health coach

cashier

produce associate

specialist

merchandiser

Healthy Planet

Typical day at work consists of organizing chaos. Employee positions are ill-defined: it leads to employees doing multiple roles. I did everything from sales associate to operational manager to help out middle management because upper management refused to give us proper support. So be aware; you might be hired for a specific position but they’ll expect you to do all roles for the same pay. This lack of defined roles allows for a lot of miscommunication because nobody knows who their superior truly is. So people who are actually much lower in position than you can appear to have authority over how you work. When in reality you outrank them and they should be following your lead. But that’s the kind of thing that happens within a family-owned business; it becomes hard to direct/reprimand family that works for you.

There’s a lot of micromanaging from upper management to no end. Upper management will create most of the problems you face daily just because they have no foresight. For those in middle management (supervisors/managers) if you’re an organized, practical, straightforward type of individual; this work environment is NOT for you. Upper management often does things that defies logic and puts middle management at odds with their workers and customers. I repeat, you will not get the proper support to run your storefront efficiently but will get blamed for everything that goes wrong. No real training program; you learn things on the fly. If you’re lucky like I was, you’ll have a couple of employees that know what they’re doing to show you the ropes. I find newer staff have a better sense of community and helping one another versus the older staff. Middle management was fantastic at the location I worked at; very supportive and accommodating. Unfortunately, their ability to do more was severely undermined by upper management. It’s why I left; I should’t have to fight against you to make your company more profitable. 

There are great opportunities to learn about the products through affiliate company trainings. Can definitely network through those type of events. Otherwise the pay is not competitive, I’ve seen first-hand overly qualified female nutritionists being paid less than their male counterparts whose qualifications don’t compare. There’s poor communication between multiple locations; many locations seem to have a different set of rules of how to operate. And there’s not many opportunities for newer employees to be promoted to higher positions. If you’re a nutritionist/dietician/sports nutritionist/naturopath fresh out of school, then this is a good opportunity to gain some experience. You’ll learn a lot of what not to do. Do not work here more than 1-2 years; it’s a danger to your mental health and overall reputation in the health/wellness industry. If it wasn’t for middle management and my co-workers, I wouldn’t have stayed as long as I did.

Typical day at work would be myself helping out our clients/customers by giving them advice about their health and what we can do to make them live a healthier life style.

I learned about our herbs and what they can do and how they can heal the body faster without any side effects.
I also took initiative by going to seminars about our products to learn about our products we sell to our clients, including our supplements, protein, organic skin care products and our organically made herbs.

Our workplace culture, we deal with all sorts of different personalities when it comes to our customers and their needs. I love being able to interact with different types of people, I gain more social skills plus it's extremely beneficial when it comes to interacting with our customers. Customers can get out of hand sometimes but in a way it can help myself and my co-workers learn how to act when it comes to situations like this, we have to think twice before saying something to a customer.

Hardest part of my job would be when a customers behaviour is extremely aggressive towards me, for example if there is a price change, they bought the wrong item, the item they want is too expensive, forcing us to give them a discount, customer complaints etc. 

Most enjoyable, is coming to work and interacting with our customers, I enjoy hearing about what they want for their health and how strong their mindset is about health. Secondly would be my co-workers this is a really good environment for people to work for all ages (above 16), we help out each other a lot.

For the past decade, I have had the privilege of contributing my efforts to the growth and success of Healthy Planet, a company committed to promoting wellness and environmental sustainability. Over this span of time, I have immersed myself in the ethos of the organization, dedicating my skills and passion to its mission.

Each day, I am motivated by the opportunity to make a positive impact on the health of individuals and the planet alike. Whether it's through innovative product development, strategic initiatives, or fostering a culture of wellness within the company, I have relished every moment of my tenure.

As I reflect on the past decade, I am proud of the milestones we have achieved together as a team. From expanding our reach to new markets, launching groundbreaking products, to implementing sustainable practices across our operations, every accomplishment has been a testament to our collective dedication and hard work.

Looking ahead, I am excited about the endless possibilities that lie before us. With a firm foundation built on integrity, innovation, and a commitment to excellence, I am confident that Healthy Planet will continue to thrive and make a meaningful difference in the world.

In conclusion, I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of Healthy Planet's journey over the past ten years. It has been a fulfilling experience, and I eagerly anticipate the continued growth and success that lies ahead for both myself and the company.

It's one thing to learn in school and from books, but you do learn SO much working here. The training sessions are awesome (mind you this training isn't by healthy planet but the companies). You meet so many like minded people and learn from each other.

However, the environment is toxic. I found it very strange that most people working in the surrounding locations had only worked for a few months, and that the original people who had opened the stores had all 'left the company'. (Keep in mind these stores have only been around for 1-2 years). For those in the sales industry, this screams red flag. A high turn over of staff means there is something wrong with management, which I found out for myself.

The sales expectations are crazy. So if as a customer you are feeling  'pushed' to buy things it's because the managers are watching the cameras, listening to your conversation, looking for a window to jump into the conversation and sell you more, and the list goes on. I understand they are a business, but I didn't get into this industry to gouge people of money.

Don't get me wrong, the staff there are very nice people. But there were so many red flags popping up, and at the end of the day I couldn't wait to get out of there. I can honestly say I have never felt that way about a job before, so I knew it was my time to go.

