[TheBlueMarvel]

@Nite

I don't buy that. You don't "hate" people in the classic curmudgeonly fashion, you're one of the friendliest people here...

Even in the very few moments that I've seen you get into it with people, you've always been lighthearted and laid back. From what you've shared about your relationship with your niece, you sound like a pretty good dude. Sure, we all have varying degrees to which we disdain assholes...and there are more assholes today (thanks to the anonymity of the interwebs) than commonly known prior to the advent of the social media (it doesn't always feel very 'social')...but disliking mean/cruel/dishonest/purposely malicious people is a natural process of self preservation. Those individuals intentionally (for the most part) place themselves on the outside of "communities," often reaping the benefit of the karma they put out...

[Black Arbor]

Just to weigh in on working for TRU without going too off-topic, it's a fun(ish) job BUT if you work seasonal they will probably base your worth on how many credit cards/ protection plans/ etc... you can sell. I worked there for the holiday season in 2015 and only sold 1 credit card, I just can't ask people to open a line of credit and potential debt the same way you would ask them to supersize a meal :P

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

@Nite

I don't buy that. You don't "hate" people in the classic curmudgeonly fashion, you're one of the friendliest people here...

Even in the very few moments that I've seen you get into it with people, you've always been lighthearted and laid back. From what you've shared about your relationship with your niece, you sound like a pretty good dude. Sure, we all have varying degrees to which we disdain assholes...and there are more assholes today (thanks to the anonymity of the interwebs) than commonly known prior to the advent of the social media (it doesn't always feel very 'social')...but disliking mean/cruel/dishonest/purposely malicious people is a natural process of self preservation. Those individuals intentionally (for the most part) place themselves on the outside of "communities," often reaping the benefit of the karma they put out...

Well crap....there goes my goal of being hated by every sentient being on the planet. heehee

[TheBlueMarvel]

lol...I wouldn't have sent you a friend request had you been the "hated" type...so, yes, you have failed utterly!

EDIT:...and welcome back Black_Arbor

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Arbor

Just to weigh in on working for TRU without going too off-topic, it's a fun(ish) job BUT if you work seasonal they will probably base your worth on how many credit cards/ protection plans/ etc... you can sell. I worked there for the holiday season in 2015 and only sold 1 credit card, I just can't ask people to open a line of credit and potential debt the same way you would ask them to supersize a meal :P

Man.....I havent been asked about upscaling my fast food meals in forever. I just had a funny thought....action figure stores run like fast food joint. " sir would you like to upsize your figure purchase with a deluxe ( baf sized ) figure and our special rewards card? "

[Weapon X]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nitelife

I give ya credit jed.... I hate people. I could not be a good cs rep. Hell i couldnt even be a door greeter im too sour. Id be like welcome to wal mart.....get your shit n get out.

It's hard to deal with when you get customers who are just assholes. I've had customers who start cussing at me and shit, and you can't really do anything about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Arbor

Just to weigh in on working for TRU without going too off-topic, it's a fun(ish) job BUT if you work seasonal they will probably base your worth on how many credit cards/ protection plans/ etc... you can sell. I worked there for the holiday season in 2015 and only sold 1 credit card, I just can't ask people to open a line of credit and potential debt the same way you would ask them to supersize a meal :P

Ugh....I couldn't do that. They wanted me to do that when I worked at Home Depot, it was terrible. 90% of people don't want to be asked about that and get irritated when you do ask. The managers would ride our asses about it.

I ended up lasting about a month there. I found out my dad worked there back in the day and last about 3 months. A middle-aged lady who I was hired with lasted about a month too (we ended up in an Anthropology class together). Terrible place to work.

To be honest, I am mostly interested in stocking work, or sales floor. I can't do cashiering anymore...I just can't. I served my time lol.

[Robb]

Found the 12 inch Deadpool at Target today.

