packer

warehouse associate

fulfillment associate

software engineer

senior software engineer

Grove Collaborative

This job may be alright for a short time but will wear you down fast, physically and mentally. Management and executives showed time and again that they regarded us as machines, for example, you only get two 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch, even during a 12 hour standing shift. Resting isn’t tolerated, even on very hot or cold days. Management doesn’t turn on the heat until it’s almost freezing, and there’s no AC, just fans. Expectations kept going up and up while comforts and extras disappeared. Numbers are the only thing that matters, not your health. Management turn-over was alarmingly high, from the operations manager up to V.P. level. Our operations manager disappeared with no explanation one day and they acted like nothing happened. Executives would visit periodically but never interact with us. Human Resources is mostly there for discipline purposes and down-playing employee complaints. We were frequently yelled (actual yelling) at for minor things like talking to someone nearby or being turned around from our station, even if we were still on task or talking about our job duties. Management is there to discipline not to help. Certain employees are treated like prodigies but everyone else is treated like a child. Pickers were routinely fired for low numbers, even if they had been there for a long time and performed well in the past. Harassment was an issue at all levels and departments and management usually declined to do anything or outright denied it, even in the face of multiple accusations. Management plays favorites in a big way. Top performers get fired for one-time mistakes but employees who just walk around and talk seemingly get away with anything. Safety was not a priority. Many employees prefer to leave rather than wait for management to fix problems, and there is high turnover. There isn’t a week where someone isn’t fired or quits, and usually it’s multiples. The benefits were good and the pay was decent compared to similar jobs, but for the work you do and the way you’re treated, for me it wasn’t worth it. It’s hard on your body and your mind.

After one day in the Elizabethtown Pa. facility I quickly realized this was not a good working environment. My orientation consisted of the manager not wanting to take any time for me to finish filling out my I-9  paper work, which would be needed for me to work there legally. I realize there is a couple day window to get that filled out, but he seemed to be confused and not even sure I needed to fill it out at all. He took me to the floor and asked an employee if she would train me and he was met with a cursing filled tirade. The manager laughed and looked for another person to train me. My trainer was annoyed, though she tried her best to be nice to me, because training me they did not allow for her to produce less. Training me was causing her to not make quota. After next to no training I was let on my own. I am a quick learner so it was not hard to figure out the job, and the manager did inform me they would give me some time before i needed to hit quotas, so I was not overly worried. Once I noticed that everyone was picking from the same area at the same time, I realized this place was a clown show. Employees were pushing each other around (including pushing me) and taking things off of each others carts, to try and make the quota. I simply moved back and let the piranha feed. Then I picked my orders, still some others grabbed things off my cart. By the middle of the day I was at 130 pieces a hour, the goal is 180, I was happy with this being my first day and I never had worked in a warehouse. The supervisor for order picking told me I needed to pick up my pace. In the meantime they had fired two employees on the floor for not hitting quotas, which both were met with cursing filled tirades. The supervisors who wore vests seemed to walk around listening music, getting on peoples cases, and doing nothing. Breaks were 1 half hour lunch for the 10 hour day, on the production floor, of course the managers were given a special break room. I could go on at length about all the stupidity I witnessed in just one day, but I would suggest anyone avoid this place like the plague.

What is the best part of working at the company?
they give away free grove products that have been damaged-out. Most coworkers are nice. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Absolutely ridiculous production requirements that 90% of workers couldn't meet.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Numbers are the only thing that matter. Breaks are laughable and they watch you like a hawk. Management will give everyone a personal numbers report almost every day. In the interview, I was Not  given a warning or statement Nor during orientation that there was a high production requirement. If I was, I would've immediately rejected the offer. If you don't meet the high numbers you WILL get terminated. Many many people I worked with got terminated because their numbers were too low. They would constantly threaten to replace workers if they didn't up their speed. They are extremely nitpicky about breaks. They claim it's "15 minutes" but in reality, it's 12 and they remind us we have 2-3 minutes to walk back to their cart, being even a little late back is a potential write-up. 12.5-hour shift, a couple of minuscule breaks, and only a 30-minute lunch, and they want you to be physically running to meet numbers. Managers of course get to lounge on their plush chairs most of the day, only one of the team leads was decent enough to help pick orders too. Workers are exhausted and again many are let go because they aren't "fast enough". I highly discourage you from working here unless you have an ungodly amount of energy for 12+ hours. There are many other warehouses and factories with the same shift, but better pay, and the managers aren't breathing down your neck. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Long hours, worked like a machine, and it was emphasized that your hard work is never ever enough.

