commis d'entrepôt

sales consultant

responsable des ressources humaines

chef de caisse

cashier

SAIL

Sail Cambridge has so much potential to be a top dog in the outdoor retail industry even with its local competitors such as MEC and Atmosphere being located so close. However the lack of leadership qualities in majority of their management team has created an incredibly divisive and toxic environment. Sail Cambridge seems to have an "us versus them" mentality with their managers rather than using their position to mentor and develop a strong and experienced sales team (as outlined by their new 'profiles for success'). 

Management decides to spend their time disciplining staff, passing around false information, speaking in a condescending manner and holding minimum wage employees accountable for the success or failure of the business with little to zero training. They do not value their employees and do not display any desire to keep them, or build them into a stronger staff team. The store manager is known to be out of touch with his sales staff, and is the epitome of a hands-off manager. When delivering discipline has screamed at employees at a volume their co-workers could hear through a closed door and a wall.

They have an incredibly passionate and experienced sales team that really drive their business! However due to the low turnover rate, especially among their full-time employees, head office and the District manager neglect complaints about management and the incredibly low morale in the store.

This building has an incredibly negative energy.

 KPI numbers are thrown around every morning with no plan or strategy as to how improve. The restructure into a more "corporate" business was executed poorly, and has taken an incredibly long time (as of the time of this post, positions still are not filled even though they were applied for my numerous, qualified, internal employees).

While the current store and assistant store managers hold their positions and continue to manage with the methods they use, this specific store will have incredibly limited success, if not total failure.

I would recommend this specific store to any customer because the people the floor staff that provide service to them are absolutely amazing!

I absolutely would NEVER recommend this place to anyone considering applying for employment and would even encourage them to seek employment elsewhere.

It should be a great place to work for the outdoor enthusiast. But it's not.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The work environment is relatively stress free. If you enjoy hunting, fishing, or camping, the place is like a toy store. The employee discount is very nice. I have worked there since the opening, and the vast majority of employees are friendly and pleasant people, all sharing an affinity for the outdoors. It is also nice to know that I work for a 100% Quebec owned company, driving our local economy.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
As a shipping/receiving clerk, the workload throughout the year comes in waves, ranging from virtually nothing to a sometimes overwhelming amount of stock to process.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
everyone at my location is friendly and collaborative; teamwork comes easily. There is a strong focus on safety. management have an open door policy for any issue; there is no stark divide between managers and the floor staff.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I start the day with the equipment checklists, such as forklift and skyjack. I will print out pricing sheets for our new shipments, if available. I will print out the in-store pick-up orders as necessary. On occasion, I will pick and ship the e-commerce orders. Most of my day is spent tagging new shipments with price tags, receiving/putting away new shipments, and processing inter-store transfers as necessary,

There are many things I can say about Sail and my experience there but it all gets summed up to a terrible job and a terrible experience. The management was horrible and not organized at all and quite frankly never managed. There were constantly associates standing around and no one cared. There is a HUGE lack of respect from both sides. Management doesnt give it so associates dont give it back. The communication is rediculous. There are so many asssociats that want to leave and are not happy working there. There have been several HR complaints and nothing comes of it. These are just a few of the things that made this experience so horrible. This company over charges for their products and keeps things for years until it sells. They are very cheap when it comes to fixing things in the store (usually gets left or done in the cheapest way) or display props (purchased mostly from the dollar store). The way it is run is very bad (management, shipments, clearance, stock levels, pricing etc.) The only good thing I can say about this company is that the discount is good and fellow associates were nice. I wouldn't reccommend this company unless you are looking for a very relaxed no one cares kind of job where there is no chance of moving up in the company.

A typical day at work consists of greeting customers and giving them the best service and product knowledge possible.  This involves finding out the needs and desires of our customers through consistent communication, asking questions and inquiring about each background.  Because SAIL is such a huge work environment, it is extremely important to know each department and management team as well as product knowledge.  It is an outdoor store so advanced knowledge with regard to outdoor living is required.  
Although I do have a vast background related to backpacking, camping, hiking, fishing and outdoor activity, I have learned much more during my experience with SAIL.  The management as well as the staff are open and honest.  We take pride in working with and assisting one another whenever possible.  Not only do we work well together within our work environment, we have created a special bond outside of our work lives through our social committee.  We believe that communication, trust and empathy are important aspects to maintain our relationships.

