warehouse worker

shipping and receiving clerk

administrative assistant

BookOff USA, Inc.

Hello, 

If you are reading this, I would like to give you a perspective of what it's like working at Book-Off, the one I will be discussing in this review is the branch in the New York City Area. Please note that other locations may be different. So read it with a grain of salt and apply at your own risk. 


About the position & General Information: 

The position ,available is a sales associate position and is an entry level job. This position is ideal if you are looking to gain skills for your resume. However, if you have previous experience in retail or elsewhere I would advise you to consider other employment options.
The position offers very little in terms of growth in the company and skill sets. If you do decided to apply and get hired, plan to work only for a limited time. 

The shift hours for this branch are the following: 

- Early Shift is from 9:40am - 5:30pm 

- Late Shift is from 12:00pm - 8:00pm (Maybe later the more time you spend at the store depending on what needs to be done). 

- The store is open seven days a week all year. Even during major holidays, federal Holidays, storms, you name it they are open. However, you can request off of holidays and days you are unavailable. 

- The pay rate at the time of this review is $13.00 for new hires (Will change at the end of 2018) and increases only by a little (about $0.10  or more depending on rank) if you get "promoted." 

- No bonuses,discounts, perks, sick days, paid days off, just a check during designated pay days. Insurance I believe is available but only if you are working for a specific number of days or full time. Pay is not weekly but twice a month.


Speed/ Quantity VS Efficiency/Quality: 


A focus of this particular branch is speed and quantity. The mentality applied is: the more items an employee is able to purchase and put out in the store at a faster rate, the better the sales would be and the happier the customers are. With this, efficiency and quality is sacrificed and results in a lot of mistakes and high stressful moments that can be avoided if a little more care is placed when aiding customers and handling items. 


Communication/Guidelines/Policies: 


Some aspects of the job and guidelines are constantly changing. Although an effort is made to inform all employees during the daily meetings, the constant changes cause confusion with employees and is never properly corrected and professionally addressed until all members are clear. Part of this is due to the language barrier between some managers and employees, some managers are fluent in Japanese and English translations get lost. Despite signs informing of new guidelines nothing is explicitly explained. This is where a lot of problems lie when employees are pricing items or evaluating items. 


Cleanliness: 

The store is often filthy and disorganized, some shelves in the store have items that are all over the place. There is no effort to up keep the appearance of shelves, the constant need to restock leaves no room to make them look presentable. There is also very little maintenance with stock once they are shelved they are there and not reorganized. As an employee of a store it does leave one feeling embarrassed of how the store looks as well as annoyed knowing of the potential of how it can look. There is also a problem behind the main register/counter area. Where due to items being scattered around all the time can lead to employees tripping over baskets, figures, and electronics. Over the last couple of months there have also been roach infestations within keyboards, credit card machines, and in registers. When bringing up the issue to the managers nothing is done to clean up the area. 


Other thoughts/Opinions: 

Working at the store can also feel monotonous as employees have no variety in what they do or what they learn. At some point learning any new skills stops and just becomes muscle memory. An employee can have the same task for a month with no change even when learning something else. A driving factor repetitive days is through the store's music play list. A selection of either Japanese animation music or current or recent pop songs in about a three hour loop. Eventually hearing the same songs over and over at the same time every day can make one feel as if they are stuck and living the same day again. Although a small thing to complain about, repetition without a variety gets old really quickly and can result in an employee feeling unmotivated. 

The technology used at the store is also outdated and are in a constant need of repair. For example, the chargers on laptops are finicky and would randomly disconnect from charging due to the tangled wires. Some computers are out dated and are running very slowly, and in fast paced situations can prove to be very frustrating. 
I also do not understand as to why there is no database for items inside the store. Customers come  in all the time asking for a particular product and the answer is always the following: 

"We don't have a database, but you can find it..." 

The lack of a database does not encourage customers to look, instead it encourages them to leave and find it elsewhere. Other used book stores in the New York City area whom also use the same software have databases for the items in their store. It also doesn't make any sense as employee's do scan items for evaluation and their information shows up in the system. Which leads me to believe it is possible to make a database. 


It has become very apparent that the customers are valued more than the employees. At least working at this branch has made me feel like that. Customers are always granted leniency even when they are in the wrong, a lot of the stores policies are tossed around and are never enforced in an effort to appease customers. When it comes to employee concerns, managers are quick to point out the problems of an employee's concerns and turns it around as if its the employees who aren't doing enough. It was also made apparent that the employees don't matter when space was cleared out elsewhere in the store and dumped in the employee bathroom.

However, there are occasions in which customers would bring up how some items can be found cheaper elsewhere (even on websites used by the store to determine item prices). To which I've heard multiple times from managers with a condescending tone, "...if you can find it cheaper there then you can buy it from that store." If its anything, I've learned from this job is how NOT to speak with customers. 


Lastly, If you bring your resume in and ask to speak with a manager your resume more often then not maybe misplaced. As there occasions where resumes from weeks or months prior were found underneath other piles of paper or garbage. 

IF YOU APPLY BEFORE OR DURING THE SUMMER TIME BE PREPARED TO ALWAYS SWEAT AND SMELL OF SWEAT EVERY DAY YOU ARE SCHEDULED TO WORK. The air conditioner is always broken and is always under "repair." On the off chance that it does work the store is still musty and hot as the front door is left open and the thermostat is never to be set below 70 degrees. It leaves employees feeling uncomfortable all day as well as customers. 

