bookkeeper

assistant store manager

sales executive

grocery associate

sales manager

Food Basics

Let me start out by saying this job was decent for one of my first few. The hours were usually the same, the job security was good and you meet "some" nice people there...usually your co-workers. I work here for 1 year. 

But that's about it when it comes to nice things about this job/company. My biggest issue was with the management...they start out treating you like your an actual person but it's just a show. 

Once I got settled in after about 2-3 weeks, they started to show their true colors. And it wasn't just one manager/supervisor, 90% of them were just so rude. One supervisor told me to help her tidy an area, and I agreed with no issues. She said, "Good, I was testing you...you can't get lazy on this job, we don't like lazy people." Like...okay? I was just following directions but apparently, it was some test. Weird energy.

Other days I would be doing a great job, cashing out people, keeping my area clean and tidy...one of the managers saw me standing at my register doing "nothing" (I was making a little paper crane out of the receipt paper to occupy myself) while it was a slow hour...and called me into her office to say. "You can't just stand around and do nothing, if it's slow you need to be doing something, you need to find work to do." Keep in mind, this was literally on my 2nd week, and I was only told to clean my register area when times were slow and to NEVER leave my register unattended. But apparently, I was supposed to know that it was okay on slow hours? Contradicting training. She said if I did that more I would be written up for it. But the best part is, when I got a few more customers to cash out, a mother and her little daughter came to my register. The little girl's eye caught my paper crane and she smiled big. When I noticed, I offered her the crane and she and her mom thanked me and left happy as ever. Customer satisfaction! Who knew you could achieve it by just being yourself and letting it shine through, even in a dead-end cashier job. But no. Sure, if I was making the crane INSTEAD of doing my main tasks, then I can see how it would be a problem. But it literally took me 2 minutes, no one was at my register, and my area was cleaned spotless. 

Management was on me 24/7 for any little thing, things that made literally no sense. Picking on me. The supervisors were becoming sterner...the people who worked grocery wouldn't come to my register as much anymore when I called, (would call several times) and I would look like the bad guy when customers are stuck waiting for a price check or replacement, etc. Looked bad to the supervisors even though it wasn't my fault. I took my job seriously, but apparently, that wasn't enough. They wanted me to jump hoops and dance for a minimum wage job. Wasn't going to happen. I put in my two weeks just after a year, and they agreed to it. After two days within the two weeks, I showed up to work and I was removed from the schedule. I asked to speak with the manager about it, but instead, she didn't bother leaving her office, she called the service desk, and made a fellow co-worker tell me, I was no longer on the schedule and I was free to go. She couldn't even have the respect to tell me herself. So unprofessional and rude. Also, I was supposed to be working, but all those hours were gone. I don't understand why she couldn't have told me over the phone or the last day I was in, instead of waiting until I showed up to work that day. 

These managers always wanted you to appear to be busy, regardless of how busy it actually was. They won't let you take it easy and rest and talk with your co-workers while cleaning either. UNLESS you've been a veteran worker, working there for over 5 years, then they love you to bits. And that's the thing, they gossiped about everyone. They would glare at you, wouldn't say hi back when you greeted them. It felt like I was in high school. Being treated badly because I was new and made a few minor mistakes. With time it only got worse. They clearly just didn't like me for me, and treated me that way, instead of looking at my performance and professionalism (aside from crying in the office). I cashed out groceries very fast, talked to customers all the time, and helped them with anything, even on my way out off the clock, I would help people. I picked stuff up off the floor when walking to the back to take my break. I always cleaned my register and area around constantly. After learning more, I would zone the candy when slow, and tidy boxes. Sweep the front, etc. I worked weekends and holidays. I did my part as an employee but they didn't like me as a person and they let me know with their petty ways. If you were a popular person in high school, then you'll fit right in. Otherwise, I would reconsider. It's a popularity contest. If you win, you'll love your job here, if not, then good luck to you. 

The basic jobs like grocery clerk, cashier etc. are easy and entry-level. Your work hard but earn minimum wages actually less than that because you have to pay union dues for a union who does nothing for you. Have never received a union card or book about what it is all about. I enjoy the diversity and some older employees who have great educations and years of experience in other fields who choose to continue to work part-time and Food Basics gives them that chance. Management is another story. There is no front end customer service manager so many employees are just thrown into the job. The bookkeeper looks after the front end and does not care who does what and they never coach or reprimand employees or guide them to make themselves better. Here the front end bookkeeper hires her close personal friends and gives them all the hours they want and then gives them a supervisor promotion and they think they own the place all of a sudden. If they are given a cashier shift, they should not think they are on a supervisor shift. Even as a supervisor, they are rude and ignorant to the other employees and think they can get away with doing nothing at all. Technically, they become office staff or a bookkeeper helper and not really a customer service supervisor. They receive no training to be a supervisor so it all goes to their head. Some employees call in sick all the time, others work every weekend while others get it off so shifts are not spread out fairly. Union or not, you signed up for retail which is 7 days per week. Favouritism is a big thing. Being a Customer service manager/operations manager/team leader for years, it is a very rude awakening of how terrible the management really is at Food Basics. Millennials are lazy and do not follow company policy and they let them bring their cell phones to their cash and do not care.  They put the most rude and ignorant employees on courtesy desk and expect them to run the cash, lottery, refunds and returns etc. If your have experience in customer service then you feel like a child because they do not let you use your problem resolution skills but instead waste a store managers time by having to page them all the time and even for basic issues. Managers talk about the employees to other employees which is disgusting and totally not professional. It is a job..just go do your few hours and get out is the thing you have to do or it will drive you crazy.

