Working at Sobeys — Reviews by Employees

I have been reading all these posts about arrogant management and a company that doesn't care and all I can think about is how Sobey's couldn't give a flying fuck what their employees feel or have to say.

At the end of the day, THEY DON"T CARE ABOUT YOU.

They don't care what you say or what you feel. They just want you to show up and make the managers look good.

Go ahead a leave. They'll just fill your spot with some other sucker.

I have worked at a Sobeys branch for 2 and 1/2 years. I have received one raise. I cannot count how many times I have asked for a raise and been told, "It's not in our budget." And while they say this to me, they go ahead and hire a part-time person to do the same job as me for more money. I have read a lot of things on this feed that i completely agree with but one thing i refuse to acknowledge is that you have to work to get a raise at Sobeys. No, I do everything asked of me as an employee and even more, I know I go above and beyond as an employee and still I am shunned to make a measly 9.50 an hour.

On the topic of the management.. Sobeys is a joke. The General Managers at the store I work at are on vacation more than half the time, Im sure they still get paid while they are away from the store, so why can't I get paid for going on a 3 week vacation to Phoenix? I guess not having them at the store is actually a blessing in disguise because while they are away things actually seem to get done with ease. However when the managers are present, there is a certain feeling that comes to mind..depression. For as soon as they walk in the front doors a dark cloud is cast over the store. The managers are incompetent and openly dismiss guidelines and policies that all other employees in the store are expected to obey.

The managers are one issue, but one main issue I have with my job at Sobeys is the constant gossip that happens within the store. I work in the office of my store and am constantly hearing new, and mostly false information about my co-workers. Worst of all, the gossip is either coming from a manager or a supervisor. I have never once heard a cashier, or clerk in any department gossip like my direct superiors do. Sobeys is a popularity contest, supervisors and managers barter gossip with one another for appreciation and acceptance. The managers and supervisors at Sobeys are the most incompetent and unprofessional people I have ever met while in a "professional" job environment.

If you are considering working for any Sobeys grocery store I highly recommend against it. Save your time and sanity, go somewhere else.

I've worked with Sobeys for 5 years, and it is a horrible place to work for several reasons.
First of all, our Store Manager is an alcoholic who spends about 2-3 hours at work before leaving for a bar to get wasted. He’s even come in for closing shifts completely drunk. Whatever his job is I would really like to know because I never see him do much of anything. Doesn’t even know what is going on in the store or anything at all about any of the departments. Gets clerks to do his paperwork for him.

Most of the staff spend a couple hours of their shift actually working, the rest of the time they are wandering around doing nothing or just leave the store completely and come back later, and why do they get away with that? Well, because the dept managers don’t really do anything either. They don’t work in their departments, they don’t do their paperwork or even keep an eye on their departments. They come in, spend a little bit of time talking to the staff (nothing even work related of course.) One of the department managers has started dating one of the FE Supervisors, and they take 1-2 hour breaks together. This supervisor comes in late and her boyfriend punches her in for time she hasn’t worked. Even though this has been brought up to the Store Manager and Assistant Store Manager absolutely nothing has been done about it.
Many of the Supervisors will make the customers wait at the tills for a good 15-20 minutes sometimes, even though they aren’t doing anything at all besides sitting upstairs in the office talking away on their cell phones on company time. Or instead of jumping on cash when there are major lineups, they just sit there and watch. They also get paid just for showing up at work and doing nothing at all.

Even though I’ve been there for 5 years, I’ve called in sick 3 times, been late only once, yet when I call in sick with a legitimate reason (an injury received the night before where I was unable to use my hand at all), I get pulled up to the office and yelled at because the other grocery clerk was left to work on his own. The other staff who don’t really work at all can call in sick every couple of weeks, and nobody seems to care when they do. They will overwork the staff who do their jobs and those who don’t can do whatever they want and keep their jobs and get all the hours too while the ones who do work hard are the ones being written up and disciplined. When I was management, I got threatened to be demoted for simply not answering my phone at 8am in the morning on my day off. Not my fault, I need my sleep.

