sales lead

sales associate

retail sales associate

retail assistant manager

assistant store manager

Kipling

I'm currently a Sales Associate at a Kipling store on the East Coast since 2010. It's a welcoming experience overall so long as you show that you're able to pull your own weight. It's a fun, relaxing environment that has also opened up my eyes a little bit more about what I need to do to jump-start a career. I find the staff to be very caring and engaging, with upper management doing their best to meet the needs of the associates requests. They can't do everything, but you can't leave the job saying that they were unfair. Quite honestly, this is my most favorite retail job that I've had.

Which leads me into the more challenging aspects of where I work- the management higher than the store's leads. While it is a business at the end of the day, the corporate team wants to make as much revenue as they can, but will barely budge in making any moves to change how they'll do it. We'll have a floorset every few months, hike up the prices, or refuse to carry the more popular styles because they didn't study their international market well enough (which usually they'll blame on store management).

 We have competitors that can sweep us away with their product offers (buy one get one, selling luggage sets instead of separate pieces, and so on) and while we have the power to fight back and draw more customers with our product using similar tactics, they refuse while even RAISING the prices even more. While by no means do I have any connections in corporate, it seems like a waste for the associate to stumble on making a sale just because their boss's boss hasn't made the proper accommodations for promotions or bag selection for the season.

That aside, the hardest part of the job (at least for me) is the language barrier. We have an international market who seek us out for styles that are not available in their country or even for much cheaper. It's frustrating not to fully use the techniques that I have learned (both on and off the clock) to make a sale. It's not selling anymore-it's charades, and that looks unprofessional to anyone in management. Hopefully one day the company recognizes that, and redo how they create their signage and tags in the store, keeping in mind who buys their product.

In summary it's not a hard place to work at, and it has it's ups and downs. If you've worked retail before Kipling is a great place to start. If not, one piece of advice is to learn about the company procedures and tasks quick so you don't become an idle associate.

I have worked a ton of jobs, primarily in retail and grocery stores, and this is by far the best one. The pay is wonderful for the amount of work you have to do. Very little manual labor is involved. Shipments are easy, and the most amount of physical work is mopping the floor and taking the trash out. Selling almost comes naturally, since people typically come in with the intention of spending a bunch of money. You just have to show them their options, which doesn’t take long to learn with such a small store. The store consistently meets their goals, and I consistently meet my individual goals. There are also frequently slow periods during the day, so if you’re not very talkative between coworkers or a people person this is probably not the job for you. They are very flexible with scheduling. If you need short or long days, or certain days off they will work with you, and taking time off is easy. Management is wonderful and very accommodating. Customer base is normally very polite. Only full-time gets benefits, and pretty much everyone is part-time. Moving up doesn’t seem like it would be easy to pursue past a sales lead position. 

My typical day at Kipling included opening the store and greeting all the customers that came into our store. I was there to serve and help find a perfect item for any shopping guest that came into our store. I lead by example and always had on the spot trainings where I would teach or role play when I necessary. 

I learned that working in "Corporate America" is very difficult. I never really became friends with my co-workers but when their personal lives interfered, I couldn't let that stand in the way. With being in a corporate world, I learned that I didn't like how my management ran things, and so I would take certain key items into consideration when planning the schedule. 

My co-workers were amazing. They were young and ready to learn. With having young employees, you are able to shape them and mold them into what you would like to see of yourself so that you can ensure that a store runs smoothly. 

What I enjoyed most was customer service. I really enjoyed helping people or talking to them just to find out where they were visiting from and getting to know about their life so I could equip their lifestyle with the right bag.

A typical day at Kipling was busy but fun.  Everyone was always running around in efforts to satisfy the customer.  I learned how to work with a team and supporting each other is the only way we could have a successful day.  Also, I learned a great deal as to what great customer service is.  No matter what happens, my job is to make he customer happy, and to make the customer feel comfortable in the store.  My co workers were amazing individuals to work with, they were outgoing and supportive of each other.  The hardest part of my job was dealing with difficult costumers, usually customers who would try to return an item without a receipt.  In this case I kept calm and made sure there was some way to settle the problem.  Usually I would try to give the customer store credit.  The most enjoyable part of my job was working with a great team, and making friends with customers who became huge fans of Kipling.

Kipling was my second home. I loved coming into work so much I didn’t mind if I was scheduled to work on my birthday. The culture we had at this location was what every company should strive for. I never felt like I was undervalued or disrespected by anyone. Because I believed and had faith in management and my team, I took our brand philosophy personally. Not only did I want my team to succeed but I also wanted Kipling to succeed as well. Kipling will always have a special place in my heart. It was unfortunate that my location had to close down, we were all devastated and heartbroken. To summarize, the people who worked at Kipling made my work life such a positive experience. I will truly miss my team as we go on to find new and better opportunities. 

There's always some kind of drama going on. There's definitely favoritism when it comes to some employees. There's not much room for advancement. There's no longer assistant manager or stock manager positions. Just sales leads who have to do the job of an area manager without the pay or title.
The positions are very sales heavy and if you don't make sales then be prepared to be "coached" on ways to tail customers throughout the store. 
They talk about being inclusive, but in my experience I felt excluded and ostracized by my managers so much that I would dread going to work. People gossip about you behind your back and if you don't act like the sun shines out of your butt, then be prepared to be labeled with an attitude problem.
They expect you to "check your problems at the door" which is a hilariously ignorant way of thinking. 
Overall you're only making about $17 an hour, part-time, to put up with over middle-aged women's drama.

Traffic-wise, it's usually slow, but when customers do come in, all of the team do their best to cater and provide whatever the customer needs. Management is also effective in communicating with everyone regarding sales, procedures, and future plans for the store. A very diverse workplace in both the team and the customers. The hardest part of the job is getting customers in the door due to low traffic, but the most enjoyable part is when I can relate and help the customers in finding the perfect product for them. Through this job, I've learned more social skills including improving my customer relations to ensure the happiness and satisfaction of the customers.

Employees are fun to be around, but dealing with international tourists can be rough at times. Other times, you basically get paid to do nothing, which isn't all that bad. One manager in particular is an absolute nightmare and one of the worst people I have ever worked with, let alone under. Which would lead me to my biggest gripe with corporate since nothing this woman does can even get her a slap on the wrist. Upper management is pretty cliquish and if you don't appreciate someone at the cool table, then good luck. As long as you keep your head down and ignore how ridiculously this business is run, then you'll do just fine.

Out of all retail jobs, Kipling is definitely one of the easiest. It is very flexible and is perfect for a student that is looking to just work part-time. The managers are pretty understanding with personal life and will definitely work alongside your schedule (as long as you give enough prior notice). The job itself is fairly easy as you are almost always working with a manager on site, and it is great for entry-level workers. It can get a little boring at times when there are days that are very slow and not enough sales are made. Additionally, the hours can be a little unpredictable without warning i.e one week you might only work 4 hours and the next week youll work 15.

A typical day consists of meeting and connecting with people from around the world. Kipling is a very widespread business and we are located by an airport. Weekdays are usually slow but Saturdays and Sundays are most busy. Kipling bags come in almost every color you can imagine and have a use for everything. Working for Kipling has taught me how to connect and work with customers when language is a barrier. The hardest part of this job is lack of communication from management. The most enjoyable part of this job is meeting interesting people around the world and hearing how much they love their Kipling bags and luggage as they travel.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sales lead 2 salaries reported	$18.20 per hour
Sales associate 1 salary reported	$17.13 per hour
Retail sales associate 1 salary reported	$17.23 per hour
Retail assistant manager 1 salary reported	$23.00 per hour
Assistant store manager 2 salaries reported	$19.89 per hour

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