assistant store manager

store manager

retail assistant manager

sales associate

district manager

Earthbound Trading Company

I had always wanted to work at a crystal shop and earthbound has given me that opportunity.  I love meeting people who are interested all things metaphysical.  I especially love people who looking to get started on their spiritual journey and then getting to show them the ropes and help them learn.
That being said, working here requires a LOT of social interaction.  The job is very sales forward, but not the kind of sales where you just try to convince the customer to spend as much money as possible.  Instead you're expected to establish a connection, learn a bit about them and then curate an experience to meet their needs and introduce them to the correct products.  This takes quite a bit of chatting and a bit of product knowledge, but I am an extrovert and I love being able to talk about my hobbies and interests all day.  That being said, there are plenty of people who come in just to browse, or don't feel up to chatting, and you are also expected to be able to identify that and leave them be.
We have sales goals every day, and some days the store simply does not have the traffic to meet those goals.  The managers are understanding, and will instead look at your average dollar sale and average units per transaction.  Those numbers should still meet the averages expected, and they will know that you are still doing your job.  
The lower ADS does effect the monthly bonus.  My store is in volume group B so we can make up to an extra $2/hr depending on if we meet and exceed the overall monthly store sales goal.  My store has made at least third tier ($1.60/hr I believe) 6 out of the 7 months we have been open.
Being at a new store definitely has some advantages, such as the company carefully picking a store manager and assistant manager who are capable of their jobs.  My manager is extremely accommodating of time off requests, schedule changes, and personal needs.  She understand that people have off days, and will soothe over any issues between employees and help individuals grow.  She has also taught me a ton about management and helped me expand my professional skill set.
All around the work environment is very laid back, team work oriented, and supportive.  Earthbound believes in coaching instead of reprimanding, so you are given ample chance to learn and correct before consequences are anything to worry about.  
The company overall is much more morally correct than most corporations.  They are aware of cultural appropriation and will remove products that guest or employees raise concern about.  They are careful about sourcing product ethically, and helping small artists through their artist collective.  They also have an open door policy so that there is free communication between associates, buyers, stylists, home office, etc,
Overall I find Earthbound to be a wonderful environment that supports individual expression and personality.  It also promotes moving up within the company.  Just recently a key holder at one of the stores relocated to Texas to work in the styling department at home office.  
Depending on state wages the pay isn't necessarily great, but I do feel that Key Holders make a fair wage ($14.85/hr + bonus)  I do wish that  Lead Key came with a bonus, but there has been discussion about fixing that.  

I was the AM last week. Ya this opening was for my job. Let me give you some insight for EBT. Started out awesome with good hours, terrible pay. I learned a lot as far as culture and religions. Started as a Key Holder, which was good. This store went through 4 different Assistant Managers during my time there. Other EBTs might be fun to work at and they might teach you something different. Plain and simple anyone working for EBT outside of the STORE setting (i.e. District Managers, Director of store operations, Regional Managers, Presidents of the company) don't see what us employees would see. No customers, employees badgering customers to get them to buy overpriced items that breaks, tears, or falls apart. This store used to be about being in a fun setting, getting a culture fix and learning. Now its just about money. This company has become a corporate, greedy, money hungry company that enforces ADS (average dollar sales) goals and daily sales goals. This would be logical if there were commissions, but THERE ARE NO commissions. The district manager will want text messages and emails for EVERYTHING. If you complete this, email her. If you ship something out, email her. If you figure these numbers out, email her. If you set this display, email her. If you do markdowns, email her. She wants to know sales at 3pm, text her. 6pm, text her. Why? Who knows. I sure don't. With these sales goals and ADS goals, when you miss them, Action plans and counseling notices are given out, killing the team morale and bringing employees down. This is the company's way of determining who is "working" and who isn't. My argument, why not just let the MANAGERS decide who is working and who isn't working? You can't force people to spend money. You just can't. And because they aren't spending money you get in trouble. The DM made a visit to the store. I thought it was just a visit because she does that regularly. She wanted to see the mall office about having plants moved from the front, so I told her. My boss left that night very upset from the conversation they had hours prior. The next morning, my boss quit. I learned that when the DM wanted to see about "moving those plants" she really went to go put an ad for my position, which I was still in. She really came to Abilene to have my manager fire me and my boss refused to do so. I went to work the next day to find just the DM working and she told a bold face lie to my face and told me that my Manager was the one who thought that it was my time to go and that she(DM) had nothing to do with it but just backed her up in letting me go. THAT is what Earthbound is now. Money, greed, and lies. If that's the environment that you want to be apart of, by all means, put in that app, But I strongly advise you rethink.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The company is generally pretty open to all personality types & walks of life. Most of the stores are so far apart & the teams are so small that you work much time in solitary outside of DM visits. In regards to management, As long as you fit their ideal demographic of choice or if you have a token quality, you will be treated fairly by most of their upper management. Pay is below market value with overworked employees due to economy stress, but other than the one unfair DM I encountered after quite a few different redistributions, it was probably one of the most chill jobs I had. And As far as I know, they live up to most of what they stand for & donate to. Can’t confirm or deny because the Owner went silent during the time I was there presumably due to the frequent unfair changes in work load, but I personally didn’t mind. Just hate I was treated so unfairly at the end. Human Resources is only there to protect the company. Not the employees. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The weekly inventories & the consistent technological issues & shipment discrepancies. If you’re a perfectionist, it can get a bit frustrating but it’s manageable. Last I heard, it’s gotten worse since leaving.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The group chats are the primary form of communication for you & any upper management. Everyone is so far apart which has it’s perks when creating systems for operation but your only team environment comes from the 1 or 2 associates you have on duty each day. It’s a well functioning island with great vibes & crystals. Not the worst day-in-the-life 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Come in open registers. check WTD, MTD, & daily KPIs. Administer sales & operation tasks for the day. Double check visual displays & inventory from night before. Open store. Complete Mini inventories for selected “department”. Gather unopened shipment & double check counts, send inevitable shipment discrepancy email. Hang & steam all clothing. Securely display “breakables” according to company visual settings as determined by corporate visual captain. Cleaning, send email reports, & prepare/drop deposit.

