garden center merchandiser

retail merchandiser

merchandiser

merchandise manager

warehouse worker

Kalamazoo Flower Group

Enjoyed working with the live flowers/plants and making gorgeous displays!  Management is a complete joke.  Extremely clickish and very catty, immature ladies.  I am in my mid-fifties but they all spoke to me as if I was 12 years old.  Not happening! Especially when they were much younger than me.  A male member of upper management even referred to these women as clickish and acknowledged the problem.  They are only in management now, due to the fact they actually stayed with the company after being merchandisers. The turnover rate is ridiculously high and for obvious reasons.   
As a lead merchandiser for them, I had two merchandisers under me.  They were fantastic,  but would be frantic on days they new the "managers" would be coming in which thankfully was only once every two weeks.  They would show up, work for about 10 minutes, go sit in their cars, smoke, eat lunch, then come back into the store and undo everything my merchandisers and myself had already done!  Making it look terrible.  They would not discuss anything with me first as the Lead for that store. Zero Communication and extremely unprofessional!  Very condescending attitudes when I verbally expressed my concerns with them, again speaking to me as if I was 12.  
It's quite unfortunate,  if they got rid of the middle management 3 morons they have, I would consider staying, however a definite pay raise would be demanded! Very physical labor, which i thrive on, but for $13.00 an hour and no travel reimbursement, totally not worth it.  Oh yes, and these three knuckleheads got travel time, mileage reimbursement and meal reimbursement for doing NOTHING! 
RUN....don't walk away from this company.  Good riddance!

 I started this job as a seasonal position. Mainly you only deal with the Walmart managers/department managers and not your real boss. At one of the locations I worked at the department manager vocalized that one of my  coworkers was fudging her hours and not really working and leaving racks not done and basically just not doing her job and saying that certain things were not in her job description just as an excuse to not work. When I brought this to the attention of the management for Kalamazoo it was blown off and basically I was told that my coworker said that’s not what she was doing and that it didn’t really matter and that they had no problem with my coworker Before and then completely changed the subject of the conversation. So while I am actually working hard and not lying about my hours my coworker was not working and lying about hours and being very vocal that she had better things to do and all of this stuff. Once it came to the last day of work I decided to just drop it because it was the last day for us to be scheduled to work. A few days later I find out that my coworker is still working because She was allowed to stay on while I was not and I truly believe it is because I vocalized the issues that I knew were going on and management just did not want to deal with it. Even though the Walmart managers and department managers do not want that coworker there. so just be aware of that if you decide to work for this company that you might just have to deal with people taking advantage of the managers and that what you say just might not matter.
Also be aware that it’s not as many hours as promised if you actually work hard and don’t just take your time.

Being a leading employee of Kalamazoo Garden Solutions inc.. was  definitely a challenge and got expensive. The mileage was paid 1 way only and not round trip. Fuel and car repairs were costly. I love working outdoors and making my own schedule on demand of delivery's of multiple store locations. I am a very dedicated and hard worker. The job required working outdoors in extremely hot temperatures, In turn requires oneself to keep hydrated. Buying drinks such as water ect... and even keeping a cooler full of ice or drinks was not cost effective. This along with all personal items had to be stored in ones car. I enjoyed working with my Area Manager he was one of a kind and the best I had ever had the pleasure of working with. On the other hand, working with department Managers and store employee's was extremely difficult. It was not a positive experience.The store employee's having no product knowledge and no concern for watering ect... No help with large delivery's which was clearly stated in there contract. Carts were very heavy when loaded down with product. I loved building the display's, the fresh smell of the flower's the beauty of the our product. I was very proud and all in all I miss it. I did and still would except employment with this company if I had a partner to work with me at the larger stores. This position is physically demanding.I loved taking picture of the finished display's and requires internet and email. I did love the challenge.One must love plant life, have a creative personally,requires space management, problem solving and keeping a positive attitude at all times.

I had a wonderful direct manager while working here and learned a lot of related on the job experience. I worked in a professional setting and my manager spent a lot time investing in my learning and training along with consistent feedback and criticism.