[donmeca2020]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nitelife

I give ya credit jed.... I hate people. I could not be a good cs rep. Hell i couldnt even be a door greeter im too sour. Id be like welcome to wal mart.....get your shit n get out.

im not one to kiss any ass and generally that's what you have to do when your dealing with customers.

i've worked at a butcher block at grocery store in my late teens, i worked in a movie theater as a kid, and i was a security guard at one point. let me tell you interacting with people who treat someone like crap is not something i don't or can not tolerate.

Obviously you know me pretty well i can't do it neither... that's why i do what i do for a living

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donmeca2020

im not one to kiss any ass and generally that's what you have to do when your dealing with customers.

i've worked at a butcher block at grocery store in my late teens, i worked in a movie theater as a kid, and i was a security guard at one point. let me tell you interacting with people who treat someone like crap is not something i don't or can not tolerate.

Obviously you know me pretty well i can't do it neither... that's why i do what i do for a living

Porn star? Haha

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robb

Found the 12 inch Deadpool at Target today.

Nnnnnnnooooiiiiicccceeeee!

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weapon X

Maybe I will try that this year.

So you got hired? How was it working there?

Since you asked, I actually have worked in TRU, which was also my final time in retail. I worked there for a little over a year in the receiving and warehouse area, and did overnight stocking as well. It was easy enough, as being that I was a receiving clerk and also worked overnights, I didn't spend a lot of time working with customers.

However, it wasn't a great experience either. I was also responsible for building some of the larger store displays, and I was injured on the job by a falling 12 foot shelf rail, which busted my head open, leaving me with a concussion and needed 9 staples to close. While in receiving, we did not deal with customers, we did bust our ass as we were responsible for emptying out the shipping containers as they delivered, which on any given night could contain over 2500 items ranging from Barbies to bikes to baby furniture (since our store also carried Babies R' Us items). Often these containers would have only two people working on emptying them, and there would be as many as three of these a night, working inside the container in either blistering heat or near zero temperatures depending on the crazy weather we have here in AZ that day. Everything would then have to be scanned and thrown on the shelf and checked with a delivery report, which was then reported to the store manager to be signed off on. It was at times very stressful, especially during the holidays.

Here's the kicker though, as someone mentioned, unless you are working a register and selling batteries and credit cards, your hours are NOT guaranteed. Despite my working a position and time slot where customer service was extremely minimal if at all, I was passed over for raises and eventually hours for not having these things sold. Things in particular were awful at the end of the holidays, as literally, I went from 40+ hours a week to 4 hours a week on December 26th. Half of the crew had no choice to quit and find better jobs. There were a few that stuck around, but it did not get better for them until close to the fall season when Christmas starts to slowly creep back into people's minds.

What I guess though you really want to know is, whether or not we had first crack at the toys. As a receiving clerk, yes, because I was the first one to see them coming off of the truck. I managed to snag several of the rarer ToyBiz Marvel Legends/Spider-Man/X-Men Classics figures as they were coming off the truck and I can assure you that many of them NEVER saw a peg on a store shelf. Same with Star Wars. However, unless you happened to be working overnight and in receiving, our store had policies that actually limited all other staff access to the warehouse in order to prevent theft. Staff was also not allowed to shop or have items held during their shifts, and if you did have one held, and a customer happened to see it behind the counter and wanted it, it was theirs. Keep in mind all stores are individually run, so the policies might be different, but someone working stock or cashier at our store had NO ACCESS to the warehouse unless they had a warehouse clerk working on that particular day.

