Boathouse Employer Reviews

I used to work for this company a month and a half ago. I quit because of the management, and soon after I left, 5-6 kids followed right behind me, going out and finding new jobs because of the management and the way they treat their employees. I recently went in awhile ago to see the old staff that I used to work with, the manager tried kicking me – more... out while I was shopping for a bathing suit, and kept trying to make sure that nobody would help me. Once someone put me in the change room, I tried my stuff on and heard the district manager in the back saying that myself and two other girls we're the "biggest beotch" and that we we're talking badly about her. When I worked there, paydays would never be done correctly, boathouse would have to do payroll audts in order for them to make sure everyone got paid correctly. But they would only do the payroll audt if someone threatned to bring in labor standards to evaulate the work place. I've seen plenty of kids get written up because the store is slow on a certain day, and they dont make enough sales so they give them a write up. They say that write-up's help build a person, but all they use them for is for 3 write ups and your gone. They gave me a write up because a father of a past employee had called about his daughter not getting paid, I told them that i'd call the head office and find out about it, but head office couldnt do anything until Tuesday. I called the father back and explained it to him, he said okay and asked for head offices number for the Tuesday and asked for the district managers number incase nothing happened on Tuesday. Soon after I got a call while I was on my days off saying that I didn't deal with the sitatution correctly and that I supposed to be given my final notice writeup. I was very upset about this, because Head office deals with payrolls, not full time employees. The reason i got blaimed for this, was because the district manager didn't EVER want to deal with peoples parents. She always expected keyholders or full time people to do it, not her. They always try to get you to buy promotional items to keep their UPT above 2. If it dosent stay above two for the week, you get written up. I would have to say. Another big problem, if your applying for part time be aware you'll probably only get 1-2 shifts a week if your lucky. When i worked at Boathouse, we had 18 part time kids and 5 full time people. Part time kids we're always upset because they would either get 1 shift, some would even get none. Plus working with tons of highschool kids brings on plenty of drama, which makes the enviorment that much worse to work in. Boathouse has been the worst company I've ever worked for. and I'd advise anyone looking for a job to go apply anywhere else but here! This has got to be the worst place, ever! – less

Setting sales goals and working to exceed them daily, supervising a team of 10+ employees, two at a time.

My experience at Boathouse was not one in which I could recommend to others. From day one the company was not what they made it out to be on their applications or during the interviews.

I was hired on to manage the store from launch onwards, however, this task was not one in which I was given all the tools necessary to complete my position. I was simply – more... told that being thrown in to it is normal, and don't worry about it. Unfortunately from day one this left the entire store at a disadvantage. We were always playing catch up on tasks that needed to be accomplished because we were never shown how to correctly do them to company standard. When we made attempts to accomplish the tasks ourselves, or creatively came up with ideas to improve productivity we were told it was not allowed and did not follow company standards. This led to countless hours of wasted man power where the job had already been accomplished, but not to the exact way they wanted it, resulting in the job having to be done twice. Things became more complicated when regional management had different opinions on how things should be accomplished and would have us go back and forth redoing jobs depending on which regional manager was visiting the store that week.

This leads to one of the biggest overall issues with Boathouse. The lack of communication and respect between regional management, and from regional management to store level staff. The company has no respect for its store level employees and show it quite frequently. To start with part time employees will never receive raises. When I brought up the topic of raises to those employees working hard I was told simply that the company doesn't do that - neither do they participate in community events, fundraising, or even local mall events. The raise portion wouldn't be an issue, but when starting wages are less than 50 cents above minimum it really takes away any initiative employees might have to work hard and strive to improve the business.

From a management perspective, I became disillusioned with the position within a short period. Between the lack of communication between management, poor training, lack of input considered from my team and I, no respect for employees, and no respect for my position it left a feeling that I was a glorified supervisor with no say into the store I was left to run. Towards the latter half of my employment the regional manager was micro managing to such a degree that I could not step out for my hour lunch break without her calling to find out why I wasn't in the store.