The only reason I am giving this review 2 stars and not 1 is because of my time in Georgia. I had been with Earthbound for almost 5 years. I originally started at store 308 in Lawrenceville Georgia and had a wonderful time. My coworkers were amazing, all the guests that came in were awesome, my manager was great and very helpful. I then felt it was time for a change of scenery so I transferred to store 475 out in Littleton Colorado. I'm not sure if it's the two different districts or what, but store 475 is not what earthbound is supposed to represent. Everything seemed fine and normal once I had started at the beginning of October in 2019, but as soon as new leadership came in, that's when things started to really go downhill. Rumors and gossip started to spread around the store, the new district manager started to treat my team's manager, who we all really liked and enjoyed, like absolute trash, and it made it worse because he was trying to take care of his very sick mother. Eventually, everyone left because of how the company was treating our manager. He eventually resigned and there were only three people left from the original team when I transferred. People from other stores came in to "help" and were rude to my coworkers. The final straw for me was when they hired a bunch of new people, the new assistant manager literally had it out for me and wrote me up, for the first time ever in my history with earthbound, for not taking off a robe right when she asked, for putting a snack in my mouth as I was coming out of the back room onto the floor, and for taking out the trash not right when she asked, even though I told her I would do it after my 15 minute break. I know there are a lot of unique and cool things are Earthbound, but if you must, shop online. Do not support the district out here in Colorado, specifically stores 475 in Littleton and 314 at Colorado Mills. Both are filled with very scummy people

I have worked for Earthbound a little over two years. For those two years I have grown from seasonal associate to keyholder, worked with 3 different managers and 2 assistant  managers. Two of which were great at being themselves, professional, and were great at building personal, professional relationships at work. I have experienced self growth while at Earthbound, and I appreciate almost every moment. I have seen a high turnover rate as I worked at my location, myself and one other employee were the only two that had been at the job as of now. But then it was just me. The experience at Earthbound has been bipolar, however.  If you want to grow any more than a keyholder, I suggest you plan to work hard. Many times I felt underutilized, never having the opportunity to show my abilities as a leader. This eventually led to my position with the company now, teamates seem to turn on you over time, even if you are doing your best. I wish that things had been a little different, as I could have had more growth if I had been allowed. Sales goals are growing the longer you stay, and at my location we were in a dead mall. This will catch up to you. As it lead to a few of my past colleagues end with the company. This is also a very demanding job for very little pay. I will say, that for the most part, is has been a great experience, and I may return when things have changed and if I am allowed.

A typical day at work consists of greeting and helping customers, restocking the sales floor, ringing up sales in the register, answering phone calls, keeping the store clean and organized, counting the money in the morning and at night and filling out all daily and nightly paperwork. 

