retail sales associate

retail store supervisor

warehouse associate

supervisor

store manager

Value Village Thrift Stores

After years of working here, I finally had to quit. The village was a great place to work pre-Covid. After the Covid lockdowns, almost all management that knew what they were doing had quit, so there was A LOT of restructuring. Now if you join this workplace, you’ll be face with favouritism, unrealistic job expectations (even if you’re new), and you’ll be spoken down to/like you’re less than someone in a management position frequently. 

A few weeks ago I seen a co-worker get fired simply because he didn’t have sick hours accumulated (he’d been at work for a month or so and then got sick and had to miss some days. At this location, you’re required to have been working for a year before you accumulate sick hours. NOBODY CAN PLAN FOR WHEN THEY GET SICK), when someone gets fired or quits - there is next to nothing done to help the remaining employees, you’re just expected to work faster in an already very physically demanding job. 

You’d also better sort your carts ON TIME ALL THE TIME, no excuses or reasons (no matter how real they are) or you’ll be written up (or just fired if you’re new enough) and you’ll be directly blamed for people not being able to go home early/not being able to roll all of the product to the floor even though that IS NOT a donation sorters job (there are full time rollers that don’t go anywhere near fast enough to keep up with the sorters)/putting everyone else behind even though you’re working in a team of up to 4 sorters/etc. 

As for favouritism - it depends on who your supervisor is. For my department in the production room, favouritism was shown in ways such as :: 

Some people could be late with completing their carts and they’re never talked to/written up, some people are brought more sides (extra totes of things that are added to your cart. Your sorting time isn’t adjusted though. You’re just expected to move faster) than others, some people are given things back to clean even though they physically can’t clean it anymore (the gloves are GREAT for this. Nothing like attempting to clean layers of plastered dust from a white object while not being able to help leaving finger prints. No you’re not allowed to remove the gloves while at the station), some people are pressured about remaining time more than others  (supervisor would regularly come up pointing out how exactly how much time is left for the cart, giving no room for you explain why you might be late. I’ve had this happen personally, and when giving my reason for the late times, all I got in response was “well that’s why I gave you this time”, it got to the point where I just wouldn’t respond anymore because no completely legitimate reason was enough) 

Here are some things that could make your cart late as a miscellaneous donation sorter :: 

. Large full boxes of individually wrapped glass ware/dishes/egg cups/plastic for some reason/etc (it’s even better when these are TAPED and wrapped and you get to stand there ripping at the wrapping only to have to throw out the object anyway because it’s cracked beyond repair or it’s so filthy you can’t clean it) 
. Dirty/insanely dusty figurines 
. Having to package your recycling (used to be the recyclers job, and we’d had a larger bin. Now it’s all boxes you need to take care of yourself) 
. Cords. You can have an entire box of tangled cords, untangling alone could take a good 15-20 minutes, then you have to wrap them and tag them. Add Christmas lights to this as well
. Barbies. You take their leg, grab a zip tie you can hardly feel with gloves on, and attach  a tag to the leg. It’s gets extremely tedious and wastes a ton of time if you have a lot of Barbies) 
. Sides that have been sorted wrong/Sides that keep coming to you but aren’t full
. Losing your knife down the jewelry hole (that’s locked. So you have to go get a supervisor with keys to unlock it for you, but you’ll be talked down to if you leave your station) 
. Heavily mixed bags and boxes 
. Bags and boxes full of tiny items that you have to pick through 
. Testing lights/electronics 
. Running out of space in your garbage can, but not getting a response of the recyclers when you call for a new one. You’re also not allowed to go get a garbage can yourself 

Management pretends to care about your concerns. I had this proven to me just a short while ago, when everyone was called one by one into the office to explain to the manager and supervisor why moral was so low. My reasons were : “we can’t keep up”, “there’s factors that go into making a cart late, but we aren’t listened to when we try to explain”, “the favouritism shown is crazy”, “our sorting times are shorter now, but the amount we’re told to sort hasn’t changed” (by this I mean - you used to be expected to have finished sorting 3 donation carts by 4:15pm. Now it’s “3 donation carts done by 2pm” even though we’re scheduled until 4:30pm). All the response to my reasoning that I got were excuses and demands on why we can’t just
 work faster, and I was directly blamed for numbers/donations being down a few hundred dollars. I’m sure my other coworkers were also blamed for the same things, because once we were all back at the stations, NOBODY was satisfied with the meeting we’d had  

Look people.. I can write a book on how bad this workplace has gotten. Just don’t apply here. Please. If you value your mental health. 