It was also an eye opening experiences as well, because it gave me insight into a lot of things that many collectors don't believe or understand. The warehouse isn't some magical, wonderful place where every single toy you're looking for is sitting in a box in a dusty corner waiting to be had because you happened to be looking for it, and there's no widespread, secret conspiracy from TRU staff to keep them from you. Unless there was an upcoming sale or event, we literally carried NO extra cases of Marvel Legends, or other popular figures for that matter (outside of Barbie,) and we had little control over what was actually coming in, as it was up to our merchandisers to place orders, not our computer systems counting sales. Out of a 3000 piece truck, we might get two cases of Star Wars figures and a case of X-Men Classics, meaning only 3 cases our of that 3000 item truck carried the items we actually cared about. Walk into an actual TRU warehouse, and you will find maybe two rows of shelving devoted to "boys" toys, with the large majority of it being larger items like Nerf guns, RC cars, and sporting items, not to mention the larger role play items. The rest of the warehouse is devoted to everything else, with huge amounts of space being devoted to larger items like bikes, power wheels, playground furniture, seasonal items like kiddie pools, etc, and if they carry Babies R' Us stuff, diapers, strollers, and furniture....the stuff that ACTUALLY makes the store some money.

Knowing this has kind of eased some of my own personal frustrations with "the hunt" as I now have some experience in knowing how these things work, and chances are, if an employee tells you "that's all we have, don't carry any in the back, and don't know when we are getting more," chances are, they are most likely telling you the truth.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I thought I'd try and give you the most complete answer of my experience there. TRU was an alright place to work, but unless you are planning to make management, seek stability elsewhere. I hope that helps!

[Kernel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trivial Psychic

Since you asked, I actually have worked in TRU, which was also my final time in retail. I worked there for a little over a year in the receiving and warehouse area, and did overnight stocking as well. It was easy enough, as being that I was a receiving clerk and also worked overnights, I didn't spend a lot of time working with customers.

However, it wasn't a great experience either. I was also responsible for building some of the larger store displays, and I was injured on the job by a falling 12 foot shelf rail, which busted my head open, leaving me with a concussion and needed 9 staples to close. While in receiving, we did not deal with customers, we did bust our ass as we were responsible for emptying out the shipping containers as they delivered, which on any given night could contain over 2500 items ranging from Barbies to bikes to baby furniture (since our store also carried Babies R' Us items). Often these containers would have only two people working on emptying them, and there would be as many as three of these a night, working inside the container in either blistering heat or near zero temperatures depending on the crazy weather we have here in AZ that day. Everything would then have to be scanned and thrown on the shelf and checked with a delivery report, which was then reported to the store manager to be signed off on. It was at times very stressful, especially during the holidays.

Here's the kicker though, as someone mentioned, unless you are working a register and selling batteries and credit cards, your hours are NOT guaranteed. Despite my working a position and time slot where customer service was extremely minimal if at all, I was passed over for raises and eventually hours for not having these things sold. Things in particular were awful at the end of the holidays, as literally, I went from 40+ hours a week to 4 hours a week on December 26th. Half of the crew had no choice to quit and find better jobs. There were a few that stuck around, but it did not get better for them until close to the fall season when Christmas starts to slowly creep back into people's minds.

What I guess though you really want to know is, whether or not we had first crack at the toys. As a receiving clerk, yes, because I was the first one to see them coming off of the truck. I managed to snag several of the rarer ToyBiz Marvel Legends/Spider-Man/X-Men Classics figures as they were coming off the truck and I can assure you that many of them NEVER saw a peg on a store shelf. Same with Star Wars. However, unless you happened to be working overnight and in receiving, our store had policies that actually limited all other staff access to the warehouse in order to prevent theft. Staff was also not allowed to shop or have items held during their shifts, and if you did have one held, and a customer happened to see it behind the counter and wanted it, it was theirs. Keep in mind all stores are individually run, so the policies might be different, but someone working stock or cashier at our store had NO ACCESS to the warehouse unless they had a warehouse clerk working on that particular day.

