customer service representative

pet technician

pet sitter

assistant aux ventes

gérant de commerce de détail

Global Pet Foods

Dear Management, 

If you are reading this then I know that you know who I am. And that's okay; I have nothing to hide. I would have said every word of this to you in person, but I was told over and over again that any issues or input I had were not to be brought to management's attention. I hope I have your attention now though. I want you to know that none if this is meant to be snarky: I simply want to let you know what my experience with your company was, in hope that you just might listen and use the information to improve things for your workers. Because your workers are amazing. We formed a family and supported each other because we certainly weren't getting any support from anyone else. They deserve so much better than they are currently getting and it hurts my heart to see that.

I know there are people that you think "have been there too long" and that they need to move on. But in my experience people stop caring about a job when they realize the job doesn't care about them. It is made very clear to all the staff that they are replaceable, so of course they don't care. You expect so much out of them and give them very little back. It's a two way street. If you want good employees then you need to invest in them. Everyone is replaceable, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be valued and appreciated. If you are constantly reminding your staff that you don't need them, well they just might decide they don't need you either, and they would be right.

Similarly, there was a lot of talk within management about why the staff wasn't engaged and what to do about it. You know what the best way to figure that out is? Ask the staff. Listen to them when they have issues instead of telling them you don't want to hear it. You maintain such a deep divide between management and staff and that is not a good thing. You're all a team. You all should have a voice. Management may make the decisions, but it's the staff who it affects, so if they have feedback it's important that you listen and take their perspective into account, and then work with them to find a solution that works for everyone. Or if something has to be a certain way, then explain the reasoning behind it instead of just saying "absolutely not" to their suggestion. Communication is key and there is none currently.

The staff picks up on far more than you give them credit for. We see the blatant favoritism that plays out every day. You make decisions based on who you like not what is best for the store, and we all suffer because of it. I know you won't admit that it happens, but we all feel it. New employees pick up on it without anyone saying it to them. If the staff all independently come to the same conclusion, then whether or not it's true, it still needs to be addressed since it's clearly a problem. The last 5 people all left upset about the same things but nothing ever changes. It's time it does though. Global could be such a great company to work for. It's not yet, but it could be.

Sincerely, 
Your Employee

Unlike a lot of franchises, GPF allows its franchisees a LOT of freedom in how they run their store. This means that while I could talk about how I felt the job was really fulfilling as the owners were truly passionate about only stocking pet food that was actually good for pets, and ruthlessly trained their employees in product knowledge, and I actually felt like I was making a really positive difference for the customers... that's not going to necessarily apply to any other Global Pet Foods location. The store owners are almost completely on their own. 

This was great for our location in the sense that the owners could make actual ethical purchasing decisions, and were constantly tossing out products they felt weren't safe for pets. (Which, in the pet industry, is A LOT. My location was the ONLY pet store I have EVER been in that didn't sell pine and cedar shavings for small pets.)

But it also meant that when they hired a personal friend as a manager who seemed to be out to straight up sabotage their business, and none of the employees felt they could say anything... well, suddenly everyone was finding other places to be. The owners were wonderful and I loved working for them but there was no one to tell them "your manager is outright telling customers to get out and not come back and is making your employees miserable". There's something to be said about working for a larger organization with a system to formally submit complaints and concerns. A Global Pet Foods franchise is not structured like that; it's a private individually run business that pays franchise fees to have a recognized name on their door.

In my experience it felt like they wanted their employees to go beyond and put total effort into working at the store, be completely enthusiastic about the products, have immense amounts of product knowledge and be able to thoroughly educate customers with exceptional customer service... all at minimum wage.

For a supervisor that inspired their employees, made them feel appreciated and valued, encouraged their good work and gently corrected mistakes, made them want to go above and beyond just to make the owners happy... the sense of fulfillment made it worth it. For a supervisor that made the employees feel criticized, belittled, never giving positive feedback and harassing them for the smallest grievances, choosing favourites and talking badly about other employees while they weren't present... Yeah, "I don't think I'm paid enough to care this much" came to mind.

Working at Global Pet Foods has been one of the most enjoyable jobs I have ever had. The mentality and kindness of your clients is unlike any other industry I have worked in. Most of your clients are enjoyable and love to share their pictures and stories of their pets and lives with you. 

