truck driver

forklift operator

warehouse associate

transportation supervisor

customer support representative

Core-Mark International, Inc.

When I started working for this company, it was a really exciting place with lots to learn and new opportunities for  growth. The Client Care manager really cared about the people working in their department and the well being of their employees, everything from mental, physical, emotional, AND FINANCIAL well being were important to them. When it came time for raises this manager understood the workload and ensured we were compensated well for the hard work. The manager also made efforts for the team to get together for team building events to make sure we had our morale up, no matter how horrible the day was..unfortunately like that manager and a few of some other really great managers that started there, they eventually moved on or got let go for basically not agreeing with the biggest joke of that division the ..almighty new president, the new client care manger did not care about the team despite the fact that she was  under the management of our previous client care manager who is the epitome of what a true leader looks like she learned nothing and destroyed whatever morale the team had left. This new “manager” got their promotion ( because they were the oldest out of all of us and the president didn’t think a younger person had the skills to lead the department..little did he know the youngest person was practically doing all of the so called Manager’s job) the new “manager” is absolutely useless, perhaps if they  focused less on what their next meal is and eating or making their team  run out to get them food, or  how about going out for countless smoke breaks,   better yet how about  the constant socializing with upper management kissing their behinds, then maybe, just maybe they might have time to do their actual job. For the most part  her main concern is what people use in the kitchen, heaven forbid you use some milk for your morning cereal or coffee, heaven forbid you use more than a drop of honey , heaven forbid you  touch any office supplies because this person will come down on you like a hawk! Why? because HR 
unbeknownst to everyone at the office  named this individual as the office and kitchen police. But …if you can have a look in her desk drawer you will find all sorts of goodies guess from where??.. the kitchen. While that so called manager does all that,  the client care team itself is getting slammed  with a high volume of phone calls, usually by customers complaining about the fact that they have left the “ client care manager” multiple voicemail's and have not received any call backs, when ever calls are transferred to the “manager” she refuses to take the call because they are not “prepared to take the call, causing customers to get more aggravated and call back again to yell at client care some more. The whole team is terrified of that manager, she would yell at you  or embarrass you in front of the whole office for simple mistakes rather than taking you into their office and having a proper conversation, you know like a professional manager would. Don’t even thinks of going to HR that’s why this has gone on for so long, why you may ask, because the HR head honcho is  BFF’s with the Client Care Manager and anyone that has gone against them well guess what they don’t work there anymore. Have I mentioned the amount of people that have gone on stress leave at this company because the people that run this place are mentally and emotionally abusive and everyone is too afraid to speak out. I also worked for the purchasing department which is another joke. The purchasing department for this division has one of the lowest fill rates in all of the company, for people that have been doing that job for 12 plus years it embarrassing, they are not a team and will throw anyone under the bus any chance they can in order to move up.. watch out for the “Senior” purchaser she has the team lead by the balls and even he is to afraid to speak up . Unfortunately most people that work there are two faced, mainly for job security purposes which is so sad but true, what was once an amazing company to work for, has quickly dwindled down to the most toxic place to work at... this is only for this division in Calgary I can’t speak that  for the entire company I’ve had the privilege going to other divisions and they seem to have their stuff together and function really great especially Barnaby's division really great people there!

A Typical Day at Core-Mark
A typical day at Core-Mark’s Burnaby warehouse involved navigating a high-volume, fast-paced environment within a space that was often overpacked due to limited capacity and purchasing misalignment. Daily operations were reactive rather than strategic, with frequent challenges related to product flow, space constraints, and communication breakdowns between departments.

What I Believe I Learned
This role taught me a great deal about managing under pressure, thinking critically to solve logistical problems, and maintaining composure when systems are lacking. I also gained a clearer understanding of the importance of cross-functional communication, proactive planning, and the need for unified leadership across departments.

