cashier

deli associate

grocery associate

meat/seafood clerk

customer service team lead

Earth Fare

I ultimately decided to leave due to the poor management in my department and the overall direction the company was headed in. The C-suite had turned over almost every year I was there--Hence consistently adding to the change in direction and the lack of stability within the organization. 

Decisions are constantly made in a vacuum. For example, several tasks were in the process of being decentralized to stores before my departure. The infrastructure isn't there or the tasks would've obviously been decentralized a long time ago. Also, when several people were laid off, the teams that would be immediately impacted were not included into those conversations. Zero contingency plans were put in place on how the additional work was going to get done, once again, negatively impacting the business and adding stress to those teams. 

The atmosphere in corporate is stale--This is a very much heads down organization where little social interaction is expected to take place-- Salaried people are treated as if they clock in and out. If you aren't sitting in your chair from 8-5 or longer, you are not doing your job. There is zero trust for employees that they are actually doing their job if they are physically not in the office. There were assigned people that would actually walk around on Fridays to check to see who left early and who was still in the office and report back with that information. Something that people outside of that circle weren't supposed to know about, but was obvious to everyone else. 

The meeting culture is ridiculous. We would often joke that we needed a meeting to discuss a meeting then actually schedule the meeting.  Of course nothing can get done because everyone is sitting and talking about how to move the organization forward with little evidence of such--but hey at least the plan looked good on paper!

Additionally, if you are someone who loves process and procedure, run far away. It will be unfathomable for you to walk into a corporate retail environment and not understand why some of the processes and SYSTEMS that should've been put in a long time ago aren't. 

The best thing this place has for them currently in terms of leadership are the COO and the VP of Operations. Both compliment each other in a way that will hopefully impact the team and business going forward in a positive way.

Earthfare was as fake as it gets. Management was all not on the same page, walk in cooler was a mess all the time. it was hard to get ANYTHING out at all. It was reckless, really. 
Orientation was just one big show where they talked highly about their company. They tried to make you excited to be there but once on the floor it was hectic. They'd fire people during their shifts and drag you out of your area of training to take over what they were supposed to do, they never mentioned raises and tried to avoid the question all together.  It was severely understaffed half the time and they left new recruits alone to fend for themselves just to avoid giving the people who could help them overtime.
Scheduling was a huge issue too. For example they'd have you work 7:00 am to 3:00 pm but the next person who could come in and take your place arrived at 5:00 so they ended up asking you to stay longer than what you were scheduled all because they didn't schedule properly. 
It was a huge nightmare. When corporate would announce that they were coming they all of a sudden put this fake show on, overworked the employees and made everything how it was supposed to be. If only they could get caught, because if they were that store wouldn't last long at all. 

Workers were also set up if the managers didn't like them and accused of stealing or fired for no reason. You must suck up to get any benefit.

The only redeeming quality there was my Employees who made it hard on me to leave. they were all such darlings, and i've had many tell me how it was the worst job they have ever had. some cried about it too.

Also, things are so expensive that your paycheck gets sucked away buying lunch even with the 20% discount. And with the biweekly pay you were guaranteed to run out of money.

I was here when they first opened in September 2018. I was here for less than 90 days and I saw the first department manager go because they were fed up with the lack of managerial support and stress caused by them. There was an interim manager who was nice and understanding, probably because they were already working in that department, and a third who expected far too much from an understaffed department. We had maybe three people who were available for closing shifts, out of about 10-12 people working there. I was the only one available Sun-Sat and many times ended up having to close the department by myself, which was impossible to do before my scheduled out time. The department would always have people coming in, so I had to tend to them without having at least one person to help close while I was busy. This meant I always left exhausted, having to do the bare minimum. There was never any communication from any management that they were unhappy with my performance - until they fired me. Seriously. They only explained that my performance was poor AS THEY WERE TERMINATING ME. They had me come in thinking I was gonna work the usual, miserable, solo closing shift for 7 hours with a 15 minute break just to fire me 30 minutes in. Had to wait for my ride to come back and pick me up. The real reason? They didn't like that I refused to stay 2 extra hours after a back-breaking 7 or 8 sometimes by myself, speaking up about the understaffing. The only positive is the 11/hr starting pay (probably wouldn't have gotten a raise) and some of the workers there were friendly - they knew not to take it too seriously because that place sucks. I'm much happier now. Getting fired from there was the best thing that happened to me that year, but it was very inconvenient.