I found as well that since Global is known as a more high end pet retailer customers are more open to your suggestions. Keep in mind that this will never apply to all your customers but for the most part they are mostly all very pleasant.

Global Pet Foods works co side with many distributors and retailers which means there's lots of opportunities to receive free trials and staff feeding for your pets. 

The only downside that I encountered with Global, was that many locations are independently owned (franchise). This led to a few problems:

-procedures and sales can vary from store to store which can cause confusion and anger within your customer base, especially if they shop at more than one location
-many owners are first time business owners, so they may have little to no knowledge on running a proper team (i.e- scheduling issues, breaks, separating personal life, scheduled tasks, organisation, proper staff roles etc)
-as well since these stores are being run personally funded by their own means you may run into conflicts and experience cuts or overwork, etc

I would also say that some locations provide a hard time to move up. Newly opened stores, like the one I worked at, have owners who are very invested and do not trust staff to take on management roles, nor do they have the money to provide such a role in the first place.

Within the pet industry it is hard to "move up". From what I experienced, there is usually two options. Manage or own your own store. Or become a representative for an individual pet food company. 

With this in mind I would suggest that Global makes a wonderful part time job with a wonderful clientele and many benefits for your own pets.

I was hired on and got let go right before my 3 months was up with very little reason given.  I was in time for every shift, put away most of the deliveries plus doing cash, completed tasks list and everything asked of me. 

 It was a fun place to work but the location I worked at was slow and very boring at times.  Not enough tasks were given to stay busy all day.. 

The manager was nice and quiet but not outgoing, never upselled, and had no idea how to communicate or deligate. Any mistake you made she'd tell higher ups.  It's almost like she wants to be on her own in the store and is looking for reasons to be alone or get people fired.

Next to no training.  Expected to learn everything on your own basically.  Any.mistake that was made regardless of being new was frowned upon or punished.  The owner was a stressed out and angry individual.  It seemed like all she cared about was herself and money

The store hired about 4 new people and none of them worked out.  Some didn't show up for shifts, called in sick, or kept switching shifts.  In all honesty it's probably because they realized the owner was crazy.  I'm sure they felt they had zero job security.

Advice to management and the owner would be to more intensive interviews first not just a five minute one to make sure you're hiring the ideal candidate.  Take more time to properly train employees.  Don't just leave them to their own devices.  Allow for mistakes to be made.  Instead of firing people and plowing through a high number of employees take the ones who actually show up and work hard and develop them into a well trained sales associate.  It's not going to happen overnight.  Expectations for a minimum wage job are way too high and unfair.

I'd never recommend this job to a friend.

What is the best part of working at the company?
There are no best parts about working here.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Toxic insecure management. Manager is constantly ranting about their financial situation and stress to employees. The manager tries to manipulate employees into giving their entire life to the store for minimum wage. I was promised a pay raise after 3 months. I never saw a pay raise. 
Oh and god forbid you call in sick, it’s the end of the world at this job. 
One employee was not liked by management and they would constantly talk poorly about them behind their back to other staff and in front of new staff. Management is incompetent and can bearly run their own store and then blames problems on staff rather than taking accountability for their own mistakes and blind spots.
Taking time off at this job is also a huge hassle and a nightmare. 
They also complain constantly about other staff being unreliable, yet the management is unreliable. 
If you value your mental health DO NOT WORK HERE. 



What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic, mis-managed environment. Customers complain about the poor management to the staff. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Standing around looking busy doing the same task you completed 2 hours ago waiting for customers. Then listening to the manager complain about poor sales for hours, but there were nearly no customer in the store.

Working at this particular store was very chill most of the time, it's alot smaller than petsmart and rens so theres a more intimate relationship with the customer. Most of the day consists of restocking food items, answering phone calls and cashing people out. 

i learned more about the pet food industry for sure and the value of good and healthy ingredients for your pet. the different values of raw food, and the importance of checking protein values and glycemic index in foods.

I had no issues with management, they were the some of the nicest people I have ever had the opportunity to work for. 

I barely saw my coworker, just h and bye between shifts. It was a tiny shop, so it was usually one person working at teh store at a time.