Management
Management at the site lacked consistency and cohesion. There was a noticeable disconnect between operational needs and strategic decisions, with little collaboration between purchasing, leadership, and warehousing. Senior management often played favorites and didn’t offer equal support to all team members. Accountability wasn’t always fairly distributed, and suggestions for improvement were not always welcomed.

Workplace Culture
The workplace culture felt fragmented. There were some great individuals working hard to keep things running, but overall morale was affected by limited engagement, favoritism, and a lack of recognition. Trust in leadership was low due to poor communication and uneven treatment of staff. A stronger, more inclusive leadership approach could make a significant difference.

The Hardest Part of the Job
The most difficult aspect was managing a facility beyond its capacity without the necessary tools, support, or space to succeed. Being held responsible for outcomes you had little control over — due to internal disconnects and infrastructure limitations — made it challenging to perform at your best.

The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job
Despite the challenges, the most rewarding part was the opportunity to lead a team and work alongside dedicated individuals who cared about their work. Solving complex problems under pressure and mentoring team members offered moments of pride and professional fulfillment.



Overall it's a small branch here in Calgary. My position was newly created by the director of Calgary Operations and they bumped up my yearly salary by $5k after adding some additional responsibilities to my role. Later after I joined and I found out that a senior employee of mine is already doing my job. The difference was my title has a lead in it. Following a couple of informal meetings with the director, it seemed like the senior management was unable to get this employee to change to their expectations so it was made clear to me that I should start putting that employee's main responsibilities on my plate and eventually fire him if necessary. I wasn't sure at the time how performance coaching became this difficult with this employee or it was the union environment. Consequently, the management style of this division was in question as this employee turned out to be a great guy with great knowledge. 

Ever since the beginning, I became sidelined by other employees who were defending this employee. The ones that were supposed to train me were never available by phone or text. The company also doesn't have a formal training program. 

Upon my review, they were dissatisfied with my performance. Their answer to no training was that it's a fast-paced company so why should they provide training. I found this claim to be extremely bothersome. Especially given the fact that I hadn't worked in the sector and was recruited from a different sector for my talent and transferrable skills. 

So what was my real job responsibility? Fire my senior employee and take his job. Real classy.

Core-Mark is a wholesaler of products for the convenience channel in the U.S.& Canada. The reputation of the companies service has long been a concern for the industry in the Ontario, Canada market place.  There are some good people there but the general sales management is poor and customers suffer.  I worked there as a sales representative for years and tried to make a difference, my customers appreciated the effort but fighting weak management practices, poor customer service policies, changing pricing and a lack of customer care worked against the sales focus.

Core-Mark tries to do too much and thus fails.  The focus should be on WHOLESALING. Once a few general management (manager) changes occur the Ontario Division could recover. If you are considering Core-Mark as a long time career, re-evaluate your options.  Short term roles to gain experience are fine but be prepared to work with tough leadership if you want to 
stay "on the bus".  

The salary is below average as wholesalers are not known for their high wages. It's not a profitable business trucking water, salt and cigs to convenience stores.  

Harley Davidson changed and Core-Mark can too.  
A FRESH approach is needed but if you apply, come to work, put in your time and have a High School Diploma - you may even become 
General Manager someday.

Keep your head low, your mouth shut and don't try to improve the process and you will be fine.  There will always be jobs available at Core-Mark.

Management needs a complete overhaul. 
Despite their claims at company meetings to improve communication, overall work environment and route & maintenance organization, this is not the case. 

Non management are just numbers, nothing more. Do what your told and don't express concerns otherwise you'll pay for it in one way or another. 
Negativity is always pin pointed, and its rare you'll get a "Good Job!" or receive any appreciation for the extra mile you'll put in to make up for the constant mistakes throughout the company.

There is no room for advancement and very poor salary. Despite their claims.
Drivers & warehouse employees wages are well below competitors rates. 

