Giant Eagle FAQ

Pros

flexibility, ability to change careers at any time, great PTO, excellent benefits and discounts

Cons

Too much of focus on wage/dollars % and not guest focused, labor tight at times and added stress. Also, corporate too focused on controlling stores with micromanaging every simple task.

Advice to Management

Ease off on the "special projects" and let stores run their stores to make a great guest experience.

Pros

They offer the relocation package and try to become "up-to-date".

Cons

Traditional, close minded, and restricted for new people and ideas

Pros

*Disclaimer: I have worked in the weirdest little Giant Eagle for seven years. But I'm only 23. So I'm in a weird place.* BENEFITS EVEN FOR PART-TIME. VISION, DENTAL, HEALTH. You are usually "promoted" to coordinator "from within" at my store, but this is because they have an immediate need for people. You get a $0.50 premium pay on top of whatever your wage is as a cashier. You get a little more flexibility in terms of where you can be and what you can do.

Cons

A lot is asked of you. You have to count all the drawers, keep the place clean, put up cigarettes and candy, ensure the entire front end gets their break on time, and, if (when) the place is short staffed, you are expected to get on a register and coordinate, at the same time. You are expected to have a good grasp of all policy and solve problems. You may be asked to be trained in other positions (customer service, beer and wine), in case those departments are short staffed. I often think that the fifty cents is not worth all of the responsibility that's added on.

Advice to Management

More consistency. Either we care about what the corporate offices want, or recognize that the things they're asking for are not feasible or useful at the store level and not care at all.

Pros

Flexible work schedule at corporate. My current role offers a good work-life balance. My department is generally open to new ideas and made up of young folks looking to help make a difference. I really enjoy shopping for own brands with my 10% discount.

Cons

Medical: The medical coverage is not enough. I often do not go to Urgent Care or the doctor's because I do not want to pay the amount of money that my insurance won't cover. Education: There are no education benefits or loan repayment plans. Since most Millennials and Gen Z team members have student debt, we should use this to recruit new folks or to encourage existing folks to get more education. Maternity/Paternity: The maternity policy is only 6 weeks paid (after x years of service), but other companies in our market offer much more time off even on day 1. I'd like to see paternity time increase to be equal to maternity leave. Work-Life Balance: Not all departments enjoy flexible scheduling or realistic working conditions. Some branches of the company have team members consistently working 60 hour weeks. GetGo is one team that is constantly drowning. Diversity: 95% of the team members are white. Many departments struggle with diversity (tech teams are primarily men, most team members are white, etc.). There is hardly any diversity at the top. A few VPs are women, but no one is a person of color. Only one identifies as LGBT. It would be great to not have mostly straight white men as leaders (from VPs down to the manager level).

Advice to Management

Some managers strictly impede the development and happiness of their teams with their poor leadership. Each team should be able to benefit equally from the policies and perks we have in place, not just whichever manager is willing to participate. Managers, including VPs, should be retrained on best leadership practices as it is obvious that many of these folks are out of touch, not inclusive of different people, and discourage ideas that are either not their own or not their way. We should reevaluate who is in leadership positions and if that is an appropriate role for them. We should bring back behavior and expectation policies, like no meetings before 8:30am or after 5pm, not expecting corporate culture to include constantly checking emails, etc. We should reestablish healthy boundaries to increase better work-life balance. Management should recognize that behavior and attitude reflect leadership. If leaders work 60 hour weeks and compose emails at nights/on weekends, they are saying to their team "this is my expectation". It puts the expectation on team members that they must behave as their leadership does. Leaders should change the culture from the top down. If we want to be a family-oriented company, I'd love to see my leaders openly say "I don't work more than 40 hours a week because I want to spend time with my family".

Pros

Excellent Benefits, after 1 year

Cons

90% of Employees are unwilling to work, putting all the work on the rest of us. No OT, and the wages are awful for anyone not in a specialty position. All of the stores are understaffed, and with there being no OT, you could be the only one in your department for 6+ hours, trying to help customers, and trying to do the work of 3 people. No pension, so the only reason to work here is for some quick cash, but it's not even worth it for that.

Advice to Management

Add bodies to departments, stop ignoring calls for help, and add incentives to get all the lazy workers to at least pretend to try.