The hardest part was always dealing with annoying customers who displayed a sense of entitlement, asked rhetorical questions or acted "irate" to get discounts or free stuff. Other than that it was putting away heavy food bags or getting heavy food bags for customers. Especially the ones at the bottom of a pile! 

The most enjoyable part? working practically alone. sometimes the store would be slow during the week and i could watch netflix on my phone or do homework in between customers. over all very chill. and of course my super nice managers. i never had any issues with them at all.

It's retail, and this is a franchise. I've had the misfortune of working with some bad people, but I've also worked with some great people. Don't expect to be able to crawl up the ladder or be able to get easy promotions. They don't pay you nearly enough for what you do, and you don't get any benefits. But, the customer relations, meeting their pets, working for the animals. 

A typical day is from 9h30 am to 6h30 AM. Weekends 9-5. The hardest part of the job, as manager, is trying to please everyone above you. Trying to work with what you're given, because you're not given a lot. If you hire a good team, you'll build a good work culture. The only thing I don't like is how ignored I felt. I never had a voice unless I forced them to listen to it (them being the group of men that directed the group of franchises I worked under). You are not listened to unless you push, and even then, you're brushed off with false pretenses of approval. Ultimately, there is also nowhere to climb and be promoted here unless you can get close to your franchiser. It's not an easy task, and not everyone can afford to open up a new store. So once you reach manager, you have nowhere to go, no benefits, and mediocre to low pay. 

Great environment in the nuclear team, less enthusiastic about the higher up units. 

I loved the staff I got to work with, a lot of the brand reps I got to meet and get on friendly terms with, and everything I learned about the different foods and things that I can apply to my own pets. But. There are so many problems. 

No job security whatsoever. 6 people were let go within the first 4 months, and 2 quit. As manager I received little to no training, and anything I didn't know how to do, I had to phone or text, or just figure out myself. 

There was little to no direction from head office, as they were in Ontario and we were in BC. We were basically stranded. We took over a horrifying store that hadn't been cleaned in probably 15 years and didn't look like any of the other Globals (and they didn't start renos until 4 months after opening), no one had any background in the pet industry, and no one from head office was sticking around long enough to give thorough enough training to anyone.

And if someone complains about you, whether a customer or another coworker/employee, that's probably it for you. 

It's a nightmare. No one ever knows what they're doing, and trying to get information from head office is like trying to pull teeth.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I enjoyed meeting new colleagues and soon turned into new friendships same with the hours were flexible but the most part if working there that was the best for me was the energy of gaining muscle and a nice ton to my body with having to lift 25lbs dog/cat food bags once a day basic and 18kg cat litters which are very heavy. Therefore resulting in productive work ethics and great health. Thank you Global Pet Foods, miss working there at times...with the future lying ahead, who knows what it shall bring. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Worming at different degrees then what I was trained for as I was just on duty for organising the back room and unstocking the trucks after we got our stock. So the Cashier on weekend shifts were a bit stressful but nothing a Bilingual Prodictive worker can't do, every job has its stress that's why it's best being a tem player.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Selling expensive but best qualities for their products on both Dog and Cat foods also birds, wild animals and much much more from bedding to Rabbits or fish aquarius stuff you name it they had it in Global Pet foods

The location I worked at valued it's customers much more than staff. I was often given the same tasks over and over again that no one else wanted (such as cleaning the shelves, sweeping/mopping, taking out the trash, bringing signs in and out of the store). I don't mind doing these tasks, but was bothered that I was only stuck with them because no one else wanted to do them and management was okay with people passing off their share of the tasks on other people. 
Management also chose favorites and made it obvious who was respected more. The favorite staff members would receive incentives and gifts, while others were not. The working conditions were extremely unfair and I did not feel like a valued employee at all. 
I was treated poorly because I have a slight mental disability. Sometimes I make mistakes by confusing one thing with the other, but I usually catch my mistake immediately and do my best to rectify it. The manager would act like I was dumb and treat me as such.  I also have a physical aspect of me that I've very self conscious about and it was brought up often and made me feel very insecure.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Customer service representative 7 salaries reported	$18.30 per hour
Pet technician 8 salaries reported	$17.71 per hour
Pet sitter 12 salaries reported	$17.76 per hour
Assistant aux ventes 15 salaries reported	$16.86 per hour
Gérant de commerce de détail 3 salaries reported	$18.20 per hour

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