cnc operator

adjoint de magasin

machiniste sur matériel cnc

acheteur

directeur de la stratégie

Lee Valley Tools

This is a minimum wage retail job.  Most employees are part time and receive less than 20 hours per week.  While specialized expertise in various fields (fine woodworking, carving, turning, specialty hardware, gardening, horticulture,  etc.) is required to appropriately advise customers, they are not willing to pay even 1/2 fair market wages.   

For some jobs they require safety shoes claiming to reimburse 50% up to $75 dollars per year.  After more than four years and three such purchases, I have yet to receive a single reimbursement though I dutifully filed every time.

They offer no opportunity for growth or advancement.  Advancement positions are consistently filled by outside hires with little to no background in any area of the store's specialized focus.  Instead, Lee Valley depends upon their highly underpaid part-time employees to educate the leadership in the basic fundamentals of the store's primary areas of focus.

Management above the individual is totally unresponsive to suggestions and concerns of employees or customers.  I have submitted a great many requests for clarification, corrections to factually wrong directions, and concerns over multiple, easily and inexpensively, fixed safety issues without a single response.  When I asked both my store and regional managers about this they agreed that feedback should be provided, but never bothered to provide any.  In short, the leadership at the top has set up a culture of "Don't question and be happy. You are lucky to have a job."  When applied to specialty shops such as Lee Valley, this has always resulted in the store gaining a poor reputation and then closing.

Lee Valley Tools Ltd. is a great place to work in my opinion. Since the first day, I never had a problem with the job I do. The work done in the packaging department is fairly easy to understand and not confusing. Everyday, the routine work consist of signing in at 7am, picking up a work order to start the job then once it's done, the process repeats itself again until every work order in the list are done. The amount of jobs to do in a day is determined by the supervisor. This is based on which job is a priority and not. Sometimes a big job arises in which a group of workers are assigned (by a supervisor) to form together to get the job done on time. This is probably the most exciting and enjoyable part of the job, The workers in the packaging department are kind and helpful as well. They help one other when a problem occurs. The only hardest part in Packaging work is the task of lifting slightly heavy boxes to be placed on a wooden skid. Since lifting is part of the job, workers just have to take the necessary precautions to avoid injuries.  I also find the management team so helpful and caring too. They're the ones that introduced the Work Improvement Plan which is basically a form that ask us about our opinions and suggestions to improve and simplify the way we do our work. And just before the end of the day, a minor clean up of the work area is done to make sure the place is clean the following day.

Former Office Assistant left no details of the daily routine or tasks. Managers did not know how most office  tasks were done. So it was learn by trial and error or asking head office but with only an hour to get your office work done it was difficult to do. After that you have to be on the retail floor waiting on customers, picking their orders and ringing them in. If no customers then you are to stay on the floor and clean or stock shelves etc. Too many staff have access to the safe and doing the cash report. Too easy for money to go missing, which it did. Management wanted to hide these from head office. 
Managers unprofessional  and want you to be close like their sisters. They also change their minds frequently on what you and staff should be doing. So very confusing. They throw it in your face that you make more thsn other staff and they expect to get their monies worth. One day you are getting praused and then if something goes wrong then it is your fault. Even if it was a managers job. So be prepatef to ride her mental rollercoaster.
The only good thing was the other staff. Most were very nive and helpful and were upset and confused as to why i left

Contract work helped me pay for school, but it messed up my ankles and I've dealt with some health issues since.

I got trained in nearly everything, so I got tossed around between areas fairly frequently. I have learned that i have a tendency to read into things too much, so I thought that I had to work harder than I did; It was actually fairly easy work, and the expectations for productivity were easily attainable after an adjustment period. Their fulfilment process is not the same after spending millions on a new machine to save on seasonal labour costs, but I suppose it helps them with order backlogs.

Management was good, at least one of them. [redacted for privacy] was great. Told me not to come back and work here though and that I should aim for better.