It was also an eye opening experiences as well, because it gave me insight into a lot of things that many collectors don't believe or understand. The warehouse isn't some magical, wonderful place where every single toy you're looking for is sitting in a box in a dusty corner waiting to be had because you happened to be looking for it, and there's no widespread, secret conspiracy from TRU staff to keep them from you. Unless there was an upcoming sale or event, we literally carried NO extra cases of Marvel Legends, or other popular figures for that matter (outside of Barbie,) and we had little control over what was actually coming in, as it was up to our merchandisers to place orders, not our computer systems counting sales. Out of a 3000 piece truck, we might get two cases of Star Wars figures and a case of X-Men Classics, meaning only 3 cases our of that 3000 item truck carried the items we actually cared about. Walk into an actual TRU warehouse, and you will find maybe two rows of shelving devoted to "boys" toys, with the large majority of it being larger items like Nerf guns, RC cars, and sporting items, not to mention the larger role play items. The rest of the warehouse is devoted to everything else, with huge amounts of space being devoted to larger items like bikes, power wheels, playground furniture, seasonal items like kiddie pools, etc, and if they carry Babies R' Us stuff, diapers, strollers, and furniture....the stuff that ACTUALLY makes the store some money.

Knowing this has kind of eased some of my own personal frustrations with "the hunt" as I now have some experience in knowing how these things work, and chances are, if an employee tells you "that's all we have, don't carry any in the back, and don't know when we are getting more," chances are, they are most likely telling you the truth.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I thought I'd try and give you the most complete answer of my experience there. TRU was an alright place to work, but unless you are planning to make management, seek stability elsewhere. I hope that helps!

First things first I hope you had a full recovery and that you filed for workers compensation (and disability benefits from social security if you were out of work long term). Dealing with the public is often an excercise in patience.
Thanks for the info... kind of ruins my childhood dream of getting into a TRU at night and having free range to get whatever the hell I want lol. Seems to me like your best bet is to order anything you REALLY want early online, especially when it comes to legends. I'm also glad I just casually collect 6" figures as I'd be broke if I didn't.

[Weapon X]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trivial Psychic

Since you asked, I actually have worked in TRU, which was also my final time in retail. I worked there for a little over a year in the receiving and warehouse area, and did overnight stocking as well. It was easy enough, as being that I was a receiving clerk and also worked overnights, I didn't spend a lot of time working with customers.

However, it wasn't a great experience either. I was also responsible for building some of the larger store displays, and I was injured on the job by a falling 12 foot shelf rail, which busted my head open, leaving me with a concussion and needed 9 staples to close. While in receiving, we did not deal with customers, we did bust our ass as we were responsible for emptying out the shipping containers as they delivered, which on any given night could contain over 2500 items ranging from Barbies to bikes to baby furniture (since our store also carried Babies R' Us items). Often these containers would have only two people working on emptying them, and there would be as many as three of these a night, working inside the container in either blistering heat or near zero temperatures depending on the crazy weather we have here in AZ that day. Everything would then have to be scanned and thrown on the shelf and checked with a delivery report, which was then reported to the store manager to be signed off on. It was at times very stressful, especially during the holidays.

Here's the kicker though, as someone mentioned, unless you are working a register and selling batteries and credit cards, your hours are NOT guaranteed. Despite my working a position and time slot where customer service was extremely minimal if at all, I was passed over for raises and eventually hours for not having these things sold. Things in particular were awful at the end of the holidays, as literally, I went from 40+ hours a week to 4 hours a week on December 26th. Half of the crew had no choice to quit and find better jobs. There were a few that stuck around, but it did not get better for them until close to the fall season when Christmas starts to slowly creep back into people's minds.

What I guess though you really want to know is, whether or not we had first crack at the toys. As a receiving clerk, yes, because I was the first one to see them coming off of the truck. I managed to snag several of the rarer ToyBiz Marvel Legends/Spider-Man/X-Men Classics figures as they were coming off the truck and I can assure you that many of them NEVER saw a peg on a store shelf. Same with Star Wars. However, unless you happened to be working overnight and in receiving, our store had policies that actually limited all other staff access to the warehouse in order to prevent theft. Staff was also not allowed to shop or have items held during their shifts, and if you did have one held, and a customer happened to see it behind the counter and wanted it, it was theirs. Keep in mind all stores are individually run, so the policies might be different, but someone working stock or cashier at our store had NO ACCESS to the warehouse unless they had a warehouse clerk working on that particular day.