This is going to be extremely negative as my experiences with my manager literally sent 
 me into a mental health crisis, but I'll try to talk about the job fairly.

I initially worked as a clothing sorter in the back room, hired straight into full time. For some reason they throw all the newbies at the sorting table (at my store anyway) despite it being the core of the production room, and they have the biggest pressure to work quickly. It seems simple enough, but they would get angry when someone new wasn't fast enough. No wonder the turnover was so bad. The entire team of 4 clothing sorters quit all at the same time before I was hired, and the remaining staff had been there for 3-7 years.

Extremely fast-paced, constantly stressful (they also mention watching you on the cameras a lot aside from just standing there in person), and pretty physically exhausting--especially in a huge warehouse room with poor ventilation. The building also had broken cooling/heating fairly often. Workflow would change depending on how much was dumped at the donation station the night before. You also find a lot of weird and gross stuff, as expected with the job.

I became a shoe sorter after a few months when there was an opening and I enjoyed that a lot more. I was picked to do this because I "looked fashionable" during my initial interview and they thought I would recognize brands easily. That's it. 

I was working by myself, and most of the time as long as I sorted all the shoes by the end of the day, I felt accomplished. But they were still telling me how many shoes per hour I was processing even though there's a finite amount of shoes each day. This position was still rather fast-paced, but there was a lot more variety in the workflow (grading shoes, cleaning them, putting away backstock for different seasons). 

Others got to leave the sorting table (if they didn't quit after a few months) if there were spots available at other stations, but sometimes they didn't have time or extra hands or time to train people.

I was waiting to bank on health benefits after working there for a year, but the benefits weren't even worth it. There were other small bonuses too that I appreciated (gift bags/cards, actual bonuses if the store was doing well, free lunch occasionally).

They also try to lure you in with a "pay raise based on performance" system, but I know I worked hard that first year and still got a report card telling me I need to do better in most areas and received a few more pennies per hour.

Around a year in, my mental health took a dip. I was accommodated initially and they tried to help me feel comfortable. But then things took a turn with my manager, and she started being unnecessarily intrusive about my medical information. They also tried to talk me into becoming part-time (meaning I would lose my crummy benefits I had just paid into for the year), but I had already seen how another accommodated part-time coworker often ran out of things to do and was sent home early, so I declined.

I eventually lost my shoe sorting position when I was moved to other jobs suited for me--basically doing miscellaneous tasks in the sorting room.

Things fizzled out when the pandemic happened. The store closed for a few months, and I left just as the store was about to reopen in mid-2020. I probably would have left earlier if my coworkers weren't so sweet and kind.

On the whole, wouldn't recommend. No matter your role, they expect you to wear so many different hats and be a veteran at what you're doing--no matter if it's your first day or not. I worked solely in production in the back, but the front workers were miserable too.

The management is probably just miserable too cause they have to spend extra time in that dank dungeon.

A typical day at work involves going in and seeing what position I'm working today. Then according to the job I'm assigned to I go and get the things ready for it.
-  If I'm on a cash register for the day I go and get the cash master and count the till before I start taking customers so me and my managers know how much I started with in case any moneys lost in the day. When customers come to cash out I handle their merchandise with care and pack it away in a bag for them. I handle money at least 70% of the time at work so you have to be efficient and smart with it. keeping you focus not only on the cash but the customers as well. 
-If I'm out on the floor for the day then that usually means I'm "GR" which refers to as General Recovery, it's basically cleaning up the messy clothes, toys, bed sheets, and books that customers neglected throughout the day. I not only organize and make sure the stores in its tip top shape but I also help customers on the sales for as I'm the most accessible to them. My position for the day is very important because customers like to come into an organized, clean, welcoming store, no one wants to be tripping on clothes throughout the day. PS. this was my favorite part of the job because I LOVE organizing and cleaning. 
- Lastly, the 3rd job I do frequently is Fitting Rooms. In fitting rooms I'm one of the last stops before cash out for them. I'm the make-it or break-it girl. The customers come to my section to try on the merchandise they've found during the day and to decide whether or not they should get it. I love helping them when they want it and giving a nice little comment in between when they're looking great! Everyone loves a good compliment. Another part of that section that is the main focus is the organizing of it. When customers don't want clothing anymore they give it to me. I organize it according to the layout of the store and then roll it out when it's full. Always making sure the most eye catching items are back out on the floor for the next person to grab. 

