sales associate

cashier

retail sales associate

assistant store manager

floor supervisor

Ace Hardware

Peak season, (summer & late spring) is best for having plenty of freight to stock, extra hrs & nice overtime pay to pad your paycheck. The other 8.5 months of non peak season, money is good but not great. Also fair amount of VTO (voluntarily time off) foisted on random team members.

They insist & require that we be performance minded & absolutely hit individual quota % vast majority of days. Algorithm for individual daily quota % is very imperfect. Desperately needs tweaking as applied to break stock workers. 

Unfortunately there were a handful of ways to somewhat cheat the system in break stock. I didnt like that.  Made things messy. Virtually encourages cheating & corner cutting unless one is of high integrity. Various ways to corner cut. More $ u get paid , the more u get away with it. Several colleagues were fired due to this. Many more before I came aboard the team. Still the problem persists (break stock dept only).

Management was decent, not great. Co-workers were okay. Best to keep all focus during non-break time on hunting extra tags & putting away freight. Friendly chatter doesn't help. As break stock your colleagues are basically your competition. Keep your head down, stay sharp. Def don't cheat, try not to cut corners either. Don't cherry pick your tags. Just be quick on ur feet pushing your cart. Focused, & be mindful of the exact moment u tag in to start the active time clock on a product or string of products. Also rush to tagout as soon as product or string of products are put away.

I might recommend not stringing together multiple products as is most common. Instead over time I learned it was beneficial to my numbers to load all 3,4, 5, or 6 products on my cart, but not string them together, & instead tag into & out of each product tag individually. Required a lot more walking to the end of the aisles to tag out, but overall was worth it. Allows all discarding of cardboard to be done & quick setup of next tag w/o being on live time. Potentially can scope out next product location B4 tagging in & action begins. 

More credit is given the more product stocked. So best to do the right thing & stock to full capacity, instead of half stocking, reserving remainder & racing off to the next tag in an attempt to do more tags per day.  If possible try to minimize the number of tags that require a reserve afterward. 

Change knife blade daily or every other day. Can simply turn the blade around also. Sharpest knife blade possible can really save time & frustration. Although the sharper it is the more likely u accidentally cut through box & into product. You never want this to happen. Fast smooth but careful cuts.  If nervous, then just cut the tape or puncture & pull flaps open. Majority of time cutting top of box, as all 4 sides is the ideal. Be quick & smooth about it though. Practice this aspect of your game. 

All in all, life as a break stocker not a bad job. It can be somewhat seasonal. Hire more ppl for peak & by middle of off-peak season, only half as many ppl exist. Not enough freight, many are released from employment. 

Kinda obvious, but try to keep your pts down as low as possible. Even if you aren't out of points, still gives them a reason to choose you among the many ppl that get terminated in Sept-Nov. It's a cold game. 

Once you've been there a full 2 yrs you're probably safe from being cut. Unless you are cheating.  Still gotta bring the performance daily.  And def don't cheat or cherry pick. 

100% is good, but not good enough for all the time.  Averaging 110-130% daily is the best zone. Paid up to 170% but kinda suspicious if someone is somehow hitting 140s & 150s  multiple days in a row. Very hard to do. They're likely doing something sketchy or outside the rules.  Don't be that guy...or gal. 

Much Harder to achieve quota during non-peak. Not enough freight to go around. Too much down time. Use screen 25 on RF gun when pulling pallets from gates upstairs, & staging their location. It's a must. Helps your #'s.  Good luck!

Ace Hardware Corporation is located in Oak Brook, IL, a Chicago area suburb. I relocated to Chicago for this job after college and the commute to work and back each day was brutal. It left little time to enjoy life outside of work in Chicago by the time I'd get back to the apartment and on weekends I'd visit family Rockford. Lots of car time with this job.

With regards to the environment: gray and red walls, gray cubicles and that's about it. It wasn't a professional creative environment and required khakis and a dress shirt to be worn to work each day. I learned to get used to it, but not an environment that spurred original thought, which is what drives advertising and marketing's best campaigns and most designers who excel in my profession.

I worked on an in-house ad team with six veteran production designers. We answered to one Creative Director who didn't know how to use her computer, or understood the software upgrades that we needed. She was honest with us and often needed us to explain to her why we needed Quark, Photoshop and Illustrator upgrades to do our work. She also had no knowledge of hardware issues and needs. Requesting more memory for our Macs to deal with hi-res photos for mass distribution in weekly circulars and store signage at quicker pace was denied by her superiors many times because she thought R.A.M. and Memory were two separate items to request for six computers. We had a hard time with her as our boss because she knew nothing about our profession or what we were doing for the company. She often outsourced the best creative work to Chicago area ad firms because she wasn't a typical Creative Director, she was a paper pusher and another face in a meeting. Lots of meetings in these corporate places, lots of meetings, good snacks, foods, drinks- so anti-productive!