However, the other members of management made it difficult to feel valued as an employee or that they cared at all about their culture. There were too many members who "had their hand in the cookie jar" surrounding making decisions and often times the proper protocol would be bypassed. It became confusing knowing who was responsible for what functions of the business. Several members of the leadership do not spend the time fostering positive leadership and do not invest in relationships with their subornments and  do not care about their input, learning, development, or growth. This made it challenging for HR to create any positive change because there is no buy in from leadership to create a positive work culture.  

My work load grew exponentially as I took on a role of a manager (who I didn't directly report to) who recently would not be in the office for work and was failing to complete their daily tasks. Leadership failed to address the lack of performance with this manager. There is no accountability for meeting job expectations and often good employees end up taking on more responsibilities from their team. 

The General Manager avoids any confrontation -  often large scale issues would not be addressed or go ignored.

Could actually be a really good job if it wasn't for certain areas of management. It seems people are promoted who don't really care what the final outcome of the garden center looks like, then the others who really care and put the extra time into making things absolutely gorgeous are over looked. I don't know what certain people in management have on the big boss people or if they have just been with company so long that they feel it would be too complicated to replace them. But if only they paid more attention to where everyone is and how many people have "Admin Time" spent at home vs the people actually out at the locations then it would definitely become a much larger and fast growing company for this area.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Company flexibility and management understanding your complications. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not knowing what to do when deliveries come. Especially when you are alone. There is not enough room for the products, so you need to completely rearrange the Outdoor Livings area to find a spot for them. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment is very relaxed even when stressful situations arise. Mess ups are common, but they are very understanding. There is lack of management talking to you so you kind of have to figure it out for yourself sometimes.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Clock in. Check the front displays of the Walmart store for watering and decluttering. Rearrange stuff so that it looks appealing. Condense flowers to fit more room. Water plants if needed. Take a lunch if you want to. Rearrange some more. Clock out when you feel like you are done.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part about this job was being able to work outside all day and be able to work with and organize the plants.  You get to do the displays, dead heading, and water on hot and cold days.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful thing is because you work for walmarts they expect you to do EVERYTHING when it is walmarts plants.  I worked for this company for over a year and I loved this job however when the walmart employees don't communicate with how they want everything they start blaming the merchandiser because things don't get done. You also don't have a whole lot of back up from the higher ups. In the end I started despising the job because no one wanted to tell me how they wanted the plants and when I tried to make sure plants where correct for my report I got told not to move anything and I don't know what I'm talking about.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Flexible schedule, tasks and  routine changes every day, great job for people who enjoy plants and being outdoors 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Spring rush can be overwhelming, some stores do not provide support due to staff shortages 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fun, laid back atmosphere
Casual dress code
Diplomacy and team building are key


What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Visit stores when plants are delivered to unload carts and display plants according to mod layouts. Assist store staff in maintenance of plant quality. Sort andbtecommend clearance as necessary.  Assist in applying clearance signage and pricing of product

Working for Kalamazoo Garden Solutions as a merchandiser was a great seasonal job!  During the busy times of the year, Spring, it can get a little stressful and hectic, but being around the plants all day is so enjoyable!  The flexible schedule is great and at times you can work overtime. Basically you work independently to unload the carts of flowers that are delivered weekly.  Also work with store dept. members to ensure product is watered.  Interact with customers to assist them with product. You will learn how to organize product by color, height, type and price point.  My manager was easy to talk to and helpful.

I like that the work is self-directed. I make my own schedule and work the hours I want to work. Not good for someone who isn't familiar with retail and merchandising already. Field managers do their absolute best, I believe, but can't hold your hand if you show up with zero experience. The work is physically demanding, and it needs done regardless of the weather that day. The worst part about the job really is when folks mistake you for a WM employee and get salty because you won't help them with questions about anything other than plants, especially when the store is understaffed. I've enjoyed the work this season and even look forward to next year. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Garden center merchandiser 229 salaries reported	$15.12 per hour
Retail merchandiser 100 salaries reported	$14.67 per hour
Merchandiser 7 salaries reported	$15.14 per hour
Merchandise manager 13 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour
Warehouse worker 2 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour

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