This was my first job and I think it's taught me a lot of the basics of being a sales associate. I used to have really bad anxiety with talking to people but now it's one of the easiest things I can do. I've also become a lot better at managing my time. All my friends and family ask me to plan events and trips because I've become so good at it. 

Everyone who works there is a great person. It's a friendly place and it doesn't stress you out much, unless it's a sale day. We're a team and I think the whole staff needs to work as a team to be able to move as smooth and efficient as possible. 

Management here could be better. I think this is one of the main reasons I'm quitting. The team is lovely, the managers are kind and caring but it's very unorganized and unprofessional at times. Doctors notes lost, complications with team members swept under the rug and nothing done about it, no sense of superiority between sales associate and manager, I feel like there's no respect or professionalism between a lot of the team members here, as well as managers scheduling multiple team members days they're not available (I can't work 2 days out of the week due to classes I have all day).

At Value Village, the management will treat you as less-than-human and will overwork you because they’re too lazy to do anything other than critique minimum-wage workers and lock themselves up in the office away from customers insulting workers. They will be frustrated when you ask them to do their job and will take their time before helping you and any customers. Many managers and supervisors act as if they’re in a clique and are unapproachable. They do not care if you were supposed to go for lunch 30 mins to an hour ago and will ask you to wait another 15 minutes so they can go on their break.

They’re horrible at communicating with and will constantly avoid making any changes in the schedule to help employees. Even emailing them daily about time-off needed for personal reasons such as doctors appointments or mandatory events months in advance can’t assure that your requests will be met (many coworkers have told me that they weren’t able to take shifts off after the deaths of loved ones). I had a surgery and told them 2 months in advance telling them the date and the time off needed for recovery and I was schedule 2 days after my surgery. Managers will constantly complain about workers making requests for well-deserved time off.

Managers will complain about the messy state of the sales floor but will do nothing to help out and will constantly complain about being understaffed but won’t hire anyone new even if there are people coming in weekly to see if they’re hiring. They will assign you to a section of a store to clean by yourself, and will constantly have you working as a cashier for hours, and will complain to you about your section being messy.

Many of the managers prioritize sales and money over respecting workers and customers. Managers have forgotten that Value Village is a second-hand/thrift store and will constantly overprice merchandise (ie. $20 for an H&M sweatshirt), and don’t consider that majority of the people that shop at the store are homeless, poor, or lower-class. If customers wanted to spend $35 on a jacket, they’d go to the mall and buy a brand new one. Managers will constantly degrade and harass any homeless people and drug addicts that come to the store, which makes it a safety threat for any workers that are leaving past sunset and are having to walk or take the bus home. They don’t have respect for anyone other than the people dropping $100+ on absolute garbage.
The only good thing about working here is a lot of the other employees are very nice, but they normally leave because they realize too that being unemployed is better than working at Value Village.

A typical day at work on a weekday (Monday through Friday shifts) would involve asking management about any impending deliveries for the day from the C.D.A. (Canadian Diabetes Association) and the quota of what still needs to be unloaded from the truck delivery for the day. 

When the truck arrives I am expected to get someone to take over my duties at the Donation Center door by informing the manager on duty of the arrival of the truck. Once that is done I am expected to take the quota off of the truck and weigh the donations on a large cart to determine if we have met or exceeded the quota for the day. 

Once that is complete I return to my regular duties of servicing customers who come directly to the store by unloading their vehicles of furniture and donations of all varieties in addition to informing them about the nature of the store's partnership with the CDA as well as upcoming events and promotions occurring in the store such as upcoming sale days at the front end of the store.

I worked by myself on weekdays unless the workload exceeded my capabilities such as a couch needed to be unloaded from a delivery truck at which point I would need to communicate to a manager I am in need of assistance and they would send me a retail sales worker from the front end to help me to accomplish the task in question. 

On weekends I worked alongside 1-2 other workers who held the same position as I do and would service customers and the front end of the store equally, but the frequency of customers coming to the donation center and the volume of donations would be much higher then the weekday shifts which could be described as "slow" in comparison. One Saturday in 2012 in a twelve hour time-frame the store received approximately 13,500 lbs. of donations not including refuse and trash we disposed of directly into the compactor or the furniture we received or sold and subsequently carried out. 

