warehouse associate

office manager

meat cutter

grocery store department manager

customer service representative

Alaska Commercial Company

This company claims it has a hiring puddle, but that is of their own creation.  The management couples are given too much independence given the technological age we live in.  Standards are set far too low and there is little real accountability for workplace infractions.  

Advice to those still looking to start with the company despite this review:
1) Be careful how you approach any dispute with current management, as corporate will be reticent to anything about it and may even inflame the situation.  
2) Get everything in writing, that is to say, anything that the company promises for you in future (promotion, raises, relocation etc..), you need to get in writing.  Verbal guarantees and promises will not amount to anything in the long run.  So, try to communicate via email as much as possible during the recruiting process.
3) If this job seems too good to be true, then it's probably because it is.  The job itself is not terrible and I found the village life to be reasonably comfortable.  If you have high working standards, that is to say if you feel that when something can be done, that it should be done, then you will find yourself quite frustrated with any inter-company dealings.   
4) If you are working for another management couple, as either support, or as a manager in training role, then make sure you talk to the management couple, extensively, before you sign any papers or the company spends a dime of relocation costs on you.  Try to get the couple to give you pictures of both where you would be working and where you will be living.  It seemed, not uncommon, for the rental houses that are provided to be somewhat trashed or in general disrepair.  It is only fair to know what you are getting into, 'eyes wide open' as the company puts it.  Ask questions about furniture, and do not sign anything until you get pictures and lists of current furniture in your potential housing.  
5) Do not necessarily believe what the recruiters and other corporate staff may tell you about the village you would be going to.  I found that the information recruiters give you may be inaccurate, as in they painted a far worse picture then really existed as the people were quite nice.  The village's history given was also incorrect.

If you are going to work for this company, then I wish you the best of luck, because it is possible to have a good experience with the AC, though that will not be entirely in your hands.

Typical day at work was pretty busy as many people in the small town of Dillingham need groceries, sometimes it was busier at different times of day than others.

I learned a lot especially how to work a point of sales system that I had never had before, and learning how to input different numbers/info on the main office computer.

Workplace culture was good I never really had a problem with anything or anyone for the most part and got along with mostly everybody, both co workers and customers.

Hardest part of the job was when I couldn’t help a customer with what they needed, in part that what they needed help with we couldn’t help with such as cashing an out of state check or something like that.

Most enjoyable part was meeting everybody there in Dillingham and getting to be a part of the community in some small way.

I enjoy Having this experience and opportunity to come to Alaska and work in Retail and have room for advancement and meet new people and share different cultures and life lessons with everyone you meet, I am still currently employed with this company I just have a soon to be 4 year old son and living in Bush Alaska comes with many defaults such and opportunity for him and my wife and education I want him to have experience in the real world and not miss anything or not be able to be the best he can be so even thought I enjoyed working with the people I have met along the way and appreciate the many different ways of "Alaska Bush life" its time for me to move on to bigger and better things for a company that will let me shine and reach my Maximum potential. And still allow me to spend some time with my family.

I really thought the job was too good to be true. Relocation, housing and utilities, great pay, travel benefits? 
It’s not. It’s 100% real. 

That being said, it’s very hard work. My husband and I were hired as a dynamic duo couple. We trained in a store for a bit over 2 months and then were assigned to our current store. We are going on 6 months at the end of November. 


Cons
—It’s rural Alaska 
—No Restaurants, Shops, etc. 
—Groceries are EXPENSIVE (think 400-500/paycheck) 
—Salary. You’ll be working a lot more than 40 hours, and you do not get overtime for it. Pay is fair. 
—It’s hard to travel especially from the smaller villages. Weather controls everything here. 
—Freight. Sometimes you will get weeks worth of your orders in 2-3 days. Sometimes you won’t get anything for days. 
—Contract. You are locked into a contract for your first 2 years. If you leave, you pay the company back every penny they have paid towards your travel, accommodation, utilities, etc. 



Hard conditions, stores and housing units are all run down and poorly maintained. Getting product is difficult,  expected to execute perfectly at store level, but no help from corporate,  only obstacles. Sales are tanking as their high retail margin policy has driven customers to on line alternatives. This makes bonuses very small. The company is tone deaf to their problems, will not change, and seems to prioritize DEI policies over any kind of remedy to the new retail environment. Lastly, remember Alaska is an at will state, makes it easy for AC to deflect their failures by terminating store managers.

If Alaska Commercial had not sold to the Canadians and moved to Canada, I would still be working for them. I loved this job. I learned multi-unit retail accounting, and was able to put my ideas to use, to save Overtime. The VP Finance, would challenge me, as he knew my limitations, but knew I love to learn and would always challenge me. The management really cared about their employees and would actually listen to them. I also received the Presidents Award that had not been given out in over 25 years. Everyone worked as a TEAM, and Management would acknowledge the team members. I loved working with the outside Auditors and doing Lead Schedules.

Alaska Commercial has very little competition.  The Crab Fishermen were just starting to become famous from the show "The Deadliest Catch" when I worked there.  It was interesting and I loved the logistics of getting supplies delivered to such a remote area in the Aleutian Islands. 

The fishermen relied on us to have all the food and provisions they needed, as they would go out for several weeks at a time.  Sometimes, they would stop in Dutch Harbor to offload crab and the crew would have 15 minutes to run in and buy warm sock, snacks and CD's. They were literally running to get back to ship in time.  Good times.

Stock grocery shelves, organize overstock so that it would fit into the back of the store, assist cashiers when needed, answer any customer questions. Learned the importance of having to rotate items on the shelves, so groceries would not expire. Management was friendly, always willing to help if they had time or when we received huge shipments of groceries. Co-workers were friendly, hard working. Hardest part of the job was being the only stocker on schedule during weekend mornings when we received a lot of groceries. Most enjoyable was always busy, no down time.

Unique retail environment. Assignments in remote Alaska villages present many challenges. Often the only retail business in town, we carry everything from basic groceries to clothing, electronics, housewares and motorized vehicles. Most assignments are to locations only accessible by air. Villages are generally not connected by roadway to any other village. Alaska Commercial Company stores also frequently provide the only financial services available to residents (ie: check cashing, money transfer by Western Union and store/company credit accounts).

don't really have much to say other then I didn't get much to any benefits with the company. workers for different companies in the store would get better benefits, and they didn't even work at the store! holidays they would make a free dinner for works though so that was alright. pay wise too was alright. I wasn't going to argue about that. co-workers were friendly and easy to talk to. nice and kept a professional work manner in front of customers. The hardest part of the job was having to stand... all... day... but didn't really mind that too much.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Warehouse associate 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour
Office manager 1 salary reported	$24.50 per hour
Meat cutter 1 salary reported	$15.00 per hour
Grocery store department manager 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Customer service representative 1 salary reported	$16.00 per hour

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