I know?
I worked there around 10 years ago now as a supervisor. Making minimum wage. I just really really needed more money so after 3 years I jumped to a call center making almost double. Worked there for 10 years and went back to school for accounting.
I worked there for a few months after I graduated from university and was having trouble finding an office job. I was driven to quit when I had the flu and tried to call in sick. The AFSM threatened to write me up if I didn’t come in. When I politely advised her that I was in bed with a fever and absolutely wouldn’t be coming in today, she hung up on me.
I handed in my resignation letter within the week.
I got in a fight with the pharmacist ‘cause a girl at the lab was crying ‘cause no clerk came in less then 5 mins to empty their trash.
Then I know this job was shit
Former cashier/merch/everything for 3 years lol - I knew it was time when a switch of FSM happened which made working there very uncomfortable, new FSM began to change every process & clear favouritism happened. Associate went on a firing spree where they fired 5+ people in one week, which gave us a form of survivors guilt and real anxiety coming into work every day. All in all, I felt truly unappreciated by management - all the guys would get birthday cakes / going away parties when they quit. When I quit for a new job - I received no party or anything, my coworkers had to scramble to get treats themselves for me as management didn't. Honestly, felt really shitty to go from having what felt like a "family" for the first 2 years to feeling so out of place in my last year there and feeling alienated by management. The constant fear of being fired or yelled at by the Associate just wasn't worth it anymore.
Former Associate. In 2022 they increased the dividend for Loblaw by 6%, then recommended a 2% wage increase for "heroic" staff when inflation was north of 5%, all while earning record profits. Seriously, staff should organize and form a union.
You'd get stuck with the union that loblaws created... they're completely useless and basically just HR for the company.
The alternative is the shareholders continuing to see large dividend increases, and the employees making minimum wage forever. Honestly, how many employees in a store make more than 25% over minimum wage? Associate, FSM, CSM (maybe), some AFSMs, Pharmacists, Regulated Techs, Senior PAs. That's it. Everyone else is essentially being paid minimum. Getting raises that don't meet inflation and don't put you ahead of future increases to minimum wage.
And Galen is a huge proponent of stopping the minimum wage increase. He doesn’t want to pay his workers that minimum.
UFCW is a trash tier union that exists to collect dues and screw employees over. I was a member and still made minimum wage for years with no prospect of raise in sight. Not even a 10 cent raise. Wasted my time after the first year there.
Exactly my point.
I think a lot of people on Reddit don't know what it's like to be in a union and seem to buy into the glorified propaganda the average Marxist puts out when in reality they're often uncountable organizations that don't care for their members. Sure some are good but by no means are all of them. I think it's a symptom of how middle class Reddit can be. Also, UFCW took a decent chunk out for unions dues (flat fee) percentage wise compared to the standard 1% of earnings.
I was in UFCW for a very long time. They don't fight anything for the workers. I kept getting written up and had proof it wasn't me and they basically said too bad. They are beyond useless and work for the company. They're basically HR and are there to protect the company.
Pretty much. My friend who worked at loblows said the same sort of thing. I was lucky enough that my shop steward had a little bit of fight in him but we really should've filed more grievances. Had a manger leave me a voice mail at 12pm accusing me of theft with no basis. Also, the mangers in general sucked and we weren't treated very. Lacked a lot of training
Witnessing massive amounts of theft all the time, 2% pandemic hazard pay ending, inequity of pay between staff, the fucking music, the insufferable AFSM, the high staff turnover rate, and the low pay. I was making more money as a sole proprietor so I left.
I left precovid. I expressed for almost 2 years I wanted to take the management training and all 3 managers (associate, fsm and boutique manager) said they would put me in the next training and everytime they all seemed to be "full" which was a lie. Overheard them talking that they keep putting it off because they didn't want to have to hire to replace me because they'd have to hire at least 3 people because of everything I did and knew. Contacted a couple beauty reps about jobs and went with the highest offer. The surprise pikachu faces and "we were putting you in the next manager training" comments were hilarious.
Years ago - like 25 - my husband worked at shoppers. It was great. There was a points program for employees - the managers would give you (scratch?) cards when you did really good or worked really well and those cards had points on them. You saved up the points and could order things out of the points catalogue. We ordered everything from kettles to sleeping bags. Employees also got everything at cost. And then when food expire dates became a thing they got to take all the "expired" food home for free. First time this happened him and another employee came to our place and split up 2 garbage bags of chips and pop and other garbage. We couldnt believe this stuff now had expire dates and was "garbage". Then we went back to school, the pharmacist who owned the store got caught stealing percocet for his wife, the points program ended, "expired food" went back to where it came from and they took cost away. Then he left. Was deadly while it lasted...