All in all, I repeat what I said in the beginning of this review. If you are looking to gain some retail experience for a limited time this maybe where you want to start but not plan to stay long. If you have experience in retail or elsewhere and are looking to expand your horizons consider different options. The job essentially offers employees only the mandatory legal necessities nothing more. The only saving grace of the job is having co-workers who understand and try to help each other through the day. After all that is said, take in to consideration the following question: 
 
Is your skill/knowledge/person worth it to feel like that and be treated as such? 


If you still want to apply for the position do so as you please.

A typical day along side the Book-Off team can be described as either hectic or smooth-sailing. The amount of enthusiastic customers walking through the store were countless. Book-Off has the best deal on DVD's, Audio CD's and  of course books. With prices starting a one dollar it is impossible to resist the sense purchasing an item. The companies main focus is the extraordinary Buy Back program, which gives the customer the ability to sell their used DVD's, CD's, Books, and also Video Games. Also, electronics, game consoles, kitchen appliances, home goods, the list continues with almost limitless possibilities of ways to get cash for your items. As the items are evaluated, inspected and purchased. The final step is processing and displaying for the customer. Many of the items within the store can be one of a kind, since the stock is produced solely from the Buy Back program. Team work was an everyday task. The team was solid and consistent. 

I chose to work with this company because it focused on gathering the community for a recycle movement of sorts. Recycling has become a core value to our society. On a more personal note, the ability to help the community or just one person is nothing more than amazing in my eyes.I find great pleasure in the ability to help, whether it be a simple or complex task, I was asked to partake and I will finish in Gold.

This is an ok-ish job for people who are getting their first job.  There is something insulting inherently about paying your employees the lowest legal amount possible when you are a successful company (10 dollars/hr), but ok if you're doing it for candy money.  But managers and trainers have a tough time understanding that minimum wage means you can't expect maximum effort.  :/

The work itself is pretty engaging and satisfying; you'll be doing a mix of cashier, cleaning, customer service, organizing/shelving and purchase evaluation.  If you find your rhythm and are interested in the types of media that come into the store then you'll have a fun workday.

The large amount of flexibility in the schedule you set is nice, but the current manager will underschedule you if he feels like it- and the shift was already only 5-6 hours to begin with.....The coworkers are absolutely the best part of working there and was one of the only reasons I was hesitant to leave.  I had fun, but it was time to move on

Had gotten a new manager and store went downhill. Coworkers were great I genuinely enjoyed everyone I worked with. It is hard to get promoted and when you do the pay is still incredibly low. The store cares more about it's inventory and property than it does about the coworkers. Employees should make sure they read the handbook so they are aware of how unfairly the company is allowed to treat it's employees legally. It's okay as a starter job if you're in high school maybe, but if you need money I would suggest looking elsewhere. Work environment at this store became incredibly toxic. Manager is a nice person, but not a good manager. With proper training they could maybe fix things, but not before the entire staff ends up quitting I think. Very sad. 

BookOff is a great working environment for an entry level job. Most new hires will start in shelving, but will soon be taught other the other roles in the store, such as buybacks, inventory processing and tech processing. Coworkers are generally warm and inviting and willing to help new hires wherever they may need. Great for hobbyists as the store specializes in books, movies, music, and Japanese manga and figures. No employee benefits and processes can get confusing at times, but overall, great place to work. Work environment is generally calm, only becoming stressful with excessive buybacks, but rarely does a single staff member feel they are not being supported. However, due to being a secondhand store, customers can get volatile over their buyback evaluations.

BOOKOFF is a wonderful place to work. It is a Japanese-based company that has since expanded its reach to U.S. Territories. The tasks you are asked to perform are not very difficult at all, and the better you are able to perform your tasks, the more likely you will be selected to advance and be given more responsibilites. The biggest complaint I have is that there are no benefits provided to entry-level employees - not even store discounts. I feel that they should provide some sort of coverage, but unfortunately, they do not. With that aside, BOOKOFF is a wonderful company that has a unique business model. The work is not difficult at all, and it is very easy to advance.

I will preface this by saying that it is a Japanese company, but Management was incompetent: not willing to listen to more knowledgeable staff. The CEO does come in every month or so, but really does his own thing, and really doesn't seem to learn much during those visits. I remember being stressed due to low wages and not enough control. Stores are dirty, but to an understandable extent. The idea of the store is something I loved, but lots of other things made me want to quit.

If you thought about working here, don’t. Management continues to get worse and they expect you to work at above minimum wage. Manager doesn’t even speak English very well or understand it, so expect to always be having conversations on google translate. The only positive thing about this job for me, were some of my coworkers. Other than that, you don’t get any benefits, if management doesn’t like you, expect weird behavior towards you. Don’t trust anyone who is a trainer or higher. Also always expect to be watched with the cameras, they constantly check them which is very creepy and off putting for a lowly second hand book store.

The job itself, isn’t too stressful and pretty easy to pick up on. The trainer there is very helpful and accommodating. You’re kept busy for sure. Co workers were a joy to be around. The biggest issue is the manager. It is very apparent and known to everyone that works there that she has favorites. Her character overall isn’t very welcoming or friendly. There are hardly any employees there who have been there long term. Most people have left after just a few months of working there. If this place had a better manager, it would warrant a much better review, but sadly it is the biggest thing holding this place back. 

The general workload is very fair but there isn't enough training going on to help the new people with the workload. I learned a lot working there and it is a very high-paced position. The manager is very hard working but can be fairly unprofessional if she doesn't like you. The other employees are very fun to work with and everyone has a little bit of crazy. The hardest part of the job is that the higher-ups of the company are constantly changing policy without regard for the employees. The most enjoyable part of the job are the coworkers.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Warehouse worker 1 salary reported	$20.95 per hour
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