Doesnt pay living wage - Sales Associate McBain Camera Employee Review

1.0
28 Jun 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Manufacturers give occasional special discounts to staff

Cons

-You can't make enough money to afford taking advantage of any manufacturer discounts -All employees since the company was acquired by London Drugs (~5 years ago) have been on a wage freeze. -All new employees are locked in at minimum wage, no plans for this to change -Zero chance for a raise, ever, regardless of how far below the poverty line minimum wage locks you -No raises for any reason, including performance -No attempt to retain trained, knowledgeable, well-performing staff, even if the cost to do so is a $2/hr raise -No comissions on any of the company's primary revenue generators: they will never pay you commision on any bread and butter products. Spend 3 hours with a customer and sell $15,000 of cameras and lenses to a customer? Zero dollars of commission. If you're lucky and it's the right brand the manufacturer might give you a spiff though, but that's not coming from the company. -Comission is 3% of PROFIT on accessories only. Sell a $70 lens filter, of which 25% is profit? You make 3% of 25% of $70: which is $0.53 -Upper management routinely insists the business has negative cash flow and there isnt any money for raises, and yet they also somehow have cashflow to buy thousands of units of self-branded products that havent sold, or cash for renovations, or funds to try and open new stores in saturated markets like Calgary. -Numerous cases of unaddressed sexual harassment of the dwindling cohort of female employees. The company has no official HR and they have opted to shift harassers to different locations with no resolutions or reprimands. -One employee was forced to work with her harasser, alone, for months after his harassment of her was formally acknowledged by management. Management “didnt see a problem” after she lodged multiple appeals to have her shifts changed. -Under current management the company has barely kept in the black the last few years, and management now insists they are in the red.

Explore other reviews about McBain Camera

2.0
19 Jun 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Decent staff discounts, relatively positive environment

Cons

No room for growth. No raises in 3+ years. Management seems more focused on future plans involving growth as opposed to fairly paying their current staff.

1
2.0
11 Dec 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Immediate coworkers were largely good Relatively relaxed atmosphere Management did not seem outwardly malevolent? Lots of available time to look for alternative employment.

Cons

Hourly pay (for sales staff) was capped at minimum wage, regardless of tenure. You will never be paid more than this. No raises. Ever. The company does not pay overtime, and any hours that would qualify as overtime are put in banked time. You are forced to use this banked time by year end, they refuse to pay you out. Commission was not paid out on any camera equipment. Not cameras. Not lenses. Some manufacturers provided spiffs, although management discouraged selling according to the available spiffs. For the products that commission was applicable to, the commission rate maxed out at around 1% of an item’s full retail value, going as low as 0.5% of an item’s full retail value. An employee discount was provided to those working more than half time, however the company still charged a significant profit even on employee purchases. This wasn’t of much concern, however, as given the rate of pay it was impossible to be able to afford anything the store sold. Even full time, it’s impossible to afford the bare necessities such as rent, food, transport, etc. The commission and spiffs are not sufficient to add even an extra $1/hour to one’s pay rate. This dismal rate of pay, from a company selling such high-value goods, is unconscionable. This role is most appropriate for retirees who need an excuse to get out of the house, people with a rich spouse, or people who live with their parents. Unsurprisingly that described a large percentage of the sales staff.

2
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