retail assistant store manager

production technician

retail store manager

shipping and receiving clerk

lead product owner

Rocky Mountain Soap Co.

Initially, the company's values create an appealing impression, emphasizing a positive environment centered around well-being, kindness, and nature. However, this positive facade fades over time. As the months passed, I realized there was a significant disconnect between the "head office" and the stores. Feedback is poorly received, and operational decisions often lack coherence.

It's disheartening to witness a local-owned company with a beautiful backstory and a focus on natural products prioritize expansive growth over refining and enhancing its existing framework. The company appears to be adopting a corporate BS façade in claiming to care about well-being and being kind, all the while concentrating on boosting profit margins.

On the logistical front, the company struggles to meet demand and store requirements. Inconsistencies in deliveries, frequent product unavailability, and lack of product quality and consistency create challenges.

At the store level, the part-time role can be enjoyable, depending of course on in-store management and colleagues. Everyone is very nice and positive. The job is undemanding, with very few responsibilities. However, the fluctuating work hours, ranging from 25+ hours to as low as 4 hours per week, pose a challenge. Recently, following their record sales week, the company congratulated all their employees by asking all stores to cut already scheduled hours, of course, putting all the pressure on their store managers to cut the hours and then tell their own employees. This highlights a common lack of accountability from the head office, which tends to shift blame to mid-level managers.

While the products themselves are of high quality, they fail to compensate for the overall experience. Despite harbouring high hopes initially, my enthusiasm waned as the realities of the company's operations became apparent.

For those seeking a part-time position, particularly while in school or as a supplementary job, it might be a suitable option with modest expectations and an enticing in-store discount. However, individuals aspiring to grow within the company, may be disappointed. The compensation is below average, offering $0.50$ above minimum wage, a 2% yearly salary increase, bonus that are rarely achievable, and no benefits beyond a quarterly product allowance.

The company claims to be environmentally friendly while using single-use plastic packaging in their deliveries and consistently sending half-filled boxes. 

It's a lot of talk and very little walk.


A typical day at Rocky Mountain Soap Company involved checking the schedule for the day, cutting and wrapping soap, cleaning, and maintaining the store. A big part of the job was constantly keeping an eye on the sink area and overall cleanliness, which could sometimes feel frustrating. There was also a lot of customer interaction throughout the day, which made the work more engaging and interesting.

During my time there, I learned a lot about natural products, improved my communication skills, and gained more experience in sales and customer service. The management was neutral overall, but shift organization was not ideal, which was one of the reasons I decided to leave. The workplace culture was generally positive, and my coworkers were friendly and supportive.

Another major downside was the constant focus on daily sales goals. In many cases, the targets were quite high for the size and traffic of the store, and even when goals were exceeded, the bonus compensation did not feel very motivating. This also created pressure, as management would frequently emphasize goals, which could be frustrating at times.

The hardest part of the job was the repetitive nature of the tasks and the very low pay. The most enjoyable parts were the products themselves, which I really liked, and interacting with customers.

This company is all talk, no follow through. They don’t follow through on the claims they make around supporting their staff and community and around behind eco-friendly. It is all a big marketing scheme. 

They do not treat their staff well unless they are at the very top of management. 
The staff in the workshop get treated like sweatshop workers while the upper management don’t even show up to the office half the time.

The operations team, supervisors, and managers are fantastic people to work with but you go any higher than that and it is nothing but corporate bs, all they care about is increasing profit at any cost. 

One of the owners of the company once said in a staff meeting “the MIRACLE of Covid…” because the company made tons of money because of it (selling soap and sanitizer) Didn’t seem to care people were dying from it…

I chose to leave the company once I realized how hollow it was.

If you just need a paycheck and don’t mind all the nonsense it isn’t a bad place to work as wages aren’t terrible (for Canmore) and a lot of the staff are great people.
If you are looking for a workplace you can be proud of, a career, or any kind of advancement I would not recommend.

On the surface, Rocky Mountain Soap is a good company to work for. They attract down to earth, good people to work in their stores. The customers are great, the products are nice and the discount is generous. They also have an incredible leadership program, albeit there is nowhere to advance once you are a store manager.