I learned a lot at this job since the product is from all over the world and a lot of it is tied to spiritual or cultural beliefs, we have to know what each product does or means in certain situations. 

Management is a hierarchy going from store manager to district manager to regional manager, all of which are supposed to be in place to intercede for the lower employees for their benefit; unfortunately this is not always the case. 

The co-workers are great, it is a fun and laid back environment in which employees are encouraged to feel at home that way the customers may feel the same way. 

The hardest part of the job is memorizing all the countries that the product comes from, how it's made, what it's made of, what it does, who is it meant for, what it's history is, etc. There is a lot of product knowledge to memorize when you first start. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is getting to talk to all the different people that come inside the store. Everyone comes from a different background and they're all looking for something different, and there are so many interesting and unusual things in the store that I love showing to anyone who is interested.

Do keep in mind, this is a sales-based job. So definitely be prepared for that and be ready to put an effort into making sales and keeping track of your numbers. A typical day consists of a "chat in" with the Leader On Duty, in which they will go over the goals for that day and your KPI numbers. After that, you will be walking the floor, engaging with guests, and using your various sales techniques to help them find the perfect items. In addition, you will be doing other tasks like fitting room sessions, steaming clothes that have been tried on, cleaning shelves or fixtures as needed, and also executing sign changes at the end of the shift. Each week there will be a truck delivery and every employee is usually working on unboxing and stocking new or restocking merchandise, making sure to also "stop drop and sell" when guests are in need of attention. End of shift duties includes sweeping and mopping as needed, taking out the trash, general tidying of merchandise, as well as closing the cash drawers, and making the deposit bag if you are a Key Holder. 

I have been with this company for just over 5 years. EB’s culture is about acceptance, generosity, and integrity. It is a somewhat small, private corporation started by an immigrant from Brazil over 25 years ago. Their core values are instilled in kindness and she, as CEO ensures that these are carried through our policies and work environment.
I began, starting as a key-holder on a downtown strip. First retail job I’ve ever had. I fell in love with the atmosphere and products (plus that generous discount) I was in Nursing school throughout my first year with the company but withdrew to apply for ASM, I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve never regretted it and have made a career with EB. Since those humble beginnings, I have lived in 3 different states and have traveled to numerous locations to help other stores. Holding management, they ensure to pay above the cost of living, plus there is incredible bonus opportunity each month. No commissions! 
All in all, this is an awesome company who wants to invest in their employees, the growth opportunities are endless. Plus, there are so many amazing people employed here, you’re guaranteed to meet some inspirational folks along the way. 

When I first got the job I had a great manager who brought together a really awesome team and turned the store around. I truly enjoyed all aspects of my job! My manager was friendly and approachable but stern when needed, very helpful, and respectful of her employees. I loved all of my coworkers and we worked great together as a team. Even our customer base was great to be around. I loved most of the products we sold, so it was easy for me to sell them to people. My manager left after several months for a better job and the new manager they hired had zero experience and was terrible to his staff. He constantly discussed sales and our numbers for the day with potential customers. He treated employees disrespectfully, and even mocked one of our coworkers with a disability and called her fat. Almost every employee I worked with ended up quitting because he made the work atmosphere miserable. The company didn't seem to care about the numerous complaints filed against him, and kept him around unfortunately.

Before I left the company I had the world's best General Manager. HE was always on top of his work and everyone elses and made coming to work an overall enjoyable experience for everyone. However, the assistant managers and keyholders were like the trio of wicked step-sisters. Whenever a shift change came around, you would see the three of them run away into the storage room to talk. They'd say they were having meetings to go over shift change news. But this was a daily occurrence that took between 45 to an hour, and honestly there was no need for it to be that lengthy. Several occasions I have walked by and heard nothing about the store, more affairs between there and inner circle and more heart-breakingly, my general manager. The assistant manager was very sneaky about wanting the GM position and was very dis-honest about her efforts. One day in March I got a call from my GM saying that he had been fired by our district manager and I had all of a sudden lost my position to become a keyholder. I was fed-up by this point and quit the next day. I have no idea how the store is doing now, I cant imagine there is anything much better about it, because it would've been perfect had the wicked step sisters grown up a bit and stopped being so gossip-ey.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assistant store manager 102 salaries reported	$17.87 per hour
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Sales associate 270 salaries reported	$12.69 per hour
District manager 30 salaries reported	$73,917 per year

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