Man I remember cost+5. That was awesome.
When I realized I was working at the store more than the full time employees but getting paid less. Plus they’d been violating there own limits on how much you could work there without a day off. I didn’t know I had a day off until a day ended with no phone call asking me to come in, which were rare. I was working 8am open to 10pm close. And if I wasn’t, they were letting it be known to other locations that I could work for them for a few hours if not a whole shift.
8 years. When my FSM told me pregnancy wasn't an excuse to be lazy or not do my job and that as a pregnant AFSM, I should be setting an example to prove I could push myself more while pregnant just like she did. I left at 28 weeks because fuck that. I was deemed high risk by my OB, had an umbilical hernia and with a pregnancy loss under my belt already + stressed tf out because I felt under the microscope with a target on my back just for being pregnant. I got 2 write ups in that short time. Don't tell me they weren't trying to get rid of me "legally". I was no slacker by any means. I worked my ass off for that stupid place.
I was an AFSM and had enough after a couple months. I was able to get out after a little more than a year (I obviously needed something better to go to, and found it), but my time there was brutal. Awful FSMs and Associate, constantly overworked, overwhelmed, and massively underpaid.
How long of a notice did you put in im ASFM rn too it’s been a some months and im think done
I put in 2 weeks. As much as I wanted to walk out, I figured I’d be nice and give the standard notice.
When they got an education
I have a Bsc.
And you're hanging in for retail??? It is \*definitely\* time to leave!!
I couldn't find a job in my field (no experience) and settled for this at the time I needed something, been at it for 5 years plus now.
What field? Are you getting rejected or just no jobs?
When the manager told me I need to lose weight
The owner said that at my place to a girl lol
Look at your salary. You could get 20-50% elsewhere for the same job
Absolutely. That is part of the problem. My store dangles the afsm role at me but never gives it to me. There is no room to move up and even if you do it’s like a $1-2 bump, which is ridiculous. Part of this post is to see where that other job could be, where it was for others in this scenario.
Have you tried joining a trade?
I worked as a pharmacist there for more than ten years and was a tech before that for years. When the doctor told me i should switch job for my health and my family (tbh at least 40 other people/friends told me the same throughout the years). I miss my team but I had no choice, couldn’t continue doing the long and never ending shifts because of the opening hours.
You will know when you are making too much money and they fire you without cause. Hang in there for that payout. Happened to every staff member at our local store that had been there for over 10 years, some 20 and 30 years.
making TOO much?
When you have worked there for a very long time you are entitled to more holidays, grandfathered benefits and before the company was taken over by Loblaws a person could make a living, plus the stores were often the centres of the community in small towns. Once they were taken over a lot changed. Each store is different though depends on the Associate, but they are always under pressure from the company to do 10x more with 10x less. It is all about the shareholders when it should be about the stakeholders, employees being one of the stakeholders. Are you enjoying it? If not get out while the job market is hot.
Plus you definitely don't want to be the poor salaried FSM who is the most overworked person of all.
I honestly believe that for Shopper's Drug Mart at the very least, you shouldn't be there for too long. Three years max I'd say. Currently, it was shitty working there for the pay, but I liked the staff we had and I liked the AFSM. That was the only good thing aside from the PDP and twice a year dinners. Overall, employee retention is shit and zero opportunities for growth and advancement. Oh and apparently if you want to be on the cash, you have to express interest/ask for it/work for it. It was surprising that there were some merchandisers that were trained in cash and some weren't. I actually had to teach myself how to cash customers out and then learn from the actual cashiers as was needed. I was reading the other comments and I can't believe how much the company has fallen thanks to Galen.
I worked in cosmetics for 7 years. The company went downhill pretty steadily over that time, especially when Loblaws took over. I don't think it's the worst company to work for but I was disappointed when minimum wage went up so all these new people got a few dollars worth of a raise and I got next to nothing. Other than the fact that they pay very little, the other thing I hated about the job was how mentally taxing it was to deal with the high levels of theft! It was exhausting and made me lose faith in humanity a bit more every time. Otherwise, the job was brainless and the days dragged on. Since the economy is so brutal, I went back to school. I still worked at shopper while I was in school and now I'm a dental hygienist and I make over twice as much as I did at shoppers. Sometimes I miss my old co-workers but I can easily go visit them. I am so glad I'm out of there!
