Somewhere between a dream job and fever induced night terrors - Hobby Center Operator Games Workshop Employee Review

2.0
Sep 13, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Truly INCREDIBLE employee discount You get to sell games for a living and play them in your spare time Awesome community of customers that are incredibly loyal and effectively become part time employees You get to teach painting models as well as paint in your spare time Fixed hours that are amazing for retail management Generous pto and sick leave Good insurance Regular and productive meetings in Las Vegas and corporate HQ When your store hits bonus, it's a really great bonus The customers make the job worth coming in to every day, they are so loyal to you and your products it is quite simply staggering. You want to hug them at times. Great work/life balance. You literally still play the games you sell at work in your time away from work

Cons

The discount invariably means that you spend large chunks of your salary on the games Stores are obsessively and very strictly numbers driven You must always be in sales mode even though most of your customers will literally be in the store as much as you are One woman/man stores mean if you are sick, have car trouble, etc the store isn't getting opened and you will loose sales for that day which is a very bad thing Taking vacation and sick leave to take care of your kids can and/or will be used against you because not being open is no excuse for not having sales unless you are fortunate enough to work in a city with a floater UK management really does give the impression of not having a clue as to how the US markets function even though we are very different Zero room for advancement Upper management has constantly shifting ideas They will tell you it's not a numbers driven game but all reviews are strictly numbers based Don't expect to get bonuses often Upper management is turning the information pipeline into a very narrow trickle and is aggressively and openly keeping their store managers in the dark Rarely do you recognize people from one year to the next at meetings given the turnover

Explore other reviews about Games Workshop

5.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Community, hobbling, social interactions, games, overall fun

Cons

Hours can be strange if you aren't ready for them, making sure to take lunches properly. some people haven't played the game in years while not even trying the current version

5.0
May 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You are going to get a deeper understanding of the hobby you love. I thought I was an expert painter, hobbyist, player, lore enthusiast etc, but I learned so much from the players. The company is pretty laid back, as long as you are honest and do your job, you will do well.

Cons

Even though it's the largest wargaming company in the world, it's not a big company, which means someone has to die or retire for you to move up. Most of their corporate roles are in either in Memphis, or Houston so if you don't want to live there, don't think of about moving out of retail and into the professional side. The stores are generally 1 person, so you are on your own. If something goes sideways at the register, you need to figure it out.

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