Area manager of the stores in the Hamilton region is extremely overbearing and negative. He visits the stores several times a week, He never has a single constructive or nice thing to say, and will chastise you for absolutely anything even if it something that isn’t true. HR is practically useless because the head of HR will not listen to concerns of the employees and discredits any complaints made about toxic upper management. When I worked there as the ONLY stock person I was expected to unpack, receive, and put away everything for the entire store every day for very little pay. It was absolutely more than a 1 person job, and the Area manager would throw a fit if I left anything in boxes to put away for the next day (I never left anything perishable or that couldn’t sit in a box over night), but also threatened to fire me if I stayed longer than my shift to finish everything. You are also expected to be contactable 24/7 and Area manager will chastise people in the store’s group chat in front of everyone else. After working hard there for a year I got a 5 cent raise, it was actually insulting, I quit soon after. One good thing was most of the associates/store management were very friendly and very good at their job. It’s simply upper management that makes it unbearable. 

As far as retail goes, Healthy Planet is one of the best places in Ontario to work. That said, it is retail, and some people will simply never enjoy retail. 

The ongoing education provided for Nutritionists/Product Specialists is exceptional, I learned far more simply working there than I ever would have at a continuing education course in nutraceuticals, and was consequently better versed in nutraceuticals than many Naturopathic Doctors I know (and continue to educate them on products). It's advantageous that the education isn't bias, you receive an honest look at all product lines and can guide customers with integrity. 

The pay is somewhat higher than other retail positions, but it is still not great, especially considering the cost of living in the GTA. That said, if you are willing to put in full-time hours and show initiative, opportunities to grow within the company will certainly present themselves. There is a great benefits package offered to full-time employees.

Each manager is different. My first manager was amazing--very helpful/supportive, extremely knowledgeable, organized, efficient, and pleasant to be around--I couldn't have asked for a better boss. The second one was not so good...

The atmosphere is calm and work was enjoyable. If you are interested in health, don't mind retail, and want to grow with a company, it might be a great fit for you.

This management team at Healthy planet and upper management are the worst Team I have ever worked with. This company uses its employees and dismisses them without just causes very frequently. I personally witnessed eight people get fired within a 4 month span. There is only a 30 minute break even if you work for 10 hours, they stretch out overtime over a two week period. They put up the schedule a day before the new work week, vacation pay is paid every pay cycle to discourage you from taking vacation. The management treats its employees terribly, using scare tactics, verbal abuse and manipulation. Exploitation of workers, not paying individuals fairly for the tasks they are preforming. Absolutely terrible treatment towards customers, discouraging exchanges or store credits even when it is warranted. I witnessed terrible treatment toward a lady and her daughter from one of the district managers and the lady said she would never return and thanked me for being kind to her during his verbal abuse towards her. I should have walked out on the job at that moment! I discourage anyone from working with this company or shopping with them. They are very unhealthy and we do not need to support a company such as this. I strongly urge anyone who is thinking to join this company to reconsider.

I really enjoyed working there when I first started. The staff was excellent and our Manager was great. We had 2 questionable staff that were brought from Toronto, didn't even let our Manager know about them until last second during the hiring process. They would always talk about upper management watching us on the camera to try to get us to do what they wanted. They would watch us and were on a power trip with the female staff that they thought they could run over. It was like they were spying on us and informing the Regional Manager. Our Manager left and the Regional Manager took over temporarily. They would always push us for more sales but that became a lot worse when he took over. It became blatantly obvious to me that all the company cares about are sales. They don't care about the well being of the customers, and the staff. He wasn't letting staff talk to each other anymore and it just destroyed the amazing staff vibe we previously had. It was so unorganized. It would be all these ideas, and saying they are implemented now but it wouldn't even be set up before he was on to the next thing. Also, the way they wanted to do receiving was unorganized, chaotic and inefficient. It's faster but with many mistakes. They expect way too much from the staff considering the pay is so low.

The WORST company I have ever worked for. Severely understaffed, employees never got proper breaks, would get called in the middle of my break by my manager to come back immediately to “help”, and managers expect you to know what you’re doing as soon as you get there, even though they don’t even properly train you. They also gave me full time hours when I got hired as part time, as I’m a college student and can’t do 40 hours. When trying to explain this to them, they refused to make changes and acted like nothing happened the next day. Quite a few people quit because of Healthy Planet doing illegal things like not giving proper breaks to people like me who worked 8+ hours. When complaining to the HR of Healthy Planet, they pretended to be concerned, but didn’t even make any changes. Everyone I talked to there absolutely hated the place and complained about the unfair employee treatment. All the managers would do is sit in the back room and talk and not help any of us. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to apply here, at least not the Cambridge, ON location.

I warn anyone who values long term security to read the employment contract very carefully. This company has a habit of terminating it’s employees after they have used them and they only give you one week severance according to ESA. They have a clause in the agreement that you cannot pursue legal action in the event that they wrongfully dismiss you. That would explain why they do not have any policy in place for writing up employees or giving any warning before termination. Once they have used you, you are disposable to them if they feel justified in letting you go. Every policy set in place by this company is with the intention of taking away all of your power and rights to speak up against an oppressive work environment. Do yourself a favour and look for a company that has integrity and values the personal lives of its employees. Truly a terrible company and one that deserves absolutely no respect for its treatment of its employees! Truly sad and remarkable that a company can find loop holes to not be held accountable for injustice imparted upon their employees.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Health coach 28 salaries reported	$20.50 per hour
Cashier 9 salaries reported	$18.25 per hour
Produce associate 13 salaries reported	$19.81 per hour
Specialist 12 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Merchandiser 11 salaries reported	$18.25 per hour

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