It was also an eye opening experiences as well, because it gave me insight into a lot of things that many collectors don't believe or understand. The warehouse isn't some magical, wonderful place where every single toy you're looking for is sitting in a box in a dusty corner waiting to be had because you happened to be looking for it, and there's no widespread, secret conspiracy from TRU staff to keep them from you. Unless there was an upcoming sale or event, we literally carried NO extra cases of Marvel Legends, or other popular figures for that matter (outside of Barbie,) and we had little control over what was actually coming in, as it was up to our merchandisers to place orders, not our computer systems counting sales. Out of a 3000 piece truck, we might get two cases of Star Wars figures and a case of X-Men Classics, meaning only 3 cases our of that 3000 item truck carried the items we actually cared about. Walk into an actual TRU warehouse, and you will find maybe two rows of shelving devoted to "boys" toys, with the large majority of it being larger items like Nerf guns, RC cars, and sporting items, not to mention the larger role play items. The rest of the warehouse is devoted to everything else, with huge amounts of space being devoted to larger items like bikes, power wheels, playground furniture, seasonal items like kiddie pools, etc, and if they carry Babies R' Us stuff, diapers, strollers, and furniture....the stuff that ACTUALLY makes the store some money.

Knowing this has kind of eased some of my own personal frustrations with "the hunt" as I now have some experience in knowing how these things work, and chances are, if an employee tells you "that's all we have, don't carry any in the back, and don't know when we are getting more," chances are, they are most likely telling you the truth.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I thought I'd try and give you the most complete answer of my experience there. TRU was an alright place to work, but unless you are planning to make management, seek stability elsewhere. I hope that helps!

Jesus, I can't believe that happened to your head. Are you doing okay now? No lasting effects?

Thanks for typing this detailed description. It's very helpful and I will have to remember it in the future when I get the itch to work there again.

[donmeca2020]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nitelife

Porn star? Haha

They call me buck naked

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kernel

First things first I hope you had a full recovery and that you filed for workers compensation (and disability benefits from social security if you were out of work long term). Dealing with the public is often an excercise in patience.
Thanks for the info... kind of ruins my childhood dream of getting into a TRU at night and having free range to get whatever the hell I want lol. Seems to me like your best bet is to order anything you REALLY want early online, especially when it comes to legends. I'm also glad I just casually collect 6" figures as I'd be broke if I didn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weapon X

Jesus, I can't believe that happened to your head. Are you doing okay now? No lasting effects?

Thanks for typing this detailed description. It's very helpful and I will have to remember it in the future when I get the itch to work there again.

Thanks for the concern. That was over ten years ago, and I recovered pretty quickly from the injury, although I did miss about a week of work thanks to effects from the concussion, the worst of which being nausea and migraines. Outside the 4 and a half inch scar that I have on the top of my forhead (which is thankfully covered by my hair,) I haven't had any long term effects that I can remember. TRU paid all of my bills and compensated me completely for the time lost, which I think they did more because they were afraid of a lawsuit than out of genuine concern. (We were doing some construction inside the store, with no safety gear such as hard hats, and another employee had suffered a similar injury just 3 weeks earlier.) Hindsight being 20/20, I should have went "full retard" on them and sued their pants off.

TRU was especially strict during the overnights. The warehouse was caged off, and only receiving clerks and managers carried badges to get into the cage. When Xbox 360's, Zune MP3 players, FX lightsabers, and boxes of diapers and candy bars start to disappear from the inventory though because employees have free, unsupervised reign during the nights and days, it became a necessary evil. During my 14 months there, we fired no less than 10 different employees for internal theft for snaking stuff out of the warehouse, and wrote up several others for simply being in there when they shouldn't have. There were cameras EVERYWHERE in the back, yet people would STILL try to steal stuff. It just left me shaking my head.

