inside sales representative

project manager

sales support representative

housekeeping supervisor

administrative assistant

Lakeshore Learning Materials

I think it is important to note before I begin that I have worked in fast-paced and extremely stressful environments before I had my job at Lakeshore. So, I was surprised when, on my very first day, I felt overbearingly overwhelmed by everything I was expected to know, remember, and fulfill. It perhaps didn't help much that I didn't pause between my training videos to do one-on-one training with my manager because she was too busy on the Sales Floor to help me. 
I went in feeling quite overwhelmed about the companies expectations for me, and continued to feel that I was unable to adequately perform tasks because of my general lack of necessary training and the high expectations of the company in general. 
I think one of the most intimidating parts of the job for me was the cash register. I have worked on multiple different kinds of cash registers, but I felt that the system they had set up was over-complicated to the point longtime employees were lost and overwhelmed by it at times as well. Because I was hardly trained at the register, or told all the necessary tasks I had to fulfill while at the register, I naturally was lost when they expected me to start ringing up customers. The list of things I was expected to perform at the cash register was too much, and I felt like I was juggling between too many tasks when helping a customer. Between the rewards (and questions that came with whether or not they had rewards), the  discounts I had to memorize about products around the store that change day-to-day (which I soften had to put in manually for each product), or the conversation I had to uphold about the products the customer was getting or the events I was supposed to invite them to come to, I felt very betwixt and confused. It seems natural, with my lack of training that I would make mistakes and forget to say things. What upset me was that after I didn't ask a question I wasn't trained to ask, my manager made a list for people to tally when they asked this specific question. My failure was made an example, which unfortunately was laughed at by another employee. 
This tally sheet is just one example of the competition that the company expects you to perform with your fellow employees on a daily basis. I personally did not favor the feeling of competition, and often felt degraded by it because my inability to perform tasks to my the company's expectation (which I once again couldn't fulfill because my lack of training).
I felt that the employees were rather nice though, and I had some great conversations that were very genuine and nice. Although, my very first experience with one of my manager's was them brushing past me, demanding that I do some cleaning on the sales floor after I cheerfully greeted her. This brush-off and generally rude dismissal made me feel unappreciated and degraded. When the manager later tried to brush it off, all I could feel was that my first impression of them was very negative and it would be hard to unsee it. My other manager, though usually kind, often slighted me as well when I didn't perform as well as she liked and gave me looks that made me feel inadequate and quite frankly, stupid.
I only worked here for about a month because I felt that the atmosphere and competitive nature of the company was very negative. 
This sort of atmosphere might make other people thrive, but for me it did not, which is why I terminated my employment so soon. 
I hope this post is helpful!

During my short stint at this company, I have personally observed favoritism and blatant lies by management. They tend to favor personal friendships over hard work. This company will also string you along with promises of training to ensure you show up the next day. I have also been made aware of lies told about employees by management.  In fact I was terminated by one of these lies, for merely asking a question about doing my job better. I would steer completely clear of this place. The numerous OSHA violations, and general operational flaws i would witness on a daily basis was staggering. Temporary employees are treated as if they are incompetent, which is especially bad when most of the managers I had encountered should carry potted plants around with them to replace the oxygen that they waste. The derogatory nature of interacting with supervisors and managers does not make for a good day at work. The equipment is poorly maintained. Day to day operations are also so poorly run, that I often wondered how anything at all got done. Additionally, management will make no effort what so ever to correct simple problems that would make workflow an easily achievable  task. The daily occurrences of social hour among most employees definitely degraded the quality of work that other employees were able to preform. Incompetence runs rampant here in all levels of work, a few simple changes could make this an ideal career, however I have been told by members of management that "no one cares". This attitude shows how immature managers and supervisors truly are. Additionally I have used inventory systems identical to what Lakeshore uses and I can say completely truthfully that this is not setup correctly. Being able to use the built in user interface available on the scan guns and terminals to a much broader extent would be beneficial. However this is something that is likely will never be addressed due to further incompetence within the organization. All of these problems produce a work environment that will make the company fail. Anyone there can be terminated by lies told by management and your work performance means nothing as long as your buddies with someone in charge. The abuses I personally witnessed were appalling. I genuinely feel bad for the few co-workers I had gotten to know, that genuinely wanted to do a good job.  Hopefully they can leap from this place into a company that actually cares about its employees as well as maintains their equipment and a good work environment. 

Typical day at work requires you putting your apron on and providing excellent customer service while maintaining the store and its tasks needed to be performed.

