sales associate

department manager

retail sales associate

cashier

store manager

Sport Chek

I started back in 2011, but before that I did coop there. That's how I got the job. During the first couple of years wasn't so bad. You did your training, but after training was done, you get sent straight to the floor and hope for the best, when it came to product knowledge and selling. They didn't train you properly at first and you had to go out of your way to find out about the products you sold. If you didn't sell enough, your shifts were cut down without notice. Management was pretty awesome at first. A lot of the employees are amazing there - they didn't come straight out of high school, with exceptions of the occasional high schooler here and there, but most were college-university students and you get a long with them pretty well. Even made some amazing friends throughout the 4 years there.

A couple years after 2011, they change their whole experience when it came to training and customer service. Training was more in-depth and you focused more on what the customer really needed. Certain days can be really hectic when it came to sales and the amount of traffic we got - can be fast-paced environment at times, then other times, can be slow-paced (you'll mostly maintain your sections when it slows down). Some times when your helping customers, you end up chatting with them about other things that has nothing to do with why they were there. Some times they even come back looking for you. 

As years passed, noticed management comes and goes, some good and some just plain terrible. Makes you wonder how they became managers. During my first year there, we got to play games after closing and the managers at the time were really amazing, but when years passed on, we got less of that cause of management changes. Depending what managers you worked with, some will play "favourites" - some even got a promotion after working only 4 months there while others who have worked there for 10 years, still didn't. Some management/full-timers like to micromanage, while slack off and socialize with other employees. If they see you socialize for, less than 5 minutes, they tell you to split off, while they go back right to socializing with other employees. 

If you wanted a promotion it all came down to the store manager. The department sales manager may like you, but if the general store manager doesn't, you're out of luck. And as years go on, it seems they don't recognize hard-workers and would rather promote someone, who sucks up and play "teachers pet". 

You do get yearly reviews, and through those reviews, they figure out where your strengths and weaknesses are. Some managers even motivate you and encourage you to become better. Even if it isn't through yearly reviews, they still encourage you throughout your time there. If you wanted to work your way up, some managers would even help you. Some managers do recognize your hard work and contribution to the company and are aware of other terrible managers/full-timers.

The discounts are amazing there. Not only is it with Sport Chek, you get more discounts at Atmosphere and an online website that showcases different brands! Professional athletes even sometimes come through your store or even people from TV shows. The hours are pretty flexible. If you're a student or have another job, they accommodate very well. And if you live further from a Sport Chek location, they usually could transfer you to a closer one. They could even transfer you to Atmosphere (or some of there other banners) if you wanted - that's what I did and left Sport Chek back in 2015 for Atmosphere. Management got bad over the years and some good ones were transferred as head office needed them at other locations. 

If you're looking to make your way up in this company, good luck as a lot of the higher-ups plays favourites. There isn't any job security as part-timers.

Typically, a day at work involved trying to meet enormous sales quotas and being chastised when they wern't obtained. Usually, there was a lot of tidying to do, and the environment was very fast paced. Occasionally, I had to work on very busy days (boxing day) on my own, as a new employee. Talk about overwhelming. As much as they might like to think they embrace safety at work, it was often ignored. No gloves/personal safety equipment was giving when employee were required to clean the bathrooms (including the toilet, inside and out.) The bunks at the back that the shoe are held in, with many levels, about 12 ft high, were commonly climbed on. It was easy to fall and twist your ankle, or get squished between the bunks. But you /needed/ to make money, so money before safety. Management was innapropriate. Uncomfortable touching, bad-mouthing other employees (calling them drug addicts, saying they're stupid) infront of customers or co-workers. Bad communication. Not understanding. Required to go 5 hours without so much as a 15 minutes break. Once, when I was sick (puking, diarrhea) they required me to work 6.5 hours alone, and didn't give me a break, even when I requested it. I was told someone was being called in to take my shift and I needed to 'tough it out'. Just ignore labour laws, right? Co workers were okay. Some homophobia and sexism. Interesting that a store based on finding your personal level of fitness has employees that commonly fat-bash women, and call womens sports bad things. Morning 'team cleans' that were meant to build team spirit made me feel more and more unliked, and uncomfortable. Most training is done online, and some of the mandatory quizzes ended up having incorrect answers, so they were hard to pass. I barely had time to do the online training, since I wasn't allowed off the floor, and was kept after my shift to complete them. The most enjoyable part was working with the kids, because they were always understanding, and their parents were usually okay with me. Dealing with rude customers was the hardest part, especially when I was working alone. Having to go to the back of the store and locate 15 different pairs of shoes at once was not fun. One of the managers refused to help out in footwear because he "didnt know anything about shoes." My hours fluctuated from 3 a week, to 20 a week, erratically.

I've worked at two locations and saw two very different lifestyles. The larger store I worked at was amazing. Understaffed is always an issue however but that's remained constant wherever I go. Below are a few issues that have come up that you will likely see if you work here. I'm not doing this to shame the company but management is accountable.