Keep in mind that my experience was unique to myself, and I don't know if this is how it is at other TRUs out there. To anyone thinking of a career in retail, there's nothing wrong with it, but just remember that often work is what you make of it, and varies wildly depending on what the employer dictates down on you. No matter what though, the experience will always be different on an employee by employee basis.

[Captain Nash]

Wow Trivial. Sounds like a nightmare. I am glad you came through all of that okay in the end; that you recovered and are on to better pastures now. I can't imagine that any benefits of working retail would outweight the (for me) negatives of dealing with the public, mainly because I wouldn't be able to hide my annoyance at customers stupidity/self righteousness. It's a great job for those who do like dealing with the public though, but definitely not for everyone.

To clarify, I don't think every customer would be stupid or self righteous. Not even half or a quarter. But all it would take would be a handful a day to get me in trouble for having a snarky attitude.

[Weapon X]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donmeca2020

They call me buck naked

You sure it's not Hugh Jass?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trivial Psychic

Thanks for the concern. That was over ten years ago, and I recovered pretty quickly from the injury, although I did miss about a week of work thanks to effects from the concussion, the worst of which being nausea and migraines. Outside the 4 and a half inch scar that I have on the top of my forhead (which is thankfully covered by my hair,) I haven't had any long term effects that I can remember. TRU paid all of my bills and compensated me completely for the time lost, which I think they did more because they were afraid of a lawsuit than out of genuine concern. (We were doing some construction inside the store, with no safety gear such as hard hats, and another employee had suffered a similar injury just 3 weeks earlier.) Hindsight being 20/20, I should have went "full retard" on them and sued their pants off.

TRU was especially strict during the overnights. The warehouse was caged off, and only receiving clerks and managers carried badges to get into the cage. When Xbox 360's, Zune MP3 players, FX lightsabers, and boxes of diapers and candy bars start to disappear from the inventory though because employees have free, unsupervised reign during the nights and days, it became a necessary evil. During my 14 months there, we fired no less than 10 different employees for internal theft for snaking stuff out of the warehouse, and wrote up several others for simply being in there when they shouldn't have. There were cameras EVERYWHERE in the back, yet people would STILL try to steal stuff. It just left me shaking my head.

Keep in mind that my experience was unique to myself, and I don't know if this is how it is at other TRUs out there. To anyone thinking of a career in retail, there's nothing wrong with it, but just remember that often work is what you make of it, and varies wildly depending on what the employer dictates down on you. No matter what though, the experience will always be different on an employee by employee basis.

I went into my TRU a few weeks ago (when I was still looking for the X-Wave) to talk to the stocker guy who helps me now and then, and he they had recently had some figures stolen.

This may sound like a dumb question so forgive me, but do the backroom jobs require a lot of heavy lifting? How strenuous? It was a concern of mine due to my scoliosis. I had a dishwashing job where we had to carry crates of saute pans back and forth for 10 hours, it was murder. I had to take ibuprofen before my shifts. Granted...I found out later that they didn't show us the proper way to lift things to minimize strain on our backs....but it's still something I'm concerned about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Nash

Wow Trivial. Sounds like a nightmare. I am glad you came through all of that okay in the end; that you recovered and are on to better pastures now. I can't imagine that any benefits of working retail would outweight the (for me) negatives of dealing with the public, mainly because I wouldn't be able to hide my annoyance at customers stupidity/self righteousness. It's a great job for those who do like dealing with the public though, but definitely not for everyone.

To clarify, I don't think every customer would be stupid or self righteous. Not even half or a quarter. But all it would take would be a handful a day to get me in trouble for having a snarky attitude.

Yep, I feel the same way.