At first working at SAIL was an enjoyable experience, my coworkers were amazing and the management was good at the start. After 3 months in my department manager became very rude, and would point me out and make fun of me to other coworkers, my manager would talk behind my back, and belittle me during my shift. They would make rude and unnecessary comments that were not related to work at all. When I first applied they told me any day I needed off that were not busy holiday days (i.e Black Friday, Christmas, etc) they would not hesitate and allow to have that personal day. But instead they would always deny my request, they did not hold to their word. The whole management would belittle and talk behind your back. The management was also very sexist and would allow one gender more leniency than the other. When it came to disciplinary actions, if they do not like you, you would be the example, whereas if you are liked everything would slip under the rug. Also, even some of the managers do not follow the code of conduct when it comes to other employees, and allow their feelings to get in the way of the work capabilities which is unprofessional. In all, my coworkers and the customers was the only good experience I had working there, but the managers made my experience terrible to a point where I would rethink working there everyday.

It's not a bad place to work at if your goal is to move up the ladder b/c there's a high turnover rate at the store that I work at. it was a great place to work at when I first started but head office has made some changes which are not employees friendly. There's always some drama within the store every year without fail. I've been there for a while due to school so I was able to work minimal hours. They try to be very understanding to part timers and give them the time off  that you ask for.  Like I said, we've had some changes that have made us, employees, less happy and ready to work. They expect a lot (selling their VIP program by asking the customers lots of intrusive questions) but you get paid minimum wage. Also, expect a mandatory store wide meeting 2x a year and mandatory training for 3 hours  3x a year. we used to get free dinner/lunch during those meetings  and whenever it was expected to be busy during that day (black Friday, Boxing day, Christmas Eve, etc) but that changed to us getting our own lunch and/or dinner.

At first everything in the beginning was amazing. Management was on top of everything and there to help you out when you needed it, the staff were all super close and fun to work with. Even occasionally going out to events and dinners. However as time went on and COVID hit everything turned upside down. You often work understaffed, the management is lazy and never there for you when you call on them. They write you up and reduce your hours significantly. There’s no thank you or any type of recognition for hard work. It’s them pulling you aside constantly telling you that you need to do better. They’re sole focus has shifted from a customer service standpoint to solely pushing there staff to push memberships on customers via sign ups demanding email, and phone numbers. When targets are not hit despite hard working employees, the failure is not on anyone else but the employees. Truly an awful place to work and the entire management team should be replaced with people who care about the ones working the front lines. Do not work here if you value your mental health. 

Through my experience, it was an above-average work environment. I learned many things regarding customer service. Working as a team is crucial at SAIL and it is very beneficial. The team initially felt like having a second family, which is great when it comes to working together between departments. One of the best things is the opening and closing meetings at the customer service desk every single day. It had allowed the management team to connect with their employees on everything, from business to personal. It is a great way to connect more with the people in your work environment. Many great friendships have sparked within SAIL. PK sessions are always a plus as they provide the employees the right information and approach in selling their products to customers. Some PK sessions have an additional perk that include massive discounts for their products that would allow the employees to experience the usage of their products.

It is a great place for anyone to gain customer service experience first hand.

Terrible management, posess no empathy. Insensitive to employees feelings and thoughts, issues are brushed under the rug or ignored simply because store manager is afraid to deal with any conflict. Cheap! Nothing gets fixed properly, props all from dollar store. Huge lack of communication and unrealistic “chain of command” does not work. Management is allowed to treat employees horribly especially if not a “favourite”, but if anyone speaks up for themselves they are coined as “negative” and is ignored and mistreated until employee eventually leaves. There is no cross training allowed in other departments but are expected to lead customers to other store areas and help. Cut backs are huge! Low staff ratio to size of store but are expected to watch for theives, great and help all customers, plus get all our work done. Doesn’t work! Basically there is a huge lack of respect from upper management and in turn makes employees not care. Low morale, company events receive low participation and management doesn’t get it. The environment is a direct result of their leadership! Zero respect! Zero appreciation!

This job requires employees to be very active and multitask for long hours yet does not give hard working employees 15 minute breaks as a courtesy. They do not makes sures breaks are every 5 hours. For the amount of product an average associate is selling per hour, the fact that they do no provide commission on sales is appalling.

This is not a good job for students because the schedules change often, it is very difficult to get time off and spontaneous "Product Knowledge" nights pop up often, making it hard for students to balance their work and school life.

Sometimes shifts are over 10 hours long but employees are not paid overtime because the "training" hours are paid by the HQ and not from the store budget, so it's as if the employee is working at two different jobs in a day.

The staff is very friendly and the discount is good. Otherwise there is no real benefit to working here for part-timers. They do not respect their employees' availability.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Commis d'entrepôt 1 salary reported	$17.00 per hour
Sales consultant 1 salary reported	$128,492 per year
Responsable des ressources humaines 1 salary reported	$37.50 per hour
Chef de caisse 1 salary reported	$38,000 per year
Cashier 1 salary reported	$21.00 per hour

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