I have been working with Earth Fare for some time and it is definitely different than when I first started. Programs, product and policies change all the time, leaving customers unsatisfied and not willing to return. One of the main points that they stress in orientation was how service is what kept people coming back, Unfortunately that has gone to the wayside since our labor has been cut back so drastically, some departments do not have appropriate coverage and daily jobs aren't getting completed. Upper management in the store is terrible. Previous managers have made threats about jobs and even some have crossed the line into harassment. There is little communication and many times it seems as if corporate does little preparation before launching new programs. There are lots of flaws and are very reactive, leaving department managers to scramble at the last minute. The pay is not competitive. Many associates start at minimum wage. Salaried team members make 30-40% less than competitors (Whole Foods, Fresh Market). I personally feel that I have been duped. I want to move up, but there is such a high turnover of management, why would I. I really like the mission that Earth Fare portrays and does for the community. That is the reason I have stuck it out. I hold on to the hope that things will be better. I just want them to focus on the employees, customers, and stores that they already have and make them stronger and pillars in the community instead of opening new store upon new store and succumbing to corporate greed.

Stay away, dont eat  or shop here! Out of date food is being cooked in deli, out of date on shelfs in grocery ,rotten produce,  brown dried out meat, bad seafood , bulk dept has pets in the bins,  dirty on sales floor , backroom is awful and it's full of bugs/flys everywhere in the store. Management  is a joke. Most don't  know how to work/run any dept if needed to fill in or help out. Management will see lines at meat counter,front end or deli and keep on walking by. All dept are short handed, over worked and under paid. They will tell you what you want to here but never follow thru. They lose great workers because of the madness of unfollowed state and federal regulations on sanitation, dates,temps, pay,dress code, their own policies and procedures, bad management and no accountability. They will keep and praise  the low paid employees  and believe every excuse and lie they tell them. As for the higher management  in the company,  most have failed in their positions but they will promote them because they  will do anything you tell them with a smile even if they know it is wrong and someone may get sick ... because  these  employees  will do anything to get ahead, not buck their system and have a great  little attitude.   The employees  that know right from wrong  and do so are the employees  that are pushed out of the company  or forced to leave.

I started at a lower level position and did advance to a FEM quickly which was nice, however, I rarely get to actually do my job as I also do about three other people's jobs too which can get hard. The customers that shop here are some of the worst I have seen and that effects the staff a lot. Cashiers are lazy, walk away without telling anything, always on their phones even when I ask them to get off, rude and always have something bad to say, which gets hard for someone who is trying their best to make the front end a little better. The two CSL I do have are amazing and work hard and very underpaid. Raises are not really a thing here and if you do get one it's maybe .25 more which doesn't do anything. The Store Manager and Assistant Manager are nice and trying hard, but the other employees make it hard for them to do their jobs which messes with everyone trying. Some of the employees are just rude and mean and don't take management seriously. HR is a nightmare to deal with, if you have a problem with any kind of payroll or anything job related do not bother calling home office, you will NEVER get anyone on the line or a callback, it's better and quicker to email them. As a CSL or FEM, you will work 8-9 hours a day and hardly gets breaks which are hard even for a young person to stand for 9 hours a day and not get to eat. I have a hard time using the restroom because I am flooded with questions, refunds, and complaints that I can't even use the bathroom. This company could do so much better if HR cared a little more about what was going in the store and maybe sales would improve.

