Vandermeer Nursery Ltd

I have worked a lot of jobs but this is by far the most effort for the least amount of pay. Prepare to be used and abused while receiving the same pay (or less) than the store cashiers. You will go home in pain with your nose (and sometimes eyes) full of soil and manure. Some days you will wake up in morning tasting manure in the back of your throat. Potting soil contains perlite and limestone dusts which is known to cause cancer (among other conditions) due to the particles becoming trapped in lungs. Many types of chemicals are used in the fertilizer water so you can imagine what you are inhaling when the soils dry up and become airborne from transportation and handling, but also the skin contact with fertilizer water. Pesticides used in the greenhouse which will also inevitably settle on the ground and be kicked up in the air during cleaning and transportation, etc. The water that comes out of the sink taps is labeled unsafe and smells wack so don't try washing cuts or your eyes or nose out, lest you become exposed to and infected with unknown pathogens or chemicals. The jugs of water provided for employees to drink are dispensed by dispensers that look like they haven't ever been cleaned and are growing molds and/or algae in them, sometimes you will find suspended green solids in the water. The production washrooms smell like horrible sewage 24/7. Plants are transported by highly inefficient, ill-maintained carts that require the user to push or pull them, outside, and sometimes through 7 inches of mud, in the rain. You will be required to position and align and realign treys and pots in a method that boarders obsessive compulsive just to have them moved again a few weeks later. Communication and co-ordination is also very inefficient, superiors are constantly on the phone calling other superiors back and forth when giving out tasks to subordinates, apparently no one has considered the use of 2-way radios so that everyone can hear each other instead of making ridiculous amounts of phone calls throughout the day and tying to locate other employees. You will be working directly under a cell phone tower located on the property, there are widely known serious health related risks associated with the levels of EMF emissions being measured on-site. Superiors like to selectively enforce company policies and not have it apply to themselves.

This company uses many kids straight out of high school with no life experience or sense of self worth to further their agenda. Prepare to be hired for the busiest part of the season and then tossed away. Know your worth.

All managers I've met are very nice, fair, and good humored. Never met a group of more compassionate and understanding people. They do expect you to show up to your shifts and be ready to work. The amount of work they expect from people is completely reasonable. I would not say you even have to work 'hard', you just have to have an normal work ethic. 

It is possible to move up in the company, despite it being a family-run business. I've talked to employees that have moved into management within months of being there. They recognize and reward hard-working and reliable people. 

Hardest part of the job would be the long hours. For some people that is a plus, though. In the summer the greenhouse can be VERY hot. The most enjoyable part of the job is the beautiful environment and that management encourages employees to help out in other departments, so you learn a lot of new things and the days feel varied and different.



sadly the wonderful parts of the job are mostly limited to getting to work with cool and unique plant species. Other than that management doesn't stand up for their workers, everyone is ridiculously underpaid for their labour and skill, undervalued and rarely thanked/ appreciated despite being the backbone of the organization. The higher-ups in charge are clueless as well and will periodically show up and make demands that throw off everyone's workload/plans for the day, they make poor judgment calls often as they are only there part of the time and are wildly inflexible to any change or innovation from staff despite suggestions often being well thought-out and backed by solid information. Management, but mainly upper management will talk down to you and demean you if given the chance.

Vandermeer Nursery is located by Lake ridge in Ajax. A family run business over 50 years in the making, this garden center has fair prices and a large area to explore full of stock. 

I worked in the tree yard, the most relaxed department in the entire complex. Management was fair and relaxed, very knowledgeable and flexible to your needs. I learned a lot about the trees and shrubs during my three month stay. 

A typical day includes assisting customers with your product knowledge and general labour. Moving and tagging product in the yard is the bulk of the work. Come summer, most of the new recruits will be laid off due to a lack of work.

I would not recommend anyone working at Vandermeer. The employers are bullies. They will talk down to you and even yell at you in front of customers. They threaten you every moment that you are working there so that you are constantly in fear of losing your job. They have no loyalty to employees. This is a family owned business and they have no problem airing their family laundry in public by way of fighting and yelling at each other in front of customers and other employees. It's a very negative and oppressive place to work. If you enjoy working with plants and want to learn about the business.....look elsewhere.

The family is extremely shady and will try to work around the law. The health and d’acteur is an extremely big cause for concern and then management is one of the worst I’ve ever had. I would suggest anyone interested in this type of a job to look elsewhere as this company is known amongst its employees as a bad and shady company. A lot of very unsafe and unhealthy practices. They treat their staff as disposable and replaceable.

I learnt how to deal with customers in a polite manner, I became licensed to drive lift trucks and WHMIS certified, Mathematical problems were a necessity as well as multitasking,  Hardest part of the job was the long hours in the sun, Best part was dealing with the customers and filling their needs and satisfying them. The co-workers were a joy to work with as well as management

What a disappointment! The HR person is reasonably good, but that's where it ends, people. Don't work for this organisation; micro-managing and abusive upper management, swearing at staff on the sales floor, insecure and entitled young staff members who have no objection to throwing their imagined self-importance around, the list goes on and on...Run far away from here.

I love working here, the people and management is so positive and collaborative! They appreciate and respect hard working employees. It’s the type of place to work where what you put in is what you get out. Meaning if you work hard it’s appreciated and rewarded in some way. It’s a very caring family owners business that I would happily recommend to any hard worker individual. 

Be prepared for dress attire as it is indoor/outdoor work during all seasons. Must be able to work in all weather conditions outdoors including hot and cold environments. Absolute desirable scenery with over two million plants and flowers to enjoy.

Working at Vandermeer Nursery Ltd: company overview and reviews

Vandermeer Nursery Ltd

Vandermeer Nursery Ltd ratings

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected