P store - Outfitter/Guide The Portage Store Employee Review

I worked here after always having wanted to since I was a young child because I had a cottage on a nearby lake. I finally got the opportunity to years back and was super excited. The only pro was location and nostalgia for me. That and you can use the canoes any time you want.

I quickly learned that this was not the place for me. It is very VERY cliquey. Especially old/returning staff against the new. The new people were not made to feel included or welcome especially if you’re alone, isolated even as their dorms were separated. If you work in the gift shop you’re completely the oddball and don’t fit in with the rest of the group. Unless you feel like nodding off half the day pick another area. Rooms are extremely basic with coed bathrooms and showers. (Not a huge deal since you’re working anyway) Kitchen is very basic and you end up eating restaurant food for Convenience which you had to pay for at a discounted rate. Unless you have a car to go into Huntsville. Gets old fast. You had to pay for room and board out of your salary along with your uniform!? Salary is basically minimum wage. All in all this was not the place I thought it would be and not the place I had hoped after visiting every summer on a regular basis at the cottage with family. This is a staple of Algonquin and since I quit I’ve visited while camping on several occasions. Twice this last year even. The vibe has changed from years and years ago.. the people are stuck up, lost and confused, unsure of what they’re doing and come off as very unfriendly. It’s really a shame.

Great location to live at, Canoe lake is one of the best places to spend your summer. Job was relatively easy and fun.

Top end management did not interact with staff and often had issues with how we all worked, mostly for no good reasons. Employees feared when they came by and even tried to look busy so they wouldn’t have to interact with them.