Customer Service Representative | Pearson, ON | Jan 31, 2020
Only take this job if it's your last option
Pros
- The people you work with are great, and it really does feel like a big family. Everyone is always willing to help out.
- After 6 months, you do get flight benefits. There are a number of limitations, but yes, you do get to fly next to free wherever Air Canada flies.
- You don't need a university degree
- There are opportunities for advancement if you stick around enough
Cons
- Pay is minimum wage
- You have to be minimum bilingual (most jobs that require this pay way more)
- You don't get to choose your hours for the first year. You work 9 hour shifts, 5 days on/3 days off. You will work every single weekend. You might start 9 AM a couple days, then be scheduled to start 4:30 AM the next day. It happens. You have no choice. Your only option is to trade away those shifts, but who will want to take a 4:30 AM shift? Exactly.
- Due to not being in control of your schedule (both the hours and days are not up to you, unless you trade) it will be hard to have a life outside work. You can't make any weekend plans. You can't make time to pick up/drop off kids, see family or go out when your friends are off work.
- Your schedule/hours are subject to change. You might have Saturday off, but 3 days before they might schedule for a shift that day, and you HAVE to work it, unless you can trade it away. Or, you may be working Saturday but end in the afternoon and have plans for the evening. They can change your hours to something like a 1 PM - 9 PM shift a couple days bef
4.0
Bilingual Customer Service Associate | Montréal, QC | Oct 17, 2022
great coworkers, sense of belonging but low salary for the work u have to do
The first 6 months are the strictest but once you pass the probation period (180 days) you are good and don't really need to worry about them firing you.
During the probation, you can't be late, no sick days included, not unionized, can't forget your RAIC, the slightest mistake is enough for them to fire you.
The coworkers are really friendly and nice for the most of them. Its feels like a big family. Everyone around you is ready to help, even the manager tries to help the most they can. And if you are ever in a difficult situation with some customers, there is always people there to back you up.
The managers are nice when you get to know them, at first, they seem really strict and mean but throughout your journey with them, they open up to you and get used to seeing you. And they can get really great. Both every relationship needs involvement from both sides.
Do your job, help the customers, reflect a good image, do what you are supposed to do, and you should be good.
If they know that you slack, they might be on you but if you do what you're supposed to its all good and they won't bother you or watch your every move.
You are assigned to a position for your shift but if they need you somewhere else and you are trained for it, they are going to send you there to help out.
The salary is not the best and could be way better for all the things we have to do. But it follows a scale and goes up every year. They are going to use you as much as they can to try to mainta
2.0
Customer Service Representative | Toronto, ON | Jan 16, 2019
"It was an amazing company 20 YEARS AGO"
I will give this a fair review, so believe me when I say this will be the only review you will ever need if you need to decide whether to work there or not.
Pros
-Health and dental benefits
-Extremely cheap tickets. Including business class
-if you are single, you can nominate anybody to use your passes, so they can travel without you(economy only)
-$50-60 for a business class(standby for seats) ticket anywhere, plus you can bring a friend.
-Lots of vacations. You can get up to at least 4 weeks.
-You can sell your shifts and get more days off.
Cons
-Yes, you can get cheap tickets but your pay is terrible.
-Starting pay at $14 (customer service. flight attendants make almost double)
-With the tax deductions, union fees, and other deductions, you will probably only be getting 700 dollars every two weeks. Can you survive on that?
-You get a 0.50 raise every year. It will take you at least 6 years to make $20/hour
-Tax deductions, insurance, union fees will leave you with a $700 pay cheque every two weeks.
-Yeah, you can get cheap tickets but how are you gonna travel with that kind of money?
-You are at the mercy of 'shift bids. You don't get extra pay for midnight shifts (6pm-4am) or really early shifts(starting at 3:30am or 5am). If you are new, as in (less than 5 years with the company then I guarantee to you that you will have to do those shifts for at least one period(6 months).
-The senior agents will get the good shifts and the new agents will get
Air Canada hired me for Customer Experience Specialist. Of our class, two people didn't pass the five week training, 50% didn't pass probation.
The hardest part of this job is that Air Canada trains Customer Experience Specialists for 5 roles at the airport. For a minim wage job, the scope of responsibility is too wide for someone entering the airport environment. While Air Canada gives priority to people who speak English and French, they don't pay more for this added skill set. Bilingual C.E.S.s are forced into lines which involve Gate Control or boarding an aircraft. This is a high stress task, involving rapid computer key boarding skills and interacting with passengers to solve travel problems. If you get stressed out, or make a mistake, you get fired on the spot, which is emotionally exhausting for the employee who are forced to take on these tasks even if they don't feel comfortable with the whole process and responsibility. At minimum wage, you must have a backup plan for your finances, or you will be short money every month. The floor managers are new and come from other industries, so they haven't done the job that they are managing over. There is little or no opportunities for moving ahead unless you have been there for a few years. The union is useless for as long as you are on probation. The uniforms never arrived within six months of working there, and were delivered in parts, so it was never complete enough to actually be useful. The training was intense and covered a lot of material, but little of it was actually relevant to my role, because passengers wanted rebooking, which is something that we never
Prostravel benefits, steady paycheck.
