order picker

material handler

operations supervisor

human resources representative

supply chain specialist

TCL Supply Chain

It felt like I was hit by a truck the night before as the work is in no way easy. Not only do you have to work really, really hard, but you have to quickly learn how to do it at a frenetic pace and be able to keep that up each and every day you are in no matter what.

I am a fairly athletic person and have kept fit and active my whole life. I entered this job excited and ready to work hard. I really wanted to succeed and turned down offers for much more money to come give this career a try.

We got training in a classroom for the first 3 days (not for the first week as stated) and then a very quick crash course on driving the double pallet fork. I felt very unconfident and uncomfortable on the machine and even told the trainer such, requesting at least a little bit more time on the machine but was not granted it as we had to move along. By this time already half the people had dropped out of the class (only had 4 to begin with) and everything was a bit jumbled as others joined the class having missed previous days. But by the 4th and 5th days, we were on the floor picking actual orders. We were told we would shadow a picker who knows what they are doing in order to get the hang of it but that never happened. I was just picking orders right away. I would have loved to see how an actually good picker does the job so I could emulate it, but I was just stuck out on my own, stumbling along with a voice in my ear giving me numbers and making my head spin a little as I barely new the layout of the warehouse and where to even go.

Trainers come by and give you tips sometimes (maybe once or twice per day). You are on a very, very tight schedule and expected to make an exact time or better. I have tried my best, pushed myself hard and made sure to work as smart as I can as well. I check my percentages regularly as I want to succeed; however, I find myself constantly in the 85-95% range which is not good enough. Thankfully there is a build up time where I don't need 100% right away. But the way I see it, my body is taking a beating each and every shift from which I barely recover if at all and by the time that 100% is demanded I doubt I will be makin it which is unfortunate.

The picking hardware/software system is a major annoyance! It is the tech they use that tells you what orders to pick and is voice commanded. It is an excellent concept for certain, but half the time it can't understand you and you are left standing there yelling numbers into the headset only to have it spout a bunch of random numbers back at you as its way of saying it didn't understand you. Meanwhile, that ever present clock is ticking.

The warehouse is getting fairly busy now too as they gained a bunch more clients. So that means more pickers, more retrievers, and just more traffic in general so you get tied up in some major jams. And still that clock is ticking.

Then there is the equipment. The pallet stackers only work half the time which is a frightening concept at times. I hope those pallets are secure! They have four in total and, at best, only 3 have ever been working at once. Sometimes you have to go across the whole building just to get a pallet. Meanwhile you know that clock is ticking!
The MHE themselves are hit and miss. Some are fine, but many I have ridden have issues, the main one being an unrounded wheel that causes constant, rough vibrations. They say wheels are expensive so aren't changed too often. That is okay, but when your pallet is bouncing everything off onto the floor and you have to scramble to pick it all back up it is very annoying. And still, that clock is ticking.

Another concern would be the size of the pallets. I am a taller guy and can lift things pretty high, but this week I have had several pallets rated at cube 80, which I believe means they will top out at well over 7 feet (probably 8 feet to be exact) and that is only IF you make the perfect pallet. Sure, an engineer on paper can say that pallet will fit tight and only be 7 or 8 feet tall, but with mashed boxes (see my next point) and boxes of every shape and size, things just don't fit exactly perfect. And I am not sure how I am to lift something up well over my head and manage to place is safely and securely onto the pallet when it is that high. What if the products fall? What if it caused the whole pallet to fall? I am still fairly new at this. Thankfully I was safe, this time, and had wrapped the pallet multiple times earlier. Yet, as I did so, the clock was still ticking...

And my final concern was the company's own standards. One thing that was drilled into us over and over during our training was "no pyramid picking". A great plan! Honestly, it is smart and the right thing to do and I try to do this every item I pick. But I am afraid I am the only one! 

I worked at TCL Supply Chain as an Order Picker / Selector for a couple months; by the time I quit I was able to consistently meet a 100%+ rate; but the job itself absolutely was not worth it - which isn’t surprising because the turnover rate is so high and they’re constantly short on staff.

The safety training is the one reasonable part about the job; everything else though leaves a LOT to be desired. Once you get into actually working outside of the classroom, you’re thrown in with minimal actual “On the floor” training. I got to follow a picker for maybe like 30 minutes til they threw me out there.

Regarding the physical aspect of the job, it’s absolutely degrading to the body. I would only recommend working this job strictly as a temporary or short term thing if you’re desperate for money. You’re constantly walking 15k+ steps throughout a shift, crouching and bending down to the floor while having to lift 60 pounds. Non stop.

In regards to the actual job, the equipment is largely outdated. Lots of the pallet jacks are old with stiff steering. The Vocollect / talkman system is incredibly broken and frustrating. They don’t replace bad headsets and bad batteries / receivers. Bad ones just get circulated back in with all the other even if you tell them it doesn’t work. No new ones are ever really bought. You’re literally forced to arrive to work 20-30 minutes early before your shift if you want to ensure you get properly functioning equipment (have to get there before everyone else so you get first pick). Can’t get there early? Enjoy the gamble of getting something that doesn’t work and getting penalized.