The sales floor can look like shit constantly, and that’s okay. Sales or customer service don’t matter at all right? As long as everybody cleans it up right before the DM (or whatever the title that they have given them is now) walks in for a tour. Why they announce it, I’ll never know. Especially when they know that most of the stores get everyone in to clean up right before. Ever hear of a surprise visit, then you might actually see what’s going on.

Sanitation is never done because there is not enough hours given or time, and they just keep cutting them more and more.

Lots of favoritism, the ones the dept managers are friends with are strangely enough very high paid. I’m in school early every week, yet I’m being scheduled past my availability and given all the lousy shifts even though everyone else in the department doesn’t have to be up at 5am every morning.
For anyone that says If I don’t like it, why don’t I leave? Well, that’s exactly what I am doing. I’ve stepped down from my bullshit manager position and have gone back to school to get a real job.

There are so many more problems with that company, but I just don't want to type anymore.

I enjoy working at sobeys. I notice though that alot of people around me do not. It is mainly people who come in, don't do their jobs and expect a pay raise and more hours. If you do your job then sobeys can be a rewarding career. I have worked for sobeys in one way or another for three years I went from minimum to 13.21 an hour. do your jobs and you will get raises and hours.

stupid sobeys

I've been working at Sobeys for 4 years, and from what I've read on this site, there isn't a whole lot that I can say about my experience that hasn't already been covered. I don't mind the job itself, it's the co-workers that I can't stand. Sobeys is the most drama-fueled popularity contest excuse for a job that I have ever seen. The predominant style of management is gossip, and immaturity, threats, and management incompetence are just a few of the much too common occurances that make Sobeys a negative work environment. Personal verbal attacks by management are none too rare, often flared by the disfunctional home life of said manager. Mind you there are a few good managers, and most of the part-time staff are great people. My advice to you is to go in, keep your head down, do your job, and get out at the end of the day. It's harsh, but in my experience with this company, it's the only reasonable way of steering clear of the drama that you inevitably will face on a daily basis with this company.

I 've worked at sobeys for 15 years. There are some people who have been there for only 2 maybe 3 years and they receive the same pay as me. I strongly disagree with that. It took me 15 years to get the pay that I'm getting...I had to work my way up the ladder so should they.

I have been with them for 2 years got lied to about taking a different job thought i would be making more money...MORE MONEY what a laugh. Managers spend more time out taking smoke breaks than doing there job. But are the busiest people in the whole store. HR no where to be found to help anyone. My opinion a union is so needed to put things in perspective,but they would never be able to keep up with all the grievences.

So its definetely not worth working at this sobeys at all. If your considering it stop right now. Management is extremely unfair and will not give raises where needed. I have worked there 3 1/2 years and they are hiring people at significantly higher then me and will not give raises. They also will not tell employees when they are cutting programs. Like the bonus program. The program was that every 500 hours you recived a $250 bonus and a $0.50 raise . Now when i come to 500 hours not only do i not get the bonus but also they tell me that they dont give raises at 500 hours anymore, in fact no one gets raises. The schedule is also horrible. You can hand in a sheet with all the times you will be unable to work and thats probably when they will schedule you. So when im not in town i kept getting calls saying "why arent you at work" and when i say i booked it off they say the schedule says your working then i get in trouble for it. Also The social program deduction is basically something you will never see you again. When i first started at christmas everyone got a nice sobeys coat with their name stiched on it. The next year we got mall gift certificates, The next we got sobeys gift cards. This year we got nothing at all. And how does the corparate treat these managers who are so horrible to thier employees? They take them all to a sobeys confrence somehere exotic. For example One year it was the dominican , next mexico and lastly china. Thats why i reccomend you dont work there but it you like be under appreciated and underpaid for all that u have to put up with then this is the place for you.

This to respond to a comment!! A person said " Working at sobeys and getting advancements take time"?
That is a lot of Horse S__T, I know many many hard working people who have been at sobeys for 10,15 years plus who get ignored and over looked???
I have worked for sobeys for some 10 years and said I wanted to a head, I just did not relize that you gotta give some first at sobeys. Its not who you know.........................................

This is to the past Meat Specialist, Hows that demotion working out for you? Comes around goes around.
sucks went you loose 20gs from the pay huh..