An average day depends on your department. Front-end employees handle your typical grocery store check-out procedure, as well as miscellaneous tasks like returning items to the shelves. Back-end employees handle the merchandising and work orders to their respective departments, as well as a couple of them approved for receiving orders from the loading dock. 

Management is a wild card, as they tend to be moved to other locations every couple years. This makes it difficult to sustain a long lasting bond of trust and acknowledgement of skills between them and the employees, as new management will often misjudge the capabilities of their new location's employees. Fortunately from my experiences, most of the management I have worked under were able to adapt to their environment and weren't awful to be around.

If you're a student or someone looking for a couple days of work a week, I'd say this is an ideal place to begin collecting job experience. However, if you're looking for a full-time career or opportunities to rise up within the company, you may want to look elsewhere. Seniority takes priority under most circumstances for part-timers, and full-time positions are typically only offered when a previous full-time employee leaves the company.

If you are someone who cares about their work, your enjoyment and stress levels surrounding this job will depend on multiple factors. Sometimes management orders too much and underbooks staff. Sometimes your fellow coworkers decide they don't want to do their job after management leaves for the evening (mostly because the majority of them will be highschool students who don't care.) 

This job started out fun and satisfying, I was glad to feel like I was helping people in need of necessities and contributing to local community. The work was a little strenuous and repetitive but the shifts are relatively short and doing the work feels rewarding. My immediate supervisors and co-workers were very friendly and supportive, and the scheduling allowed for personal life events. 
The guidelines for how to do specific parts of the job were a little vague and lenient which gave me some concern. I did not feel like I received proper training for some jobs.

However, with all that said, I was let go from this position after only about 3-4 shifts for a very vague reason, being "it's not working out." 
I had never received any criticism or warning beforehand from my immediate supervisors about unsatisfactory work from me or that I was going too slow or doing anything wrong at all. In fact, they were quite encouraging towards me and told me that I would improve with practice and time, without being specific. I was encouraged to not worry and improve and practice the work. I didn't receive feedback on how I should be balancing my quality of work with speed, and this is at a lowest level job, where many new workers probably start. 

Specifically in regards to the higher-up management and hiring managers at the store, I did not feel very valued as a worker or a person after this experience even if I was at a bottom level position, and did not feel that it was a very professional experience overall in that sense. (Note that again, immediate store-section supervisors and managers are not included in this.)

I spend more time at work than I do at home. I average 60 hours a week. I work 6 days a week including Sundays. I get up every morning at 630am to be able to get there before 730am. We open at 8am, but the early hours are decisive: you need to make sure that the deliveries have arrived on time, the bakery is up and running, and the fruit and vegetables are fresh. Sometimes, employees don’t turn up, so you have to fill in for them. I go around the store and say hello to all my employees. After doing the rounds, I usually analyse the store performance of the previous day: did we meet our target turnover? How does it compare to the same day last year? I can know in a couple of clicks how many items one of my cashiers scans a minute, or how many sales I missed out on when an item wasn’t available.
The most rewarding part of my job is being able to make a difference in so many people’s lives. It can be something as simple as explaining to a customer how to choose a good melon, or ensuring that they can find any item at any time of the day. It can be chatting with a pensioner who comes to the store a couple of times a day because he is lonely, or congratulating an employee on a great job they’ve done and seeing their face light up. Some challenges and difficult situations I face as a manager include: effective communication with my employees, managing my time, setting clear goals and expectations, encouraging productivity, hiring my team, firing an employee, asking for help, handling conflict between multiple employees and dealing with a dishonest employee. Throughout my experience I have learned to listen, give clear feedback, document everything, be consistent, set consequences, work through the company's processes, manager my self-talk and to be courageous.

A typical day at work involved coming into the store, punching in, and either taking over an active cash register or opening an inactive one. Interaction with customers was frequent whether in person or over the telephone. Scanning grocery orders was the majority of the job, though other responsibilities were present such as cleaning, returning products to shelves, facing shelves, and returning damages.

Through working at Food Basics I learned how to successfully deal with customer conflict. I learned that keeping a positive attitude was an important part of the conflict resolution process and that taking the time and making the effort to assist the customer was a step that was greatly appreciated.

Management was present on the job and constantly interactive. A relationship was built with the employees, which is different from other organizations. Those in management were friendly and flexible. They ensured that there was a easy process for employees to create a work-life balance that suited their individual needs.

Co-workers were easy to get along with and quickly became like a family away from home. Friendships developed that extended beyond the workplace. The working environment was productive and positive. Going into work was an enjoyable experience.

