custodian

attendant

line cook

cook

mechanic

West Edmonton Mall

There is rarely a typical day at work. You will go in and not know what to expect. All you know is what ride color you are assigned to and when you are scheduled to start and end, which generally depending on whether it's low or high season, will be the entire time that the park is open. Even when you are assigned to the color, if you know and are certified in more than one color, you are likely to be moved elsewhere if needed.

So your day starts off with roll call and then ride assignments. You go to your ride and do all of the safety checks to make sure that it's all good to go before you can load the ride with actual guests including a test run. And then you load, do all of the safety checks and try to include your engagement with the guests. Run the ride, standing in the same spot for the entire ride length. You are supposed to just watch the ride, but often the next riders waiting in line will ask you "How long is the ride?" or "How much longer?" When it's literally been only been 30 seconds since the run started. And once it's finished you unload and clear the ride area. And just do it all over again every time there's a guest. Until the end of the day occasionally doing a little bit of clean up when you have downtime. And it all differs depending on what ride you are on. Oh, and there are also bumps, which means you go on your break and then go to a different ride sending them on their break and so forth until you reach the end of the break sheet which the breaker takes back to Operations.

I've gained more customer service skills, and also patience. I feel like I've gained more confidence and problem-solving skills. And I can say for certainty with how many close calls we've had. That we can act proactively during situations with a cool head, knowing what to do and what to say.

Management is a bit scatterbrained, but they do try their best. There's very few that were actual ride operators, most of them came from Admissions which is also one of our teams. They are trained to operate a ride, but very few know what it's like on an actual day or week of it. We've called for something multiple times and not gotten it the entire day. Whether it's a pen or cleaning supplies. I've also had a few close calls of days where I almost didn't get a break.

However, the coworkers you get, are very friendly and welcoming. If you have a problem, most of us know what we're doing and what you're doing. So we can troubleshoot it easily without having to jump through hoops to get a supervisor or maintenance to come down and fix it. Although we aren't technically supposed to, we have given each other refreshers on how to operate the ride if it's been awhile. And there have been plenty of times in the staffroom, where we've had a coworker be down a lunch, and someone will always be willing to share their lunch or offer you money to go buy yourself a lunch. They're like family.

The hardest part of the job, is that it takes a major toll on the body and mind. It's very stressful no matter the day. Because if anything happens, it's all on you. You have to control everything, multitask. And all for minimum wage and part-time hours under the claim that it's full-time, and zero benefits other than 3 appreciation passes every month.

But the most enjoyable part of the job, is seeing the cute kids. Hearing how excited they are. And just straight up talking to the guests. That's my favorite part.

Outside maintenance is not maintenance work, it is janitorial work and is very badly organized and inefficient. If you are a good worker, management is very demanding and expects lots every day, but if you are a bad worker you get rewarded by being given easy jobs and they will expect less from you. Very stressful for the few who work because they will be given the lions share of the work and they eventually burn out, get fired, and are replaced...or they get fed up and quit. Meanwhile, the bad workers keep their jobs forever. Very frustrating. Some good workers eventually get smart to how it works and stop trying. Here's why:

Work is simple to understand and do but the supervisors won't allow you to get the work done the best and fastest way. You are micro-managed down to the point you are scared to breath.  You must write on paper what you do each minute, literally, every minute is accounted for. Writing down what you do each day takes just as long as the actual job. You are not allowed to get jobs done in a sequence that makes sense, or in a manner that improves productivity.  Some jobs you are not given enough time to finish properly and then you get in trouble for taking longer, other jobs you are given too much time and are sat doing nothing. Supervisors tell you to do jobs in a strange order and often it creates more work and takes double the time.

Things would improve and go faster if workers were given their tasks to complete and then allowed to think for themselves and get the jobs done without the constant negative interference from supervisors, especially with jobs we know and do daily.  Supervisors know who are the good workers but will not have faith in them and let them do their jobs. I've never seen anything like it. If you are highly motivated and great at time management, this is not the job for you.

Supervision is bad.  They never, ever check to see if the job assigned to you has been done or if the quality of work is up to standard at the end of your shift. You could go months before anyone sees you aren't doing your job, but eventually the good worker who works after the bad worker will complain and that is the only way it get's picked up on.  Then because they never check individuals work, they don't reprimand the individual, they have a group meeting and tell everyone off in general. Good workers feel like they are bad workers because they are constantly being told off along with the bad workers.  Bad workers love it. Morale is low if you are a good worker and high if you are a bad worker.

In summary, there is no benefit to working hard at WEM. No bad worker has ever been written up for not doing their job properly and no good worker has ever been rewarded by being left alone and not harassed by supervisors.  So if you want to do the bare minimum and still get payed, WEM - outdoor maintenance is the place for you.  If you are a go getter, look elsewhere because this place will drive you crazy.

The people are amazing. I enjoyed every day that I went to work purely because I knew that the people I'd interact with on a daily basis were amazing.

The benefits are also really good. 100% coverage on most things with spending accounts for specific practices (massage, chiropractor, acupuncture etc.)

Lots of in-mall perks like staff discounts, cheap movie tickets, attractions passes etc.

WEM was great to put on a resume and gave me a lot of experience in a fast-paced environment, but that's where the issues begin.

Project management is a joke. Projects that should be given a month or two to work on will be given a week or two at most. Rush jobs are a DAILY occurrence. It feels like working for a small family business because you will learn who you need to drop everything for to make them happy, regardless of what else you might have going on. 

The salary is very entry level. Basically need to say you're leaving for them to consider giving a raise, and it will be the bare minimum.

Budgets are cut all the time. If you manage a budget, it will get cut. If there is a budget that affects you in any way, you'll hear about it getting cut. This will be used to justify no raises/minimal effort in raises.

