warehouse associate

equipment operator

call center representative

inventory associate

cherry picker

Genesco

I started as a contractor in early February along with 7-8 other new hire trainees, and was one of only 2 left after about the first month.  One of them left on their own accord, the others were all let go. (The first couple weeks that we had "training" were extremely disorganized as well - imagine sitting in a training room in the morning being told to be there at 8, only for whatever agent they grabbed to be in charge of "training" us coming in 2-3 hours later and re-hashing whatever the last agent told us the previous day because nothing is communicated.) 

I will say, the ability to eventually customize your schedule to a degree, such as working 10 hour shifts four days a week is a nice option, and after 3 months of employment the opportunity to work hybrid (2 days WFH) was another nice perk of the position.  However, recently a supervisor suddenly leaves and now under a new interim supervisor, your ability to WFH is suddenly taken away to no fault of yours.  

The performance reviews or “coachings” I had would center on one nit-picky instance of a small issue or mistake that only occurred once, suggesting as if there was an overall need for improvement in that area.  

The supervisors they employ that also host these “coachings” were never previous Point-Of-Sale (Indeed considers this acronym “inappropriate language” that cannot be submitted, of course) helpdesk agents promoted from within, and therefore have very little understanding of our workflow, processes or the software and applications we utilize daily.  For most technical questions you might have during calls on the job or help you might possibly need, you’ll have to reach out to a fellow agent; as the supervisors have no experience with the technical situations we encounter in this position.  

There is a glaring lack of communication between departments and leadership as well; for example, I had asked for an alteration to my schedule from my direct “assigned” supervisor, who said they’d “look into it” -  a month passed by with no answer from them so I instead contacted the Point-Of-Sale manager (their boss) and finally got it worked out. 

One of the most major issues within the Point-Of-Sale helpdesk department is the software and applications we use day-to-day.  They are all extremely outdated or flawed; crashing, freezing, or glitching out on a frequent and consistent basis.  The ticketing system we use (or are rather forced to use, since Genesco has a contract deal with them, aka Cherwell) is also outdated and extremely tedious, redundant, and ripe with issues that hinder our abilities to optimize our job performance and call availability, yet management places blame on their agents instead.  

They also expect us to be on top of emails within Outlook, but they make this virtually impossible as there is no structure to it and your inbox upon hire is basically flooded with emails to and from virtually any and every store or email account associated with Genesco, requiring you to try and create rules to sort them into folders, which don’t even work all of the time.  So their emailing system is completely unstructured and ultimately completely unreliable, yet you are asked “didn’t you see the email?” when there are 6000+ in your inbox, and hundreds more populating it by the day. 

Also the software we use to perform commands on registers and other store devices (UltraVNC / lxssh) is also so outdated and flawed it’s almost a joke - and after 10-15 minutes of inactivity within the application, it will crash, disappear, and you’ll have to go back to this website, login, go through dual-factor authentication, then download the application again, then login to IT, and re-set up your desktop and terminal windows before it’s finally usable again, which I will have to do multiple times a day.  Oftentimes even whilst on a call, it will have major scaling issues that require me to go through the entire aforementioned process while I’m on the phone with a store employee I’m trying to assist. 

Interaction Desktop however might just be the worst application we use, for picking up calls (which require us to use our PERSONAL cell phones all day by the way, including facetime and having employees text us pictures), transferring calls or doing consult/3-way calls, and also setting our status to Available, After Call Work, away from desk, gone home, lunch, helpdesk/system issues, etc.  which management heavily tracks, despite its flaws and inaccuracies that are apparent to every fellow agent I worked alongside in the department. 
On a daily basis, it will randomly switch your status to another random selection, like “Away from Desk”, “Lunch”, or even throwing you back into “Available” ready to take a call from the queue which will alert you of a new call, even if you’re currently ON one and helping a store employee with troubleshooting. 

Despite how broken and inaccurate this application is, management makes serious decisions based on its reports.  Which was ultimately to my detriment, and honestly unfair termination without the opportunity to contest the decision whatsoever or review the status report, even when told I would be emailed it (but ultimately ignored).   
Leadership has a lack of understanding into what issues the agents in our departments deal with using these faulty or outdated applications, and ultimately it is the agent that suffers at the end of the day.  

It’s also pretty obvious that management picks favorites, as I’ve seen many an issue with fellow agents’ work or tickets that they never seem to suffer any discipline from.  

I’m sure there’s more I could say regarding issues within the department, but overall, I really did like most all of the fellow coworkers in my department and relatively enjoyed the work environment - but the extremely faulty and outdated software and applications we are forced to rely and be judged on along with the poor management and blatant lack of organization, communication, and transparency are definite concerns that need be addressed.  

