Wegmans falls short on hype of best places to work. Read the REAL story!
Pros
Hands down, WEGMANS IS THE BEST GROCERY CHAIN IN AMERICA when it comes to selection, quality of produce, number and diversity of products. I love the fresh baked goods, best deli in the city, great subs, and natural foods. Quality is always number one. Employees are courteous. Customer service is truly # one. I will give them credit for that. Insurance is given to part time employers but you have to wait a whole year before you're eligible. Costs are low
Cons
As a new employee, you have to wait an entire year before you are eligible for insurance. The starting hourly rate is only $8.65 an hour and you can't get a raise until you've been there for 6 months and then they will only give you .25 cents which is FAR BELOW LIVING WAGE! There is a new system in place there where each department has to tape off every thing in their department. For example, staplers, pens, spatulas, rubber bands, etc. are literlly taped in a box outline that looks like a police crime scene. I understand their need for organization, but the amount of time spent on taping and outlining things such as microwaves, cash registers and garbage containers is on the side of ludicrous. They are overly anal about petty stuff like that. They'll send over two to three top level managers to your department to check to make sure every thing is in the right place. Not once, but twice in one six hour shift. And if that stapler is not in the box where it is marked "stapler" heads will roll! They talk down to you in a condescending fashion on how important the need for that stapler maintains its position. They even have photos of what the garbage pal looks like taped above the garbage pal. So you know where it is supposed to go. Also, they're very critical about employees using a chair during their six hour shift. I've seen pregnant women complain to management about not being allowed to use a stool at their registers. I was told that chairs give off the impression that employees are lazy. There are no discounts on purchases of food for employees, not even coupons are handed out. Employees are only allowed half hour lunches. And since there's not enough time to go anywhere else to eat you're stuck eating there or bringing your lunch. Here's the kicker, you have to pay for your own way at the year-end Christmas dinner. My manager has been there for 22 years and he's only making $35,000/year. This is also very troubling, I recently found out that they are recording all conversations at every register station. I don't think many if any employees know of this. I believe it's against the law to do that without prior written consent at the time of employment. But I'm not sure.