retail sales associate

co-manager

order picker

assistant manager

sales associate

MARDEL

What is the best part of working at the company?
I was very very uncomfortable around the manager! I can't explain it, but felt as though something just wasn't right..I don't know. The only other thing really was their work day schedule. You didn't get breaks or lunches no matter how long you have been working. That was rough on me as I have blood sugar issues. I was told to take care of them before work, but it is constantly happening. Plus this was around the Covid virus fiasco. I'd been there for 2 months. I got sick. Was in the hospital. I called almost daily to give updates on my condition and nothing was said. However, 16 days later, the day after I was released, I went to work. He met me about halfway to the breakroom. Told me I was fired for being out so long and not calling them to tell them. Yet I was still on the schedule.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Never getting the credit for anything you do. Instead the assistant manager and manager took that praise and the credit. 
Customers were more rude there than at....say Walmart. The tiniest slip up could cost you your job.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Too few working at a time. But I've been through that before. Always getting management complaints for cleaning, stocking, etc. That was how you got credit. If it was some mistake or something, it was your fault. Do something good, management took credit.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Slow, boring, but you couldn't stand around. So you cleaned everything in detail.

I am typically taking care of my department by ordering products, restocking shelves, assisting customers, and cleaning and organizing. All employees take care of basic maintenance jobs such as cleaning bathrooms and the break room, sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, etc. I have learned how to order products based on the company's system of basic stock and have greatly improved customer service skills by making sure customers are satisfied in several areas. Management is definitely helpful to the customers (when they have reasonable problems or requests) and are overall helpful to employees, with a few exceptions. The co-workers here make the job enjoyable and the atmosphere welcoming, also with minor exceptions. The hardest part of the job at times can be dealing with difficult customers or trying to find solutions to certain things without the help of a manager. The best part of the job is the successful feeling of knowing your department front and back and being able to complete assigned tasks that help the company and the customers.

During my time at Mardel, I was grateful for the many hours I spent working both during our store set (for which I received overtime pay) and afterward as a part-time seasonal sales associate. 
However, whether it was due to the general attitudes one would expect from retail customers, the exhaustion of working my first job, or the knowledge that my passion and typical skill set lie elsewhere, I found myself dissatisfied with the monotonous day-to-day of my job. 
When I hear stories of other retail employees and their coworkers, they remind me that I was blessed to have an amazing group of people to work with starting on day one. It was these bonds in the workplace that helped carry me through long days on my feet keeping the store neat and well-stocked. 
The opening crew also had a devotional each morning and a time for prayer; this may be experienced differently by different individuals, but for many at the company, it was a time of solidarity and peace before a busy day, and not at all surprising considering the nature of the company itself.

In the two years I worked here, the President and CEO changed a few times, and each time new changes were made to the company structure.  New policies and procedures were constantly being implemented by corporate that were impractical, unnecessary, and made it more difficult to provide proper service to customers.  Rather than focusing on improving operation, they remodeled all the stores with a new look. The ordering system we used was full of flaws and caused many headaches.  Corporate and upper management were overbearing.  We were constantly understaffed and overworked, and unless you were salary, you didn't earn enough.  To top it all off, I lost my hard-earned manager position right before Christmas due to restructuring.

Mardel outgrew its business structure and shifted focus to be more corporately-oriented rather than store-oriented.  It is marketing to a dwindling demographic and has alienated many of the customers it had left.  It has been deep in the red for many years, and ultimately I foresee it being completely absorbed by Hobby Lobby Corp.

Management is well intentioned but severely misled in thinking that they run a "good crew." Everyone is miserable, and gossip is a sport to them since no one is allowed to have a life outside of work due to unpredictable hours. I liked the work and I was good at it but the ridiculous unofficial petty rules, hypocrisy, the harassment, and passive aggressive behavior from everyone when I refused to participate in gossip was over the top and people got away with it because of favoritism towards people who had been there longer... It's not a great place to work unless you have no choice, which was my situation when I first started, though I am grateful for it, I'm glad I left.