This company has a great food philosophy and hundreds of ingredients that aren't allowed into the stores at all. In short, the products here are supposed to be top notch. Too bad the management isn't.
Typical day in the specialty department involved checking all cheese for expiration/mold, cutting/packaging cheeses for the case, creating samples, customer service, and stocking wine/beer.
I learned so much about cheese, wine, and beer. Really great information, though it had to be picked up from co-workers and individual tasting. (Earth Fare doesn't sponsor any alcohol education for ppl involved in wine/beer sales.)
The management is truly awful. Very, very few managers are experts in their departments and most seem really happy to sit in the back office while their departments fall more and more behind. Routinely, poor managers are rewarded with promotions. It's no wonder this store can't begin to match Whole Foods. 
The hardest part of the job is watching good workers be totally unappreciated by management. In addition to that, the gossip here is rampant. I even heard gossip from managers regarding other people's illnesses (very personal info that I would imagine would qualify as a serious workplace violation if the person in question had been aware).
That being said, the team members here are awesome. You will work for some of the worst managers ever but with some of the coolest people you will ever meet.

I worked for Earthfare for over 5 years.  A couple of years of cashiering and bookkeeping and learning other departments such as deli counter, bakery counter, meat counter, some grocery and scan coordinating. Most recently I have been the front end manager where my duties ranged from scheduling a team of twenty plus team members, hiring, training, and terminating associates. Some other job duties included resolving customer service issues, auditing the daily bookkeeper paperwork to verify that all money received through the registers is being properly handled and documented, resolving interpersonal issues at the store level between our team members. The hardest part of my job was hiring and keeping a well staffed team. Part of the problem until recently was the entry pay rate which has since been raised for my store and has helped some of that problem. By far my favorite part of working for Earthfare was the team of people working at the store level. It is one of the few places with in a corporation where the team feels like a family that looks after each other. I learned many skills through my years of experience there such as advanced cash handling, problem solving, team building, communicating professionally, appeasing customers, and not to mention a wealth of knowledge of the ever growing organic, local and health food industries.

Overall the majority of the people I worked with were super kind and made working there enjoyable. The front end team was always super great and everyone had a great relationship. However, once new management took over after the store had reopened a lot went downhill. Many employees left as a result of lack of communication and disorganization with the new management (many new policies weren’t discussed to existing employees and overall day to day communication wasnt happening) There was a huge lack of communication between the store manager and the front end employees, overall just not caring for what we had to say for improvements and ignored problems such as broken registers, issues with coupons not working, and overall lack of oversight. There was also a lack of accountability towards employees. Several upper management were extremely unprofessional towards others. One would repeatedly show up drunk to work and drink on their breaks (store manager knew but ignored the issue). And another department manager would actively talk behind your back about you just because you didn’t do extra work for them. The drama at this location was insane within certain departments and overall really is what pushes a lot of people away. Management really needs to step up and take an active role in the store and hiring more department leads to help organize communication between employees. 

I've worked at 2 different EarthFare locations. My first job was at the Columbia, SC location. I started as a cashier and absolutely fell in love with my front end manager, she was AMAZING. I was very reliable (something i didn't know was hard to find) and was promoted within about 4 months to scan coordinator. My "promotion" did not include a raise and I worked directly under our store manager. She was terrible. Very critical of everything, but never willing to help. Most of the time she would sit in her office with the door closed and blinds drawn. Many times when the lunch rush began and we were short staffed up front (go figure) I would have to leave my work to help, because the manager would not answer pages. I gave a two weeks notice, two weeks before i left, but was told by my manager the day before my last day that i hadn't worked my two weeks notice....like she genuinely thought i had to work exactly 14 days for it to be a notice............................Anyway, I moved to Summerville, SC and originally was not going to go back to EarthFare, but i needed the money badly, so I took up a part time job at that location as a cashier. It was great! Except for one of the Assistant Managers. I loved my front end team, loved my front end manager, i was promoted to a bookeeper AND received a raise! I quit my other job and worked at EarthFare for about 3 more months before finding a more stable, better paying job with benefits.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Cashier 66 salaries reported	$13.33 per hour
Deli associate 54 salaries reported	$15.07 per hour
Grocery associate 40 salaries reported	$14.65 per hour
Meat/seafood clerk 33 salaries reported	$15.03 per hour
Customer service team lead 35 salaries reported	$15.16 per hour

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