distribution associate

retail sales associate

seasonal associate

store manager

warehouse manager

DESERET BOOK

It used to be a great company to work for, but this has changed.  There is no trust in this company.  The current VP of Retail Sales does a lot of things to undermine the store manager's relationship to the rest of the store staff, as a result the staff doesn't trust the manager because they think corporate doesn't, the manager doesn't trust corporate because they don't have the managers back, the manager doesn't trust the store staff because they are encouraged to talk about the manager behind his/her back, corporate doesn't trust the manager because of all the stuff said behind his/her back (without bothering to find out if it is true or not), and the staff doesn't trust corporate because they can see they way they are being manipulated by corporate.

One night I was called at home by my staff because there was some water leaking in from a nearby restaurant.  I was home alone with my 3 year old daughter, who was asleep, and had no vehicle to get there, so I told my staff they would need to handle it until I could get there (and they were perfectly capable of doing so).  The VP was later told that I simply told my staff to "deal with it".  When I explained that I couldn't go to the store right away that night I was told by the VP that I should have woken up my 3 year old daughter, bundled her up, (it was a cold night) and walked to the store.  It was at that point I knew I was no longer working for a family friendly company.  Lately there have been more store managers hired who are single than those who have families, and those who have families have been pushed out.  

Communication is horrible.  I was often criticized by the VP for not communicating with my staff, when he was guilty of the same thing.  Heaven forbid you point that out to him.  He loves his "Yes" men and women.  If you can kiss up you will do fine.  The VP loves to make changes to the way things were done before he joined the company, but he would rarely admit to a decision of his needing to be changed.  He would just dig in his heels and claim that the problem was elsewhere.   

Also money always comes first at Deseret Book.  There is a lot of focus on engaging customers and giving great customer service, but that is only so customers will spend more.  

There are some great people at Deseret Book, but unfortunately because of the current VP and some of thing things he has done in the last few years there is a great culture of distrust at Deseret Book.  It was once a great place to work, and could be again, but I don't see that happening until some personal at corporate are gone.

Deseret Book is a great family-oriented company to work for. My job was to manage inventory in the stores. I needed to make sure that the stores had what they need and fulfilled special orders for customers.

A typical day would be to run reports and make sure that the stores had enough inventory in the stores, to answer item requests from the stores, and to make sure that the Oracle system was ordering what the stores needed. 

I have learned that one person cannot handle the inventory alone. It is important to have a team who can help handle the load. Teamwork is important when making sure that the stores have what they need for their customers.

The manager was great to work with. He was understanding and helped make sure Oracle was running as it should be. He was fair and made sure that everyone had what they needed in order to do their job.

 I worked with a team of Purchasing Specialists who worked together to make sure the customers came first. We would help one another with questions and cover for each other when out of the office. 

The hardest part of the job was to make sure that the store's had enough inventory. Sometimes the stores would end up with too much inventory. It is never easy to get the numbers right, but I worked to get as close as I could. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was making sure the customers had what they needed. To be able to fulfill requests and watch as the stores receive the product for their customers who requested them.

A lot happened in my time there, 2.5yrs. At first it was one of my favorite jobs. But after the pandemic, things changed a lot at my location. My store was merging with another one and there were so many things that could have gone better that didn’t. The biggest problem was staffing, and pay for the amount of work. I was in a leadership position, and after the other three supervisors left I was the only one, but they wouldn’t let me work full time. And they wouldn’t give me a raise or promote me, because of the merge. I was definitely taken advantage of and regret not quitting sooner (including a week of me having Covid, passing out, breaking my nose, and working through it all). I had wanted to give everything I could for a manager that didn’t care about me being a human or about how much I had sacrificed (one of those being agreeing to only 5 working days off for MY WEDDING). I do LOVE the people I worked with, and because we worked together through the pandemic we bonded so much. I am still friends with a lot of them today and currently work with one of them at our new jobs, which we love. The job itself is pretty great and you get to interact with lots of very sweet customers. 

