Parkour specialist, professional Tetris player, potato chip security guard, and cash person
Pros
Flexible hours (for other positions than management) Good pay Great career opportunity for those who want to pursue retail management and/or more Great coworkers Great health benefits
Cons
This is a HARD position and they say that upfront. Not to scare you but to prepare you. I just wasn't cut out for the position and I left on bad terms so if there's anything you do, leave on good terms, give your two weeks, and never leave them hanging. This goes for any job! Hours... They vary so much but welcome to the wonderful world of retail. :) if you are an assistant manager (depending on your department) you work a minimum of 45 hours per week and you simply run around like a chicken with its head cut off because you are NEEDED in many areas. Staffing... The store I worked for had a huge problem with people calling in which hurt our need for checkers and sackers which in turn hurts our bottom line and bonus checks. As mentioned in many of our meetings, the only way to avoid this problem is to hire good quality people which is hard to tell in the interview. So that's why I always recommend calling references. Management (including myself) could have done a better job being more strict with its younger employees. I thought we felt soft toward them because we want to be liked instead of respected. We need to realize that we have things to get done and if we can't get them done by the end of the shift, we have to stay later. So it all comes down to hiring good quality people and enforcing the golden rule. Treat people the way you would want to be treated. Training... You cannot simply just show someone something once and expect them to be experts. Some positions like management take repetition and coaching. Show them once, watch them do it, critique, watch them do it by themselves, and have them train others to do the same because you learn the best by teaching others. When trainees ask you how to do something, don't say oh you'll just know. Show them how you know. The back room... Figure out a better way to organize your bays and pallets because that back room is a nightmare (especially on truck nights). Sometimes it looks pretty and sometimes it looks like a tornado blew through it. I wish I had time to organize it but I'm usually called up from to check or sack every 20-30 minutes. I would have also stayed late but you frown upon overtime too. OT is understandable because time is money. So I get that but definitely implement a fair work/life balance for all positions.
