deli associate

boulanger-pâtissier

packer

receptionist/administrative assistant

grocery associate

Italian Centre Shop

A typical day at work was fast-paced and often stressful due to poor organization and lack of clear communication from management. Training was limited, and expectations were high without proper support. While I learned to multitask and work under pressure, the overall environment felt unstable and inconsistent.

One of the most concerning aspects of the workplace was experiencing and witnessing discriminatory behavior. There were situations where employees were treated differently based on background and personal characteristics, and concerns raised about this were not taken seriously. This created an uncomfortable and unfair work environment.

Management often appeared unapproachable, and favoritism was noticeable. The hardest part of the job was dealing with constant stress, short staffing, and feeling unsupported. The most enjoyable part was interacting with customers and working with a few kind coworkers who tried their best despite the challenges.

- free lunches were an awesome bonus, although i heard many people complain about the repetitive sandwiches i was happy to simply save on groceries for myself. staff should be able to bring food home, the organic & non-perishable waste in this store is enormous.

- i worked in the cafe which was always busy, half the job was telling people to wait in the surrounding area for a seat. overall great experience in that section of the store (jess & bettina are awesome!!) with the chance to work in other departments for a few hours, so you really get to know everyone in each department.

- workdays are long with almost no room for advancement or raises. solid workweek provided for full-time, i appreciated the hours. year-end bonus is the best ive ever seen for a position like this & honestly made working there worth it. 

- there is definitely a divide between the italian-speaking coworkers and the english-speakers, if you can get over that you'll be fine. everyone is friendly but i found people wanted to make a big deal of this (doesn't matter, just mind your business and be friendly).

I worked there for 6 years. The job itself is very simple and easy to do, but you have no job advancement and its hard to change departments if you are not favoured by the managers. My manager had unrealistic high expectations and ask for us to do extra tasks that are not meant for our job descriptions. 

The cons are the work environment is no different than a high school clique. A crazy amount of work gossiping environment between employees and managers. Lack of professionalism. No employee discounts. No work-life-balance. Management was not organized and they do not care about you (or put any consideration). Favoritism is very high with managers. They get mad if you are sick and had to take a day off. They don't balance the schedule between their employees at all when they switch between nights and days. No support from management at all. 

The positives are the job is easy enough to do (to a certain point) and you get free lunches. You get yearly bonuses and the pay is decent enough. The Christmas Parties were fun.

I worked hard, never took sick days, and consistently fulfilled my responsibilities — often doing more than expected. A typical day involved customer service, maintaining product displays, organizing stock, and ensuring everything ran smoothly. I learned a lot about Italian specialty products and developed strong multitasking skills.

Unfortunately, despite my dedication and reliability, I was terminated without a clear or valid reason. Management did not provide constructive feedback or performance concerns prior to this decision. It felt disappointing, especially after putting in consistent effort and commitment.

The most enjoyable part of the job was working with customers and high-quality Italian products. The hardest part was feeling that performance and dedication were not truly valued.

Work environment is crowded and a lot of things are slowly not working anymore but management doesn't seem to want to replace things. They also don't listen to employee input and ideas. Isn't the most sanitary environment and seems that sanitation is only taken seriously when the inspectors come around. Days are really long. We are there for 9 hours and they get away with it without paying us overtime by giving us a one hour lunch break. Two 15 min and a half hour would be preferable in an environment where you're on your feet all day. They put a price range of $12.50-14.50 an hour when in fact most of the people who work in the deli actually make less. European customers can be very demanding and I don't believe the wage compensates for all the trouble we go through and for 8 hours of standing walking back and fourth with only 1 hour of being able to sit down or rest. The food however is amazing and the free lunch almost makes it worth it.

My day consisted of getting constantly told to move every second of my shift, I was brought on to be extra help but then more and more addons were placed on me with the whole team expecting me alone to do all the dishes, clean every table, and put away burning hot dishes immediately after taking them out of the scalding hot dishwasher machine; all at the same time. Most days I wouldn't be able to go 2-3 minutes without someone telling me to go cleaning something else while I'm the middle of cleaning another thing. Honestly the only reason I stayed was for a paycheck as I constantly loathed going to work every weekend and getting a 75 Cent Raise once a Year.

If you’re looking for favouritism, this place definitely has it! If you don’t kiss up and bow down to upper management, you will be picked on in this place. Everything that you do is wrong, and your opinion doesn’t matter. The word control is used very often towards co workers from managers. They say it’s a family place, but I say it’s a disgrace. Respect, growth, and loyalty is preached but not followed by upper management. The place is dirty, especially the deli and bakery. Not to mention the deli manager gossips about everyone and has favourites too. You can get introuble by walking someone over to the bakery to help them with customer service. 

 Poor handling. It is only taken into account if you are a friend, family member, or is a
with influence to receive a better treatment or  the best opportunity. It does NOT matter if you are an efficient worker, excellent at your job or have the best attitude to move forward.
Administration that looks more at its own interests than at the interest of the company and its workers
Gossip environment, to manage conspiracies against other workers, to pay more attention what said about others.
Poor food management, apparently it is not the priority for this store.
No idea of accident prevention and health management.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Some coworkers were friendly and supportive, which made busy shifts a bit easier.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part of working at Italian Centre Shop West in the deli section was the management style and lack of organization.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment and culture at Italian Centre Shop West is mixed and can depend a lot on the team and management.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day at Italian Centre Shop West in the deli section is fast-paced and physically demanding.

I worked here for about 3 months, in this time I met some amazing people. Unfortunately, if you're new and don't cower in the corner to all their wants and demands they don't like you. I suffered through about 2 months of constant snarky comments, being yelled at in front of customers, talked down to, you name it. After finally going to Management about it they turned a cold shoulder and did absolutely nothing about it. They decided instead of managing the problem and fixing it the better solution was to get rid of the one who made the complaint. Me.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Deli associate 6 salaries reported	$15.50 per hour
Boulanger-pâtissier 2 salaries reported	$20.01 per hour
Packer 2 salaries reported	$21.50 per hour
Receptionist/administrative assistant 1 salary reported	$20.53 per hour
Grocery associate 1 salary reported	$19.36 per hour

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