Turnover is pretty high. It's gotten better but the average length of time people stay is maybe around 2 years, so the team is young. Fun to hang out with during lunches or on the weekends.

When I work the morning shift I get to test slides and initial checklist sheets for safety. We stay at either the top of the slide or bottom for 20 minutes and then we all rotate to our next spot. There is about 9 slides in 3 different rotations. When I am at the bottom of a slide there is a possibility that I might have to jump in, meaning that if a non-swimmer comes down it’s my responsibility to jump in and save them and then fill out a report. Near the end of the day I meet my bottom or wait for my top to come down and tell me it’s safe to close the slide and no one else will be coming down. 

I have learned a lot at my job, I have customer service skills from talking to a lot of customers from all over the world and helping them out with what slides they should go on or not. I have also taken many CPR and first aid training while I have been there. 

Our supervision team and management is excellent. They are very understanding and interested in everything we have to say. They are there caring and supportive. 

The most enjoyable part about my job is being able to get to talk to so many different people all day long and learn and connect with the everyone around me. I will make conversations with people who are waiting in line and I learn lots about them. It is very interesting and makes the job fun and enjoyable.

I had an occurrence where i was nearly assaulted by a suspect that I had arrested. I had defended myself and did not think twice about my action. I went home safe to my family. Approximately 2 weeks later I was pulled into the directors office and told that I was being suspended for assaulting the suspect. I was never spoken to about the occurrence until then nor was I given a chance to defend myself at first. It wasn't until i asked if I could tell my half and they unhappily stated yes. After I had explained they stated that they understood how i came to my actions; however that i was still suspended. This occurrence destroyed my RCMP career for the time being. Approximately 2 months later i had an occurrence where a drunk belligerent female suspect and her boyfriend had gotten in my face and i have used to my training to make a 6 foot gap. I partner did not move back and actually moved forwards, was assaulted and I was fired for being a danger to my co-workers. I had no opportunity to defend myself. Their investigation was all of 15 minutes as they watched the video. A complaint of the incident was never made; however management took it upon them selves to investigate. I do not recommended that anyone works here.

If you're in high school or college then it's a pretty flexible way to make some cash but you have to be clear about your goals. 

If you want to become a supervisor or any other higher position then make a beeline for those positions. Else you will stagnate very quickly and be miserable. It's easy money but don't forget about your career and gaining relevant experience whenever possible. Those who do more than the bare minimum will do fine, everyone else be careful.

The hardest part of the job was figuring out ways to stay entertained when boredom set in. There are ways but they really don't make it easy.

Workplace culture is also dicey but it depends on how quickly you can make friends, nobody was overtly mean or rude unless they were triggered by something but there are definitely groups/cliches; but that's pretty much anywhere with teenagers/young adults. 

Management was fair but they also had demands of their own that sometimes would mean working a late shift till 11pm and being up for an 8AM shift the next day. If that's something that suits you then go for it. If not, watch out.

My Typical day at work would be very difficult, although I've been through many obstacles striving to be better everyday. Client Experience is a very important role in sales our company has very high expectations for us to meet also with our goals that we have to reach every week. We are trained and coached through out the weeks as well. The hardest part of my job is trying to please everyone, because team mates are really competitive and it gets lets say pretty challenging as we all managed to get along and still strive to be successful and also that is unbalanced, Shifts are randomized to mall avalibility and i find it frustrating to work my life around them. The best part i like about my job is that i get to help people and make their problems a lot less harder on them. I problem solve and do what ever i can to make our clients happy and when they walk away happy so do i.

The morning,days and evenings were exciting, busy and always something to do.
Co-workers were always fun to work,most times we had a team.
Management didn't care about the guests that stayed with us at the hotel. I often made more judements on my own without management permission, ie give extra coffee to long staying guests, this hotel was often used by patients and their families to stay close to hospital so I was told I used to much compassion for our guests.Management would tell me that they were not my concern,but a happy guest is known for them to come back to stay with us and that is what I believed and if someone wanted an ear and I was completely done my work I would lend that ear.
I loved being in this position as I met wonderful people and lots of them are still friends with me.
With this I left this job to take Hotel/Motel Management and Human Resources to understand the industry.

Time to come clean. Working at WEM as a Plumber seemed like a once in a lifetime job opportunity. In the beginning the work was fun and the crew seemed good. Things took a steep downhill decline once I realized how many safety shortcuts they are willing to take behind the scenes just so the job can get done. One particular person would constantly seem to fear monger you into doing things out of your comfort zone just to look good. Many lies were told just to make him look good to upper management as well. I did not enjoy the feeling of constantly looking over my shoulder and not having trust within the crew. In emergency situations and trust me there is a lot tempers would flare and anxiety would heighten. The On call was terrible and you felt as if it was consuming your life.  There are many better places out there I am warning you do not work here it may ruin you as a person and a tradesman. 

I worked as a slide Patrol 2 and Birds of Paradise Attendant.  I loved what I did, it was stressful at times which would have been fine if management was supportive of their employees. Lots of potential for free or discounted certifications (first aid, bronze cross, Lifeguard) the only time you get a raise is when you move into a new position no one gets individual raises expect supervisors (but very rarely do they) the only raises are every few years when they raise the starting wage for every position up to everyone gets that raise. They hire a lot of students, but don’t think just because you’re a student they won’t try to over schedule you. Overall I would recommend working there if you want to become a lifeguard and want a quick route to getting your certifications.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Custodian 3 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Attendant 6 salaries reported	$16.70 per hour
Line cook 4 salaries reported	$23.50 per hour
Cook 5 salaries reported	$16.90 per hour
Mechanic 1 salary reported	$17.95 per hour

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