I notice a lot of people have been saying they dislike customer service. Would any of you mind sharing what you do for work? I'm pursuing film, but I will be needing work to supplement my income for a good while. What kind of jobs are out there that aren't customer service heavy?

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weapon X

This may sound like a dumb question so forgive me, but do the backroom jobs require a lot of heavy lifting? How strenuous? It was a concern of mine due to my scoliosis. I had a dishwashing job where we had to carry crates of saute pans back and forth for 10 hours, it was murder. I had to take ibuprofen before my shifts. Granted...I found out later that they didn't show us the proper way to lift things to minimize strain on our backs....but it's still something I'm concerned about.

No...it's not dumb question. A lot of stockroom jobs are going to require extra lifting that a floor employee might not have to go through though. To put perspective on it, when you go into your local TRU...take a moment to look at the stuff OTHER than the stuff you normally hunt for. Take a look at the bike and Power Wheel racks. Take a look at that outdoor section that sells the home jungle gyms and swimming pools. Take a look at that Imaginarium section that carries all of those wooden Thomas the Tank Engine stuff (some of the most deceptively heavy toys TRU has, the boxes can weigh 45 pounds or more and are full of solid wood tracks and blocks.) A box of the aluminum baseball bats that TRUs carry can easily weigh 50 pounds. Some TRU's sell baby furniture, strollers, and bags of sand as well, which can start at about 25 pounds and work their way into the 150 pound range (especially the wooden BRU changing tables and cribs.)

All of those need to be put up on a shelf and stored somewhere in the warehouse, and eventually pulled down for placement on the shelf. Although a store will always preach using two people for heavy items, with the way retailers often under-staff, there WILL be a time where you will need to pull Power Wheels Escalade and battery off of the top rack by yourself while on a ladder, and dropping a 300 dollar item on the floor is simply not an option.

I don't care how careful you are, if you work in a retail warehouse featuring larger items like a Walmart or a Target, at some point, you will hurt your back. Not being able to walk or bend over for week because of spinal nueropathy is definitely not worth ten bucks an hour. Back pain will fade after time, but a slipped disc will be with you forever, meaning that back pain will eventually be back. That job won't be. Always something to consider. =)

[Weapon X]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trivial Psychic

No...it's not dumb question. A lot of stockroom jobs are going to require extra lifting that a floor employee might not have to go through though. To put perspective on it, when you go into your local TRU...take a moment to look at the stuff OTHER than the stuff you normally hunt for. Take a look at the bike and Power Wheel racks. Take a look at that outdoor section that sells the home jungle gyms and swimming pools. Take a look at that Imaginarium section that carries all of those wooden Thomas the Tank Engine stuff (some of the most deceptively heavy toys TRU has, the boxes can weigh 45 pounds or more and are full of solid wood tracks and blocks.) A box of the aluminum baseball bats that TRUs carry can easily weigh 50 pounds. Some TRU's sell baby furniture, strollers, and bags of sand as well, which can start at about 25 pounds and work their way into the 150 pound range (especially the wooden BRU changing tables and cribs.)

All of those need to be put up on a shelf and stored somewhere in the warehouse, and eventually pulled down for placement on the shelf. Although a store will always preach using two people for heavy items, with the way retailers often under-staff, there WILL be a time where you will need to pull Power Wheels Escalade and battery off of the top rack by yourself while on a ladder, and dropping a 300 dollar item on the floor is simply not an option.

I don't care how careful you are, if you work in a retail warehouse featuring larger items like a Walmart or a Target, at some point, you will hurt your back. Not being able to walk or bend over for week because of spinal nueropathy is definitely not worth ten bucks an hour. Back pain will fade after time, but a slipped disc will be with you forever, meaning that back pain will eventually be back. That job won't be. Always something to consider. =)

Welp, that does it. I'm not considering it anymore. Again, thanks for the advice.