My overall rating for this company is low. My situation is different now than when I worked for the company. If you are single and going to school although they do not offer tuition reimbursement they are a good place to get some experience in the workforce. If you are trying to support a family this is not a good place to do it. In fact you might make more at other retail companies that this one. While I worked there the overall culture changed several times depending on who the manager was. It was not consistent. The company also does yearly layoffs at the end of the first pay period in January every year. The layoffs seem to have no rhyme or reason to them. Some times it's temps that get let go. All too often it was long term employees that had been with the company for many years that got let go. Some employees were great workers and others were not. They type of employee they let go was inconsistent.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The only thing is Sundays off.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Poor pay, hypocritical management structure. Lack of care for mental heath and family matters. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Stressful and full of hypocrisy. Management will tell you one thing and turn around and do another. Not honest in the treatment of their employees or customers. If you're not in their club of yes men or inner circle they will make working there very challenging. Sexuall harassment is aloud to happen and go unchecked. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Managing daily operations of the store, managing inventory and shipments. Delivering customer service.

A typical day started with me checking in with my manager and/or other supervisor to see what the promotions were, any call-ins from other associates, see what the manager wanted to accomplish or focus on for the day.  I would check my email to see if there were any updates about special orders I put in, and check the special-order binder.  I would assist customers on the sales floor, give excellent customer service at the register, and stock any product that was running low. I would continue to do other supervisory duties until the end of my shift and close the store.
I learned how to communicate better with customers, and build a relationship with them when they came into the store.  I enjoyed the product we sold and made sure I knew it well so I could give informed recommendations.

Working here I have learned more about customer service and about the retail world. I love everyone I work with, occasionally I would have difficult customers and I learned how to deal with people who needed unavailable things right away, or who needed to put themselves before other customers. During the week, it's pretty slow, especially in the evening. I never really found much to do unless we received a shipment or if it was the weekend. The hardest part of the job was not knowing certain pieces of information that I should have known and staying motivated to promote certain things when being constantly turned down. The most enjoyable part was being to help customers find what they need, or helping them find what they don't know they are looking for. 

Working for Deseret Book is emotionally fulfilling and engaging. The customers are usually cordial and friendly, and the staff are charming people. A typical day at work is filled with basic maintaining of the organization of the store, greeting customers, restocking shelves, and knowing about upcoming items. There is quite a bit of standing but it's not too bad. Management is fantastic, they are intelligent, driven people with an ear to lend to their employees. They are always easy to work with, and work hard. The hardest part of the job is the uncertain hours and long hours on your feet. The most enjoyable part of the job is the people; coworkers, customers, management, and corporate team members are all wonderful.

It’s not a bad job at all. It can be fun and rewarding when you work with the right team and have a good attitude. Unfortunately the management sucks. I’ve never had a totally positive experience with any management and I’ve worked for several locations in different states. They can be petty, and loyalty means nothing. It doesn't matter if you’ve worked there for 2 months or over 2 years, your skills and experience don’t change how much you make, or your hours, or your position in the team. They only promote within the team, so you can have years of sales or customer service experience and they will still higher you at the lowest possible position. Also the pay is trash. I worked for one location for over 2 years, threw the start of the pandemic, and no one got a raise. 

I have worked at various locations and have been flabergasted by how low the pay is. We were getting paid $10 for the longest time, and it only just now got raised to $13 p/hour, because tons of people were quitting. With the cost of living, and inflation, this is NOT a livable wage. 

The Salt Lake Downtown Store pays their employees $17.00, which is decent. But employees elsewhere are getting paid $13 for doing the same job. Why? The wage needs to be standardized for ALL employees, we ALL work hard and are doing the same job. This isn't free service we are offering to the church, we work hard. RAISE THE WAGE. The environment at DB is nice, and the workers are friendly. But we deserve more for the work we do. Don't skimp on your employees, Deseret Management. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Distribution associate 46 salaries reported	$15.32 per hour
Retail sales associate 46 salaries reported	$15.51 per hour
Seasonal associate 44 salaries reported	$15.23 per hour
Store manager 8 salaries reported	$18.22 per hour
Warehouse manager 2 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour

Working at DESERET BOOK: Company Overview and Reviews

DESERET BOOK

DESERET BOOK Ratings

Popular jobs at DESERET BOOK

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected