retail sales associate

retail store manager

sales associate

store manager

seasonal associate

Hickory Farms

The most enjoyable part of this job, is the ability to communicate
to my customers on a one on one with every sale. In doing so I am able to get the greatest amount of a relationship with what they want.
This is also true with the upper management team, it is a company that is very good at communications and seems to be there when I need them.
A typical day included , opening and counting the till, doing inventory, looking at payroll, making sure all of the signs are what they are suppose to be for the day. (might be a sale that day).
Making sure all employees are dressed and are up to the standards set by this company. Making sure all the safety standards for handling food are properly followed. Checking all freezers for the correct temperature is maintained. Do all bank runs. Making sure
all paperwork is properly signed and sent in on time.
The hardest part of this job is that it is seasonal. When a kiosk
is seasonal, many workers have other jobs, and I try to work around their time slots. When we close down at the end of the season, many are back in school and have moved on. The hardest part is saying good bye to them. Sometimes we actually cry.
What I have learned on this job, is that no matter how hard you try, sometimes things can go wrong at the worst time. During the great Holiday rush , computers can crash, employees can get sick,
and customers can get a little on the short temper side, It takes a
special manager to be handle all problems at all times. And that
can mean anything from working overtime, to handling a customer
who insists that my cashier say "Have a Merry Christmas", and not "Have a happy Holiday". Companies have strict policies, and things happen. Sometimes you have to fire someone and it hurts.
My co-workers every year have been outstanding. When we shut down and we say good by , I always ask them did they enjoy themselves and did they learn anything. And I listen very closely.
Running a HIckory Farms Kiosk that pulls in $100,000 in seventy two days and being two cents off in my register is outstanding. It is a very demanding job, that I love. And if you want to ever see me in this environment and show you outstanding customer service,
come to the Solano Town Center Mall, in Fairfield California
during the Big Holiday, and go to the center of the mall, on the main floor and look for me. I promise you a smile, a sample, and the best service you will ever see.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I love the way that "Old Time" values of Trust, Friendships, Happy Faces, Stories of Days Gone by and help from our teams still exists through our beautiful products and meat & cheeses. Truthfully, literally, I had people (Many) come into our Hickory Farms before we left for the season, to give us prayers, hugs, best wishes & hope that we & Hickory farms will return the next year. Afterwards, they call & check on us and Hickory Farms products for the New Season.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of products that these particularly patrons depend on. Cranberry mustards I had zero that was the very biggest. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Mostly wonderful, giving the managers the leeway, that we need to make things work. Trusting us that we're not going to go "Beef Wild" with any of the tweaking's that we might do. I personally in all my employments from Military, Cosmetology, Cast member and Entertainer at Disney World, Director of Housing at a Major University, Ordained Ministry, I have never found the same gratification that I have at Hickory Farms.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I go in an hour early to make certain Everything is ready, sometimes I stay late as well. When it's time I open my doors (and I am in a strip mall so I mean I open these doors) I wave or chat & laugh with a neighbor my regulars have set times they come in, my new folks usually need an introduction to our products. I tell them of wonderful taste, longevity, parings, etc of our products. Even if my store is loaded with people and I am the only one there I Tap every single guest, so that they too will have a great memory of Hickory Farms of today. I do all money exchanges, I stock & restock, I take inventory every single day. Above all This Smile Drops from my face. Why because I love this place.

A typical day at work was very boring and frustrating. I would have to stand and either have nothing to do as the day would be slow and there would be no customers to offer samples or to check out at register, and when it was busy, it was frustrating asking every single person the same question "would you like a free sample" every two seconds, even the ones who had already passed. It was frustrating pestering people and it made me feel horrible especially the way most people would roll their eyes at me for being one of the "annoying kiosk people". 

My co-workers were not much better. I had only one and she always slacked off when her girlfriend came around leaving me to do everything myself. The whole thing was not managed well. They hired people quickly on the spot at times and out of nowhere. The space inside the kiosk was too small for more than two people to maneuver comfortably.

Most certainly the hardest part of the job, as mentioned earlier, was having to pester every person who walked by and I had to keep the biggest smile on my face the entire time, which was exhausting. I also felt very discouraged when customers would be rude about refusing a sample, roll their eyes, or ignore me completely. It was humiliating in a way. I was always told how I wasn't doing well enough despite trying very hard to do what was expected of me.

I suppose the most enjoyable part of the job was helping people check out at the register. This part was surprisingly easy and the only part of my job that didn't make me want to rip my hair out.

Seasonal booth work offering food samples and ringing up sales. You will often be working alone in a mall booth/kiosk during the Christmas season, which means you cannot leave the store unattended to dash to the bathroom or get a drink of water. As you are handling food for the public, you cannot eat or drink during your shift or you will be terminated. You cannot sit down at all during your shift or you will be terminated. You are responsible if any product is stolen at the far end of the booth even though the cash register is set up at one end not facing the booth - so you are unable to see if someone slips up and takes things while you are ringing up a customer.
Your fellow employees may or may not show up for their shift - so you may have no relief and cannot leave the store until management gets someone up there - which may or may not happen through closing time.
If you are willing to work and show up and be presentable and be responsible and be very helpful to the customers, you will enjoy yourself. If you are not any of those things - well, don't worry, you will not be fired, you will not even really be fussed at, and the good responsible workers will always be forced to pick up your slack with no reward and a lot of frustration.
Oh, and come 2 days after Christmas, the store is closed, dismantled, and gone. 10 weeks of sales, then goodbye.