Hardest part was my older coworker who was quite rude and complained to our lead hands and management about every mistake that we made. She is not kind and made me cry on multiple occasions. 

Other warehouses in the city pay much better for the same work, but this was fairly easy to learn and do, so maybe it deserved the pay, I don't know.

Very interesting and numerous gardening and woodworking products plus vast amounts (3000+) of other items (for renovations/innovations) which makes for interesting order-picking on any given day. No two orders are the same which makes for interesting hours of order picking. Orders may be selected in various ways (Voice Command, RF Scanner, loose/directly), but it's a very busy environment.
Training is provided and supervisors are very personable. The company's culture on the warehouse floor is easily seen- a fast paced environment for the astute worker. 
Co-workers are helpful, friendly and many are from various other countries before making Canada their home- makes for interesting conversations too. Equal Employment Opportunity lives here!
As with most warehouses, long hours walking and standing in steel-toes while moving often heavily laden carts may take a toll esp. on feet. Yet, depending on the office assigned, there are cool therapeutic spots to really take the load off at  break times. 
This company provides affordably priced hot lunches every day (optional, since many will still take their own lunches and snacks) and has one of the largest accommodating canteen/lunchroom.

Lee Valley/Veritas proudly proclaims itself as a "family-oriented" business, but the reality is far from the warm, supportive environment you'd expect from such a label. Instead, working here often feels like being trapped in a dysfunctional family dynamic where your kindness is exploited rather than appreciated.

From the outside, Lee Valley/Veritas may appear to value its employees like members of a family, but scratch beneath the surface and you'll find a culture of exploitation and manipulation. Your willingness to go above and beyond is seen not as a virtue to be celebrated, but as an opportunity to be taken advantage of.

Your loyalty and dedication are met with ever-increasing demands and expectations, with little regard for your well-being. It's a one-sided relationship where you give your all, only to be left feeling drained and unappreciated.

A typical day at work I would enter expenses, match with invoice and produce payment. I learned many computer software programs, operational management financial methods for a multi-company and multi-currency company, inventory control and distribution cycle of a retail and mail-order company and customer service skills (to name a few). The management in the several years I worked there was an intelligent group of individuals who I admired for their drive to make the company successful. Co-workers followed the same role as the manager. There were not too many people I worked with who did not enjoy their job and hence it was the enjoyable part of my day going there for several years.

If one is unused to working in a warehouse setting than Lee Valley can be a little overwhelming but fortunately that warehouse is very well organized. One also has to acclimate to receiving instructions and orders from a digital device but thankfully the device in question is fairly simple to customize. The job itself is fairly straightforward but while preforming it mapping out ones general location as well as where certain sizes and classes of items are is something I highly recommend. If nothing else one should listen closely to what ones digital director is saying and wear comfortable but durable footwear as some of the stuff in that warehouse can cause nasty injuries if dropped on ones feet

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great work associates and managers.  Better quality of products.  Lots of diversity in my job.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Providing workshop and drop in sessions with short notice for attendees.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Open and supportive.  Manager and assistant Manager were very active in all parts of the store business.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Day consisted of mostly serving customers, providing them with solutions to issues, advising them on various products and items.

My typical day at work was a great atmosphere, laid back, and made me feel like I really wanted to work hard to complete the job I was given. Management were above excellent and made me feel like a big part of there team. Co-workers were very helpful and would have to say only that I wish they would call me back as a permanent part of their team. It was the most meaningful position I have had in a very long time. My Thanks To Lee Valley Tools Distribution Carp Plant.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Cnc operator 3 salaries reported	$18.85 per hour
Adjoint de magasin 2 salaries reported	$77,500 per year
Machiniste sur matériel cnc 2 salaries reported	$26.55 per hour
Acheteur 2 salaries reported	$34.07 per hour
Directeur de la stratégie 1 salary reported	$95,000 per year

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