sales associate

retail store manager

team leader

assistant aux ventes

store manager

Rens Pets

Ive been working for this company for a bit and its just super draining to see all the stuff they put us through. The only reason im still here is because i need the money but im definitely looking for something else at the moment because its just been a rollercoaster the past few months. We had a great manager who was always there for us whenever we needed him, and made working here fun even though all the negatives was evident from the start. for reasons still not explained to anyone, he was fired and since then there has been no order, the environment doesn't feel safe, and there's rampant workplace violence and harassment. i went from having about three shifts a week on a good week to maybe about one every two to three weeks. the manager we had before protected us from all of this, and always just wanted to keep things positive. now there is a manager who was recorded saying she hates all of the staff and is trying to get rid of all of us. creating so much drama. management is non-present now. the culture isn't what it used to be and customers are even sensing it and making comments about it. idk what to tell them because i cant do anything about it.  i cant even get my required lunch most times and dont get paid for that. one of my coworkers was threatened physically by another associate and the manager who took over still hasnt done anything to solve this issue, but most work places from my understanding have zero tolerance for death threats/physical harming. the pay isnt worth it. they don't care about their workers who are dealing with mental health issues, or the ones with visible disabilities. everything about this company is a scam. including the fact that we promote ourselves as a canadian company and we're definitely not that anymore. its all a lie. and you'll find the same issues in almost every other store. the reason i started with this company was because i was a customer who loved the vibe of the store and how much the staff cared about pets. losing our previous manager who worked really hard for this company, shows how downhill a store can go in such a short amount of time.

The work itself was alright in the sense that it was not that very difficult for the store was rarely busy or flushed with customers. Although, there were many times when management just throws on multiple tasks at once and can become very demanding. Managers and higher ups loved to pass off the jobs that was asked of them to do to other employees who were already occupied with other given tasks. 


After working for the company for a couple of months, it was not the same company I thought I wanted to work for. There were many incidences of management saying one thing to their employees but then turning around and doing the opposite. I have also witnessed racism among the staff and the management team throughout my time there. 

The Company itself just did not make sense at times.
Ex. Company coupons would be given out and would scold staff if coupons were used since it was cutting from our earnings that day.
They were very money hungry. 

Glad I got out when I can, management was just a mess and just kept putting the blame on the workers and not it's higher ups who are 1) not training the staff sufficiently (ESPECIALLY with all the products that they carry, which frankly people find way too expensive)  and 2) disrespectful and condescending to it's workers. 


If you want some part time hours to make little money on the side, go for it. Aside from that, the work they ask you to do is not worth the mental and physical strain this job puts on you.

I currently work at a Rens location, I really enjoy my job, great people, my co-workers are like my family, but it is a store for professional supplies. You are expected to know about all foods and brands, raw food, supplements of all brands, toy durability, grooming from basic brushes to knowledge about proper sheers and proper grooming, seasonal medication, seasonal clothing/harnesses and collars, the best training supplies and what works best depending on the situation, and you must be prepared when customers have questions. In simple terms, you must know or be able to learn the knowledge of a vet tech for minimum wage. The only reason I have not taken other job opportunities with higher pay is because I enjoy my work. I have been there for some time now so I have advanced to higher roles and had a couple pay increases(yearly is around 2-3%), but working a high labour job that requires a lot of knowledge is emotionally and physically draining for under $16 an hour. Full time hours is only a garentee of 25 hours a week, that is a hard wage to live on in this day and age. It also doesn't help that they keep hiring on new people and decreasing everyone's hours. 

There has been no offering of raises since the spring of 2023, despite having done so yearly. This year I believe the intention was to do it in the fall but when minimum wage increased they put it off again. They did not raise keyholder pay at the same rate minimum wage increased, making the pay difference not worth the extra responsibility anymore. Toxic work environments are fostered by store managers, and escalating such issue cannot be done without managers being informed. Concerns brought to management also does not get addressed, and there is an overall lack of communication between manager and employees creating perpetual confusion and resentment. Management does little to support employees on the floor, and will go against policy for customers they like, creating an uncomfortable situation for other employees when they are expected to honour sales, prices or other discounts that are not allowed otherwise. Following Ren's being bought and many at head office leaving, company culture has shifted away from caring about employees and customers to only caring about their margins and profit. The most enjoyable part of the job are getting to meet the cute dogs, cats and other pets that come to visit. 

