driver

customer service representative

store manager

operations administrator

field representative

The Beer Store

Over the last 4 years working for the Beer Store I have come to see many pros and cons. First of all for all those who wonder I'll clear the air since it is always the first question I get. No, there is no free beer or employee discount. There are other perks however that come with the job.

 For starters most positions that are with The Beer Store are part time. Full time jobs do exist, however there are people in our seniority group that have been there for over 8 years and still can not land one of these highly sought after positions. The pay rate starts at minimum wage however this is a very common with most larger companies for whatever excuse they can pull out of a hat that day. 

 With that being said there are a lot of bright sides to The Beer Store. The work place is a unionized environment which allows it to come with a few perks. Over time it is possible to work up from minimum wage up to upwards around almost 18$ an hour, which in retail isn't bad. The largest perk of all is the online courses sponsored in collaboration through the union, UFCW and Mohawk College. Presently it offers courses to complete a certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, Basic Computing Skills, Health and Fitness, and Labour Relations. (These may have changed as I know the union is looking into other partnerships with other educational institutes). 

 As far as day to day tasks, everybody is trained on using the till, sorting empties (which is by far the least glorious job of all), using the electric transporter and lift truck, opening and closing the store, and receiving money orders from Brinks. As workers gain more seniority, there are greater expectations of them. 

 For the most part management at the Beer Store has been pretty good. In my time with the company I have gone through 4 managers and only had a serious issue with one which was cleared up. I do believe the company does well to pick good individuals for management however I do understand there is a high turnover rate. This is often due to lower then expected pay in comparison to other management positions and the idea that the position would be a "desk job". 

 One of the hardest parts of my job is how monotonous the work becomes. Most days when you greet a customer, you will get a response like, "Blue, or Bush Light". Although most regulars at the Beer Store have not been much for conversation from as much as I could pull from them, some others have been useful for networking. 

 One of my favorite parts of this job that I will take away from it is how much you get to learn about beer itself, the brewing process and increasingly with the company reinvention, food pairing. As a person who appreciates beer with flavor and character it has done wonders for opening up the world of beer. So much in fact that I have begun my own home brewing.   

   All things considered the Beer Store does provide a decent part time job (or a for now job as I call it). It is not a position that will pay your bills. You will absolutely need to juggle a second job on the side. But a person can do worse, and given our present economic climate it is not a bad place to be.

Job and life balance is non existant, if you can't work the hours they want it is held against you and follows you. Workloads are disgustingly unbalanced. Friends of, or relatives to management are given drastically reduced workloads in comparison to other employees as well as more opportunities for advancement no matter how hard you work. Favouritism plays a major role in the everyday planning of workloads and duties for the day (management changes around the schedule at the beginning of each shift). Ever present workplace inequities, corrupt management, only a handful of decent people, everyone else seems to either be a former criminal or a sexual deviant. Work ethic and loyalty do not pay off here in fact it is taken severe advantage of, and meanwhile the people who do not want to work an honest day seem to be given first chance to advance, it is very emotionally draining to watch positions you have inquired about for years be snatched out from under you by a new hire with a connection to management. The union is completely useless when it comes to addressing inequities in the work environment and fighting for worker equality, as well as physical and mental well-being, they seem to pick and choose who and what they want to fight for, no matter how much evidence you present. Bullying, harassment, sexism and racism are also prominent elements, they have surveillance in place but conveniently the cameras do not surveil areas where these inequities take place. This company is clever in the way it hides its motivations, management is constantly looking for new ways to take advantage of the hard workers while showing favor to their friends. They will work you to your limits like a dog day after day all spring/summer until you can no longer keep up and then cut your hours. They will take advantage of your desire to advance, and give you nothing in return but a sore back, sleepless nights and broken dreams.
Take my advice and apply to a company that will keep your well-being in mind, not this corrupt monopoly that will use you up and spit you out without a second thought. You are worth more...

A typical day at work involves repetitive tasks like stocking, cleaning, and serving customers, often under pressure and with little recognition. As a part-timer, you're expected to do basically the same work as full-time employees, but without any of the benefits - no health coverage, no job security, and certainly no path for advancement.