This place is, by far, the worst place I’ve ever worked.  It took me less than a month to realize that everything this place touts itself as it grossly false.  At first you think this will be a piece of cake.  Take products off the shelf, stick it in a box, and listen to music or your favorite podcast all day.  That changes when you look up at their performance chart and you see that you’re trailing far behind what your “daily goal” requires.  You think, “okay, I can move a little faster” only to realize that lightning-fast is the only expected speed.  Before you know it you have supervisors getting on your case over your poor performance and you start doubting yourself. I even had a supervisor suggest that I skip my breaks to stay caught up.  After a few more tries at reaching your “goal” and several more criticisms from supervisors, you come to the conclusion that you’re nothing more than a robot to these people.  Their standards are ridiculous and you begin to get the feeling that they do this on purpose.  In the month that I worked there I witnessed at least 20 new hires and just as many faces disappearing altogether.  People simply don’t stay here for long, the company knows it, and they clearly have no intentions of changing a thing.  How anyone could actually stay long enough to even become eligible for their benefits is laughable.  You will dread coming here when you wake up each morning and you’ll be counting down the minutes to leave as soon as you arrive.  Terrible work environment, rude and evasive supervisors, the manager never comes around to talk to employees, constant stress, no time to use the bathroom. An absolute nightmare.

Grove is very strange in that it's really a pretty small operation but it's all run by people who want to feel like they're big time professional businessmen (yes, they really are all men) so you wind up getting hit with all of the downsides of a big corporate environment combined with all of the downsides of a tiny startup environment with none of the benefits of either. Technical leadership is completely non-existent and very few of the people who work on order fulfillment systems at Grove even know what a tracking number is. The fact that they are able to get any number of products out the door successfully was always pretty amazing to me.

Last year some investor decided that IPOs were cool and they threw out the entire roadmap to focus on IPO related projects. People were reassigned and told that they needed to buckle down and put in some extra hours to help get all of the antiquated and fraud-laden systems ready for a compliance audit. Shortly after completing their silly little SPAC shenanigans successfully, Grove fired everybody who chose to sit there and crunch through all of that nonsense without warning while the CEO poses for photo shoots to appear in articles about his greatness as a leader. 

It's a job if you really need one, but Grove is basically all a big greenwashing boondoggle masquerading as a company and you should not buy into anything anyone in HR says.

Never reviewed a company until date. Reviews are mostly opinion and experience but can be helpful. Grove Collaborative  appears to shoot for a good culture in their meetings, however certain leadership have their flaws that reflected in my rating. What's more, the "front" I experienced ran so deep; they'd tell you if you have recommendations to improve training feel free to share. When you bring up a solution (rather than complain about the disarray they call inventory management) for the chaos that is their inventory system you, get shut down without even been asked why the recommendation is being raised. Even prior to that, the same leader responded as if they were annoyed that I'd needed help with the equipment because it was responding in a way that I was not made aware was possible let alone, knew how to correct. What's more, your expected to meet a quota daily. If you can't get assistance when needed amongst other chaos, how can you feel you have job security when even leaders show attitude and are unreceptive to the individuals learning. To put it nicely, the individual in leadership I dealt with that day convinced me when they demonstrated leadership has no intent to be "collaborative." That's my experience, make the best of yours.

