assistant store manager

retail assistant manager

team leader

sales associate

chef d'équipe

Zwilling J.A. Henckels

I worked at Zwilling for just over a month, and while I was excited about the opportunity to work with a well-known brand, my time there was ultimately frustrating and disappointing.
The most immediate challenge was the schedule. I was regularly given 8 to 10 hours per week, sometimes 13 if I was lucky. That is not enough to live on, especially in today’s economy. I understand that hours may vary depending on the needs of the business, but there was no transparency around scheduling or future availability. There was also no indication that this would change or improve, which made it hard to plan anything financially or personally.
On top of the limited hours, the expectations placed on employees felt completely out of step with the compensation. The role paid only about 75 cents above minimum wage, yet I was expected to make decisions and handle responsibilities that seemed more appropriate for a keyholder or manager. This included overseeing signage, store layout details, and managing customer expectations with very little support or context. Being asked to carry out tasks with a high level of responsibility, while not being given the authority or compensation to match, created a lot of unnecessary pressure.

A specific incident made this especially clear. I followed instructions to place signage in a designated area, only for it to be moved by another employee after I left my shift. I was then questioned the next day about its whereabouts. When I asked if the person who closed had been contacted, I was told “no, because I asked you to do it.” That kind of response made it clear that I was being held fully responsible for something outside my control, and it made me feel like I was not trusted, despite following instructions exactly as given. Experiences like this were not isolated, and they made it difficult to feel like a valued or supported member of the team.

To be fair, the store environment itself is clean and the product knowledge you gain is valuable if you are interested in cookware or kitchenware. Some coworkers were kind and helpful. But unfortunately, that was not enough to offset the lack of hours, unclear communication, unrealistic expectations, and the overall lack of trust in staff.

This job might be a fit for someone looking for extremely part-time hours with no long-term expectations. But if you are looking for consistency, structure, and a workplace that values and respects its staff appropriately, I would recommend exploring other options.

The management in the location I worked at was just complete garbage. During my group interview with my friend, the manager kept making snarky comments. Initially we laughed thinking he was just making jokes. He said he puts time and energy into his team and expects them to stay long term. which is what i was looking for in the job, as lasting position. Once i started working there, I was getting 14 hours a week. Mostly 3-5h shifts. Which was very frustrating since it took me 4 hours to get to work using transit, and if i were to uber it was the cost of my 3h shift. Often times, when it was time for me to go home, my shift would be scheduled at such an odd time that I'd have to wait 2-3 for the next bus. I brought this to the managements attention and all the shifts I mentioned were cut. They weren't given to anyone else either. So it wasn't even like they needed someone to cover them and they just happen to be s****y shifts. They purposefully gave me those shifts. The location of the store was in a predominantly asian neighbourhood so all the employees there were asian with the exception of the manager himself and two other girls who had been there since the store opened. I was for the most part keeping up with the sales of other who had been working there before me. At the end of the night we had to sweet and mop the store. My friend and I were the only people who even did that properly and yet 2 months into the job we were both fired and more asian people were hired in our place. This place was down right discriminatory. All they care about is money and do not value their employees. We were never given a reason as to why we were fired even after we asked. We were basically just fired because they thought if they hired more asians people they would make more sales. I just found there to be so much hypocrisy amongst the management. He said he "outs time and energy into his employees and wants them to stay" and yet, fires us without a probable cause. There were so many other issues I had with this place but this alone is enough for me just absolutely despise this place. For reference, I worked at the Crossiron Mills location in Calgary.

The pay was also not great. All sales associates were paid minimum wage. And key holders were only paid a dollar more AND they had to put up with the managers bulls***.

I worked for this company sometime before the pandemic. I stayed as long as I did for the kind people I managed. 

Head office is a disorganized, disrespectful, and only care about THEIR bottom line, not the well-being of their retail staff. Not to mention, don't take concerns as seriously as they claim to. Any situation that you've brought up with them will be ignored unless repeatedly asking them about it. Only to tell you it's "under control".

