retail merchandiser

stocker

order picker

inventory control specialist

team member

Imperial-Distributors

Here is the short and sweet if you don't want to read the full thing:

1. The job itself is okay.
2. Your job is to keep things full and neat. 
3. Have to deal with Market Basket Managers.
4. The pay is decent so you can live off of it.
5. It is a lot of work.
6. Management is awful.

My personal experience.

My initial title was Sales Support Rep. The job ad was for my surrounding area Southshore/The Cape. However the reality of the job is that you can be going anywhere, and I mean anywhere. 

My 3rd day on the job I was told to go to Revere, which is slightly above Boston and not what was advertised when I applied for the job. This continued on with other cities in the coming months, such as, Westford, Wilmington, and Littleton all near the northern tip of Massachusetts.

They will not pay you until you reach the assigned Market Basket for the day. So if you sit in traffic for 2-3 hours, which happens a lot, you're not getting paid for it. 

Management is atrocious. The manager has no concept of how to cover routes if someone calls out, or is on vacation. Instead of having someone who lives closer and is available, they'll send you who lives no where close while expecting you to unpack a big order for a store that is hours away from you. This is the hardest part of the job, it can be very stressful. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is leaving for the day.

Be warned, this job was becoming increasingly more aggressive by the week. This is why I had to quit.

I would only recommend this job as a temporary one. Decent pay 15/hr,+ Mileage minus the first 35 miles. But has a lot of drawbacks. CEO is nice, however I don't think he knows what really goes on in the stores or some of the lower management.

Up at 5:10 a.m., left at 6:20 a.m. started at 7:00 a.m. finished at
3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. During this time I would meet with the
G. M. Manager at the store I was sent to and check for the new
plan-o-grams and labels for the sections I was sent in to re-set.
Then I would go about my business of re-setting the different areas,
be it Cookware, Bakeware, Hardware,Electrical, Food Storage, Mops
and Brooms, Closet or Bath.
The next step would be to have the G.M. Manager check what I
had done, have him/her sign my paperwork, mark and put the
disco product and backstock in the back room. Then I would be all
done and leave.

Over the years I learned, both as a Merchandiser and Supervisor,
that the biggest part of either job was being able to work with people
and listen to them, because some of them have good ideas. It does
not hurt you in any way to listen and to take into consideration that
maybe the other person has a better idea than you do.

Management as far as I am concerned was great, I had worked with
our boss for about 4 years before Imperial at another company. He 
called me in 1995 and asked me if I would like to work with him
again after the other company had gone out of business, I said Yes.
We worked together this time for ninteenyears. My immediate boss
was a real good guy also. It was a good place to work.

My Co- Workers. They were the best bunch of people I have ever
worked with. Every one on the Merchandiser crew would do their
best to help each other out whenever possible.

Hardest part of the job? Getting up in the morning.

Enjoyable part of the job? Being able to look at what I had done
and feeling a sense of accomplishment in doing a good job.

this had to be the Worst experience in my entire working career. For a company that has been in the business of customer service for many years they have no idea what real customer service is. When I was hired I was told there would be more time in the accounts and less time on the road. I found out the first week that driving two plus hours at the beginning and at the end of the day would be typical, that it was not considered part of the day and that I would not be paid for it. There was mileage reimbursement but very low and the rate changed weekly, and if you figured the wrong amount, getting paid took weeks. order delivery amounts were typically changed without notice so you'd drive 2 hours to get to an account only to find the order was not there, plus you'd get scheduled to go to an account only to find the delivery day had been changed and there would be no product to fill the shelves. Customers would regularly complain and I had no good news to share with them. Product would not "be authorized" for one account but would be for another. Constant out of stocks for key items resulting in losses in sales for any given account. Promises made but constantly broken yet they claim to be in the business of customer service. Salary pay but was told that when your 40 hours were up, just leave the product in the back room that you hadn't worked and leave it until the next scheduled visit. WHAT ? ? ?   If you are even considering a position with this company I would advise you to choose McDonalds or Wendys first.... I could not handle being expected to work 12-16 hours a day with constantly disappointed customers that deserved much better.

There is no nice way to say this, do not work here unless you are absolutely desperate. Leadership is abysmal, workers are depressed and underappreciated, Human Resources are unforgiving, and the pay is laughable for the work people do in that near-sweatshop. They only care about numbers, that is it, defiantly not their employees (unless you work in the offices where there is a clear physical and emotional separation between them and warehouse workers). Nobody gets rewarded for good work, and will only give you pennies for a raise as they fake a smile and pretend to appreciate you for all your hard work. Not to mention, racism is subtle, but prevalent. Basically, they exploit immigrant workers. Long hours, awful pay, short breaks, and guaranteed depression.