Lots of management/trainers never actually picked orders and don’t know how, so a lot of the time you’re literally getting trained by a green vest trainer that was never actually a picker; but yet they’re grading you and training you how to pick. Makes a lot of sense right? As for the management (shift leads), some of them are straight up jerks and rule with an iron fist and will constantly be on your case about numbers; often belittling you. I could pick at the rate fine, but I witnessed so many people getting berated over numbers that struggled and weren’t properly trained.

Again, unless you’re absolutely desperate for money, I would absolutely avoid working here. The pay isn’t worth the stress from reaching your number goal, degrading your body physically, along with the dysfunctional equipment that is a constant hassle and frustration.

Training is very minimal for the job you will actually be doing and performance is all based on computer generated averages. If you are unable to self-train and meet the requirements you will be let go. Most of the training is standardized global DHL training that isn't relevant to the tasks you will be performing.

Pay is at or below industry standard for the area, and the premiums aren't worth it for those who end up working weekends and off shifts or in the freezer. $8 a day extra for working in -27 for 8 hours or missing your weekend, no thanks.

There are no paid sick days, despite working with and handling food. You do not get any stat holidays off, and your only long weekend will be for Christmas with one extra day off. All shift patterns require you work at least one weekend day(Sun-Thurs, Tues-Sat or 10 hour shifts working Fri-Mon). 

There is mandatory overtime, despite the union contract saying that this isn't allowed. Union is very employer friendly and will put the employer's needs above the needs of employees. Everything comes down to the needs of the business, with little regard to the needs of the employees who want to spend time with their families - there is no work life balance at all and more than 3 days missed per quarter, whether it is a call in or unpaid time off requests will result in disciplinary action even for approved time off. They are quick to call mandatory overtime, but will send you home without pay when there is no work left to do even if you need the hours to cover your bills.

Performance based bonuses are an extra $60 every quarter after taxes and rely on the entire team's performance and isn't worth pushing yourself to the breaking point to achieve.

Policies and procedures seem to change weekly - always with the same excuse that this is a start up company and they need time to work out the kinks, despite the sister warehouse in BC having been open for almost 10 years already using the same equipment/software and doing the same job.

Turnover rate for 2016 was 135% which speaks louder than any single review can say for this company.

I wanted to write a review to clear up a few things.  
1- Yes, they expect you to be 100% eventually.  They give you plenty of time to get there and you earn incentives from day 1.  They tell you this on day 1.
2- Yes, you are on a timed system per order, but once you learn the pallet building tricks for each area, the times are manageable.  They tell you this on day 1.
3- No, I have never seen them time someone's bathroom breaks.  All of your mandated breaks are timed through the same system you pick orders.  They tell you this on day 1.  If you take an extra 5 minutes for a break, it's your fault.  Simple as that.
4- No, this job isn't for everyone.  It's physical, and fast paced.  You need to be in reasonable shape IMO to really excell at picking orders.  They call their pickers "industrial athletes" for a reason.  They tell you this on day 1.
5- SAFETY is the top priority.  If trainers are constantly following someone around, it's likely because they cut corners and act like maniacs on the equipment.  Yes, they will turf you for that.  They tell you this on day 1.
6- If you are having problems in an area, YOU need to ask for help.  Don't assume someone is just going to rush to you.  Remember, everyone is timed.  But if you ask for help from a trainer, you will get it.
7- Yes, the clock is ticking but they also give you slips of paper to write down delays.  The most common delay is a reach truck moving material into a slot.  Fill out the paper, hand it in and the time gets added back to your order.  They explain this on day 1.
8- I don't think a single week has gone by without some sort of bonus incentive.  Be it pizza, or free coffee, or give aways, or extra $$ per hour.  They really do a lot for the people working.

So I hope this helps anyone considering working at TCL.  Simply put, listen to everything they tell you on your training week and you'll be fine.  Work hard, get rewarded.  

Well, I don't know where to start but to make it easy, if you're thinking to work with them be aware they're gonna rush you to make a high  percentage in 4 weeks instead of 9 weeks, they're lying to you if they say they won't rush because they're not concerned about your safety, indeed they are concerned about your percentage because they treat employees like robots (specially one bald-old-short male  "team lead"). For me it was like this: I started and you are suppose to have a review from your team lead once a week but I had just one meeting with my "Team lead" in my first week and it wasn't until my almost 5th week he make the second review very concerned about my percentage, he was rude in many aspects I don't wanna mention here and that makes me think in that moment it was time to go because they don't appreciate your hard work, so they don't deserved my hard work. Anyways if you still gonna give them a chance go and be ready to be asked or compared with other pickers and to work weekends and holidays, there is good people for sure like co workers, some trainers  and some people in the office. If somebody ask me if I can go to the past and work again there I'd say yes because now I know how warehouse are, I know how mean can be people just for having a little higher position and now I'm aware of all of that to say next time "No, thank you" the pay is not even worth it for the amount of danger and physical work you'll need.

Good luck and hope you find some other way better job!