There's a lot of change on the horizon for this company but the current management group is reeling from the recent change in capital investment. They are mostly at a loss for a solid plan to move forward with expansion. Many of the workers are dissatisfied and/or disgruntled with the executive management and their severe lack of foresight and poor communication with the rest of the company.

That being said, they are in a changeover process with a lot of potentially good things on the horizon. They have a decent benefits package and the people who work there are worth putting up with a mediocre executive management team. 

The job I left (after they cancelled the morning shift at the warehouse)is now being posted for a dollar less per hour for some reason. There's a lot of money being put towards expansion but little to none put towards their employees or keeping the good ones. 

There's a very high turn over here and for good reason and right now, no one really knows what's going to happen going forward.  The CEO is great, but he needs a team that will execute the plan. 

Advise: Proceed with caution.

I worked for Rens for over a year. I was happy in the beginning. I was offered a transfer to a new store where I was told I would be up for a promotion. After being there for a week the manager was replaced with a new one. A family member. He didn’t know anything & clearly had never worked in a management role prior. He was rude, ungrateful and had a my way or the highway attitude. He didn’t want to follow company protocol and made doing simple tasks difficult. I had reported bullying to him twice and was brushed off both times. When I went to the district manager about it she had never been informed of it. After working at the new store for a few months I was overwhelmed with stress & anxiety every day I had to work. I was constantly belittled and eventually I left. I DO NOT REGRET LEAVING! They always tell you you can advance fast if you work hard, well I worked my Butt off and was constantly lied to and manipulated. The manager was lazy and useless. I would never recommend working at Rens pets to anyone. I worked in 3 stores for them & each manager was the same. Not to mention, count out your break times because there’s never enough staff working.

Ren's has several things going for them. They sell top quality products, specialize in grooming supplies which are quite lucrative and host huge sales that bring in thousands of people. 

But they don't really use these things to the best of their ability. They squander what they have. Stretch themselves thin over several far-apart locations. Shuttle merchandise between stores while several much-needed products are left on back order. 

The employees are not treated well. Whether it is a customer raging at you or a manager giving you feedback in front of peers, this is not the ideal place to work. 

The quality of 90% of the products is great. Their online store is horribly organized but they're an older company so I won't fault them for that. 

The reason they lost me as a customer and employee is because of the blatant disrespect. 

The use of weed and alcohol just prior to work and in some cases while at work. It's inacceptable. This location has to get itself under control.

At the start it was good, the store had a full staff and hours were okay. Then right before holidays my hours got cut down. Then they came back. No consistency in scheduling. Head officer regularly allows stores to be understaffed but expect 4 people to do the work of 10. Pay was horrendous for the amount of work expected, and raises were a joke. After being there for a year and a half I was making the same as someone who just got hired into my same position. Management was lacklustre, but only given so much leeway to really manage as head office was constantly breathing down their neck. There is so little room to grow, and it is an unsustainable job in the long run. Head office needs to reassess how they pay and manage staff, as it is running employees out the door into new jobs faster than you can blink. I made a lot of good friends, but most were bred out of a common resentment of the workplace. 

I have a huge passion for animals and love the products that rens sells so I figured this would be the perfect place for me to work, and in those senses it is but being someone with a lot of management experience I can safely say their management needs some SERIOUS work. They talk down to their key holders, they need to learn how to talk to people (people meaning their staff) there is a major lack in training, you are constantly thrown to the wolves. They pass you off to the next person and they usually aren’t even fully trained either. It’s sad because in a while I am proud to work for a company like rens that sells quality pet products but the management and team leads make you not even want to bother, hence the high turnover rate.

I currently work at RENs part time and I LOVE it! I get decent hours even in the retail dead months, I love my coworkers, the environment, and obviously the animals. The only complaint I really have is that for the knowledge we need to have and the amount of work you need to put in doing this job, we are absolutely not paid enough (minimum wage, with slow increases). We essentially need to have the full knowledge of a vet tech and a groomer, since people come to us asking questions they should be asking the people with those actual titles. You learn an insane amount working here and you’re always busy, which is good. Overall I do love this job and plan on staying with the company for a long time. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Sales associate 65 salaries reported	$17.39 per hour
Retail store manager 10 salaries reported	$52,500 per year
Team leader 20 salaries reported	$18.73 per hour
Assistant aux ventes 20 salaries reported	$17.49 per hour
Store manager 8 salaries reported	$25.00 per hour

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