retail assistant manager

marijuana budtender

store manager

assistant store manager

sales representative

Tokyo Smoke

Cannabis is in a weird place. It used to be a guaranteed gold mine due to limitations on how many stores were allowed to open. If you opened a store it was basically guaranteed to see high demand. Now, more stores are opening than the market can support. Dispensaries can't compete on product because everyone is buying the same products from the OCS. Competing on price is a race to the bottom, to razor thin margins that only work for the highest traffic locations. Every company is trying to find their own "thing" to bring people in, and it's rough out there.

You might think that sounds like something Tokyo Smoke should be responding to as a company, but as a retail employee you can bet you're the one who's gonna pay for it with cut hours and poor wages while being told every shift to increase sales, no matter how unreasonable the company's goals are. Meanwhile, your store is probably a mess, most of your co-workers are probably only there because weed is cool, and you can't even fix half the problems with the product databases because it's not your job and you don't have access even though all the independent dispensaries are handling it themselves just fine. Tokyo Smoke prioritises consistency across their stores even when this means inaccurate product information and inefficient operations. Unfortunately, trying to agitate for change or improvements is a great way to alienate everybody. This has created a complacent and lazy culture that's resistant to change, because even if the staff wanted to change something it'll never actually happen. The company is not trying to improve or refine itself, it's trying to get by on what it already has, and they're hoping you'll be complacent and not look for a better job.

Tokyo Smoke is a big chain so it has a bloated corporate office. Add that onto how much money you're expected to make them. At the same time, your store is very likely not making a net profit, so don't expect to see any raises with experience or performance. You also will not receive benefits besides a staff discount. This is despite the fact that cannabis is highly regulated, meaning you need a background check and CannSell certification. You can get a better paying no-experience job elsewhere, with benefits, and NOT need to subject yourself to the extra requirements of cannabis. Unless you are extremely keen on a career specifically in cannabis and Tokyo Smoke is your only option, get a job with any other company.

With all that said, cannabis is a bigger business than ever, and with all the dispensaries constantly opening there's a non-stop feed of opportunities to move into leadership far quicker than in many other industries. Sure, nine times out of ten it will be a store that isn't making money, but when you're interviewing elsewhere they aren't exactly allowed to ask. Expect it to take less than a year to gain a keyholder position, especially if you keep your eyes open for roles with other companies. This is the biggest advantage to getting a job at Tokyo Smoke - the fact you can use it to get a better job elsewhere.

You would think selling cannabis would be such a chill job, but I have never been treated like I don’t matter more then when I worked for Tokyo. Don’t get me wrong, IN store, you can create an amazing team and try to cultivate the best environment. But eventually it becomes not enough because you are so stressed out. you will be unappreciated and overworked and disrespected by all of the people higher up then you. Smoke and mirrors, empty promises. You are only valued if you literally sell your soul and go above, above and beyond - but even then they will just pile more work onto you and no compensation. You get little to no recognition. They do anything and everything to avoid giving you praise, respect, or make you feel like your time is valuable. The regional managers so clearly play favourites and honestly are the complete opposite of cannabis culture. They state they care about your mental health and simultaneously destroy it. It’s toxic, and extremely clique like. High school vibes. If you aren’t a favourite to the people who constantly disrespect you, you won’t move up. There is little to no room For growth. If you stand up for yourself, you will be flagged as a problematic or argumentative employee. No acknowledgment for hard work, only for everything you’re not doing. Little to no support from anyone in head office. No one ever knows what’s going on. The communication is non existent. If they want something done in the store they expect you to spend your own money, then reimburse you. Maybe. The shady moves behind the scenes are crazy.. They don’t let you do your own orders in store, they make so many “partnerships” with licensed producers and then force you to carry a bunch of their products, that don’t sell, then get mad when they don’t sell. They were too worried about opening as many stores as possible over even creating a training protocol. (Shoutout to the new store open team though, they are some cool people) Everything is rushed and unprepared, and somehow always your fault. Honestly I could write a whole book about this place. Just imagine the worst corporate retail nightmare, and you have your experience lined up for you. It was SUCH a disappointment, a place I expected to be the most incredible opportunity and amazing job ended up making me go home and hate myself and cry every night. There are so many other dispensaries - literally work at any other one. 

During my time at Tokyo Smoke I have personally seen so much care taken in how the store is run and how employees and management work overall as a team. The store is structured in a way that makes keeping up with the fast pace cannabis industry an easy task while still allowing staff to have full conversations with customers on product and education. If you get overwhelmed or are not as well versed on a subject the management team is more than willing to help you, and if they don't know they will take the time to figure it out with you. Availability and schedule information is all done in an app that is super easy to navigate and relieves the stress of booking time off. Also when needed, the management team has been very accommodating and has provided help for myself and staff members to the best of their abilities. The structure of the store is what makes working at Tokyo Smoke so enjoyable because everyone is valued for the skills they have and are listened to when there are any concerns, issues or new ideas. I feel that I am respected and valued by the management team and the people I work with and am proud to work at Tokyo Smoke.

Honestly this company is one of the biggest in the cannabis industry, but that means nothing. There's little to no opportunities for advancement or growth. If they do decide to train you in something that management would do, you're normally doing it for the manager from then on. There's no longer Assignment Manager's in the company so all the Key Leads are expected to do the work of the ASM without compensation. Also the chances of you getting a full-time position is going almost non-existent. If you have an issue with management, it's most likely going to be swept under the rug or you'll be told it's in the past and doesn't matter anymore. Even if it's on-going. They are the most expensive to buy from on the market, while also making the most money because they get kick backs from certain LP's. Hours get taken from the staff, but hours of operation stay the same. So you're way over worked and absolutely underpaid. There's never enough staff at night so it's also just not safe and they don't care. 