This company is only concerned about profits. Not the well-being of their workers - and only seem to pretend to care if the law steps in, like getting injured on the job that requires a Worker's Comp.

I can write a whole essay about how horrible a company this is, but I hope you get my point by now. A wannabe Amazon would be my best comparison. I genuinely hope this company goes bankrupt.

If you're desperate for cash, work here for as little time as humanly possible. If you're looking for work and can afford to be picky - find somewhere else. Please heed my warning...

I have been with Imperial for 20+ years and in that 20 years there have been business ups and downs. As stores were bought and or closed I always felt I was with a secure an adaptable company. Imperial has given me flexible hours so I could be there for school and sporting events as my family grew. I have a 401K with a better than average match from the company, health and life insurance, paid sick time, personal days, paid holidays and 4 weeks vacation.
Good time management skills are a requirement that I struggled with at first, but was taught by my trainer and boss. The work can be demanding but I love the challenge and the feeling of accomplishment when I complete a challenge. I enjoy being in a different place on different days. Every customer has specific needs and I really enjoy keeping my customers happy. 
I feel like I am an important part of Imperial because they offer yearly performance reviews, continued training and easy access to HR for any questions or problems that may arise.

Imperial operates 24/7 so a typical day is replicated and repeats itself everyday and night.  The management and supervisory staff are wonderful people to work with.  Some of the employees come and go and don’t bring much excitement to the workplace.  But after a short time if you are punctual and productive, they will notice you and your hard work.  It’s also a very diverse workplace with coworkers being from all corners of the earth.  HR is very compassionate and understanding and also very attentive to the needs of each individual.  I was lucky to be employed at imperial during a transition in my life, it got me back on my feet and polished my professional abilities.  I have since and will continue to recommend Imperial to those looking for full time work or a second job.
Shout out to the overnight crew, a solid hard working crew, I do miss the all.
BM

The training they provide for merchandisers in grocery stores is horrible. They show you how to use the technology but that's about it. 
No real explanation of what's expected from you in the stores and the manager they hired was also new and they didn't give her any outside training besides the technology. One day she was fired simply because they failed to help her understand what they wanted her to do. That's not right. 
The pay wasn't good either and if they don't like you for non business related reasons they'll fire you.  Not healthy place to work. Woke up every day in fear I would be fired even though I did everything they told me to do. 
Stores were super messy and their employees are rude and treat you like garbage for being a vendor. 
So happy I left, they have high turnover rate for a reason.
Met the CEO and he and his wife are very nice but it ends there.
Even their daughter is rude and unprofessional towards employees.

If you work in the office you get treated like a God free lunches on Fridays opportunity to work 4 day weeks and holiday parties. Also recieve raises and bonuses 

If you work as a sales rep you you do not get any of those things. If anything goes wrong in the warehouse you will lose money. Your overtime pay is 1/2 time which is a joke and shows how much the company cares about you. You will always receive the legal minimum and be expected to stick to the standard  "service excellence". When you do take a day off you will be very lucky if your work is actually covered most times they tell you that you can have the day off but will have to make the work up on the next day.

I would not recommend an SSR position with this company they will always push you to do more for less and that is not how a good company should treat their employees 

I've worked here for three years and within those three years there was a lot of tears, stress and hard work that I put into my position. I would volunteer to work every weekend if I could but I still got stuck being paid minimum wage with a 5 cents to 15 cents raise. This is the part where I felt like I was not appreciated. HR is not very helpful when you go to them for concerns or issues. It is very hard to move your way up. Management are one sided and are not for their employees. Upper management mostly cares about the company's production rate more than they care about their employees. One positive thing about the workplace is the culture and diversity within the company. The CEO is great and gives back to the community but because of the company's low margin they are forced to pay their employees minimum wage.

When I go into work, I first check all appointments for the day to see if it makes sense with how many people we have receiving for the day. Other co-workers that are coming in talk for a few minutes while management plans the day. People are then given their assignments for the day and everyone goes to work. Management at this company is very friendly and remembers everyone by name. The most enjoyable part of this job are the other co-workers. Everyone is very friendly and easy to work with. The hardest part of this job is when we are in season(Christmas and Summer). For some reason, everything does not balance out in these months. What I learned from my experience with this company is team building and networking with other employees as a leader in the company

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Retail merchandiser 76 salaries reported	$17.30 per hour
Stocker 7 salaries reported	$15.93 per hour
Order picker 3 salaries reported	$16.17 per hour
Inventory control specialist 6 salaries reported	$17.30 per hour
Team member 4 salaries reported	$17.50 per hour

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