Overall the company is the worst place I have had an opportunity to be employed at, and I could not recommend it to anyone. Employees are your biggest asset and should not be hired and fired at whim, but this company doesn't believe this idea and for this reason alone I chose to find other employment.All those looking for a stable employer are better off looking elsewhere. – less

* co-workers were awesome to work with. A really fun group of people. The people are the only thing I miss about working at Boathouse.
* There was also little to no supervision from the DM. Some might consider this a good thing...The level of productivity/results are mainly driven by the Store Management.
*embarrassing training program, especially for – more... management. IF you get training in your first week that is all you get. No formal follow up training. Just visits from the glorified Store Manager (DM). This inevitably leads to feeling stagnant sooner rather than later.
* too much pressure to upsell ALL the time- to the point where it is CLEAR to the customer Boathouse just wants their money.
*They have no problem reprimanding you for poor results but do not provide the training on how to improve. I believe this is because the Manager's and DM's aren't getting the training themselves so they don't know how to produce results or change behavior.
* little job security. Employees, particularly management, always feel like their job is on the line. For example, if there was a theft on your shift you would feel like you were getting fired because you couldn't be in 3 places at once.
* poor communication methods between head office and the stores. The company just recently launched email in November. The problem is you can't print any emails or attached documents. So trying to read emails and look at pictures at the sametime as the cashier is ringing through customer after customer is very difficult...and then you get in trouble for not having your work done on time.
* The company does not have an HR department...only a payroll employee who deals with the HR issues. Enough said.
* Boathouse is all about hiring eager but VERY junior Manager's and DM's so they can severely underpay them. After a year or 2 employees get bored of the same old thing day after day due to the company's poor training and development initiatives. Boathouse makes themselves a natural stepping stone due to bigger and better opportunities out there. – less

I would work 40 hours a week, work my butt off for the company, and be promised raises that I would never recieve. My coworkers are awesome, the breaks are good. We sent in my benefits in november and I didnt recieve them until 4 months later with the wrong name on the benefits package. They make you work hours and then try to tell you that if you work – more... over 44 hours they will no longer pay you for those hours that you worked. The district manager will try to make you deal with stuff that she should be the one dealing with instead of a sales associate. When you put in your two weeks they count you as a loss and just fire you, and when your a keyholder or manager you have to get all your days off approved, even if there something important that you need to attend, they will try and take it away from you. If you cant keep a 2.0 upt then they will write you up and just get rid of you. The district manager is very disrespectul, not trustworthy, rude, and makes employees do stuff that she wouldnt even do. I wouldnt recommend this job to anyone!! – less

The district and regional managers in BC only care about making money they don't care about their employees at all, one district manager was cold hearted and disrespectful. I do not reccomend working at Boathouse in BC but other locations across Canada should be a delight so I've heard.

The Boathouse warehouse gave steady hours everyday working from 8am to 5pm. I learned about working with many different personalities and working as a team. The warehouse is set up into different sections each doing their own part to complete the overall goal for the day. The hardest part of the job was that it involves repetitive tasks and constant – more... standing at a table. The most enjoyable part was working with my coworkers, everyone was very friendly. – less

I love helping customers find just want they want! When customers leave with a smile on their faces you know you have done your job.

I reviewed with management the tasks for the day.
I learned how to dress mannequins, set up displays, follow plan ograms, merchandise moves, open new stores, received merchandise, the housekeeping and general maintenance of the store.
Our management team was great, knowledgeable, understanding, fun, focused, and helpful.
My co-workers were great, they – more... were helpful, fun, friendly, cared about the store.
The physical demands
Seeing the store just after a merchandise move, when everything is perfect and clean! – less

The Boathouse restaurant sits overlooking the Mere in Ellesmere, boasting as a fantastic summer tourist attraction and a steady flow through winter months.

Duties included:
Bake the days cakes and scones, complete prep for the service ahead whilst cooking breakfasts for early customers.
stock rotation, ordering, restaurant layouts, writing menus, and – more... developed skills.
Management were always eager to help or progress you through exterior qualifications.
Great Food made fresh and the way it should.

Most enjoyable part of the job is the scenery around the building itself and the view out of the kitchen window. – less

I learned alot of things in boathouse. the way they fold, how they want it to be hang and how clean it needs to be also lovely manegers