sales associate

retail sales associate

inside sales representative

line supervisor

store manager

Finish Line

To be clear, I worked at the Finish Line Macy's, which is a small Finish Line storefront in a larger department store. I did not work at a standalone Finish Line shop in a mall.

Working a low-level retail job like Finish Line is perfectly fine as a first job or part time job during the summer to earn some experience and money. 

Depending on what location you work at, the day of the week, and the time of year, it can be very busy or very slow. They have high turnover at their locations because people often don't stay for long. The only full-time people are the managers and they often give each associate very few hours to avoid having to pay them as full-time employees. I rarely got more than 20 hours per week which does not equate to much money when the hourly rate is less than $10 per hour. 

It can be fun to work there if you are at a busy location and work with a friend. Otherwise, it can be quite dull, especially if it is winter time and there are few customers looking to buy running shoes when there is a foot of snow on the ground outside. 

They no longer offer commission to associates, opting instead to bump up the hourly rate. This was actually a win if you worked in a location with few customers. 

Standing for hours on end may prove to be tiring or uncomfortable, so invest in some of the insoles they sell. Your coworkers may prove to be very incompetent, which is frustrating and sometimes managers will have you "clopen"- close on Tuesday for example at 9:30 and then have you open the next day 12 hours later. 

Overall, I actually have fond memories of working there initially because I worked first in the Danbury Fair mall which is nice and busy. I felt independent because it was my first real job. However, eventually, you will get tired of having relatively few hours per week and making little money. Try to make a friend at the store and make the work fun because the job will wear thin faster than you may think. This is especially true when asked to demonstrate accessories with every single purchase or working long shifts in the winter with absolutely no foot traffic.

I set my goals for the store before I leave for the day. The next day starts with walking the salesfloor to see if store recovery was completed at closing last night. Make sure the deposit was completed correctly and taken to the bank. Read and print all reports from the computer for the day, and take care of all tasks for that day. Hand out goals to staff as their shift starts, and explain any tasks you need them to complete. I leaned to become a better manager based on training, delegation, goal setting, time manangement, inventory prep, providing outstanding customer service everyday. Having great communication and training skills with your staff can make your job less stressful. I enjoyed working with my staff, watching them succeed, and some of them being promoted. The most enjoyable part of my job is having the customers call me by my name or the same with my staff. That means they had great service and enjoyed their shopping experience. I also got great satisfaction from reaching my goals such as receiving bonus for sales increases, payroll,and inventory. Being told your store and staff looks good by your District Manager and RVP also makes you feel your doing your job correctly. The hardest part for me was having to learn to delegate certain tasks, because I wanted to do it myself. Overall I loved working for the company, and wished I could get a second chance to come back to work for them. I had to leave to have some medical issues taken care of, but since then everything is fine and I am back working, feeling better than ever.

My first few months at this company we're great. I loved working at Finishline because I've had a love for footwear my entire life. When I got there I was thrown into the deep end. I didn't receive much training but after a while I learned my way around the store to help customers quickly and effectively. My manager hired me on the spot during the holidays because he noticed me as the only one at my previous job who actually provided customer service. I usually view that kind of thing as a red flag but he seemed like a nice guy so I entertained it. I quickly became a favorite and one of the most dependable people in the store. Anyone called out for a shift, I'd be there to cover with no problems, then I got sick and my manager called me to say he was thinking of promoting me within the store because of my previous position as an Assistant Manager and how it's between me and the young lady who was hired a month before me. Because of my hard work I though I'd for sure get the promotion but to my surprise, that didn't happen. I was disappointed and expressed my frustrations as I contemplated walking away from the company but he assured me, it would come. All I had to do is remain patient. Later, I was awarded Employee Of The Month for my district and nobody else has been since but months passed and I began hearing less and less about the promotion. At that point the writing was on the wall. A company I loved was putting a celling on my potential and it crushed my mental health. I'm not saying this will happen to everyone who works here but it is a cautionary tale that just because you pour your all into a company doesn't mean you'll be rewarded. As a Father of 2 young kids I couldn't keep working there with the short hours, poor leadership & other managers who did nothing besides leave the store unattended and sat in the back on their phones so I bet on myself.