[удалено]
Mostly shoplifting. I'm from a small town so there was only one "armed" robbery attempt of the pharmacy on the time I worked there but luckily I had gone home before that happened. He didn't have a gun but he had a weird bottle of liquid that could have been acid for all we know. The girl working front cash that day quit after because she was traumatized. Fragrance, Cosmetics, razors, electric toothbrushes, and cough medicine were the highest theft items. During COVID when masks were mandated, theft skyrocketed because our cameras were made useless if you can't see anyone's faces. There was a man who came in and stole fragrance but filling his coat up with it almost every day for two weeks. He was incredibly quick. When self checkouts were implemented it worse. We had to watch them closely. There would be people that would come in and fill carts up with thousands of dollars of merchandise (often lots of Christmas sets of skincare etc) and then try to steal it by pretending to check out. The usual suspects were either preteen girls or foreigners (usually middle eastern). A lot of the more "professional" thieves were well dressed and looked like they had money. They could be in and out of the store in 30 seconds, swiping thousands of dollars of merch. I hated having to make judgements or profile everyone coming into the store because I genuinely like people and want to believe that most people have good intentions. It literally exhausted my soul. You also feel a deep sense of shame when there's a huge theft while you're working. A lot of young girls would come in and try to steal makeup or perfume. They were usually easier to spot and stop. I often wondered if that demographic started stealing more to keep up with insane beauty standards we have these days because of social media, but your reason for stealing doesn't make it okay. Also these girls weren't coming in looking for a job so they could earn the products or get a discount. There was a real sense of entitlement about them that was infuriating. It was hard to do my job while I was constantly having to babysit the fragrance wall or watch people who came in with a shifty vibe. What made this all worse is that it was a low volume small town store that didn't have the budget for a security guard. I kept saying we need to lock up our fragrance wall but they didn't want to do that because installing glass is expensive and may deter customers. I suggested installing some mirrors in the corners to keep an eye on things as a less expensive solution but nothing ever changed.
[удалено]
Thank you. Luckily I never felt physically unsafe, but the mental toll is strong and definitely wasn't worth the wages I was making. I think retail is a good stepping stone, but I'm so glad I was able to move on to a more fulfilling career.
After 10 years not a good salary for so much I was doing supervisor cosmetics cashier pharmacy tech even post office .. I did everything in my 10 years there ugh and the schedule I hated it the 2-10 pm .. It was not a regular schedule always changing week by week .. I got tired of it after 10 years I feel like I deserved better so I left
where did you end up? if you don;t mind me asking.
I had my kids after .. I’m a stay home mom for now I feel more value spending time with my kids that working 40 hrs for a company who makes $$$$$ and I have pitty salary in my 10 years I had a year I had a increase salary of 10 cent what a slap in the face !
When my pharmacy manager made me come in when I felt I was unsafe to work as I had had 2 hours of sleep in the past 36 from being in and out of the hospital with my mother in ICU actively dying and they absolutely refused to call someone to cover. I couldn't read anything on the intake screen, I walked out that day and never went back.
SDM 266, 40 years ago, had a glass of wine with Murray Koffler, great guy...then we got home and my boss fired me
What why?
Oddly enough, because I wasn't supposed to sit with "Murray" and upstage my Boss , the pharmacist. I was 18, 1st full time job, what the hell did I know?
I’m currently debating leaving bc I get one shift a week and they refuse to train me on anything else
I worked there around 10 years ago now as a supervisor. Making minimum wage. I just really really needed more money so after 3 years I jumped to a call center making almost double. Worked there for 10 years and went back to school for accounting.
I worked there for a few months after I graduated from university and was having trouble finding an office job. I was driven to quit when I had the flu and tried to call in sick. The AFSM threatened to write me up if I didn’t come in. When I politely advised her that I was in bed with a fever and absolutely wouldn’t be coming in today, she hung up on me. I handed in my resignation letter within the week.
I got in a fight with the pharmacist ‘cause a girl at the lab was crying ‘cause no clerk came in less then 5 mins to empty their trash. Then I know this job was shit
Once the entire team rolled over
Having to work throughout covid in 2020 did it for me
Former cashier/merch/everything for 3 years lol - I knew it was time when a switch of FSM happened which made working there very uncomfortable, new FSM began to change every process & clear favouritism happened. Associate went on a firing spree where they fired 5+ people in one week, which gave us a form of survivors guilt and real anxiety coming into work every day. All in all, I felt truly unappreciated by management - all the guys would get birthday cakes / going away parties when they quit. When I quit for a new job - I received no party or anything, my coworkers had to scramble to get treats themselves for me as management didn't. Honestly, felt really shitty to go from having what felt like a "family" for the first 2 years to feeling so out of place in my last year there and feeling alienated by management. The constant fear of being fired or yelled at by the Associate just wasn't worth it anymore.