One of the veteran production designers with the most experience began representing our team to her manager behind her back to provide the proper direction and hardware and software support we needed to function and keep up with technology. It worked.

I worked with great people I learned much from about office politics in a corporate environment but it wasn't a very creative job for me in hindsight and did nothing to enhance my professional portfolio right out of college. I had to keep busy on the side with freelance work and learning how to create websites at this point in time to keep my portfolio fresh.

My daily tasks involved creating and managing a file directory for the 5,000+ store location address logos and footer info needed for national and global Sunday circular purchases. Every now and then one of the team members needed my help on store signage designs or holiday logo ideas. I looked forward to helping them more but they had to be careful about asking me because the Creative Director didn't want me doing more than handling the database.

The most enjoyable aspect of the job was meeting a VP from another department who noticed my music collection at my desk. We became good friends and spent our lunches record hunting when he could escape lunches with the higher up executives. He couldn't stand his job I soon discovered- the pretending and wearing the suit he often mocked. I enjoyed that. I learned much from him about how to handle the corporate environment and to pony up the experience and move on. He eventually cashed in his retirement early to open a record store with his family in Indiana. A workplace hero!

Seeing and meeting people like him helped me deal with a daily brutal commute. The world of Dilbert is not a funny one when I realized I was living and working in it.

I eventually made plans to relocate back to Rockford to get away from the commute and the job for more creative pastures.

Terrible place to work at and Title: The Perils of Terrible Management: A Case Study

Introduction:
Effective management plays a pivotal role in the success and productivity of any organization. However, when management fails to uphold their responsibilities and exhibit poor leadership qualities, it can have disastrous consequences for both the employees and the overall functioning of the company. This essay delves into the reasons why a particular job had terrible management, exploring the detrimental effects it had on the employees and the organization as a whole.

Paragraph 1: Lack of Communication and Transparency
One of the primary reasons for the job's terrible management was the pervasive lack of communication and transparency. Managers failed to provide clear and consistent instructions, leaving employees confused and demotivated. Important decisions were made without involving the relevant stakeholders or explaining the rationale behind them, leading to a lack of trust and a sense of alienation among the workforce. Without effective communication channels, employees were left to navigate their roles in uncertainty, resulting in decreased productivity and increased frustration.

Paragraph 2: Incompetent Leadership
Another significant factor contributing to the job's poor management was the presence of incompetent leaders. Managers lacked the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to effectively lead and guide their teams. They failed to provide mentorship, support, and constructive feedback, leaving employees feeling undervalued and unsupported. Incompetent leaders often made uninformed decisions, ignored valuable input from employees, and failed to recognize and utilize individual strengths. Such ineffective leadership undermined the morale and motivation of the workforce, ultimately hindering the organization's progress.

Paragraph 3: Lack of Empathy and Employee Development
Terrible management also manifested in a lack of empathy and disregard for employee development. Managers showed little concern for the well-being and work-life balance of their team members. They failed to recognize and address individual needs, resulting in high levels of stress and burnout. Additionally, the absence of opportunities for professional growth and advancement further demoralized employees, as they felt trapped in stagnant positions with no prospects for development. The lack of investment in employee training and skill enhancement hindered both individual and organizational growth.

Paragraph 4: Favoritism and Unfair Treatment
The prevalence of favoritism and unfair treatment within the job's management structure further exacerbated the problematic environment. Managers showed preferential treatment toward certain employees, creating an atmosphere of inequality and resentment. This biased behavior eroded trust, damaged team dynamics, and fostered a culture of internal competition rather than collaboration. The absence of a fair and merit-based system for recognition and rewards hindered employee motivation and contributed to the overall dissatisfaction within the organization.

Conclusion:
Terrible management within a job can have severe repercussions on both employees and the organization. The lack of communication and transparency, coupled with incompetent leadership, creates an environment of uncertainty and demotivation. The absence of empathy and employee development opportunities further exacerbates the negative impact. Additionally, favoritism and unfair treatment breed a toxic work culture that hinders collaboration and productivity. It is crucial for organizations to recognize and address such issues to foster a supportive and conducive work environment that promotes growth, productivity, and employee satisfaction.

