Retail Sales Associate: Personal Chef Experience

Wild Fork; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 21,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance

401(k) and Company Match

Monthly Bonus Plan

PTO: Vacation, Sick, Birthday PTO

Job summary

Wild Fork is hiring a Retail Sales Associate in Vernon Hills, IL, offering a warm, engaging shopping experience with expert product knowledge, cooking tips, and personalized recommendations. You’ll stock, replenish, and maintain a clean store, including freezer areas, while handling cash and supporting opening/closing duties.

This role emphasizes customer service, teamwork, and flexibility with shifts including mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays. A bonus potential is available.

Qualifications

• 1 year of retail, grocery, hospitality, or food experience required.
• Strong customer service skills with enthusiasm for food.
• Ability to work in fast-paced environments and manage multiple tasks.
• Comfortable working in extremely cold temperatures.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs and stand/walk 8-10 hours.
• Flexible scheduling (mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays).
• Basic math skills for cash handling; POS experience a plus.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a warm, engaging “personal chef & friendly butcher” shopping experience.
• Provide recommendations, cooking tips, recipes, and product insights based on customer needs.
• Demonstrate understanding of daily sales goals, promotions, and store priorities, and apply that knowledge through effective customer interaction and selling behaviors.
• Drive sales by engaging customers, building baskets, and suggesting product pairings.
• Support Wild Fork’s service standards to ensure customers feel welcomed, valued, and inspired to return.
• Leverage product knowledge to confidently recommend solutions, build basket size, and deliver a personalized, engaging customer experience.
• Stock, rotate, and merchandise products to ensure a full, fresh, and visually compelling store.
• Complete FIFO rotation and maintain accurate labeling and pricing.
• Keep the store clean, organized, and customer-ready at all times.
• Support planogram changes, promotional sets, and daily recovery routines.
• Inventory Support
• Assist with receiving and processing deliveries with care and accuracy.
• Maintain back-stock organization and communicate low stock or product issues promptly.
• Follow shrink-prevention practices and report concerns to leadership.
• Confidently work in cold temperatures (walk-in freezer) to pull products, organize stock, and execute counts.
• Adhere to food safety, sanitation, and freezer safety guidelines.
• Operate the POS with accuracy; process transactions, returns, and exchanges.
• Perform opening and closing duties when leadership is not present, including register counts, cash pulls, safe drops, store walkthroughs for readiness and safety
• Follow all cash handling SOPs with precision and integrity.
• Work closely with Team Leaders to execute daily priorities and meet store goals.
• Participate in training, product knowledge sessions, and new processes.
• Actively participate in ongoing training and development to strengthen product expertise, selling capability and consistency in execution.
• Support a positive, inclusive team culture where everyone feels valued.

Skills

Customer service

Food knowledge

Cash handling

Teamwork

Flexibility

Job description

Wild Fork is hiring a Retail Sales Associate in Vernon Hills, IL, offering a warm, engaging shopping experience with expert product knowledge, cooking tips, and personalized recommendations. You’ll stock, replenish, and maintain a clean store, including freezer areas, while handling cash and supporting opening/closing duties.

This role emphasizes customer service, teamwork, and flexibility with shifts including mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays. A bonus potential is available.