department manager

department leader

assistant store manager

sales lead

guest service agent

GARDENWORKS

This is, hands down, the best job I have ever had. The management is extremely kind and understanding, gives very clear instructions, goal-posts as well as recognition for a job well done. There was always a sense of team cohesion and clear priorities, which made it easy to work here and not feel burdened by the job. 

We had many regulars who loved coming here and connecting with the staff, which says a lot about the atmosphere. On the odd occasion that a customer was being unreasonable and yelling at staff (for enforcing COVID regulations), our manager stood up for the staff and health regulations, which I will forever respect and appreciate, as I have found this type of treatment from management truly rare and unprecedented.

The team members were respected and valued and were treated like equals and even friends. I think this came from the fact that we had very clear roles and priorities; so long as we were putting in the effort and trying our best, we had very few issues, if any at all, and were offered respect and a stable job in return.

The job can be fast-paced and challenging at times due to the volume of customers, but in a way that is fulfilling to work at and provides a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. 





The coworkers were great and created a nice environment but things have changed. Not surprising that half the staff have quit within the last year, including the very valued team members. If you are part time/ seasonal during off season, your hours are cut down to nothing usually without warning. People are always coming and going, with little consideration and appreciation for staff. The pay isn’t great and no real roam to grow in the company besides false promises. The management is very disorganized this includes upper management whose priorities reflected upselling rather than serious internal problems. Cashiering could be stressful at times when you were the only one scheduled on the till for the day, with long lineups and difficulty taking breaks. Half the products on the sales floor were priced incorrectly, had no price at all or had the wrong sale price since most department managers didn’t bother pricing items correctly before they were put onto the floor. The IT department also failed to have prices/ sales prices correct in the system countless times making it difficult for cashiers. For a “proud local business”  they sure know how to run themselves as a greedy corporate company. 

Great place to work if you want to play with the cat all day and dump all of your work on to others.  Upper management was a mess of deeply insecure and narcissistic people.   They would often feature pictures of their homes on the company's social media accounts trying to impress everyone.   Wow like thanks for telling me over and over that your spouse is an architect.   Any staff that were young, smart, and hard working were usually quick to leave and find a real career that paid a living wage and had a pension.   The owners seemed to target one or two managers each year and try and coach them out of the company or outright fire them after the busy spring season.   The biggest problem with the company has always been recruitment and retention but much of their energy seemed to go in to conflicts with existing managers and staff.   Not much in the way of diversity in management either, you need to look like most of the other managers otherwise you will never get promoted.   They say that they celebrate diversity, but they certainly don't promote people who are diverse.

I've worked at Gardenworks for the last 3 years and the only reason to leave is because I'm going to school. The Saanich store (on Blenkinsop Rd) has the most incredible Management team. They are hard working, flexible, fair, and make work fun! The entire team is actually wonderful, and I really enjoyed working with almost everyone over the years, even with the cycling seasonal staff.

If you are in school looking for part time, they are really flexible with hours in the spring and need a lot of people because it gets really busy. Even if you don't know a lot about plants, you can learn as you go and will be totally fine!
There's also a great discount!

The spring gets really busy, but there is lots of support from team leads and the managers, so it isn't scary busy. Most of the customers are lovely and happy to be there because it is their hobby and they enjoy it, which is nice.

I would absolutely recommend working here, I will definitely be going back to visit since they are more like my family than my coworkers (cheesy I know, but its actually true, not just being nice for the review)

Gardenworks is a beautiful place to work and many of the staff there are knowledgeable, friendly and a pleasure as co workers.  
The ownership have good intentions and are clear in their expectations.  Unfortunately the culture of the store managers is to avoid communicating with store ownership as much as possible, and create toxic, politicized environments in many of the stores.  End of season layoffs occur without any warning to affected staff.  There are no development or training plans in place for staff to grow and as a result most management lack basic leadership skills.   My manager struggled with personal and financial issues  while at work and her distraction took a toll on the whole business.  People who could have made a difference are seen as a threat and laid off.  Ownership seems unaware of the store level realities.
So much potential.  Such a disappointment.

The work environment is incredibly toxic. Hostile working conditions to say the least. Management is cruel and have a tendency to change job descriptions at will with no pay or training to compensate. Promises of wage increases always get tied up in upper management, with no follow through. The owners are just as toxic, choosing to spend money on themselves and the higher ups for fancy business trips. No Christmas bonuses for staff. Nothing to thank their employees for their hard work other than to belittle them and add to their work with no training then punish them for not doing the job properly. The entire company is toxic right from the top down. Manager has a tendency to talk badly openly about other staff to other staff. Save yourself the trouble of a toxic work place with a high turn over.

I worked here as a full-time first-year university student over the summer. Guests were generally laid back and management is respectful and attentive to employees. A lot of my co-workers were around the same age as me - either finishing high school or starting university - so got along well with everyone. Many of my older co-workers were also very helpful and fostered a great employee culture. Learned a lot about plant varieties and care in the Bedding/Perennials section and pottery inventory management and product buying. Lots of heavy lifting in the Pottery section but I was provided with protective equipment like a back brace and heavy-duty gloves. Was clear that Management cared for their employees.

Being a cashier at GardenWorks, for the most part, would be boring, which made me look for things to do. Tasks were quite repetitive and ringing up the purchases was not always as easy task as we had to remember codes for certain plants and items. I liked the breaks that we were able to have during the shifts and how I could handle some of the plants. The part I disliked about the job was how hard it was to make friends. There were already cliques and I felt like I was in high school all over again; surrounded by all these high school students, who at times would be immature. It was also difficult to bring a packed lunch all the time. I didn't appreciate the slack that some of my co-workers portrayed.

I didn't like working at this place, it's okay if you like plants I guess.   Most of the staff are okay and seem to put up with the frequent customer complaints about the high prices.   The equipment they expect you to use is not in good shape and often broken waiting for repair.   When one employee mentioned the forklift was broken, the owner suggested they quit if they didn't like working there and pointed in the direction of the exit..   

The owners dont seem to have any uppreciation for the hard work the staff do and would rather just bring in donuts once a week.   The prices are still high even with the employee discount, so better to shop somewhere else.

This place has a toxic work environment created by the senior leadership.  It's run by a group of partners who constantly argue with each other and give the managers conflicting instructions and priorities.   The partners are arrogant, entitled, and vindictive towards the staff, often ridiculing them and gossiping behind their backs.   They are ego driven and more concerned with winning the garden centre of the year award as opposed to creating a healthy work environment for the employees.  My advice to the owners is to hire some experienced professional retail managers who have people skills instead of trying to play manager themselves.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Department manager 26 salaries reported	$25.31 per hour
Department leader 23 salaries reported	$22.89 per hour
Assistant store manager 13 salaries reported	$60,385 per year
Sales lead 4 salaries reported	$23.50 per hour
Guest service agent 1 salary reported	$24.00 per hour

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