I have a couple things on my mind. Firstly that I was only there for 20 days when they decided to get rid of me. When I came in for my interview I told them about how I'm looking to learn new things because, as they could see from my resume, I haven't gotten a significant amount of work experience yet. If they saw that, then why did they bother to hire me if they were just going to let me go in not even a month's worth of time because I wasn't learning fast enough? It's hard to pick up something in less than 20 days when I only got to learn the inventory of half of the store and I've barely met all of the people on charge accounts or the like to remember them and be prepared. They said they gave me plenty of learning opportunities, but I feel like I didn't learn much at all. It wasn't until near the end of this 20 day period that they showed me this cheat sheet for departments and aisles under them that I could've been using since day one. It would've sped up the learning process much faster knowing all of my resources available rather than pointing things out a few times and expecting me to get it when there's about 27 aisles to remember and then everything that's outside. I learned about how I had to double check stock outside through the computer first after I'd already done plenty of transactions without doing that and not a word being said about it. It's not my fault that people forget to teach me these things and to think that they believed I should be ready in less than a month when they were still teaching me new things until the last day was mind boggling to me. By the end I still hadn't gotten a tour of the second half of the store when most people got a full tour at the beginning of them being there.

Then there was this direct deposit issue I experienced. After I was let go from the team and some time passed, I received a direct deposit from them. I figured it must be mine and the check they said would be my last was just because the real last one would be sent through direct deposit. Apparently I was horribly wrong though because two weeks after the fact I had to fork over all of the money because they mistakenly gave me another employee's money. I'm never going to hold onto money that's not rightfully mine, but I was absolutely livid that I was having to pay for their mistake. They're forcing me to pay them back two weeks after the fact instead of going to me immediately about this mistake, which I believe would've been the right thing to do for all parties involved. I wouldn't have had to suffer the mental anguish this caused to make sure I paid them back properly, management would've easily gotten their money back to be sent to the correct person, and the employee the money was meant for wouldn't have had to wait two weeks to get a missing paycheck. I don't know how you mix up direct deposit papers on accident, but it happened and I had to learn about it two weeks later completely unprepared instead of getting told immediately about it. I had to take money from my savings account to pay it back in full. It makes me wonder what would've happened if I wasn't able to pay them back. Would I have been in trouble because of their mistake? It seems unlikely, but so does mixing up direct deposit papers.

I can't say working at Ace was completely bad. While I was there, I met some nice people and I had a generally comfortable time. This has all soured my opinions on this particular location though after the stress it caused me. Maybe the high turnover rate should've been a sign to look elsewhere.

Very easy and laid back interview process. I was interviewed for management but was passed over for someone with 2 years of cashier experience with the company and no management skills. I instead was offered the position of back up key holder and B2B Sales. The only good thing about the job was that the pay was above average at $13,00/hr for a full time position. Management was scary bad. I was brought in to improve the business to business sales and increase the store's profits. I presented a full notebook on standard ideas that I have seen other company's used as well as methods I had used my self to grow my own company that had a proven track record of increasing profitability. Every one of them was ignored. The company would send a max of 4 leads a week out to the store on average but most of the time it was the same 4 leads you had contacted the week before. The owners of those companies after three weeks of relentless calling stated that it was harassment. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I was treated more like a babysitter than a customer service professional responding to the needs of inept employees who didn't have the character to do the job that would constantly be yelling back at the customer and insulting them. The manager seemed to not care about growing the store or hiring people experienced in customer service instead opting to hire first time workers with no experience in the field. The radio's were great when used properly but you were required to keep them in your ear all the time and most employees would use it inappropriately that is if you were lucky and could understand them or you weren't having your ear drums blown out but an employee yelling into it or the interferiance of a construction site down the road. The mandatory meetings were a joke I knew we were in trouble when I found out the store had only fife employees. to make matters worse there was a lowes and a home depot right down the street from this location that offered cheaper prices on the same products so why would a customer come into our store when he could get the same thing 2 minutes down the road for a cheaper price. The other thing that bothered me was we were trying to grab contractor accounts but the store didn't open till 8am. These pro's have already gone to home depot or lowes and have gotten what they needed to be on the jobsite by 8am. You were always being questioned by management about every transaction and every thing you did in the store it got to the point where it was ridiculus when do I have time to give great customer service and do my job if 90 percent of the day is spent explaining every move I make. I thought we were in the business of selling to customer's not arguing with ourselves. The store was a joke in it's self poor location with very little advertising I had lived in the town for years and was unaware of it's existance besides that 90 percent of customers would come in thinking it was a true value or an aubachon and when they found out we weren't would leave immediately. really if your customer's won't even give you the time of day you have a problem. there is really nothing good about this company. I would very much recommend staying away from it. the pay is good but you will be pulling your hair out with all of the stress you have to deal with.