I didn't feel like I gained much from the experience besides learning how to work in a fast-paced retail environment and developing a thick skin. There's very little training or support, and you're mostly left to figure things out on your own. Most of the time you will be trained by another part timer that's probably been there for a few months to a year.

The beer store is dying and you will feel it. Stores are closing, management is cutting costs, and you may lose your job with little to no warning. The Beer Store is very guilty of scheduling little to no hours to "fire" you, forcing you to quit. 

The workplace culture is far from motivating. Morale among part-timers is low because everyone knows there's no real opportunity to grow. It feels like you're stuck in a dead-end role, regardless of how hard you work.

The hardest part of the job is dealing with the physical demands (heavy lifting, long hours on your feet) combined with the lack of appreciation or meaningful compensation. You will be expected to lift heavy objects all day, operate a forklift transporter and stacker with VERY minimal training, and deal with broken glass, used needles, and gross empties, all for minimum wage.

The most enjoyable part? The customers. (Also easily the least enjoyable part at times) Some regulars are friendly and make the day go by faster. A few coworkers made the job bearable, but overall, I wouldn't recommend this job to anyone looking for more than just a temporary paycheck.

Don't work here. Save yourself the trouble.

A typical day at work for me was going in to open, getting cashes ready, beer in the fridge and occasionally loading and unloading trucks before daily business started.  After the store was open, you work cash (empties or full side), sorting empties, getting beer for customers, completing transactions, filling single can cooler and cleaning and keeping store tidy and organized.

I worked for The Beer Store for almost 10 years.  I learned almost everything I know about customer service, beer products (through online and personal training), and what it takes make sure people leave wanting to come back.

Management is fantastic both at the store and district level.  Everyone is very supportive of staff advancing and doing what they can to help you get to where you want to be.

Co-workers were the best part of the job.  At our store we were not just co-workers, we were a team.  We came to work, did the job but most importantly, had fun doing it.  We supported each other and made sure that if we came in a bad mood, we left in a great one!  This is probably what I will miss most about the job!

The hardest part of the job was the lifting and repetitive motions.  However, the company provides you with the training you need to make sure that no injuries come from the job.  If you follow procedure and don't rush, you leave in the same condition you came to work in.

The most enjoyable part of the job was again, the people I worked with.  If I had to choose something else it would be the incentives and the recognition.  They make sure to tell you that you're doing a job well done and offer didn't programs to get you into the spirit of working for them and exceeding with customer service.

Working for the beer store seemed like a great idea when I applied. Who wouldn’t want to work at the beer store am I right? Wrong. You have to pay for your uniform (Beer Store shirt and sweater) which includes buying your own steel toes. Only about half of the staff there were genuine,  the other half seemed very cliquey. I was warned when I first started that most of girls were drama queens and that they all talk behind everyone’s back, which wasn’t exactly the case. Management played favouritism to certain employees who were higher up. Expect to be scheduled to work on days you have booked off or have written in your availability that you cannot work. Expect to have days where you’re walking around trying to find things to do alone during slow hours while other employees hang out and talk in the back. Sometimes you won’t get a break even if your hours that day suggest you should. Empties stink and it’s easy to mess up where things go. Customers do not like to organize their empties. Sometimes you will feel like you are an inconvenience for asking questions. Customers will yell at you for minor inconveniences that are completely out of your control and security is called almost daily, as there are tons of thefts and drunk or underaged people that come in. Customers will sexually harass you daily. Do not waste your time!

Pros:

- If you truly want part-time hours like if you're a student (or just looking for retail experience) you'll get them here September-April (I average 5.5-11.5 hours a week during the down season), it's much busier in the summer though and you'll get 16-24, some managers are more flexible than others with schedule making 
- Great people to work with for the most part, some of the full-timers are lazy though and are always leaving early  
- Straightforward job for casual workers, you'll be on cash 99% of the time

Cons:

- Dealing with empties!! Customers are messy and sometimes rude to deal with
- Almost always understaffed (literally 2 people run the entire store the majority of the time, one on cash and one in the back) and customers get understandably impatient during rushes
- Working overtime is absolutely forbidden, a manager told me this directly and told me I would have to call other stores to find someone to cover my shift instead of giving it to someone at our store who would've made a measly 1.5 hours OT pay
- The job advancement is even worse than the LCBO (which takes about 10 years to get full-time status), some people have waited over 8 years for just permanent part-time status   
- You start at minimum wage while also paying union dues... LCBO starting pay is like $14 something just for training/probation period.