ConsManagement hasn't functioned in the role, the training is for 5 jobs, any mistake can get your fired with little room to defend yourself.
1.0
Customer Relations Representative | Calgary, AB | Jan 7, 2021
Beware of the senior staff/management
First thing first Beware!!! Your hard work won’t get noticed, the only thing they will notice if you have finished your work no matter how you did it, you do it correctly or not or just forwarded it or just closed the issue without doing anything. They will tell you initially that don’t ask colleagues for any questions/ difficulty you have. But that’s the only thing that works. But if you ask any seniors or managers about anything, they will take it to negative. Instead of leading, training or helping you out like a leader, they will think that you don’t know your work, you aren’t for this job. This is coming from someone who rarely asked questions from seniors but something that’s really different and not taught was asked. Throughout the time, I did my job perfectly, just when I had issue with one task that was confusing even for trainers because of new COVID rules, they decided to get rid of me. Very unprofessional management VERY VERY VERY UNPROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT. They are not leaders at all. Also beware of the senior staff because they are together with them. I have noticed very few people last in this company, that comes to the point that they are not worth working hard. I have seen people so dumb, doing many wrong things that still works there but if you have been perfect throughout and just had one issue, they will tell you to go. So now you know what type of employers they are and this is the reason they are NOT even listed as the top 100 employers in Canada. Benefi
Salary and benefits should be separated for this review. Yes benefits are good but when you start at $14 hour you end up taking home around $10/hr due to deductions. One cannot live on this wage alone, flights are very cheap although they come with the risk of getting bumped,as you are always stand-by, and it happens often. I have been forced to buy full fee return tickets with a different airline on more than one occasion just to get home. Travel is a great benefit..that is if you are able to save any money to fly and stay somewhere.
The expectations from the company would equal that of one in a mid/high ranking job in which you would be properly compensated.
There is a separation between the previously hired staff (from years ago) and the newer staff. It could be due to the fact that they make approx double what the newer employees make and do the exact same job.
With the overselling of flights, cancellation of flights, tight timelines to close flights and then see another off, there is a constant buzz of stress and negativity from both passengers and employees.
I do like my job and in general the people I work with but I would not be able to ever consider this as a career job because the expectations vs the compensation is unrealistic to be able to live a fruitful life and the stress that comes along with the job as well as the high expectations are not worth the insufficient salary.
There is no room for advancement either, you get your .50/hr raise every year
Conslow wage, low morale, high expectations, stress due to overselling of flights
1.0
Bilingual Customer Service Associate | Pearson, ON | Dec 15, 2019
Disrespectful co-workers
Dis-respectful and rude co-workers with the exception of a few; constantly watching you so that they can report you. If you work seasonal, you are not entitled to any benefits. The company lacks organization big time; not all employees are knowledgeable when it comes to the company's policies; not to mention the computer system ( hahaha) What a joke!!! The company itself breaks many labour laws and regulations; they think that they own you once you become employed. Many people are overworked because they work too many hours in the day. Considering the environment at the airport; people need to have rest in between their shifts. They DON'T care. I saw a co-worker pass out on the floor of the airport due to exhaustion. If you decline hours do get rest; they make you look like the careless one.
They test for language proficiency and at the end you do not work in the department of your language expertise. They put you in a different area all completely from your language of knowledge...
Did I mention they are unionized??? They protect the lazy and the employees that work get bombarded with the work of those who do nothing. Breaks in general??? Many times you miss them because the employees that are supposed to come back and start working after their break; do not show up. There are no rules for many of the employees that have ties with management; they can do as they please.
Overall, if you want to work at a place where you will be disrespected; this is the place for you!!! O
5.0
Customer Service Representative | Toronto, ON | Jun 1, 2020
Excellent company, colleagues & benefits!
I worked with Air Canada as a Sales & Service agent for 17 years from one end of Canada to the other, one move specifically to keep my job due to office closures.
I worked in many different capacities and locations during those 17 years; airport, call centre; prepaid ticketing, ticket agent, check-in, gate control, terminal control, etc. The only reason I left was because a package was offered due to the merge with Canadian and the opportunities for shift options were extremely limited, as were shift trades. I would go back in a heartbeat if that were an option (a condition of the package was that I would never work for AC again - what a shame, as good people are hard to find!)