[TheBlueMarvel]

@Thread (edited and fixed)

People have this misconception that working stock-crew is easy. It's not. Most don't consider that the work takes place after-hours and no store is going to pay to heat or cool a giant building when there're no customers present. Nor are people aware of the impossible number of items that are heaped on pallets and the strict expectations that night managers have that employees hit their numbers. When we complain about service at retail, it might be worthwhile to pause for a moment and consider everything entailed in providing us with our toys. It might put things into perspective a little bit.

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

@Triv

People have this misconception that working stock-crew is easy. It's not. Most don't consider that the work takes place after-hours and no store is going to pay to heat or cool a giant building when there're no customers present. Nor are people aware of the impossible number of items that are heaped on pallets and the strict expectations that night managers have that employees hit their numbers. When we complain about service at retail, it might be worthwhile to pause for a moment and consider everything entailed in providing us with our toys. It might put things into perspective a little bit.

Uhh...why is that aimed at me? I'm aware of it...it was what I did for years, lol. I'm trying to drop that same perspective...

[TheBlueMarvel]

@Triv

Oh man..That's not aimed at you at all! I was agreeing with you after reading your personal account. Sorry, I thought that was clear...

...I caught your drift and thought about some of the convos here over the years. I'm just more blunt/direct/candid/heavy handed.

[Archangel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

@Thread (edited and fixed)

People have this misconception that working stock-crew is easy. It's not. Most don't consider that the work takes place after-hours and no store is going to pay to heat or cool a giant building when there're no customers present. Nor are people aware of the impossible number of items that are heaped on pallets and the strict expectations that night managers have that employees hit their numbers. When we complain about service at retail, it might be worthwhile to pause for a moment and consider everything entailed in providing us with our toys. It might put things into perspective a little bit.

I came up through college working retail. It definitely takes a certain type of person to suffer through crappy pay, work schedule, and work load to make a career out of it.

[TheBlueMarvel]

@Archangel

Same here. I worked retail in HS and on summers off from college. Worked as a sales associate, and later, as a "key." I learned first hand about overnights and store revamps. I've never had an issue with customers, even irate or discourteous ones; I'm fairly decent at diffusing tense situations and leaving angry people with the impression that they'd been 'heard'...that's 80% of cs - almost like a jedi mind trick, in some cases, because the customer leaves the store feeling content even though the problem/situation didn't really change at all. My biggest negative take away was the cutthroat nature of some retail management personality-types. It's a pretty stressful job in an industry that's cold and unfeeling. High expectations from 'corporate' that encourage store brass to use/abuse and eventually discard employees that work hard. Competent and capable workers usually move on because they're confronted with the reality that unless they replace their manager, the job is a dead end one. Even if one does replace one's manager (and the pay increase is marginal - unless you live in a very large tourist city like NYC or LA), you've now gained the privilege of being exploited by your regional manager. My experience has me cutting employees a lot of slack. It's hard not to be empathetic when you know what goes on behind the scenes.

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

@Triv

Oh man..That's not aimed at you at all! I was agreeing with you after reading your personal account. Sorry, I thought that was clear...

...I caught your drift and thought about some of the convos here over the years. I'm just more blunt/direct/candid/heavy handed.

Okay...I just totally read that wrong. I thought perhaps I was being condescending or something in one of my posts. I'm know I'm something of a story teller, mostly because I feel people best understand when they are able to experience things vicariously through your own experiences.

I totally agree with you on the "glass ceiling" effects that tend to bog down employees in retail positions. Most are hired with the promise of higher wages and better positions, only to find that those "higher" wages are usually less than a dollar and tend to encompass double the amount of responsibilities, or even worse, someone corporate that you have to answer to who is even colder and more of an a-hole than the person locally you usually have to deal with.

On a random thought, I never thought that discussing the horrors of working retail would be so engaging. Hasbro needs to hurry the hell up and get these next two waves of figures out to the general public before my retail triggered PTSD starts up again...lol