My perspective while at Lakeshore through my personal experience was I could learn to love it here enough to want to grow if there wasn't any grey areas. I learned a lot through a SERVE retail training program that the company had all the stores go through. I also learned that the incentives of pay are not promised like they say they are. 

My team and associates at Lakeshore were for the most part were tricky to handle because everybody had their own perspective and had this sense of hierarchy comparing themselves to others. Also, I would come across a lot of conversations throughout the warehouse of coworkers talking badly about other coworkers. Other than the bad apples though, there were some pretty amazing coworkers. 

Management at this store was generally not so friendly either and often our store manager made scenes and settings quite awkward and uncomfortable with her unwanted attitude or constant look of disapproval. Only to make a smile appear within seconds when a customer walks in, fronting a face that doesn’t match the biased energy she give’s, when the store is empty of customers. 

The hardest part of Lakeshore, or this location in the Bay Area specifically, might be when you’re not having the best of days and you still need to be adaptable with a welcoming smile to make sure that each customer is having that experience they deserve with us.

The most enjoyable part of the job was learning to be able to truly have that connection with a customer. Having open ended conversations to establish a sense of what the customer is looking for. 

Many people at Lakeshore are awesome, make no mistake.  Compensation is competitive, objectively true.  Your leader may be more of a manager than leader.  I could see how this could be seen as sour grapes.  If you get the opportunity to reach out to someone who currently works there and not have that conversation curated by leadership at Lakeshore you may get the truth.  During the interview process I was assured I would not be micromanaged at all but found the opposite to be true.  You will not be allowed to run your territory as you see fit or go where opportunities take you.  You will be required to focus on 75-100 accounts across what could be a very large territory.  You will have to meet with someone, make a cold call, or have a virtual meeting with someone from each of your focus accounts.  You will be required to send a specific amount of emails per week, and make a given amount of sales calls.  The primary use of Salesforce is to monitor you, not as a sales tool.  The application of this tool is ham handed at best. This approach has caused 66% of the team to leave within 1 year of being hired. 2 people out of 9 have been in place longer than a year.  Do your homework and trust your gut if you get the slightest twinge of micromanagement that is just a taste. I

Uninviting environment: People eat in their cars and office to avoid others. I've never seen so many people work together, but eat alone. 

EC product developers steal other people's ideas and claim them for their own, not cool. They're not innovative, they're thieves looking for what's already out there so they could make a buck. 

Lots of cussing in the office (and I grew up with a potty-mouthed marine father). Unprofessional. Very "clicky" environment. Not friendly. 

The job itself was Booooring. If you enjoy being in the classroom and teaching, then this is Not the job for you. If you are a social butterfly, then this is not for you. However, if you enjoy being in a small office by yourself, constantly checking paperwork and emails, and can follow LOTS of simultaneous deadlines, then this job is for you. FYI most of the job is paperwork and email checking.  

HIGH turnover rate. I was warned my third day there, not to bother putting anything personal up as there was a high turnover rate and HR, didn't give warning to dismissals. That was very true. They call you into their office (don't tell you the reason), quietly send someone to put your belongings in a box, and hand you the box on your way out. You are not allowed to go back, but they do offer to mail you any personal items they might have forgotten. How considerate. 

OWNERS: Though my experience with the employees and the job itself were negative, I must say the owners of the company try their best to keep the place pleasant and fun. I guess they have to try some method of reducing the HIGH turnover rate. They constantly do raffles, giveaways, and employee incentives. Too bad that's not enough to keep everyone.

I loved working at Lakeshore.  The environment was centered around the education of children through play. Lakeshore sells products geared towards providing children with educational toys and interactive learning tools. A typical day included opening the store and providing teachers and parents with information about the store layout and the best educational products for their specific needs.  Product knowledge was important in meeting these needs as they ranged from pre-k through middle school.  Each customer was of importance and we centered our focus on helping the customer from greeting through checkout.  The management at lakeshore shined.  They were up beat and passionate about providing educators with the supplies they needed to bring our youth the best products possible and to make their jobs the most impactful.  All employees at Lakeshore are positive and up beat people.  Everyone smiles all day to the point of sore cheeks.  the work ethic of those I worked with surmounted that of any other place of work I have encountered in the past.  The hardest part of the job was staying late for the days that our shipment would come in.  These nights were always a party including pizza or other snacks, loud music and a lot of dancing around the store while stocking shelves.  the most enjoyable part of the position was being able to bring satisfaction to my customers knowing that I brought them the best products and best customer service each and every day.

