grocery merchandiser

sales merchandiser

sanitation worker

route sales representative

order picker

River Valley Foods

At River Valley Foods, there’s a glaring issue that’s hard to ignore, especially if you’re eyeing a spot in their operations team. The turnover isn’t just high; it’s alarmingly so, particularly among those who’ve been around the block a few times in warehouse management. This isn’t a case of people moving on for the usual reasons. It points to something deeper, more concerning, and it all seems to trace back to the executive leadership.

From what I’ve seen, the decisions coming from the top don’t always seem grounded in what’s best for the operations or the team. Instead, there’s a vibe that favoritism plays a part, leaving real, experienced talent to walk out the door. It’s not just about losing people; it’s about losing the kind of people who know their stuff, who’ve been in the trenches and understand what it takes to run a smooth operation.

For anyone thinking about joining River Valley Foods, especially in a role that touches operations, take a good, hard look at this pattern. It’s not just about the job you’re walking into today; it’s about whether there’s a solid path forward, or if you might just be the next in a line of many to find the exit. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s better to know now than be caught off guard later.

Truly clueless management with clueless priorities. They would rather hire 1,000 people that quit after a month than offer any incentive for employees to stay longer than 6 months. Incentive pay they offer is a pipe dream as it takes around 3-4 months to hit top pay and by that time you realize how terrible the schedule is and go elsewhere. The warehouse has been understaffed long before COVID began and management does not care to make any changes to fix staffing issues. President of the company only has a job because his parents own the company and it shows. Shifts are typically 11-16 hours long and the schedule you receive once you finish your week of training is the schedule you will have until you die. The average warehouse employee lasts about 2 months before they go elsewhere. The positives: they look the other way if you have felonies or are a registered S.O. and there is no awkwardness when putting in a two weeks notice since most people just leave on break and never return. 

Auditing was not a bad. Numbers were not bad to hit. The problem was with management and some other coworkers. HR did not take anything seriously. They let people harass you and just turned there heads. You can try to make a formal complaint but they won't write anything down. During my time working there they would not hire women as selectors. They even told one lady that they do not hire selectors directly you have to be an auditor first. That was a clear lie. The manager also told two pregnant women that they use the bathroom to much and that if they continued to use the bathroom a lot they would need a doctors note. People do not last long working inside the warehouse. The turnover rate is pretty high. Some people don't even last the first week they are hired with all they see. They always have overtime because they can't get people to stay for the amount of work they have.

Overall its really not a bad place to work, the benefits are decent, the pays decent, the work isn't all that difficult. However the managers that are put in place at every level and position are entirely unqualified to be there. If you are a person of color you'll be unwelcome there unless you excel at your job and keep your head down. If your just decent at your job you will be verbally abused on a regular basis. If your just getting by they will find a reason to fire you instead of giving you better training. The people you work with will always pull rank and you'll end up doing a majority of the work while they either go home or sit around. Managers reward this behavior. The turnover rate is unbelievable, you'll be working with a entirely new crew every couple months.

Worked at River valley for a while at first it wasn’t horrible but as time went by you started to see how bad things actually were.  Money was good but they promised a raise for months and never gave it out. Management Claims they want to help you improve but write you up for any mistake, hard to maintain a position there with the point system they have, I knew people who were there for 1-2 years and were still selecting. Training consist of mostly you working and someone walking behind you. Best part was the workers all cool people. Hours were from 2:30 Pm till finish (5 am was my latest) and you have to clean 2 Aisles once everyone is done being helped, 4 days on 3 days off and these days are assigned to you. Overall 3/10 good job for experience and money nothing more. 

I really enjoyed working there.  The management staff, all the way to the top, was always helpful and informative.  As a sales rep, you are pretty much on your own out in the field.  But if you ever need help, practically everyone is there to help you out, with phone calls, emails, or showing up in person. You can make your schedule as flexible as you want, as long as all your stores are serviced properly and timely.  Holidays and special events can get a bit hectic, but there are also slow times where you can relax a bit and catch up on back-burner tasks. They are generous with  quarterly incentives and yearly bonuses. If I ever move back to NY, I would definitely work for them again.

6am check in my order & work order to store shelfs then wright order for the next day.
I learned how to use a hand held PDA to wright orders.
The management team was a good bunch of people that gave you help when you had big orders or setting up displays.
Co-workers where a great help in boosting my sales.
the hardest part of the job was getting big orders up in time, to wright and have your order into the office by 2:30..
the most enjoyable part of the job was looking at what you did that day and feel good about your work..

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nothing alot of discrimination 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Bosses
Supervisor 
Hrs
No respect for the employee they all for there self

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Constantly moving bad until shift over never knw when shift over no communication 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
BAD not the type of people you want to be around for long

You work very long hours. There is a very brief period where you are fully staffed because most people leave within a few weeks. There are many things I disagree with on the management side. As a selector you always get the short end of the stick. The job security is limited as you are basically expendable. The rate system is questionable. As a selector they make everything so difficult for you to work with. Overall there are just more cons than pros with this company as a selector.

One day of training? With a required picking rate to keep your job while you have other employees trying to succeed the same rate? There's no such thing as a team in this kind of work setting.  If you pick slower than the guy in front of you then they get paid more, so why would you let anyone by?  Day one you're bombarded with talk of how noone lasts and the jobs tough to handle. Good training techniques hahaha

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Grocery merchandiser 3 salaries reported	$20.83 per hour
Sales merchandiser 3 salaries reported	$24.42 per hour
Sanitation worker 1 salary reported	$16.00 per hour
Route sales representative 1 salary reported	$37,500 per year
Order picker 1 salary reported	$19.25 per hour

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