There is an issue with management, the role is usually given to those who are simply there most of the time (open availability) regardless of how mature or ready they are. Many of my managers were simply too young, naïve and immature to provide any form of leadership. ALSO DO NOT EXPECT MANAGERS TO EVER HAVE YOUR BACK. GIVEN THE OPPURTUINTY THEY WILL ALWAYS SIDE WITH THE CUSTOMER EVEN IF YOUR TRYING TO ENFORCE POLICY. One example is we have a 60 day return policy (must have tags/receipts etc). 5 years later? No receipt? No tags? No proof that the item even comes from Sportchek? Want the refund in cash? Seems suspicious and I calmly explain to the customer the policies. Customer gets irate and asks for the manager. General Manager comes down, I explain the situation and the manager says "Its ok." Customer looks at you like they bested you. Wonderful feeling 

Another issue is shifts given. We're all asked to keep a good availability and that if you want a specific day off it should be booked more than three weeks in advance (makes sense). This is because we're promised to be given the weeks schedule 2-3 weeks in advance. This never happens, and the average is usually 1-2 days.

With scheduling, there is a heavy favouritism given to employees. When I spoke to the manager to get more shifts (I was getting one 4-5 hour shift a week) they indicated I needed to open my availability. I'm a university student and I actually had two full week days open (plus all nights and weekends). I was genuinely surprised because the associate with the most part-time hours (usually three 5 hour shifts and an 8 hour shift a week) had a lot worse availability than me (only nights and weekends). Also noticed that the other associates were in similar boats. We have a full time associate requiring 40 hours, the other associate averaging just above twenty hours and everyone else (12 or so of us) are give 4-5 hours. The managers response? They hired more people.

Other than that, great staff, great discount. Just be prepared to have a second job. Most associates do.

The saying of you are only as good as your manager allows comes into play in the location I was in. I am not going to negate the entire company based on the one location I worked at but will tell you exactly what it was like.

Was a new store  being built in our mall, Running is my life and was excited to be a part of the team, however in 6 months of opening, the shifting happens where managers move on and while that is great and all, the management they had in place lied on her resume about management experience and the two years I was under her, had no word of a lie 50 people quit due to her pathetic management skills.

She was allowed to bad mouth staff to her fellow co-workers and management team, and decided that to make up for her insecurity she would in bark orders, or make up stuff to make her look good.

The beauty was, customers complained about her! And yet she was being geared up to be Store Manager. Unreal.

Because I enjoyed the staff I worked with, the people I met and the great perks of discounts I subjected myself to being put down daily by her.

The other beauty of it all, I was part time which was fine but my sales beat hers by a long shot and the one they wanted to gear to full time was dealing drugs out of the shoe box. Think I am kidding--its Lindsay, enough said.

This was 2 years ago, and I am long gone and now a manager with another sports company. I use her as an example of how not to manage.


You would think 50 people quitting due to one person, would wake FGL -now Can Tire- up not to mention the countless emails to customer service would alert that there is something wrong but nope somehow she was allowed to act like that is now laughable and just plain pathetic.

Having been in nearly every position in two different stores, I will try to give a general outline as to what to expect.  Keep in mind, however, that the experience will differ depending on the location.  I look forward every morning to going to work (weird right?) for a number of reasons.  I'm lucky that I enjoy doing what I do, but the main selling point of the job to me is the people I get to work with.  They are typically like minded individuals who consider each other more as friends than coworkers.  Depending on the location of course, it's amazing how close everyone gets to each other and how well everyone agrees while still maintaining some productivity.  Typically the management is no different, and sometimes its hard to differentiate between management and associate by behavior alone as they fit right in the mix.  This has lead to some weaker management in my experience but there is potential for the right balance to be found.  I wouldn't say any particular aspect of the job stick out as exceptionally difficult, but I will express that one must be ready to deal with some less than civil customers from time to time.  In my opinion however the good customers far overshadow and outnumber the bad.  Working in the company has taught me much as far as product knowledge is concerned, but more about customer service, human interaction, communication, leadership, and problem solving. 

To conclude, I think Sport Chek has a place for everyone from the young person interested in a first job to the experienced manager looking to advance in a company.

Working here was fun and great at first when I was working under my hiring manager. Then the best managers left and place turned to a complete circus. This was a great place to work and a friendly environment until new management tainted it. I was treated like I was worth nothing when a new store manager first came in (never met him before) and said we did a “horrible” closing the night before,  even though we weren’t in for a week or two prior. He then let his ego get the best of him because he was “fixing all errors in managing the place”. Don’t get me wrong though he was a good store manager in terms of turning the  place from upside down and got more organized, but definitely not a people pleaser.
A new policy was being put in place of must work a minimum of 3 shifts a week, two 5 hour weekdays and one 8 hour weekend day.  I then Lost a majority of my hours before then, and  I was getting frustrated and complained to managers about it. They said we can see what we can do and instead of giving me hours they hired more people on.  So i got a different job with more hours and full availability. 
I gave sportchek managers specific times and days I could work (less than the minimum 3 days a week) and they basically said no , so I didn’t show up for my scheduled shifts. I gave all of them away all of the time because i was scheduled days/hours  I couldn’t work. They didn’t like that and said new policy “you must have permission from a manager to swap or have someone cover shifts” so I stopped trying to get them covered for them until I was eventually terminated. 
(Best day of my life) 

But… 
Keep in mind there were people working there for 10+ years and worked once a month or once every 3 months. 
See the problem..