I absolutely loved my job and my colleagues, the flexibility, the transfer opportunities, pension, and the travel benefits. The group benefits package was very good and included medical and dental and help for those with addiction issues or otherwise (some that truly would not have kept their jobs anywhere else!) along with a lot of other great things that you realize you need, only when you no longer have them!
The pay was not great to begin with, but as you accumulate seniority, the pay increases as do the shift options.
I have to say that my 17 years with AC were really good ones, although definitely stressful at times (irregular operations - weather, mechanical issues, irate passengers, oversold flights, etc.) but the good times outweigh the bad and I have places to stay across Canad
5.0
Gas Station Attendant | Vancouver, BC | Mar 22, 2023
Cargo Training
The training period at Air Canada Cargo is a comprehensive and rigorous program designed to provide new employees with the necessary knowledge and skills to excel in their roles. The training is conducted in a supportive and professional environment that encourages active learning and feedback.
During my training period, I was impressed with the level of expertise and professionalism of the trainers. They were knowledgeable and experienced in the cargo industry and were able to convey their knowledge in a clear and concise manner. The trainers were also approachable and willing to answer any questions or concerns I had, which made the learning process much easier.
The training covered a range of topics, including cargo handling procedures, customer service, safety regulations, and the use of specialized equipment. The trainers provided us with hands-on experience in operating equipment such as forklifts, pallet jacks, and other handling tools, which helped us to gain confidence in our abilities.
One of the most valuable aspects of the training was the emphasis on safety. Air Canada Cargo places a high priority on safety, and this was evident in the training program. We were trained on safety procedures and protocols, and we were given practical experience in handling hazardous materials safely.
Overall, the training period at Air Canada Cargo was an excellent experience. It provided me with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to perform my duties effectively and safely.
I have given 2 stars because I worked in two other departments and it was overall a good experience.
HOWEVER, the Inflight Service department is the worst at Air Canada. I chose to become a flight attendant for various reasons and took a risk of leaving a secure job to try it out. During training, they will explain to newbies how AC is a nice little family and it's all about supporting/love each other and management will organize a super nice graduation evening that will be part of your good memories. THAT'S IT!! As soon as you start flying, seasoned flight attendants check on you to report any mistakes you do. Also, the OBSM program that was introduced as a coaching program, is in fact, pure harassment. You will soon find out the OBSMs aren't your friends. The pairings are hard, e.g your flyingToronto to Saint-John's, NL at 10pm, arrives at 1 AM, departs again to Toronto at 5 AM...you have to either wait inside the terminal or sleep on the plane because AC doesn't provide hotel. You get no weekends the two first years. If you need support from management, they, the cabin crew managers, aren't trained to show empathy and care but yet, they are expecting you to "move the passenger" and create unforgettable moments on board. I have left the company with a PTSD diagnosis following an event, where nobody from management cared about me and called me to ask me if I was doing fine and needed help. Management is doing exactly the opposite of what they are expecting you to sho
I didn't choose to leave Air Canada, I was fired on probation. This unjust dismissal destroyed my life, my mental health, and my love of aviation.
Answered Feb 4, 2021
I was dismissed without just cause for a family medical emergency. Even though I followed the rules and was told repeatedly I qualified for time off. Customer Relations is a very toxic group. Management shows blatant favouritism, as do team leads and supervisors. You are following a moving target, jumping thru hoops that keep moving. Mgmt likes to keep employees in the dark, and are very tight with information. Constantly threatening you with dismissal from the moment you walk in the door. Attendance line is verbally abusive when u call in sick. Pay is pathetic and union takes dues but does nothing to protect you. Eat or be eaten environment
Answered Dec 24, 2019
What is the promotion process like at Air Canada?
Asked Nov 7, 2022
It's about who you know and not what you bring to the table
Answered Feb 28, 2023
They promote from within. The postings are sent to each staffs and exams and interviews are given
Answered Feb 19, 2023
What is a typical day like for you at Air Canada?
Asked Nov 12, 2022
4 days off 4 days on
Answered Mar 21, 2023
weekend
Answered Mar 1, 2023
Can someone from a different country who does not have a Canadian passport apply?
Asked Nov 9, 2017
Hello All, thank you to all those who took the time to answer this question :) To be eligible to work at Air Canada, you must be eligible to work in Canada. Not all positions require a Canadian passport. Should you have an open work permit for a min of 12 months from hiring date, it would also be valid. One of the few expectional roles that require a Canadian passport is the Flight Attendant role. Hope this helps!