Journeys Kidz or Genesco is a nice, relaxed environment, if you have no life. The pay for managers isn't that great considering the amount of hours, stress, and time one has to give to that job. By force you have to complete the minimum of 55 hours, with only one day off, and if they need you to come in that day, then so be it. Sometimes, there wouldn't be enough help that having to stay late wasn't an option, it was mandatory. The pay did not justify the hours, and with the "commission" one got, it's wouldn't really do much, unless you were store manager or Manager-In-Training. As co-manager, you only got a fraction of what you made, but all the duties of a store manager or MIT, without the pay. Not only were the hours stressful, but you basically had no life. Work took up most of it, with no sick days, vacation days, or paid time off. If you missed a day due to illness and you didn't make up the 55 hours, you basically forfeit the commission you made and only get your based salary. Like I said, the pay wasn't worth the stress. The hardest part of the job wasn't having to sell shoes, since they sold themselves, it was having to keep your SOP's up. No matter how many shoes you sold, and even if you reached your "daily" or "weekly" goal, if you didn't sell a certain percentage of socks, accessories, and multiples (more than one pair of shoes) then you would still get a write up and the risk of being let go for not reaching their "quota" which was really hard considering their socks were over priced compared to other competitors. ($10-18 for a pack of 5 pairs). Many customers would like the concept of glow in the dark socks and like wise, but with the price tag included, it wasn't much of an option for them. This job isn't for everyone, and some managers are really good in helping others grow, the discount is nice, but 40% off doesn't really help when it comes to paying bills and what not. One of the good things is about this company is being promoted from within, but if you are good, they will try to keep you within their district, and the only way to relocate to other cities is having to quit and reapply in another city. This job isn't for everyone, but with the pay and the amount of hours, I see why now there is a over-turn for co-managers and employees.

In any race one must train, be confident while focusing on the finish line. Each runner has its own specif tools to out wit their opponents. These same strategist rules apply to any manager on the track and field world of retail. This business is based on competitive , healthy  marketing and ruthless sales goals. This however, is a beneficial boot camp for anyone looking to master life in general. In retail management you mist stay in constant compliance with two opposing parties at all time. Engaging and understanding your consumers is laughter and execution. Understanding and executing on behalf of your company is testy and rigorous when the consumer does not agree. 
   The best part about this is becoming well rounded, retail teaches you there is almost never an identical situation. Every day there will be a new headache and a new gold star. Every day you will meet someone that makes your month and reinforces the good you do by helping people buy what they need and want. This same day, hence "everyday" , you will meet someone that makes you go home and immediately start a job search. One will enjoy the many faces they see and various back grounds they hear about. The holidays bring out so much joy in the people that genuinely come to you in need of someone else holiday cheer. 
   If you are willing to give almost every other aspect of your life and dedicate every waking weekend to a corporate pressure cooker you are absolutely perfect for retail management. You gain patience along with anxiety; you will become stylish along with financially scattered. You will become accustomed to every Holiday being a work day and  forget the difference between a Saturday and a Monday.You will be able to master tense occurrences with your family and friends with almost zero conscious or emotion. The benefit of stress is talented survival.

The positive:
My direct co-workers are awesome. 
My direct supervisor is very attentive, likeable, and is easy to work for. 
I learn new things everyday about loss prevention, inventory, communication, and my daily jobs in general.
The hardest part of my job as simple as having an occasional computer program issue.
The most enjoyable part of my job is talking to all of our employees in the field and building those relationships.


The negative:
The main manager in my department is very power hungry and micromanages when it is really unnecessary.
This company has a "promote from within" core value but that statement holds restrictions and is very misconstrued. 
In order to gain promotions, qualifications and hard work are not always reviewed to the fullest. 
Yearly raises never include performance or hard work, everyone gets the same.
Communication within my department is sometimes scarce.
The best people for certain jobs are not always who is chosen. 
I personally feel as if I cannot express my concerns, of the operations within certain parts of my job and the company alike, without being lashed out at or being negatively affected.
In order to gain a true raise of compensation, you must change your job title in some form or fashion. 

(Most of these things are concerns with a majority of people)

What is the best part of working at the company?
The people are nice, didn’t have a lot of conflict or drama. Could have one earbud in to listen to music or audiobooks and nobody would care.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Training wasn't very detailed, I barely picked up the basics before I was switched over to another job to be trained for (on a Friday, mind you. So when I came back on Monday I was expected to do fridays trained for task on my own without guidance), they also didn’t tell me I needed to write down the times I wasn’t order picking and when I continued, just to keep my numbers accurate. As I was in training I had a lot of minor issues that caused my numbers to likely plummet, however i was left uniformed of these things and simply thought I was failing.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
People usually keep to themselves but will strike up conversations when the work is slow or boring, they’re generally good people, most of them.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
You put your lunch in the fridge, put your things in your locker, wait in line to clock in. After clocking in you go to the chart hanging by Ms Patsy’s office and it will show you if you’re scanning or picking, if you’re scanning then you go to your scanning station and wait for boxes to fill your line, scan them, label them, and send them down to others to have taped and shipped off. If you’re picking then you go to get a scanner to wear on your arm, then go and grab a cart, each cart has a set amount of boxes on it, you scan the order with your scanner and find the location of the items the order needs.