I love my job. Since moving to Edmonton i had found it hard to find friends and school was tough. I got my job at sportchek shortly after I moved and it was the best decision i have ever made. The staff and management is amazing. They will do whatever they can to fit your school schedule and always support you and give you advice when you need it. When i had trouble writing a politics essay, they all chipped in to help me write it and understand what I thought was impossible. You can relate to everyone and even have conversations on where you want to be in life. The management truly cares about your wellbeing and even provide staff appreciation days along with Friday treat days. we look out for each other because we are a team. You learn how to be a leader and also how to work together pitching in, every department to get the tasks done. The discount is amazing and the pay is.. not bad.. but thats not the reason you are there. You are there because you become apart of a family. A family that cares about you and supports you. There is so much room to advance if you work hard and your team will cheer you on 100%. I have learned so much from this great company and can honestly say i have a second family here in edmonton. If i feel overwhelmed or anxious, they are there to comfort and help me get through whatever it is i am going through. If you have the chance to be apart of this amazing team, I can promise you it will be a great experience and you will make friends that will last a lifetime.

This company provides training with minimal guidance or oversight. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Here is what you need to know, now it’s up to you to use the information and speak with customers. There is no commission so no hard and fast sales quota. I’m sure each location has a budget set down by corporate but how that is calculated is above my pay grade, literally. Minimum wage is the norm or perhaps slightly above, maybe.
With a company making 3.48 billion in revenue Canadian Tire is the parent company with Marks and Sport Chek as included components it’s sad that employees are not offered better pay.
Government mandated minimum wage doesn’t mean companies can’t offer a better salary.  No wonder most employees are part time rated rather than full time. Not having to offer any type of benefit puts more revenue in the pockets of everyone else up the chain of command. And on that  segway there is no opportunity for vertical advancement within the company. Here is your position, thank you. It’s a little funny how managers are differentiated from mere employees by a collar on their shirt, cute eh ?  The employee discount coupled with the fact that you are indoors with no real heavy lifting to do and no quotas to meet is a reason to work here for a short period of time. I can’t see making a career or for that matter a living working here. Managers for the most part are fine and easy to get along with, no reason not to.
For younger people a good in between job while looking to land that dream job or career.

I worked at Sportchek for almost two years. In the beginning, it seemed like a very positive place to work with a good amount of hours working around school and social life. However, being a new sales associate comes with lack of knowledge. From my experience, it seems you are given approximately one month to prove yourself worthy and if not, they will cut your hours to the bare minimum(one shift a week or less). Although you can redeem yourself, this will take time, recognition from co-workers, and positive feedback from customers, in getting your desired amount of hours back. I found it helped to stay on the manager's good side by doing my work both efficiently and correctly. If you do something incorrect, your co-workers will put you down and make you seem like a complete idiot, talking only behind your back. I found this to be most evident within the adults rather than the students. If you smoke, you will enjoy the endless smoke breaks provided and if you don't, you might as well start to exceed your one, half hour lunch break you get if your shift is five hours or longer. The most positive part I found about the job would have to be the cost plus 10% discount storewide. You're limited to $2000 discount per year but it could be shared with friends and family as well. All in all, Sportchek didn't seem like too bad of a place to work. I would recommend it to anyone with a busy schedule, looking for part-time hours, and a good discount on sporting goods.

On a daily basis i would clean the store (mop, swiffer, fold and re-hang clothing) I learned how to read people better from giving customers the complete experience, knowing when they needed or wanted help by reading their body language. The work place had a great vibe to it everyone was always up beat and energized had a great feel to be there. Hardest part of the job was mopping just the most labour intensive overall everything else was great. Best part of the job was by far the entertainment that our managers set up for us to improve our day to day lives like playing a quick frisbee competition usually ending with the winner getting a drink of their choice from the cooler paid for by the manager on duty and the 2 losers cleaning the washrooms, made it a fun way to divide up the chores that had to be done also we would have little competitions between sections of the store so one side of clothing would vs the other to see who could clean their sections (usually mens vs women's) the best and quickest just to motivate us at the end of a long day. Management was fun and all around a group of great people they really cared for their coworkers and their jobs which improved the overall feel of the workplace ten fold.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Sales associate 9 salaries reported	$15.44 per hour
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