The hardest part of my job is the pacing and the workload. On some nights I would be looking for something to accomplish to make the time pass but there would be little to no work to be done, and on others the workload would be impossible for one person to handle, let alone 2-3 others.

The most enjoyable part of my job would be the independence to determine my own break schedule and the co-workers whom I worked alongside with who were as diverse as the items we received. Stories could be told, communication freely given and I felt truly part of a team while employed there while working alongside others because a mutual goal was shared.

A typical day of work at Value Village consists of working in one of two sections of the store: Operations, which are the storefront employees, cashiers, Storefront Management, and CDC (Community Donation Centre) workers. They are responsible for selling items, ensuring the store is well merchandised, cashier duties, working the fitting rooms, and providing all around good Customer Service. If you work in Production (like I did), then you will be one of the numerous workers in the back of the store that are responsible for the sorting, pricing, and merchandising of all received sellable items based on their department (i.e. Bed & Bath, Clothing, etc). My department was Books & Media, so I was responsible for all the books, magazines, records, CDs, and movies that were donated.

During my time there, I was able to garner a lot of very useful tools for customer service, sales, promotion, and marketing. I also learned the importance of functioning well both with a team and alone.

The management is very down to earth, and always approachable regardless of the topic of conversation. They set realistic goals for themselves and their employees, and aid them in achieving targets. My co-workers were one of the best parts of the job experience. No matter what demographic you fit in to, there is always a smile and a friendly face ready to help you with work, or to be a generally good friend. Make no mistake, the culture of Value Village comes directly from the team members; after all, they are the ones choosing the items to supply! They help to foster and maintain a friendly and positive environment.

The toughest part of my job was dealing with certain customers. These types of stores always have regulars, and generally, most are friendly. That being said, there were certain ones who made me and other co-workers and customers feel uneasy. Diffusing these situations is often difficult, regardless of position within a company. But we always dealt with it as best we could. I personally often ensured to provide additional positive customer service to these people that was not necessarily required. It made the customers especially happy to have someone attend to them more personally, and my co-workers appreciated being able to focus on their tasks. 

All in all, I highly recommend Value Village to anyone looking to gain valuable sales and retail experience. They offer good wages, room for growth, and even incentives such as Health Benefits and Profit Sharing for employees. Next time you find yourself shopping there, ask one of the employees what it is like to work in such a place, and they are sure to start their description of work life with a big smile.

-Would start the morning by maintaining shelves from the previous days customer shopping, removing old items, cleaning up clutter and messy areas, by pulling off items if there were too many.

-Then I would bring out any merchandise out to the floor if it had not been finished the previous day.

-Then for the remainder of the the shift (6hrs) would cycle between sorting through donation carts often weighing between 750-1000lbs, and would test electronics, clean dirty items, tag items that couldn't have stickers, and keep bringing out new priced merchandise when there was enough to go out, All well providing quality customer service and assisting customers when on the sales floor.

-I enjoyed the management, and especially the co-workers, I had good standing relationships with the majority of co-workers and worked excellent with my 2 teammates in my department (Housewares Productions)

-The hardest part of the position was balancing the many tasks that needed to be done, and estimating the time needed and carrying it out, all while preparing for unexpected situations, such as helping a large volume of customers, making sure i get everything rolled to the sales floor, and get back to the housewares production table. I also did many extra things, I would sometimes be put in the back of the trailer to build donation carts if one of the "recyclers" showed up. I also often worked voluntary and mandatory weekends and overtime.

-There was a period of 2 months where I was doing two positions, we had lost an employee in housewares and I had to cover his job as a sorter, as well as my own as a tester/sorter and also had to bring all items to the sales floor myself, often reaching 800-1000 items in a day.

-The funnest part of the job was sorting through the items, I had found many different things, the possibilities were endless, I found a silver plate for example that was worth a significant amount of money, I also enjoyed helping customers, even if it were a simple question, it always felt good to help people.

It was overall an enjoyable time working there, sometimes it was challenging, but I enjoyed the challenge.