The hardest part of the job was dealing with the customer conflict. It is never pleasant to deal with a disgruntled customer. However, there are techniques one can apply to minimize the conflict. This takes a considerable level of communication skills, but that is one of the learning benefits of the job.

The most enjoyable part of the job is working with co-workers as well as talking with customers as their order is processed. It is an enjoyable environment for those who value the ability to be sociable on the job.

A typical day at work, I would get to work on time or a little bit earlier. Talk to the boss and ask if anything he wants me to do needs to be done. Complete what has to be done by finishing the load (filling the shelves with fresh products) as soon as possible. Also when customers approach me asking for help I would give them my full attention and help them to the best of my abilities. What I learned working at Food Basics is that I have to be very patient with the customers because some of the customers cannot speak proper English so I would try to understand them and then guide them to what they are asking for. The management is good I would say. Most managers do their work properly, some other managers that come to fill in another managers position for a day or so, don't do too much of a good job. The co-workers I work with have good communication skills and are fun to be around. We also help each other get the work done as soon as possible, working together to keep the store running smoothly. The hardest part of the job is when a lot of the load comes into the store because of the sales we have. We have to work it as fast as possible because customers buy the products and the shelves become empty fast. So our job is to keep the shelves filled. The most enjoyable part of the job is communicating with the co workers and communicating with the customers, leaving a smile on their face. I enjoy working at Food Basics but I dislike the fact that some managers don't do their work until last minute and they have to rush at the end of the night. 

When i first started working there, it wasn’t too bad and was a place I definitely didn’t dread coming in to. Depending on the size of your store I would say will dictate your overall experience with the company. Working at a smaller store tends to be “nicer” in a way, but my specific store is used as a training store so we constantly have management in and out of our doors, with names changing frequently. Never much of an opportunity to build a connection w/ management and in turn the store morale is usually quite low, and can be quite a depressing environment to walk into. Management usually has no idea what they’re doing, and while trying their best to come up with band-aid solutions to please their DM, they let the rest of the store fall into disrepair. Whether that be the literal physical aspects of the store, or the employees, managers are inattentive and self absorbed. Benefits are horrible, and you only begin to receive them after a minimum two year service. It begins with dental and increases with your years of service. There are no employee discounts or incentives, and the only thing they have implemented recently is giving employees gift cards from the store that they then get taxed on two weeks later because it is reportable income and is taxed by the government. After almost tripling their profits in the last two years, you would assume that they would be able to afford to keep a $2 premium to front line workers providing essential service in a pandemic. If you’re looking for even a temporary job to earn some cash to save, I wouldn’t recommend Food Basics. You can do better, and you deserve better. 

The work environment was safe and very customer oriented. 

The easiest part was meeting lots of people and always went the extra mile to make sure customer satisfaction was met on a good reputation to have repeat and loyal dedicated customers. 

The most difficult part of the job is just standing all the time. It can get tiring but who would beg to differ. Some people would say that the customers can sometimes be much more difficult to deal with. In regards to that, I would say that based on your attitude and how well you work with people, that can definetly all change.

I learned as well how to develope patience to a high extent. In some cases some people would leave money in their car, or even forget their bags at home, but taking the time to go the extra mile to help that customer will build a good reputation and rapport. I always found that i had customers who were dedicated to always coming back.

Most of the time, th store was kept clean but at times could get unorganized by either the customers or employees. Duties were taken by cashiers, as well as myself to take initiative in seeing that all the groceries were put back in the proper places.

Wonderful Manager, who always supported her employees and considered herself equal amongst all the staff in the store. 

Overall, an amazing job experience and if there were ever a time I were to go back to london, it would be a wonderful thing. I would also encourage anyone else to partake of this specific store location. 

All my previous jobs I enjoyed going to work. My bosses were great with school flexibility and very respectful people. My co-workers  were very caring and great to work with.With all my previous jobs, when i first started out, the people that worked there were always willing to help me out if I was not sure what to do or if I forgot to how to do something. It helped me feel confident in my position.when new people would get hired after I have been working there I did extend the same respect and helpfulness to them. Starting a new job and working with new people could make me a little nervous, but after all the support from the previous job I am very confident that I will fit in anywhere and be a great asset to an team. I am a team player but if needed I can work independently. the hardest part of my job was to remember all the codes for the produce at Food Basic. The part of my job that i enjoyed most was helping people who were elderly or had a different ethnic back ground find the items they were looking for. I learned about a lot of new foods and that was just a added bonus. The only thing that I could say I did not like were the hours, with that being said, in the school year they were perfect because it did not add too must to my plate but in the summer time I was not able to pick up many hours. Overall, every job I have had has prepared me for my next, they helped me grow and become the hard working, responsible and respectful working I am.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Bookkeeper 2 salaries reported	$26.20 per hour
Assistant store manager 2 salaries reported	$26.92 per hour
Sales executive 2 salaries reported	$107,967 per year
Grocery associate 1 salary reported	$18.17 per hour
Sales manager 1 salary reported	$159,101 per year

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