-a typical day at work
Your typical day will generally consist of aisle maintenance and, depending on when the last freight intake was, "throwing" freight. Otherwise tasks are dished out on a case by case basis, your personal skills are rarely considered, especially depending on your leadership.

-what you learned
I gained many skills from this job that helped mold my resume for the future. From Point of Sale operation to store closing procedures it's certainly a cornerstone of my skillset now.

-management
Varies from store to store, the one in Pocatello certainly leaves lots to be desired. Wouldn't recommend expecting a completely positive relationship with management at the end of your employment cycle. 

-workplace culture
When morale is high, fantastic high octane and motivated. When it's low (which it is most of the time) possibly one of the wort experiences I've had. 

-the hardest part of the job
Staying motivated under high demands with low pay. Best thing you can do for yourself is understand going into this job that it is not your end goal and that it is merely a means to an end developing a skillset to launch yourself into a future career.

-the most enjoyable part of the job
The people, both those you work with and the customers that come in. Lots of the customers have been going to Ace probably since before you even considered employment there, they've seen employees come and go, which can be a double edged blade, some take this as an opportunity to meet and enjoy new people's company, others will just view you as another cog in the machine that will probably be gone within the next year or so. Best thing you can do for yourself is keep a positive attitude and provide great customer service.

-conclusion
My overall feelings of Ace can feel negative but generally they're a lot more positive than I show here, but you have to stay realistic with what this job will be. If you're looking for a career here you're starting at the wrong end, corporate is where you want to start. If that's not your goal however and you're just looking at this job as either a springboard first job that will give you experience or a job to get you by until your next one, then this will be a great job. It gives you fulfilling work, it will develop a skillset for you as well as put you in relations with various fields of professional contracting that could possibly attract your attention, and it will develop your social abilities which is pretty much required to live life as a whole. Don't let the seemingly deadendedness of this job get you down, look at it as just the beginning and maintain a positive attitude. 

FOR DISTRIBUTION CENTER:
Unfortunately, upper management does not care about the more entry level employees. Work life-balance is almost non-existent in a lot of "until the work is done" departments, with order fillers regularly having put in 50+ hour weeks for weeks on end, even outside of peak season. Being middle-management is worse, requiring on average 5-10 more than your team members. Employee retention is obviously related and a vicious cycle - can't keep people due to work load but can't get work load down because they can't keep anyone.
While safety and quality are said to be the main priority over productivity numbers, it is a gamble on if that's truly going to be the feeling for the week. Harsh rulings on minor mistakes mean long-term employees who have never had other issues get fired, but only, seemingly, if there is workload dependent. If everyone is on super OT, they'll turn the other cheek, but if it's slow, expect to clean out your locker.
Teamwork is suppose to be a core value, but constant focus on incentive (you make more the faster *YOU* go) and Goal and Go in the Order Filling departments (do X amount of work & leave) has resulted in a "Me above all else" mentality for everyone. This rings especially true if someone struggles to keep at a goal percentage, or on the line of 100% and are on review for termination. Their willingness to help others or work with someone else becomes almost non-existent. It also results in other departments feeling as if they're nothing because they aren't able to do those things. (Non-incentive based roles are treated MUCH differently than incentive based ones, and designated out time departments (largely inbound) are very much given the short end of the stick with outbound departments getting to leave when work is done.)
It could be a great place, but everyone is on a different page and nothing feels cohesive from information given to onboarding processes. Ask one person a question, get one answer; ask another, get a different answer. 
Management is a constant musical-chairs rotation, and have a terrible turn-over rate. Inner promotions aren't at all incentivized because with the production based bonuses, lots of team members can find themselves earning just as much if not more than leadership. When you're being yelled at constantly about every hiccup and change without support from upper management, you'd be insane to step up and their inability to keep people in those positions are testament to that.