All in all, it's not worth the stress on your mental, physical or emotional health. Also my location couldn't even afford accessories, so is the company even viable anymore?

With another dispensary opening in town, I wasn't so sure how Tokyo Smoke would fit in. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it does differentiate itself from other Cannabis shops, giving a more educated and available feel. A good amount of training, and plenty of incentives to learn more and do well in your job.

Management at my current store is great. Always there if you have a question or concern, at any time any day. They're constantly providing more material to learn more about Cannabis, allowing you to teach more to the person coming in. 

Prices are alright, and the discount helps with that. Pay is on the lower end of what I've seen dispensaries offer, however. 

If you're in a bit of a slower area, you can expect your hours to be cut back by corporate. The dreaded "clopen" (close one day, open the next) is in effect at this job, but if you catch your management scheduling, you may be able to ask them to avoid it. 

There is a bit of a problem with how they've labeled things, deciding one thing for bud and another for carts, which muddies it a bit for people, but "you can use that as an opportunity to educate them".

Overall, decent part time with supportive people. 

A great place to be if you enjoy being overworked, under appreciated, and disrespected. Enjoy being left to fend for yourself at the front while managers spend all day in the back of house doing god knows what (if they actually show up, that is) and then being accused of not wanting to do your job. Enjoy a workplace culture where no one brings up any concerns or ideas because everyone understands that corporate literally doesn’t care what it’s employees think. 

Absolutely unprofessional management and there is a complete lack of support from corporate. You will receive conflicting info from management and corporate which makes an already heavily restricted job so much harder. Most of the higher ups (regional management is a good example) have absolutely no interest or passion in anything having to do with Cannabis and the beautiful culture that surrounds it. I felt like I was selling my soul trying to collect customer info for their scammy High Roller Club, just for some issue to inevitably arise with the system and I’d be stuck trying to appease an irate customer. 

This place does not care about you. Don’t do it

This company is clearly failing big time and instead of the management taking responsibility the onus was put solely on the on floor staff. Once our number started dipping mostly due to the insane markup the company insists on (roughly 35 percent) there was no attempt to be competitive instead as "educators" we were told we must upsell. We were expected to raise our basket sizes any way possible, this is not an ethical practice when you are selling addicted substances. Imagine if when you went to the LCBO the cashier asked you "would you like to add a bottle of vodka to your order?" this is essentially what this company has been asking of us for the last year or so. The Management at this company received absurd bonuses when their stock price was doing well but in reality the sales never were. I have never worked under management that is so disconnected to it's clientele and workers. If you are looking to work here I would say stay away it's probably not going to be around for much longer anyway. To the management you should be ashamed, you had every opportunity to make Tokyo Smoke a thriving business and you failed at every step. 

This store has some major problems to fix!
The managers operate as if the staff are disposable and show no appreciation for your hard work and loyalty. They value customers more than their own staff, giving customers better discounts (we were encouraged to used the point program but we shouldn’t have to as staff).
You will also find yourself running the front on your own, even during rushes (One staff: five customers). The managers will stay in the office “watching the cameras” to make you feel supported but when you actually get swamped and need help they won’t be available (dealing with personal issues or gossiping with the key holders).
The managers really need start treating their employees with respect. If they personally don’t like you; you will never get a good shift, you’ll never see management and you’ll never hear a ‘thank you’ from their mouths. 
Don’t be fooled, not everything is as it seems at 75 Pinebush, all the walls have ears.

Terrible management decisions at every turn, zero care or knowledge for the community and industry. Many hours and days running the store alone, high turnover rate as people would leave from numerous valid reasons. Promotions and recognition are all personal relationship based, and when management breaks the law or does something incredibly wrong, their response is to move them to another store and hire an exterior replacement. You also need to deal with customers being angry daily with the outrageous, unjustifiable prices. 
And in my personal experience after 9 months of 44 hour weeks working “part time” with multiple 14 day stretches with no days off, I was verbally insulted by management after giving my two weeks, being seen as disloyal. 

There’s a ton of better options, do yourself a favour and stay far, far away. 

This company is run razor thin. Managers watching multiple locations, one staff member working at a time, and no support creating an unstable and unsafe work environment.
Every part time staff is expected to work 8.5 hour shifts and 40 hours a week. Employees quit and are not replaced. Management and Head Office have no experience with cannabis, only retail order taking. This shows through their poor approach to communication and mishandling of product. This store is not reflective of Cannabis Culture in the slightest, just a corporate retail gig.
There are no development programs in place for advancement. The job expectation is to stand for 8 hours and take orders.
They will not utilize your skill set or entertain the thought of you having any needs as an employee. You are lucky to get breaks, they'd rather you quit.

Understaffed. Underappreciated. 

Work anywhere else



Top Job Titles	Average salary
Retail assistant manager 27 salaries reported	$18.26 per hour
Marijuana budtender 23 salaries reported	$17.48 per hour
Store manager 6 salaries reported	$52,500 per year
Assistant store manager 10 salaries reported	$45,000 per year
Sales representative 4 salaries reported	$57,500 per year

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