The company keeps opening multiple locations that generate little to no revenue. When that does happen, staff are berated for not hard-selling. 

Outlet prices and retail prices are the same. There are actually no sales; just numbers to deceive their customers. The prices of some knife sets are still the same before leaving about a year ago. "Special promotion," they claim.

Last but not least, you are overworked, overpaid, and not appreciated by general management. They only care about opening stores that will inevitably fail.

If you like their products, here's a tip: only shop their warehouse sales. There will be plenty more in the future since they can't make enough money for all the store they're opening.

My time with Zwilling was almost entirely positive. YMMV with the sustainability of different departments, but I want to stress that as long as you communicate with higher management, you will receive solutions and/or proper support. They were actually attentive and very present in the company, employees were heard and healthy practices enforced.

The environment is a perfect balance of professional and personable, near everyone was  lovely and enriching to work with.

Career advancement feels attainable, and hard work is acknowledged. 

The negatives I experienced were NO assigned desks which is a massive drawback. You cannot permanently setup anything anywhere, though senior roles did this anyway. In the main office workspace, the setup is large open-concept shared desks. 

Dress code:Business casual +all black.This store has sales targets every single day,no bonus when you make it.Poor management in this location. The manager is very emotional and not knowledgeable at all.Staff didn’t get enough training.Head office have some principles while store managers have their own ones.Employees feel lost and really hard to follow along.
Our Keyholders in this location had a very hard time with setting up displays,no enough support from our management team.When we asked for directions the manager would get angry.
This store NEVER post the schedule on time.Sometimes on a Saturday we didn’t even have the schedule for Sunday and rest of the week.We can’t plan our life,we aren’t even able to make an appointment with a doctor.
Not worth working there.

A typical day at Zwilling J.A. Henckels is productive, organized, and motivating. Over nearly three years, I’ve learned valuable skills—from teamwork and communication to product knowledge and professional discipline. Management has been supportive, approachable, and always willing to guide us toward improvement. The workplace culture is positive, respectful, and teamwork-driven, which makes it easy to stay motivated every day. The hardest part of the job is keeping up with busy periods, but even that becomes manageable with the strong team support we have. The most enjoyable part is working with great colleagues, engaging with quality products, and feeling appreciated for the work we do

What is the best part of working at the company?
The Management, culture of working ,the work environment , it is a place where you learn something everyday , working here is an privilege in itself .

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
It is very easy going company so there is no stress

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
With mix culture and ethnicity of people all are very welcoming and supportive where you never feel stress while working

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
work work because i love to work

Love working for this company.  Our Manager pushes you to excel and gets you out of your comfort zone so you are more confident on the sales floor.  Our manager has each one of our backs and does everything she can to make us happy.  That’s why our team does anything for her.  Our team works great together and helps out anywhere they can.  You learn how to communicate in ways you didn’t think you can.  A great team is always having a great leader such as our Manager.

I will never find another job like Zwilling. The Western Canada store management is fantastic. Firm, reasonable, always available to answer any question about product or procedures/policies, and they genuinely care about your life and wellbeing. 

I can’t vouch for Eastern Canada, but at any of the 3 stores in BC I can guarantee that you will have a happy and fulfilling employment term as long as you are kind, willing to learn, and hardworking. 

Nice culture respectful and appreciative of diversity and inclusion on the long run this workplace is good as a pit stop but don’t expect to advance. All staff are disposable and replaceable. As it’s the case in most workplaces also, management team are nice but have absolutely no idea about Agile or change management processes.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Assistant store manager 6 salaries reported	$42,500 per year
Retail assistant manager 5 salaries reported	$19.34 per hour
Team leader 1 salary reported	$21.00 per hour
Sales associate 1 salary reported	$20.08 per hour
Chef d'équipe 1 salary reported	$19.00 per hour

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