store manager

retail assistant manager

assistant store manager

marijuana budtender

operations administrator

The Hunny Pot Cannabis Co.

It was very obvious to me from the start of my first day, that Hunny Pot cares exceedingly more about sales and profit than the staff they employ, or the products they sell. There is extensive useless training that must be completed upon hiring (some useful brand knowledge but most questions are mainly like “what year did this LP get the idea for this strain”  as well as many of the modules being out of date/carrying misinformation (instead of asking useful/challenging questions about their products). I was lucky enough to work with a relatively welcoming and relaxed manager and team. This was my only benefit of my short time with Hunny Pot. However, the commute was awful for me- sometimes taking 2-2.5 hrs to get home after a 9 hour shift. They were aware I recently moved to the city as well,  and I had expressed interest in working for another store closer to me, as they have many locations, and I was told this wasn’t possible. The next week we had a Supervisor start (same position I was hired as) that was going to be located to a store way closer to me…. This was hurtful, as it was obvious I was being lied to about transfers being available. I then expressed if it would be possible to stay at the location I was at- to prevent a further commute (they were trying to move me FURTHER) and I was fired the next day with 2 hours left in my 8 hour shift. What I find truly quite comical is that I have had extensive cannabis/LP training and am extremely knowledgeable of strains, LP’s, lineage, terpenes, accessories, how things are made and the science behind it (I have even been offered jobs on the spot while shopping at other dispensary’s just based on my knowledge!) Therefore I could tell they sensed I was not easy to fool into glamorizing my over-exhaustion.  Over my many years in the industry, customers often have told me how much I have helped educate them in a non-corporate/sales way… this is something Hunny Pot encourages via disguise as “sales competitions”, when in reality it is them trying to have higher UPT’s. I have excellent customer service skills spanning over a decade (four of which have been in the legal retail cannabis industry) and I love to build a comradary with each and every person who comes in. This is not something that matters to Hunny Pot. They need malleable, vulnerable, young people to push around from location to location and take advantage of.  Many of their “Hunny Pot” branded merch and accessories are all cheap rip-offs or dated “takes” on trying to be “cultured”. I recommended applying elsewhere if you actually consume and enjoy cannabis. I was also shocked at the lack of envinmentally concious actions that could be easily implemented- there is no water cooler on site- therefore they buy bottled water? (in 2024??), then subsequently have no recycling on the premises. (I would often take my recyclables home with me). This, in combination with the excessive amount of receipt printing (that is all stored and kept digitally) had me uneasy at times and questioned where the company’s priorities were at. Especially in a progressive and accessible city like Toronto. 

Generally came out of my probation period with a positive attitude and wanting to join other teams.

Despite being hectic with my place of work move through the city, it gave insight of how the business is run. Overall, each place as a workplace atmosphere different from each other but maintains a standard for visual merchandising and provincial compliance. As a retail space, this is the bottom line.

Typical shifts are mundane but allows for novice associates to learn about the product and refresh on training. However the early employment period is filled with constant pushing to complete training on company time. This is including knowledge of the employee manual, product knowledge going in depth and monthly training throughout. Though this is a great way to keep employees knowledgeable, it can be difficult to complete if tasks or customers are present. Training comes down fast and quick but allows for independent learning without much supervision. Managers and supervisors are knowledgeable for the most I've met which gives floor associates an advantage to tap into in depth product knowledge. 

Time is well managed and certain operations can be simplified for efficiency. 

Many employees are thrown into their roles with little to no training or clear communication around expectations. HR support is virtually non-existent, typically managed by a single unresponsive individual. Upper management tends to be disjointed and often condescending, with conflicting directives and a noticeable sense of superiority.

The Customer Service Manager—who is also the company owner's mother—habitually sides with customers, even in cases where staff have been harassed or mistreated, which can be demoralizing.
There are quarterly bonuses for management tied to relatively easy KPIs, as well as frequent monthly incentives for all staff that are generally achievable. However, staff are not allowed to accept product samples from brands; these are instead collected and redistributed by Head Office—a somewhat odd policy, but manageable.

In general, the less responsibility you have, the more likely you are to enjoy your time here. The real highlight is the team: your coworkers are typically fantastic, supportive, and like-minded individuals all working toward the same goal—getting through the day. Customers are also, for the most part, pleasant and far more respectful than in many other retail environments.