The only “pro” to this company is some of the people you work with. Management is terrible, they micromanage, things seem to change weekly, poor communication, and lots of favouritism. You fall below percentage you get a write up, your a minute late from breaks you get a talking to, chit chat a little with workers in passing your on the naughty list.   You have one small accident with a pallet/MHE and they’ll essentially punish you. They say they are all about safety but they micromanage you to the point where safety goes out the window. The pay is subpar, the benefits look good until you look further into it. They aren’t that great unless you’ve been on the benefit plan for over a year. The environment can be very stressful and it’s highly unnecessary. When you run out of work or are starting to they’ll try so hard to get you to leave early even if you did t sign up. And if you do agree to leave  early they’ll keep trying to get you to leave early. And they’ll do the same for overtime if they ask you, try to get more and more out of you even when you tell them this is the latest you can stay or no. Penny pinching, micromanaging, and doesn’t care as much as they think about the workers. They wonder why the turn over rate is so high, well they don’t listen to the employees when they tell them a problem.  For every group of ten people hired after three months only maybe two are left. There’s always one-two that don’t make it through the sub par training program.

If you apply here, be prepared to work your hiney off. They say you have a 3-month probation but in reality, you have 3-4 weeks to reach their goals. Management is pretty friendly, always ready to lend an ear, can be patronizing at times. But God forbid if you go over your break times by a minute. 
A typical day as an order picker is pre-shift stretches/meeting, you get your MHE and your headset and pick until the orders are done. You handle your own breaks. Be prepared to not have a full 40 hour work week until after probation though. They really use the term 'Flex schedule' loosely. 
If you're a slow learner, you will struggle. They make it sound easy when they say the system starts at the heaviest boxes to the lightest, but not all heavy boxes will be large to make a stable base and not all light boxes will be small to just easily fit on top. And if you're 5'5" Godspeed to you, because their orders can become 7ft pallets.
Most enjoyable part is the solitude. It's just you, your pallets, and your headset barking numbers into your ear. 
But it is not an easy job for sure. You meet their goals or you're gone, as I found out the hard way. They like to stress how much they're spending to train you, but they won't hesitate to let you go.

I previously worked at TCL Supply Chain and had a mixed experience overall. The job was very physically demanding, and while the company emphasizes safety, there was also strong pressure to meet performance targets. At times, it felt difficult to balance working safely while also maintaining high numbers.

One of the better parts of the job was the coworkers. Most people were friendly and easy to get along with, and the overall atmosphere among workers was generally positive. Another good aspect was the opportunity to be cross-trained in different areas, which allowed employees to learn multiple tasks on the floor.

However, even if you were moved to a different role, employees were still expected to help with picking depending on business needs, and refusing wasn’t really an option. You can also bid for different positions within the warehouse, but it depends on seniority and you often have to wait for an opening before moving into a new role.

Management was okay but sometimes inconsistent.

Overall, it can be a decent place to work if you’re prepared for physically demanding work and performance expectations, but communication and flexibility from management could improve.

   I worked there for one summer and I explained to the hiring staff that I was only available seasonally, but they didn't seem to care. When I arrived for training it was simultaneously dull and critical. Before I actually hit the warehouse floor, I needed to change my shift since I couldn't work on Sundays, but I could only be put onto the afternoon shift of 3:30 pm to 12:30 pm Tuesdays to Saturdays. That schedule paired with the fact that I couldn't get time off easily was particularly frustrating. I treated the job as entirely temporary which made it bearable to work there, but the pace, broken Vo-collect system, and poor management structure made the whole experience terrible.
   The most frustrating part of this job is the lack of direct contact with managers and supervisors who decide your shift and time off. It is tedious and slow to make any changes for your employment in such a rigid and alienating system, and the only feedback you get about your performance is negative. To top it off the warehouse and gear is ugly and generally a bit dirty too.

Thumbs Down.Better To think carefully.For every 5-10 workers hired at least 3-5 person every week disappeared.We know for a fact that they quit or cant work anymore.You will feel very fatigue,stress and always sick that you cant imagine or feel in your entire life.This is my only observation working here.Im not disgracing the company but if they listen to the review they will do more to improve their procedures.You cannot enjoy your life here,Always your sick due to overfatigue,You will work weekends and holiday,Salary not much for the work you will do,Not guarranteed they will give you 40 hours per week coz of they so called FLEX position,Will not recommend to my friends and to other person to work in this company,Better to think not twice but many times to work here,Do some math computation 18/hr times 35-40 hours=1,300 dollars minus what tax ,EI,CPP ,union dues and the greatest part minus broken bone,muscle cramps,overfatigue,stress,Not much difference working a 14-15/hour but guaranteed 40-44 hours per wee CARE OF YOUR EMPLOYEES,AS YOUR EMPLOYEES WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS.Goodluck to the newly hired.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Order picker 6 salaries reported	$26.66 per hour
Material handler 8 salaries reported	$22.59 per hour
Operations supervisor 3 salaries reported	$63,500 per year
Human resources representative 1 salary reported	$63,500 per year
Supply chain specialist 1 salary reported	$23.49 per hour

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