A typical day work for me would begin with getting to work on time or early, clocking in, doing drawer counts, begin to collect send sales which are online orders for customers who shop at home, check shoe sizes and accuracy, scanning, packing and shipping them away. putting out apparel, folding and hanging and ink tagging clothes, socks, hats, book bags, etc. Opening the store at 10 am on the dot, raising up the music and begin to greet customers at the door or while walking around supervising that everything is well organized. ringing people out signing for rewards cards and trying to make the end of their shopping experience fun and quickly handled and making a bond with the customer while smiling and thanking them for shopping with us. Handling customer questions difficult or easy, trying to please them and find the best benefit and product for -them. answering phone calls. multi-tasking and keeping myself busy at all times throughout my shift. doing drawer counts at certain times. I've learned is great customer service skills, satisfying and interacting with customers, how to handle deposits, and counting money fast and accurate without any mistakes. Management is great while communicating not only with customers but with employees as well. co workers are cool and nice so easy to get along with more than others but calm yet fun environment. The hardest part of the job would be when the registers tend to give out at times but having patience and keeping the customer calm and with a smile even if it takes a while usually does the trick. The most enjoyable part of the job is simply the environment and at times getting to pump up the store by plugging in our cell phones or Ipods and letting our music be heard through out the store which makes the setting fun and laid back for the customers like if their at home.

I’ve never been one to leave reviews but seeing as they’ve helped me in the past with career decisions it would only make sense for me to leave my honest thoughts and opinions here. First off, Finish Line is a great company if you’re willing to adjust to the retail industry demands (open/close hours, working holidays, weekends, etc.) It can be challenging to find a good work/life balance due to your ever changing weekly schedule. Naturally the more you progress and advance in your management role the more invested you will have to be with your time and efforts for little pay. That isn’t to say that you aren’t compensated fairly, but for the trade off for your nights, weekends, and holidays it can be a tough lifestyle and career to pursue. I don’t want to sound too negative but that is the structure of how retail businesses operate and it is not for everyone. 

With that being said, my time at Finish Line has allowed me numerous opportunities at advancement in management roles and taught me many valuable trades and skills such as: salesmanship, quality customer service, coaching and training, business management, marketing and sales, and inventory control to name a few. The nature of a sales driven environment is a great challenge due to a constant standard of pushing to be better and beating sales goals. Those with a strong business drive and mindset may find themselves very successful with Finish Line and might even enjoy the lifestyle of working in the retail industry. 

But all in all, Finish Line is a fun place to work for the business experience and career opportunities of advancement. The challenges of balancing work/life may be difficult but certainly achievable. Work environment may be very sales focused but there is room for enjoyment and fun as well.

A typical day at Finish Line, would consist of keeping yourself busy. I work  for the Finish Line which is combined inside of the Macy's so the business is much slower compared to the Premium store. Usually, I am the only one in the shop because the amount of traffic in the store really does not require more than one employee; which I somewhat enjoy. I feel that I am able to give excellent customers service. Occasionally Macy's has big sales, which brings in a lot of new customers at once. This allows for more than one Sales Associate to be present. I can honestly say that I get along with all my coworkers and they enjoy my presence. They usually can not wait to work with me! I also can say that, since I have been working with the company, I am one of my bosses most dependable associates and hard working. We often have friendly competitions against one another to see who can make their sales goal faster or who can sale more money in one day. This not only drives the Sales for Finish Line but also strikes more determination to make our sales goal. The hardest part of the job would be when the traffic picks up in the store and your stuck wishing you had a extra set of hands. I am really big on customer service and, so I always want each customer to feel like I have given them great service. My most enjoyable part of the job is when I have finish helping a customer and they are so satisfied with my customers service that, they can't help themselves but to rave to their friends and family about me. This gives me the most satisfaction. I am a person who likes to help and so if I can help a person find the right shoe for them, then I have did my job.