The Hunny Pot does not, has never, nor will ever, care about you as an employee. Corporate is far more interested in spreading like a bad rash as fast and as shoddily as possible, than treating you like a human being. If you work for them, you are a number and nothing more. Don't expect competitive raises, real room for a career, or any PTO, because those things do not exist at The Hunny Pot. Not a soul running the company has a modicum of prior cannabis knowledge and it's painfully clear to see. Head office is embarrassingly disorganized with different managers all having their own ideas of how things should be run, resulting in conflicting instructions and occasionally downright being lied to. Customer service is spineless and routinely sides with customers and not staff regardless of how nonsensical or straight up wrong they are. If you've read the VICE article from a few years back, nothings changed. Many amazing, talented, hard working people have come and gone because this company has no clue how to keep staff on or motivated, other than dangling an occasional carrot in the form of a "prize" or free schwack. You might as well work for a snarky tech startup so you know you're getting screwed from the get go.



As a budtender you are paid the same with or without knowledge of how to work in the vault, which is plenty more responsibility than just being a sales associate.  In the beginning it seemed like a nice environment but the manager eventually became intolerable. Many of us were asked to do things that we not in our job description. When finally gaining the courage to complain, upper management ignored the grievances of multiple team members to HR - people quit or went on stress leave because they were so unhappy. Our team was like a big family at one point but over time (6 months that I stayed) the turn-over rate became horrendous, even customers commented about how there was so many new faces.

As for the positives: you will learn a lot as they have in-depth training about cannabis. They also have incentives for making sales and have both store and company-wide goals every month. The most enjoyable part being part of the job is being a part Cannabis industry and the ever-changing policies and products. 

The job itself isn't hard. It's your basic retail experience between customer service and cashing customers out. Product knowledge is easily attainable via your coworkers and company discord. The biggest downfall of this company and continues to be is the level of micromanagement. You are being watched and critiqued at all times. Expect a phone call or direct message the minute you aren't performing to their standards. The micromanagement does not just stem from upper management but also the Store Manager depending on your location. I frequently had to answer my phone to my coworkers on my days off because the SM was not answering them. SM would frequently avoid directly addressing problems face to face but rather put them into a paper for the whole team to sign off on. Staff morale is pretty low due to lack of communication and lack of accountability from SM/H.O. The high turn over rate speaks for itself. 

The people who run The Hunny Pot only care about their own profits and reputation. They are willing to understaff their many stores in order to open more lacklustre locations, so it looks like they have a stronghold in the market. They don’t. They underpay their staff and are constantly micromanaging which is unhelpful and discouraging. The customers are rude and get angry for things that are out of your control. The interactions with them alone don’t make this job worth it.

If you’re looking for growth in the industry, don’t bother starting here. They will keep you down, and actively discourage any attempts for individual growth (not letting LP’s talk directly to budtenders or managers in store). I know upper management does not engage in meaningful LP discussions themselves and only look to increase their own profits without giving any of it back to their employees. Don’t work here

They undermine their staff members. The higher up you get, the more you realize they truly don’t care about the front line staff. The upper management is mainly family run and they have extreme favouritism with who they move up to their “inner circle”. And that’s just it, nobody should feel like their upper management is a completely different level than them. Grow WITH your employees. 

They focus on too many things at once and try to open more stores while the existing ones have issues and struggles that get ignored. They will cut hours with no notice (even when you’re contracted a guaranteed amount of hours). They’ll move you to other locations with absolutely no notice or discussion or care of how accessible you are to the other locations. 

The list goes on. If you want to get ahead in the legal cannabis industry, look elsewhere. 

A typical day involved assisting customers with product selection, handling sales transactions, restocking inventory, and ensuring compliance with store policies. I learned a lot about cannabis products, customer service, and regulatory procedures. Management was approachable and supportive, emphasizing accuracy and professionalism. The workplace culture was friendly and team-oriented except for a few people. The hardest part was managing high-volume periods while maintaining personalized service. The most enjoyable part was connecting with customers and helping them find the right products.

Easily one of the most toxic and energy draining jobs that you could possibly have. Most customers are decent but lots of them that are constantly arguing over things you have no control over (ex. Pricing, being ID’ed at door, product availability) management structure at the store level is very top heavy usually having just as many managers & supervisors as regular workers leading to lots of micromanaging and group chat “reminders” Head office is terrible in every way imaginable , they offer very little support, will make you preform pointless tasks and are extremely passive aggressive in every communication you have to have with them. If the low rating already didn’t give it away, Do yourself the favour and do not work here.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Store manager 20 salaries reported	$48,500 per year
Retail assistant manager 17 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Assistant store manager 1 salary reported	$19.50 per hour
Marijuana budtender 2 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Operations administrator 1 salary reported	$45,000 per year

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