I have a disability. At first management at the new lenox il location didn't want to work to with me, but they had a school program for kids with special needs starting so I guess they figured they had to. I just needed to leave a few hours early 2 times a week to make my dialysis appointment. I was able to do my job duties on the assembly line.
Management is horrible. They are on a big time power trip. They run the place on neptoism, racism, and favoritism. Employees are terrified to say anything all day. They dont dare complain or speak up about anything out of fear of losing their job or management having it out for them. They circled people like sharks all day just looking for any reason to walk them out the door.
My daughter and I were great employees for 4 months despite all that. 
I think they knew they couldnt flat out fire me because of my disability so they kept trying to start trouble with my daughter. She put up with 4 months of being mistreated before she said something to her agency. Then management was furious and tried to run her out the door! She stayed and then they fired us a week later! I was told I had to be available for overtime that my department was not doing! They asked my daughter didn't come back either. And hickory farms was SICK of accommodating my disability! So we were a DNR.
Through my time here they got rid of good people left and right. Everyday was another person that didn't come back.

You cannot go to your car on lunch or break!

Lines are so fast, and if you aren't A favorite, be ready to build boxes all day. Which really hurts your hands because you do hundreds of not more a day!

All for a lousy $11 per hour!

They will do you dirty! Avoid this place.

They rush you through 3 days of training then throw you into the phones. Their "training" doesn't even cover every function you have to perform in their system so you're eventually caught with a customer on the line and having no idea how to proceed. And the system they use is garbage, you have to override everything and manually enter things that should be automatic when you enter source codes, etc. They don't show how to fully use the dialer before calls, and you have to figure a lot out on your own. Customers are constantly calling about complex issues that they didn't show how to handle. When reaching out for help, they take forever to respond with a solution or don't at all. Getting a call transferred to someone who can actually do something is like pulling teeth because they don't want to deal with anyone, and want you to pull a solution out of thin air instead. Going back and forth with management or another department for 10min before they finally accept the call is ridiculous and a waste of everyone's time. Paranoid micromanagers constantly think their employees are avoiding calls or something and start watching dialer activity. Can't even use the bathroom without that turning into an interrogation. They have time to be paranoid and zero in on your every move, but no time for real training or doing their own jobs when needed. It's no wonder this company is so dysfunctional. Don't waste your time.

This company has great family values and is wonderful to work for. Like all companies it has a few rules that take time to get used to, but once you do it's fun. 
Staff is extremely supportive and polite, you always have a way to contact someone quickly for help. You get to work independently and the products sell themselves!
A typical day you open the kiosk set-up the product, check in the register, turn on your lights and sign and put on your smile and Hickory Farms custom Apron and Begin Your Day!
I learned to be flexible and great gift wrapping skills, also customer relations is huge in this company too, always want them happier then they came to you.
Management and co-workers were great, sometimes it's hard to be in a cheery holiday spirit and this staff really makes it easy to be happy with your job. Everyone is supportive and takes the time to say the good things about our job together.
The hardest part of the job is disappointing a customer by not having a full service kiosk for them with shipping available, but we have the best gift around that compliments our products so they are usually satisfied with our alternatives to shipping ideas.
The most enjoyable part of the job is seeing familiar customers return every year and being happy with last years purchase. So much so they want bigger and better gifts this time around.

For me, this was a wonderful opportunity to start my job pursuit as an entry-level seeker.

It was a seasonal position that lasted for the holiday season, and it was definitely a good jump into the retail world, training me in customer service that I would need for future permanent positions.

The position was simple - sell Hickory Farms products, and sometimes offer some samples if we're allowed allotments to give out to our patrons, then ring purchases for our satisfied customers.

The training for the position was excellent, the managers were pleasant and willing to work with their associates on literally anything, and co-workers for the most part were equally as agreeable and pleasant.

There's little negative criticism I can give for this position. There were no real benefits or advancement opportunities as it was a seasonal position with a duration of only three or so months, as well as no real job security.

However I would highly recommend this position to anyone who hasn't yet been employed in retail and needs the experience. There really are many good aspects of this position for those seeking a good start to put on their resume.

Typical day at work

Very fast paced, a variety of task to accomplish daily,within time goals allowed.Managing different scenarios,during the day,examples,late deliveries that has product that is needed to maintain production,and making decisions on how to resolve those issues and finding the inventory within the warehouse to resolve this issue, until our delivery arrives.
Handling appointment schedules for inbound and outbound deliveries.Operation of the Dock to ensure deliveries received are properly  put away in a timely manner.
What I've learned: 
Management: 
 Working in the  Warehouse Industry was a new experience for me,so I've learned new systems such as Warehouse and inventory Management,Logistics scanning ,Distributions,Appointment Scheduling,and Operation Dynamics 365  However supervising and managing people,was all the same,through proper training ,coaching,communication,and motivating your team,make productivity and accomplishing your daily task and goals a reality.
Workplace Culture:
Diversity,Team Spirited,Safe environment,advancement.Great place to work.
Hardest part of the job: Times when you are short staffed,and still maintained productivity,and goals for the day.
Most enjoyable :
Team support ,and Team spirit.

This being my first real job I had no idea what to expect, I was nervous. After about two days I was completely comfortable and able to joke around with my co-workers and relax. Each day depending on my shift I would either prepare the kiosk (Take down tarps, put up signs, set up the register, ect) or I would jump right into work, greeting potential customers, describing our goods, or making sales. If I was closing that night I would also have to make a count of all of the cash earned and make a deposit after I put up the tarps. The hardest part of all of this was having to stand without anything to do for a couple hours at night when the mall was closing down. The most enjoyable part on the other-hand was joking around and talking to co-workers and people walking by. Most of my co-workers were wonderful we would talk during the slow periods and joke around a bit with one-another. We also were there for each other, if someones needed to take a break the other person wouldn't question it and just let them. Now with every business their is always a bad apple or two and some people who do things that might annoy you, but you work around it and enjoy the time you have together.

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