When I first applied at Lakeshore for a desired position, I did not receive an offer. The first thing that stood out to me was how the recruiter reached out to me to personally tell me rather than sending me an automated rejection email or no response at all. Their process is super efficient and they get back to you within a few days. The recruiters are truly passionate about the company and recognize talent when they see it. My recruiter remained in touch with me and found a position she thought would be a good fit for me. She referred me to the hiring manager, I went through the interview, took a skills test, and the rest was history! I started as a Business Support Assistant and in less than two months got promoted into an Administrative Assistant role for our Executive Level leaders. That is one of the things I love about this company. They recognize who is exceling in their roles and pay attention to all of their employees with a passion. Management is great and checks in with you on a weekly basis to see how you are doing even if it is not work related. Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful and if they do not know the answer to one of your questions, they will find someone that does. Titles at this company do not matter. Everyone does their part and helps out where help is needed. They appreciate their employees with gifts, free lunches, bonuses, raffles, and even have "Lakeshore University" for employee development. They truly care for their employees and I could not have it any other way! 

Everyone starts off coming up lakeshore optimistic and feeling like it's a great place to work... then within the first month or two thinfs change and eyes are opened to what it's really like here at their Midway,  KY D. C. 

Upper management is awful- they like to constantly remind us that we are on camera and if we stop moving for 5 minutes, we are threatened with write ups. I should mention that this "climate controlled"w arehouse that they tell you about in the interview is only climate controlled in the winter. In the summer,  it's regularly more comfortable outside than inside the building. Many people go home with great exhaustion on a regular basis so hopefully this helps you see why being asked to constantly be moving is ridiculous. Perhaps the operations manager and VP of eastern US distribution would make good prison guards with their security camera skills, but their interpersonal skills needed to maintain healy employees are lacking. We are in "peak" season now, which means we are busy supposedly. We have been told to work 10 shifts 5 days/ wk plus 8 hours on Saturdays. That would be fine except we often are not doing active production the entire time- we do more tidying up and busy work than our actual jobs and Saturday's are usually a waste of gas to go in for what ends up being 4 hours of mostly cleaning. 

Pay is average for around here, benefits are decent, but at the end of the day is not worth it. I can't think of one person that I work with that isn't actively job searching

Pros: I enjoyed working at Lakeshore, but did not always feel taken care of.. I appreciated the people I liked working with because they made the job more fun and the difficult customers bearable. I also appreciated that there was often recognition awards given at meetings and throughout shifts so our hard work was acknowledged. Management backed us up and supported us with rude customers. 

Cons: Directions from upper management were often unclear - we would be told to be the “hero” for customers but when we made exceptions we got an error and it was printed out for everyone to see when we were helping the customers as we were told. With COVID, I had several coworkers (managers included) who were going out to large parties and vacations regularly and I did not feel safe at all coming into work with them. They would lie on COVID assessments and even when management knew that they were putting us at risk, no one said anything. Scheduling was awful when sales were slow. We were cut to two hours a week(!!!) which isn’t sustainable at all. Also lots of drama between management and some employees that got passed around and I was put in uncomfortable situations as I would have people above me complaining to me about other coworkers and managers.

It wasn’t my worst job but there were definitely areas that I was not happy with. 

Lakeshore's job postings talk a good game about taking risks and trying new things --- but your technical leadership does not want to consider an idea that they did not invent (or claim as their own after someone else more knowledgeable proposes it). The management ineptitude is too easily threatened by the skilled. And STOP only hiring people that you personally know --- it is a waste of time for any truly qualified candidates to fit into a VERY narrow non-diverse culture. The CEO is not necessarily the problem --- but will rate the CEO lower based on the low quality of his direct reports.

Pros

Some of the technical staff positions have potential but there is NO guidance and no direction without replacing the current leadership with people that actually understand the technology being implemented.

Cons

SAP implementation was severely delayed and incomplete. Data Engineering, data analytics and business reporting were key areas that had a lack of Technical Leadership through 2024 and a very late start (end of Q3) on critical efforts that the business was counting on. The emergency outside consultants in 2024 Q4 carried the team to deliver essentials for the business (so there was some hope) but IT management abruptly cut budget and released the talent right after go live. This technical talent gap hurt both the business and IT staff --- causing people in both areas to consider quitting.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Inside sales representative 5 salaries reported	$69,800 per year
Project manager 3 salaries reported	$76,667 per year
Sales support representative 3 salaries reported	$63,040 per year
Housekeeping supervisor 3 salaries reported	$62,500 per year
Administrative assistant 3 salaries reported	$19.83 per hour

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