So I was hired to do Point of sale hardware support via a contracting company. Let me tell you once i hit the floor after a terrible training, one of the worst I have ever seen, I was told to take calls. It was also hard to find anywhere to sit sometimes. I took calls with people always talking so loud I could never hear the user on the end of the line I put up with it because I didnt want to be the un fun guy, the agents there are really cool and good people. Their phone software is bad I had to use my cellphone and their own service desk agents were not able to fix the software ever. The calls kept coming through my phone and through the application. I would have 2 calls at one time. Reached out to the Genesco service desk, nothing happens. I wake up two days later the contracting company states I didn't do what senior techs have advised and that I should not come in any more. These people didnt even allow me to get my stuff from their offices that I had left there. I was getting comfortable there after  people were coming up telling me I was doing a good job. Confusing experience and only time I have been let go before. There was another guy in my training that seemed like he was let go over the same thing. I would advise to not work here, their Tier ll supervisor couldnt even explain what sudo stood for..... Strange company

Every day at work was different but there was never a dull moment. Each day consisted of satisfying every customer every time and making sure that I was not only selling at least a pair of shoes to each person but a pair of socks as well. At the end of each day there was either preparation with a new set up for the next day or pay roll or making sure that inventory was always maintained and organized. Also consistently ensuring that there is the weekly and monthly goal was achieved or excelled. And every moment of my job made me feel more and more passionate by the day and that motivated me to always want to challenge myself. There was never a dull moment and even when there was a found different ways to improve or fix something or find alternatives. My co-workers were also just as motivated and they always reminded me that they loved the way that I made the store function. I was always willing to make the schedule and try to assist and make times for my associates and understand that they have lives outside of work as well. Overall I learned how to be a better manager and even though I started out with less experience that expected I picked up everything very quickly and implement them immediately. Overall it was a great job that taught me most of what I know today and I am always willing to learn more.

A typical day at work consists of a shift change to ensure an even cashier till. Then we must great customers using the customer service based acronym called DRIVE. Deliver, Remind, Interest, Verify and End. In my service I have learned how to maintain inventory, cashier tills and the embroidery machine. I have also learned to reach above and beyond customer expectations to ensure the best experience. My store manager is a great leader and informed me that we set a company record upon my hire with the most consecutive months above company standards.

My co-workers are fun to work with. We work hard and have fun selling hats and other merchandise. The hardest part of the job would have to be finishing daily work such as inventory with a full store of customers when there is single coverage. The most enjoyable part of the job would have to be interacting with the customers needs on an individual basis. There is nothing more gratifying in a sales position than getting a thank you, hand shake, or a see you in a week at the end of the transaction.

Open the Store and Count the drawers. Make sure that all paperwork for the day is filled out and bank deposits for the night are marked and ready for closing. Our embroidery machine needs to be maintained everyday and documented. Bulk Count needs to be done once a week which is a small audit for the store and then our charity needs to be counted,documented and put in the till. Evaluations on the employees are done three times a week along with training from the manager (myself) is conducted on a everyday basis. Managers need to get emails from Corp and log into our huddle booklet for weekly assignments such as scheduling,store hours, budgets, goals, embroidery tips etc.
I learned how to multitask at a very high level. The Manager needs to be efficient and very fast and thorough in day to day work.This job requires all employees and Managers to be responsible for everything including life outside of the job. There are only 3 Managers and 3 employees, so there is no room for mistakes or calling off as it would create a downward spiral.

A typical day at Journeys is well me coming in an hour before we open working on the back because nothing is perfect if its not a shipment day then we have transfer outs to do and customer orders and we try to make sure there's not a lot to do when we're open then we proceed to open by greeting our customers and engaging having conversing with our customers. What I've learned from Journeys is that there's never a dull moment with the job meaning that there is always something to do basically no reason to say there's nothing to do. Hardest part of the job is looking for a pair of shoes that's on the computer says we have but we cannot find the size meaning that it's somewhere around the backroom but the most enjoyable part of working there is the customers themselves I've met some interesting people but never thought I could enjoy my day by having a discussion with someone especially listening to their day and let them know that I could help them and hearing good things not about the store but about me specifically.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Warehouse associate 10 salaries reported	$18.90 per hour
Equipment operator 12 salaries reported	$22.67 per hour
Call center representative 9 salaries reported	$14.78 per hour
Inventory associate 2 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Cherry picker 3 salaries reported	$21.67 per hour

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