Day to day can be very stressful with next to no solution from management. "It is what it is" and "We'll pass it along" are phrases you'll hear spoken consistently.
If you're considering applying for a position with Core-mark, rethink this move. You'll go nowhere fast have have very little to feel proud of.

Hiring and Interview process was great, but once working as a warehouse associate the management seems to care less overtime. Lots to learn but most people don’t know what they are doing or at least teach. It’s a learn it yourself environment. You need to show “incentive” and then will you get help. The pay is more than fair and so are the benefits, but you have to look into it yourself since no one really guides you. In order to learn things, you have to be already good at something then you’ll be approached or taken advantage of when needed. You have to aggressively seek opportunities and constantly remind management if you want to develop skills. Unfortunately a lot of biased and favouritism at play here. With the lack of leadership in the workplace, the culture can be very toxic at times (from both management and coworkers). The company has a lot of potential to be one of the top if they invested more resources and time in the people. Sad to see so much potential wasted. Most good workers either give up or quit. 

Where to begin?

Supervisors have little to no experience and are quite unorganized as well as management. No one has a clue as to what’s going on around there. Trucks are disgustingly dirty and not cleaned ever. You’ll be pressured and guilt tripped into working on your days off, they’ll tell you you have to even though you don’t. The company is constantly desperate for drivers because someone is always quitting, they’ve started promising new drivers local work when you actually end up being on a team route out of town for about a year due to seniority. They’ll hire whoever they can get, whether you just graduated driving school or you’re 70 years old, they don’t care 

Pay is always accurate and on time except for one occasion, except your separate per diem cheques are always inconsistent and can take up to 2-3 months to be mailed. 

Communication is god awful whether it’s your supervisors, general manager or HR. Assistant manager/fleet manager is the only one who always answers. 



I have to say that the majority of employees who work here are fantastic! They are a very tight family as they have to be, as they need to constantly support each other as management is so poor. 

When I was brought on I was told that old toxic management were all let go and were trying to bring on new employees who can fix the poor culture. 
They brought in a new DP and eventually a new HR Manager. Those two people are probably the worse, most toxic, and most disrespecting people I have ever met. All they clearly care about is money. They bring with them poor communication, mismanagement of employees, and an old school mentality of hierarchy with poor engagement. 

Management needs to lead by example and create a positive working environment for employees to perform at their best capacity - which does not happen at the Alberta location. I have heard this is similar across all divisions in the US and Canada. 

My advice is to run... run far away!

It was great working there at the beginning, but after a while if your a hard working person, they will make you do 2-3 person jobs every shift. Supervisors here at poor-mark are under qualified. It’s a unionized workplace so there is NO advancement whatsoever. I would seek an employment somewhere else. Toxic environment, managers / supervisors doesn’t care about their employees. Your are just a number to them. If you have any complaints don’t bring it anybody as they just don’t care. Safety issues here are a big concern. They won’t do anything to FIXED these problems. Lots of safety concerns that’s been going on for years and years and they will just NOT do anything to fixed it. Union won’t even help their members, with their concerns. Work somewhere else if I were you. 

I loved working here until some management changes in the last quarter of 2017 and was consequently treated very poorly even after doing my work for almost three years at the time.  I learned that if you complain, stand up for yourself or challenge them in any way, you will lose in the end.  At the end of the day, they're an international company (Headquartered in the U.S.) who just want you to do what they tell you to do, shut up and suck it up. Jobs are termed as "salaried", yet we submit hours and are paid by the hour. It is an expectation to put in overtime as necessary but not be compensated as jobs are classified as "salary".  I had the best boss, we had a super relationship, she was always caring and helpful and I considered myself lucky to be working with her, sadly that changed and she turned on me, once again, my heart has been broken.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Truck driver 7 salaries reported	$29.04 per hour
Forklift operator 5 salaries reported	$19.28 per hour
Warehouse associate 1 salary reported	$19.36 per hour
Transportation supervisor 3 salaries reported	$64,167 per year
Customer support representative 4 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour

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