If you are in store management, you will soon learn that they talk a lot about entrepreneurial spirit but don’t actually let their managers make decisions for their own stores. Upper management micromanages to a new level that I hadn’t experienced before. They also have an intense, cult-like ‘yes’ culture (just smile and agree) and if you question any new initiatives you are looked at as a negative Nancy. There are clear favourites among the management team. These all create a negative experience for managers who are forced to act like everything is fantastic all the time. I’ve talked to a few who have shared this with me.

Overall, this company has potential to be great but the micromanagement and yes culture is next level. 

Working at Rocky was a uniquely challenging experience. Despite the encouragement to take ownership and create a "different" type of retail environment any new ideas were quickly shot down by upper management and stores were micromanaged to an intense level. The expectations placed on store managers far exceeded the pay and benefits provided and there was little to no support from leadership. Aside from weekly connects with the entire store leader team there was no additional communication on expectations or feedback from upper management, however during visits to stores they were quick to point out things that were done "incorrectly" - aka following directives from the team at head office, but they'd decided in the moment they didn't like them. Teams were expected to provide feedback in multiple ways each month, regularly through chats, in weekly meetings, on Google forms, and in emails, however nothing constructive or tangible ever came of the feedback given. 

A typical day ay Rocky was working hard making the line of soaps, salts, and anything else that was in the inventory, enjoying a good laugh with co-workers while being safe and conscious of others around. I learned a whole new career, how to be patient and get along and respect others. Management was always encouraging and if mistakes were made, they understood we were human. They would tell us what we needed to improve on be it speed, quality or others. Then they would tell us what we were doing right! The hardest part of the job for me was the sit down jobs as I really love to slug it out and be physical! The most enjoyable part of the job for me was, cleaning up after a physical day, feeling proud of my accomplishments and to boot the Managers thanking us for our effort every day!

I had the privilege of working at the Southcentre location as a seasonal employee. A typical day at work involved receiving product, interacting with customers, and working at the register. It was an amazing experience from start to finish. For a retail store, the training went above and beyond. They made sure we were knowledgeable in the products we were selling, and were very passionate about the brand. The culture at the Southcentre store was incredible. Each and every person there was a joy to be around. Everyone wanted to be there, and the energy was always positive. The managers made sure everyone was taken care of. They would always give out praise, and communication was outstanding. Overall, it was one of the best work environments I have ever been a part of. I would recommend working at this location to anyone, 10/10 experience.

After working at Rocky I noticed there was faults like every company. 
The intention of an amazing work environment is there but the execution is questionable. 
The amount of work and expectation of perfection verse compensation is not great. Most employees at lower levels are paid below living wage for the area. Those slightly higher with larger responsibilities are not much higher. The benefit of discount/product allowance but the vacation is 2 weeks. Personally would prefer to have more vacation less product. 
The team you work with however are positive and friendly and enjoyable to work alongside. 
Direct management are supportive and good. 

It almost seems like the company sky rocketed from COVID and is lost in direction that it wants to go in, 

I love working at Rocky. The product is incredible; the team is smart, creative, kind and collaborative, and the business is growing. 

There is a lot of work to do, and as with any fast-growing companies, there's a fair amount of change management, but Rocky approaches it with a human-centred approach, prioritizing the health and happiness of the team, and the experience of the customer.

I'm learning something new everyday, and grateful for the people I get to work with. 

I worked seasonal, but I'm still friends with people who work there. It's extremely relaxed and nice. Probably the only retail work on this planet where you don't have to deal with angry customers. You get a generous discount on products as well. Not to mention, they give you a welcome package of Rocky products for you to try out, and if there is a products you're not too sure on, they give you it so you can try it out and give a genuine response to customers. It is still an entry level position so don't expect high pay, but if you're a student or have kids, Rocky would be perfect because they are extremely understanding and accommodating when it comes to personal life.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Retail assistant store manager 16 salaries reported	$26.13 per hour
Production technician 7 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Retail store manager 20 salaries reported	$68,000 per year
Shipping and receiving clerk 4 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Lead product owner 6 salaries reported	$21.08 per hour

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