Garden Centre Associate

Summary

The Garden Centre Sales Associate works in a fast-paced environment that involves constant interaction with customers to deliver friendly and courteous service while explaining features and benefits of lawn and garden products. This role also involves garden centre maintenance (watering and caring for annuals, perennials and nursery stock), stocking shelves, merchandising, customer carry outs and general housekeeping.

Responsibilities and Tasks

Customer Service

• Provides excellent customer service to all customers entering the garden centre, by educating them in the care and maintenance of annuals, perennials, nursery stock and related products.
• Smiles, makes eye contact with and greets customers.
• Guides customer to the location of requested items. Locates products in the warehouse.
• Answers questions and provides friendly advice and services to customers.
• Suggests value-added and related products to customers to ensure they go home with what they need.
• Ends the discussion with the customer using a closing statement (e.g., “Is there anything else I can do for you today?” “Did you find everything you were looking for?” “Thank you for shopping at Canadian Tire”).
• Responds to and handles customer inquiries, requests and concerns in a timely manner, over the phone and in person.
• Handles multiple customers in an effective and efficient manner.
• Deals with challenging and fast-paced situations in a professional manner.
• Learns about new lawn and garden products on a regular basis.
• Keeps up to date with in-store promotions, in-store deals and product locations.

Operations

• Ensures that retail basics tasks are executed efficiently (e.g., stocking, labels, facing, etc.).
• Stocks shelves and merchandise display areas using best practices, modules and planograms as guidelines.
• Maintains and rotates annuals, perennials and nursery stock to ensure they are fresh and appealing.
• Keeps the garden centre neat and tidy. Assists in the receipt of garden centre products.
• Water, deadhead and general upkeep of plants within the Garden Center.
• Helps unload, count and organize truckstock (annuals, perennials, trees and soil).
• Verifies that all UPCs, Dealer costs and selling price are accurate.
• Ensures that all merchandise to be purchased is rung through the cash register.
• Reconciles all carry-out purchases.
• Reports stolen and damaged goods to Management.
• Operates computer and RF gun, and enters all relevant coding in Canadian Tire systems.
• Plays an active role in the Garden Centre team by openly sharing opinions and ideas on how to improve department success, and by participating in meetings and all training as required.
• Engages in learning activities and listens to feedback to improve their own abilities.
• Complies with company, store, and Garden Centre policies.
• Abides by all health and safety programs and regulations. Reports any observed or potential hazards immediately.
• Uses professional language and maintains a professional appearance (uniform, hygiene, grooming, and name tag) when interacting with others.
• Completes other tasks, as required.

Requirements

• Experience in a horticultural customer service role and/or in a customer service role is considered an asset.
• A good working knowledge of nursery stock and horticultural products.
• Pesticide handling license, where applicable.
• Ability to work under minimal supervision with computerized systems. (i.e., POS systems, AS-400, RF Guns and PCs).
• Basic math and typing skills.
• Experience with Canadian Tire store and cash register experience are considered an asset.

Required Skills and Abilities

Successful candidates will demonstrate the following competencies:

• Strong orientation towards customer service excellence.
• Highly approachable, customer-oriented individual who thrives on offering exceptional service to customers.
• Strong ability to plan and organize the Garden Center’s activities and projects.
• Strong belief in the Canadian Tire Values of honesty, integrity and respect.
• Effective written and oral communication skills (e.g., probing, listening, etc.) and the ability to maintain professional communication, even in challenging situations.
• Ability to complete detail-oriented retail tasks according to instructions and to demonstrate responsibility for outcomes.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced team environment that provides assistance and support to co-workers to achieve common goals.
• Ability to resolve retail and/or customer issues.
• Ability to multitask, adapt and cope with challenging situations.
• Positive attitude, punctuality and solid work ethic.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

In compliance with the store’s Health and Safety Policies and Procedures:

• Standing/walking for 8 hours.
• Lifting and/or carrying of merchandise items, as required, on a regular, frequent and unassisted basis. Merchandise items may vary in weight from “light” to “heavy”.
• Lifting and turning repeatedly throughout the shift. Lifting above the shoulder, from floor to shoulder and floor to waist.
• Walking and carrying at the same time and pushing/pulling, as required.
• Twisting, turning, reaching and working above shoulder level.
• Ability to go up and down a ladder while carrying merchandise.
• Prepared to deal with various types of weather.