A typical day at work usually involved a wide variety of things, from cashiering to stocking and cleaning as well as customer service. Depending on how willing you are to try new things, you can end up doing most everything in the store including key cutting and bbq deliveries. No day is the exact same but you will have certain things you do each day. In my case I learned about so many store products and tools, parts, screw and bolt sizes, pipe, glass and plexiglass cutting, assembling and delivering grills, inventory maintenance, merchandising, and much more.
My manager was pretty great but had his mean moments, as does anyone, and i could definitely sense that the owners were penny pinchers, sometimes to the detriment of the employees. For me the hardest part of the job was when you had a specific mission to accomplish but couldn't because of how many customers needed help, and due to the customer service - oriented nature of Ace Hardware ("Ace is the helpful place"), I sometimes would find myself very frustrated and having to stay late. Another thing that annoyed me was it seemed like there were a lot of people working there that did not care to do their jobs correctly to the degree that it would make more work for me in the end. I also felt that they had me doing some things that were over my pay grade such as dangerous glass cutting (even though i was good and safe at it) and in one instance fixing the paint machine myself without any prior knowledge and a terrible customer service line. That was actually a fun day for me as it did take the whole day pretty much but if I had not done that the store would have missed out on hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars in paint sales. The best part of the job for me was partly the discounts and the culture as the people there enjoyed talking and joking and the atmosphere was pretty light except during stressful times of the seasons. It was also partly just the feeling of accomplishment I had because I learned so much and got really good at many things that will help me down the road at many other jobs, however I would only recommend working here as a stepping stone to something larger, like a mechanical or service company. Great job to have for a year or two, but after that you may want to move on due to lack of benefits and raises.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Never boring and lots of things to learn and do in a shift. Fellow workers are a great team and can make task suggestions which are easy to apply for multitasking challenges. Speaking Spanish would be a great contribution to your store's success.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Sometimes it can be confusing when ringing up a customer sale, filling out a carpet cleaner rental, processing a return or store voucher transaction. answering the phone, currents and giving directions or using the walkie to ask for a particular department help...many at the same time. The schedules for PT shifts were often available just before the week started and made it hard to schedule for outside work if needed. Job related Training was rarely possible during a busy shift.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment at my store in Kennewick was always neat and orderly and at a comfortable temperature. There was no drinking fountain so water was available for purchase by employees. Most brought their own. Many employees bought cases and provided it as donation in break room fridge for all during hot weather. Key locked bathrooms at rear of store were always clean and well supplied with keys accessible from front cashier.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Task lists for each employee station was ready when you arrived there. In slow periods you could easily have something to do and check off based on how close you needed to be. Supplies for cleaning and dusting and putting away returns and go backs are always near by and easy to do around customer activity. Returning items to their correct location is a great way to learn where things are in the store so you can help customers find them when asked. Restocking products near your register and setting up display structures for items also can fill the time. Loss prevention skills were very important for all cashiers and sales clerks to team up to prevent  and discourage thefts product dzmages. If you were bored you just had to have your eyes closed.  In spring and winter, seasonal tasks were added which included plant care and maintenance and shoveling, de-icing front entrances and warehouse freight handling doors.

Being a cashier at ace, I believe you should be paid more than 9.00 an hour! From learning how to make keys to making paint, I shouldn't be getting paid minimum wage when I have a lot on my plate. Before I started working at ace, I thought the environment was positive and friendly. I remember the interviews being smooth and I also liked how one of the managers said that they communicate there. That was something that my last job didn't do so I felt like this job was going to be better. Working at this place was a roller coaster but I'm going to start off with the pros. The pros was: The place closed at 8 (at my old job I had to work 2 extra hours so it was cool to close around this time), The place was nearby, and lastly some of the coworkers were cool. One of the biggest cons that I had with ace is that We were always short. I never understood how we never had enough people working when it was needed on the floor. I found myself always hearing from my manager that we're short because someone called off and I felt like they shouldve had a punishment for that instead of having people do what they wanted to do. Its not fair for someone else to take on that work when the person should've came in. Another problem I had with ace is some of the coworkers. For example, If you are hard on me for something and not hard on the other coworker for the same thing then thats unfair! I found myself in that situation twice and from two different people. And the last thing that I found a con was the fact that our shirts say "we are experts" yet when a customer came to me about a problem, I had to call my manager because I didn't know what to say. I feel like the training video that we had to do was false because when you actually work there, there's not an expert for every aisle like they portray it to be. I forgot to mention that the place was drama filled which is also a con. I didnt like how everyone talked about everybody or knew everyones business. It was highly annoying to me that some of my coworkers were doing that. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sales associate 1636 salaries reported	$15.17 per hour
Cashier 1360 salaries reported	$14.62 per hour
Retail sales associate 189 salaries reported	$15.54 per hour
Assistant store manager 214 salaries reported	$19.27 per hour
Floor supervisor 133 salaries reported	$17.51 per hour

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