Plus they boast about their "chaplain" services and say that they're great if you're having a hard time with work but when I gave it a go it was worthless. Pretty much the adult equivalent of a highschool counselor who can't get a job anywhere else or barely has the credentials to actually help someone through anything more difficult than tying their shoe. I could write more but I truly don't want to waste any more time on this company than I already have.

Typical day: waiting on customers, ordering product weekly, cleaning, helping with register, filling out special orders, straightening product, changing displays, resetting product, putting up and taking down seasonal, changing prices, putting away returns, and filling holes from missing product. Always make it look nice.
What I learned: the customer may not be technically right, but they are right. Always make them happy regardless.
Management: there are good people in management. Be honest, work hard, ask for time off way in advance, and it will be good.
Co-workers: Most of the time great co-workers, can have some that slack or try to multi-task too much.
The hardest part would be dealing with rude and/or really needy customers. Sometimes merchandising things can be difficult.
The most enjoyable thing is seeing how nice things can look when you finish working it and knowing you have a good stock check, because you are doing your job.

This is a decent place to work, especially for college students. They start you off at above min wage, have flexible hours, and closed on major holidays (and Sundays). Everyone learns to run the register and imprint Bibles. Very much a team effort here and most employees will wear more than one hat. Be prepared to multi-task. Some days can be really slow, other days it can be really crazy. Workplace culture, as far as the store goes, is mostly pleasant. Co-workers are fun, nice people and the management team works right along side the employees to get things done. Hardest part of the job is dealing with corporate bullies and difficult customers. Corporate sometimes forgets that they hire people, not robots, and expects employees to work practically 24/7 during peak seasons. It was not uncommon for management to not get days off, especially during back to school and Christmas. Pulling doubles most days with few breaks. Corporate expects perfection and uses threat tactics.

The recruiter gave me an awesome opportunity to become a co-manager at Mardel. I was really excited to grow with the company and learn. As a new co-manager I was put into a store that had recently had to be “restored” after a few people were let go. My training was put on hold and that wasn’t a huge deal. I was learning from the remaining employees that were there. My biggest problem I had was the constant gossip and negative criticism I was receiving from my manager. So much so that the employees had felt enough pity to come to tell me what was being said. I was very disappointed in hearing of some of the things that were said due to / despite my lack of training. Upper management’s communication is very poor. My experience with Mardel wasn’t the greatest, it seemed like they would rather get rid of employees / managers instead of spending to time to train them

I have nothing bad to say about my part-time experience with Mardel. Very friendly associates, diverse work environment, and a management team that is very down to earth. The pay is too good for such an easy job, but unfortunately it's hardly a living (especially since I was only part-time). The hardest part is probably how monotonous and boring the night shifts are, not "hard" I know, but there isn't really a hard part so long as you know how to do the basics of customer service. In particular, I enjoyed the company of my co-workers who were very friendly, funny, and helpful both on and off the job. It is everything you would expect from a Christian store, and I would definitely recommend this as an option for anyone else looking for a good job with flexible hours while you're in college.

Each day started out with prayers and announcements. I worked in the book department, so I helped customers find specific books and bibles. We did weekly inventory of the items in each department. The store manager there at the time I was there was the best manager I have ever had. He was very understanding and recognized your hard work. When my mom got sick and required me to take her to her appointments and chem treatments, my schedule was rearranged so that I could do so. When I had to call in because she would have not so good days, it was never a problem. The hardest part of the job was coming back to work after my mom passed. Everyone was extremely nice and sympathetic but I would get tearful every time someone expressed their condolences. I really enjoyed working there and would recommend them to anyone.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Retail sales associate 74 salaries reported	$16.37 per hour
Co-manager 5 salaries reported	$68,600 per year
Order picker 6 salaries reported	$18.50 per hour
Assistant manager 13 salaries reported	$21.15 per hour
Sales associate 8 salaries reported	$14.05 per hour

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