The Beer store is a bit thorny to talk about.

Above all, it is location to location. It is completely dependent on the manager you work for. There are managers that are self-driven and make the experience of this fast-paced environment intolerable, and there are other managers that can make the workplace incredibly enjoyable. 

The company, without looking at the balance sheets, looks to be generally cheap. It takes a long time for improvements to be made and anything new that they introduce tends to have a rough adaptation period which makes it seem outdated or a cheap alternative to the system they had implemented already

Hours get tighter by the year. This is where the manager is key. The hiring practices tend to be flawed. At least in the area I work, there is a clear questioning of promotion as more qualified workers tend to work under less qualified ones. 

Overall, you can enjoy the workplace depending on the people around you. If you don't enjoy it right away, I wouldn't waste much more time with your location. There is a reason why there is so much turnover in certain locations and not others. Don't expect to move up. 10 years later, I am still a 'parttimer' working full-timer hours.

On a typical day at work were greeting customers and providing product knowledge. As well as a cashier a typical shifts includes stock and sales associate duties through out the store as well with customers. Ive learned a lot about beer and beer companies as well as food pairing and the difference between beers as well as customer service skills. At this job I work as a individual as well as part of a team which is great as I increase my skills as a individual as well as my skills being a leader and a listener depending what roll in the group I'm doing at said time. The most enjoyable part of the job is being able to. test my product knowledge when helping customers. I love talking with new people and striking up conversations but I'm also fascinated with the different kinda of beer and the amount of things that can be done with beer so sharing that knowledge with someone is very rewarding. Regarding the hardest part of the job, I think every job is challenging to some degree but I find at this particular job its constantly the same challenges and they gradually become easier with your increase in knowledge and skill, so I wouldn't say there are any particular challenges that stick out to me.

Was part time for a few months at Dryden location. Its a fine job. Not the most stimulating or relaxed job but there are certainly way more stressful and strenuous jobs to go for. Customers are usually actually quite relaxed and understanding. Job is simple and hard to mess up and you’ll see two positions that change from time to time depending where they need you, front of house or warehouse. Front of house you take customers order, retrieve from back cooler and then complete point of sale. You also buy and sort empties. For warehouse you’ll receive training on hand forklifts and how to sort and stock the warehouse and cooler. The strain really isn’t bad, you’re standing and walking but have opportunities to take a seat or have a smoke or water break. Some moderate lifting but the load can be adjusted to each individual without issue. The people are very cool, always cracking jokes with one another. Opportunities for raises and position advancements (such as becoming a delivery driver) happen quite often and are usually encouraged from what I seen. 

I worked at The Beer Store for 4 months or so (part-time), and I'll tell you, you get what you expect to get out of the job.

The people I worked with were awesome, very fun, young, and loved to laugh. Manager was awesome, could be tough at times but a very personable and good guy overall. The job was pretty straight forward and the hours were divided fairly in my opinion.

The customers, however, could suck. A LOT. Constantly run into mean and rude people, but that's not The Beer Store's fault, you just have to deal with it. There were problems with people bailing on shifts, which was a pain. Finally, it's minimum wage and the opportunity for advancement is slim-to-none. Don't go in thinking you'll get promoted at some point, because it could be a while before that happens.

In conclusion, if you want a simple and fun part-time job while looking for something more full-time, I would definitely recommend The Beer Store. Especially if you like beer, that helps.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
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Store manager 4 salaries reported	$66,750 per year
Operations administrator 2 salaries reported	$43,250 per year
Field representative 2 salaries reported	$20.50 per hour

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