In short, you have to have a passion for call center jobs. If you don't, you'll end up looking for something else. The job is fast paced, and there are many times where a next day follow up is in order due to forms that need to be filled out in case the queue is high. During the busy seasons, you will have to stay past your leaving time until ALL calls are cleared. (In one instance, I was scheduled off at 12 AM but could not leave until 2 AM due to high queue. Understandable, but still inconvenient.) 
The hours are fairly decent, but if you work full time, you will most likely only be able to work D Schedule (3:30 to Midnight) if you want to have a second job. I say this because the D Schedule is the only shift that's Monday-Friday, is a fixed schedule, and the times do not jump around. If you work the A, B, or C Schedule, your hours will jump around, and you'll be on a rotating schedule. Because of this, I had to go back down to part time in order to keep my secondary job.
The management is decent, but there are some supervisors who seem to work there for the pay, and lack in decent skills such as adequate communication, which in turn affects overall team morale and effort. 
The work environment is ok, such as music and cheerful posters, as well as positive customer reviews. The only bad thing is attempting to move into another position, but this ties into who you have as a Supervisor (they recommend you for new departments based on performance.) However, if you have a Supervisor who doesn't necessarily care for their job or yours, you'll have to go to another Supervisor to get your recommendation and/or improvement tips.

MI was able to learn social and psychological skills by interacting with customers who were curious about the products the company sold and I was able to inform them from the best of my knowledge from experience and training over the years. I am now able to point out the cons that need to be fixed and as well as the pros which make me to want to learn more to do my job at my maximum performance. The environment was not only friendly but also busy which made work go by faster rather than just stand there until your shift was over. Being surrounded by athletic performing shoes I learned the many differences in customer satisfsction meaning knowing what the public wanted and what made them come back in for more. Learning the different brands such as Nike, Jordan, Under Amor, Puma, and etc. I had the knowledge to inform the customer to exceed their expectations whether it be performance related or casual. As manager I was the very few who got to travel and teach selling methods to achieve store goals which lead to a great promotion besides hard work.

Typical day at work consisted of coming in and preparing shoes to be delivered to other stores in time for the ups truck, filling all the holes on the wall with new shoes or with the correct shoe to be displayed, re-stock shirts and shorts that were previously sold, and when customers come in: converse with the customers, make them feel comfortable, and inform them on shoes that they might want to buy. I would also try to make them buy 2 or more items so that it looks good on my record, the stores record and for commission. I learned how to give people space ad know when we are to close or being annoying. I also learned what each material are on the shoe , what technology is put into the shoe and also sell a shoe that is right for the customers feet. Managing who your customers were was key because you want to be able to make commission on customers that "you" helped. The hardest part of the job is when your first coming out on the floor you have to be able to sell a shoe to the customer and stick with the customer every step of the way and that is hard because it seems as you are stocking or annoying the customer but it is your job to help them every second. The most enjoyable part of the job was Being able to work for a place that you have a passion for. I have a passion for shoes because i love sneakers and talking about new releases and even waiting outside for hours for a pair of Jordan sneakers because i love sneakers.

A typical day at Finish Line was very interesting at times. While working at Finish Line I made commission so therefore if we got no business then our pay wasn't that great. Finish Line was a shoe store in the Valley Hills Mall in Hickory, North Carolina that didn't stay very busy until the holidays like Christmas, Valentines Day, or someone's birthday came around. Without busy it made things go by very slow especially the time. Throughout my typical workday at Finish Line, I worked as a sales associate who operated the register, helped customers as they needed, put up stock as well as put up shoe displays on the sales floor when missing, clean my workplace, and have great customer service no matter what. Management there was okay at times because while at work if the store manager was in a bad mood, we got it. Everyone could always tell if something was wrong most of the time. As a sales associate at Finish Line my co-workers were very encouraging. They would help you with just about anything you needed and encourage you to try to work hard toward your daily goals because they wanted to see you succeed. The only hard part of that job was when I first started the job learning how to find the different shoes and styles in the backroom. The more I worked the easier it got. In general I loved working for  the Finish Line Company.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sales associate 423 salaries reported	$13.92 per hour
Retail sales associate 211 salaries reported	$12.61 per hour
Inside sales representative 37 salaries reported	$13.89 per hour
Line supervisor 74 salaries reported	$16.01 per hour
Store manager 116 salaries reported	$18.46 per hour

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