One of the worst employers I have ever had. Workloads are ridiculous and often both pickers and packers cut corners to make numbers.  Packers were recently given 4 pages of additional instructions to pack certain items - all of which add time to each box.  Daily expectation was not changed at all to reflect those changes. Not making numbers results in disciplinary action. With a covid outbreak - ZERO notice was given to employees that multiple people tested positive for the virus.  3 received the phone call AT WORK.  We were never informed or given the option to self quarantine. And if you do self quarantine, you are given points for each day you miss.  You get points even if you go for a covid test.  Points for 1 minute late, etc.  The whole system is absolutely absurd during a pandemic. After 4 points, you basically lose your job anyway. Turnover is near 70% in 4-6 weeks of hire.  Management is essentially useless. They spend their days ripping open your boxes so they can tell you you're not doing it right and then tell you you aren't moving fast enough. Monetary incentives for exceeding goals were taken away with promise of a new program that was never discussed again.

Promised Work/life balance was what drew me to Grove.  A year ago, we all had laptops, unlimited PTO and a great vibe in our fancy Old Port office.   They have made so many rounds of stripping away all of the good parts and left us all feeling like we add absolutely no value to the company.  Quotas is all they care about and all that is celebrated and rewarded. There is literally no quality assurance program (and the service shows that), even though several "lower-class citizens" have attempted and all but begged to put something in place, so that we can all thrive. Do a great job and fear a random firing, at the whim of someone who works across the country and has no idea who any of us are.  Do a great job, and be told that if you call in sick, you will get a demerit point and if you dare total 5, you are terminated.  Do a great job, apply for an upward position and find out that your application never is even seen by the hiring manager for the position, as they surely do discriminate move up only the favorites. They pay some of us really well, which is the one positive. Sadly, they have greatly reduced the incoming rate of pay and it makes me feel wretched to know that I am making 25% more than my peers.  I am ACTIVELY seeking employment elsewhere.  Anywhere, but here.

I as an individual am very pleased for taking this job! Yes it is fast paced, continuous moving. But for what they pay it is worth it to me to work part time, Fri, Sat, Sun 8 hour shifts. The other ppl do 12 hours, I would consider if desperate. Nobody really bothers you, you just go about your job and business. There are some rude employees that think they own the picking aisles. They will take up whole aisle or bump into you purposely because they are just plain rude and in to much of a rush. You have ppl who leave empty boxes sitting around and that gets quite annoying and old!! Quick!! Im new and you have ppl see you struggle and won't stop to ask if your okay or need help!! My trainer was amazing, she was very helpful and informative! Dont get me wrong there are some good ppl that will help or talk to you, but not many. You are basically a body filling a spot to make them money!! But I'm content with my job and being left alone to do what I need to do and make my money, cause in the end its about me! But I would recommend this company to other ppl. 

Don’t get sick on the job, don’t have medical issues and don’t get migraines while working, honestly just be in perfect mental and physical health working here. You’ll get points and even if you go to hospital/urgent care and have proof of your medical issues they’ll still penalize you for leaving early even with proof of having a medical emergency. All they care about is hitting numbers. Management picks favorites and trainers suck. You’re thrown to the wolves once you get hired and have to fend for yourself. Just a terrible experience working here and I’m not the only one. 6 months in and there’s been multiple new managers, firing of the general manager, an employee walk out, a mass firing and a mass hiring. You can barely go to the bathroom without your numbers falling below goal. They can track how long you are away from your station and will interrogate you as to why you weren’t packing. If you have a bad day or are having issues mentally all they say is to push through and get those numbers. Overall not a great company to work for, they expect you to work like machines and don’t give you enough time in breaks. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Packer 68 salaries reported	$17.16 per hour
Warehouse associate 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour
Fulfillment associate 10 salaries reported	$1,650 per week
Software engineer 3 salaries reported	$171,333 per year
Senior software engineer 3 salaries reported	$185,667 per year

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