Petro-Canada Reviews

Pros

Forward looking, stable, good work ethic, good people

Cons

IT leadership was lacking, senior leadership was good

Advice to Senior Management

Lead, don't only manage

Pros

Some sites offer benefits
Brand recognition

Cons

Benefits given require you to pay upfront, and be reimbursed later
Organizational Climate/Culture are cut-throat
Look down on front-line workers
Pay is just above minimum/hours at the whim of the manager
Often employ vulnerable workers
Generally no room for advancement/unpromotable
External recruitment for positions they could easily help people attain
No communications to front-line workers re: specials, etc.

The "owners" of Petro-Can stations are "retail licensees", who invest x $ with PC to operate a station. They are responsible for merchandise and maintenance of the site. PC owns the site/equipment. As such, PC recruits new licensees with promises of great rewards. These start in the beginning, but then PC starts to change the agreements with their licensees and squeezes the licensee. This increase in pressure leads to increasingly bitter RLs, who in turn squeeze their employees. When a RL severs the relationship (or vice/versa), a new investor takes their place and the process starts over. Employees are at the individual whim of the new RL. That's why for fron-line workers, there is no opportunity for advancement - generally speaking.

Advice to Senior Management

Better integration of your front line workers beyond the front-line
Less adversarial climate needed, overcome despising front-line workers

Pros

Working at Petro-Canada, was a great first job, where you learn how to interact with customers and learn good customer service skills. I found that if you are polite and willing to learn you can have a good shift

Cons

Sometimes, I was not happy with the hours that I had to work, found that if I requested time off, I had to mention it because the manager kept "forgetting" that I mentioned it.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees, they are the ones who are keeping your business going. We give most of what we can offer, we just ask for some respect and understanding.

Pros

Most people worked as a team and work life balance was respected

Cons

Now that Suncor took over, the whole dynamic changed

Pros

The compensation is above average all across the board. Even co-op students are well-compensated for their work terms.

A wide breadth of positions: From engineering, to finance, to marketing

Cons

Very slow, old-school culture
Little recognition for taking initative

Social club fee deductions, company party that needs to be paid for.

Advice to Senior Management

Engage the employees more and appreciate their efforts in getting into more projects.
Open communication and dialogue channels on a consistent basis and not wait until review time.

Pros

Ability to execute projects in timely manner

Cons

Too much of decentralization. Left hand does not know what right hand is doing

Advice to Senior Management

None

Pros

layed back and easy going

Cons

no growth but there is def potential

Advice to Senior Management

improvee pay!!

Pros

- Great support to develop employees' capabilities
- Encouragement of employees to circulate through different positions within company

Cons

- Work-life balance could be improved

Advice to Senior Management

- Continue to work face-to-face with employees - Highly valued

Pros

Good compensation, room for growth, great benefits

Cons

Suburban Campus and public transit access

Advice to Senior Management

Continue with the intern development program but have better objective measures rather than just deadlines. Management must not be afraid to critique work.

Pros

Fairness in its approach to staff. Before merger with Suncor, the company really looked after their own. Also an exciting dynamic place to work; new and varied opportunities. Good benefits much better than industry norm.

Cons

Lack of focus, and sometimes management was not as nurturing as they could of been to new hires. Since the merger with Suncor, Petro-Canada seems to be experiencing some culture clashes. Suncor employees are currently filling promotions, leaving some Petro-canada employees bitter

Advice to Senior Management

The lack of ability to execute projects on time that added value to the company's bottom line; lack of focus in certain instances to deliver as per plan.