Although it was like a nearly new shop, the management was pretty thorough when it came to floors, and always having everything organize d all the time!  
Now at first I thought that the managers were being a bit pessimistic, but I found after a while when the store was busy, and noone was reorganizing and putting everything back into the appropriate section, according to specific colors as well, well to put it mildly...the store looked really bad. Of course that meant working after the store closed, and noone left till all the merchandise were back where they should be.  If you wish to get off right when you are scheduled, and don't want to put in a few extra hours here and there, this isn't the job for you.  
The job interview was a little more detailed than I thought going into it, but the questions were on point, as to developing an idea of who you are.  
Like I mentioned above,  doing things right,  and properly all the time sort of was there approach to all employees....which led to everyone being treated properly, and equal.  I have also worked in other retail outlets and I gotta say the management ran the store efficiently and with that said, after a few weeks of being employed, I was getting the hang of everything, but when I did something contrary to procedure, the employees were very helpful in correcting me, which led me to believe we were a team.  So yes, I found the rest of the staff to very positive and the environment while working was good, and never did I feel apprehensive to asking someone for assistance.
If anything the customers were always looking for a bargain, and I found it hard dealing with them as they were always trying to get us to lower the prices even more, and I guess alot lived with a small budget, and easily got upset when their demands were not met.  
All in all I found it a good job, but quite often they only hired seasonal employment, and of course if you like the management and enjoyed be employed by them, it was a but upsetting.
In a scale of 1 to 10, I would give the job a 7.5, but the seasonal contract makes me put it in the 6.5 range....specially when you worked your tail off during Christmas time...and to boot the busiest and more trying time of the year.
Still a fairly good experience, and HEY....ITS A JOB.

This position can be a valuable short-term opportunity, particularly for those seeking to gain experience in a fast-paced retail environment. However, to avoid career stagnation or burnout, it is recommended to approach the role with a clear two-year exit strategy.

Typical Workday:

The role is demanding and fast-moving. Team members and engaged supervisors are consistently active throughout their shifts, with key responsibilities including promoting club memberships, assisting at self-checkout, cash handling, customer service, and maintaining store cleanliness. The physical nature of the job requires being on your feet for extended periods.

Team Environment:

Working alongside the team is one of the most positive aspects of the job. Colleagues who are team members are hardworking, supportive, and central to the store's day-to-day operations. Their dedication often makes up for structural or managerial shortcomings.

Management and Operational Challenges:

There is room for improvement in management’s communication and support, particularly in high-impact areas. Workload distribution can feel unbalanced at times, and operational priorities may not always align with on-the-ground realities. More engaged and transparent leadership would be beneficial.

Compensation and Scheduling:

Wages are low relative to the responsibilities of the role. Raises are minimal and do not reflect the level of effort required. Scheduling is inconsistent, which can make personal planning and work-life balance difficult.

Customer Interactions:

As is common in thrift retail, customer interactions can vary widely. Many patrons are kind and supportive, though team members may also encounter challenging behaviors, including occasional hostility.

Final Note:

Visibility often takes precedence over effectiveness, and without consistent support from management, job security can feel uncertain. Success in this role requires resilience, adaptability, and strong interpersonal skills.

I have a feeling the positive reviews for VV most likely came from people who weren't there long enough to be exploited and run into the ground.  

If you're there for a while, you'll see that store policies are undeniably disconnected from the reality of working with the public. It will become painfully obvious that someone who has never actually worked your job is writing the policies for your job. You'll also notice that nothing ever runs smoothly because they are constantly purposefully short-staffing you as a means of saving money. Front end staff almost always take the brunt of the fallout for this while managers are out buying lollipops for production.

Since working at vv, I've seen staff (even supervisors) bullied out of their jobs. I've seen hardworking, pleasant people pushed to the point of walking out mid-shift. I've seen blatant favouritism between front end/production staff. Oh, and it's also a common practice to keep supervisors beyond their scheduled hours and not pay them. This seems borderline criminal. But that's vv, always riding that line and doing the bare minimum to keep the doors open.

Suffice it to say it's not at all surprising that customers are unsatisfied. Earlier this year we were informed that vv has been getting a lot of negative feedback on customer experience. My experience in actually working with value village customers tells me this feedback is related to our insane pricing, or the effects of overworking and under-appreciating the face of the company (front end staff). Their response was to retrain everyone in customer service rather than taking responsibility for the toxic work environment they've created.  I'm not sure what led them to believe that telling their clearly unhappy staff to smile more would be appropriate or effective... 

TLDR: The bottom line is ALWAYS prioritized over the wellbeing of staff and customers, and it shows.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Retail sales associate 226 salaries reported	$19.04 per hour
Retail store supervisor 129 salaries reported	$47,913 per year
Warehouse associate 165 salaries reported	$19.50 per hour
Supervisor 19 salaries reported	$22.67 per hour
Store manager 15 salaries reported	$54,794 per year

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