retail sales associate

retail operations manager

retail operations supervisor

lead retail sales associate

operations supervisor

Magic Memories

Everyone is hired part time but asked to work 6 even 7 days a week. 

Within my first month 5 people quit. 

The work environment is awful. Outside in the heat all day and supervisors who are supposed to be around, Leave to be in a/c leave you alone to deal with taking photos, dealing with customers and 
training new hires even when you have only been there a month. 

They don’t put enough people on the schedule for costs and then you have to wait to take lunch because there’s no one to cover until the supervisors decide to fill in. Coming in at 9am and sometimes not going to lunch until 4pm. You will be asked to take shorter lunches because of staffing.  You are not allowed to have drinks with you even though it is insanely hot.

If it is slow you will be sent home maybe an hour into your shift.

Managers will be on the schedule and not show up causing a lot of under staffing and confusion 

Schedules will be changed from one minute to the next without notice 

If your schedule says 11pm and you set an alarm for 10am. You can be late because they changed your schedule at 6am while you were sleeping and make it say you should be there at 9am and you have no idea.
So you have to wake up at around 8am no matter what time you are scheduled just to make sure you aren’t late because they changed it last minute and didn’t tell you. 

They will also go in and change your schedule while you’re on shift and there’s no way of proving your original schedule so you have take screen shots of it.

If you are scheduled at 11:00 am you will get in trouble if you clock in at 10:59. They won’t even let you go near the clock in area until 11:00 your scheduled time, then if the clock takes long to load or crashes. And the time changes to 11:01 and you clock in. You are given a point for being one minute late. If you’re 1 minute late  or 30 minutes late it’s still one point. So you might as well be 30 and get the eventual write up when you hit a few points 

The equipment is old and doesn’t work. There would be times you would have to turn the camera on and off after you take a picture for it to take the next one so one photos then on off then next photo then on off again. Cameras don’t focus and are not fixed so the photos are blurry even with manual focus.

If the photo editor takes too long to edit a photo and the customer complains you as the photographer are blamed for “taking a picture that’s hard to edit” this would happen daily and you will get cussed out. Even if the customer has only been waiting a few minutes. For the editor.

There is a lot favoritism. I was one of the favorites so I would hear all the stuff upper management would say about the employees they didn’t like. They put regular employees to deal with the new hires they don’t like so they don’t have to actually deal with them.

Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Years are the busiest days and you will work from 10 am well into 1am or 2am.


You’re also asked and expected to be abnormally nice to customers who are belittling you and being extremely disrespectful, these customers will not be asked to leave and if you nicely ask them to stop or leave you will be written up for “making them feel unwelcomed”.
Customers are not supposed to take pictures of the photos with their phone and if you say “no photos please” and they continue you can not repeat yourself because you will be reprimanded but then if you don’t tell them you will also be reprimanded.

The pay is not bad but then considering the crazy hours. You make that much because you’re doing 55+ hours. You also have no benefits since you are “part time”

Magic Memories has destroyed what we had at this venue and disrespected their employees in multiple ways. We were told all the wonderful things MM was going to offer, but they turned out to be empty promises of better pay, equipment, and technology. To start, absolutely none of the changes that have come with the Sharpshooter/Magic Memories transition have been implemented in a way that is supportive, thought out, or efficient. In fact, there was a severe lack of training, and rollouts were much more aggressive than necessary. Right as we entered our busy season of 2017, our commission was cut. Our venue had made more commission in the last year than ever before, and we were preparing for an even busier season than 2016, our best year. We were confident we would see commissions close to what we saw during spring break that year, making almost as much in commission as our hourly, or more because we went so far past what was expected of us. The new commission scheme made that impossible, and we did not make anywhere near what we expected. Our hourly pay was eventually raised, and we were told that this would benefit us during the winter season, as we usually did not make much in commission during winter. With the benefit of a steadier winter check, we reluctantly accepted the offer that the entire team still felt was unfair, however with the winter season came a drastic cut in hours from previous years. Everyone, including the entire management team, worked part-time hours in an attempt to meet the unrealistic wage goals expected of us, which meant we did not get the benefit of having more income during our offseason. We received emails with illogical and irrational expectations, such as an email at 11:00 pm demanding every venue cut hours the next day and if there were a venue that could not cut hours for whatever reason, another would have to make up for it. As we finally approach the end of our slow season, we looked forward to the opportunity to share our thoughts and ideas on how to better the company, and then we couldn’t because it was being pushed back for half a year. We looked forward to our performance reviews that would determine our merit raises as we entered another busy season. Wrong again, that is being pushed back too. In addition to all of this, there were two separate occasions that we did not get paid on time, and in my opinion, it was not handled well by the company. The perception of the frontline staff is that Magic Memories is greedy, cheap, and does not value their employees. It seems they look for any chance they can take to slight their frontline while saying it is to “improve” the task or process. All of this, along with the exorbitant goals set for this month have made it almost impossible to keep the team motivated, including myself. When we ask for an explanation of these goals, we are told no one ever got back to our Regional Manager, so they don’t know. I cannot put 100% of myself in this job if the company and senior management are not going to do the same in return. I do not think this venue will recover from the damage Magic Memories has caused.

It is incredibly bittersweet for me because even though I will be leaving behind the immense amount of stress this company causes, I am also leaving behind a team I have become very close with and the idea of what this team could have accomplished if Magic Memories never took over.

USS Missouri magic memories.  Management is horrible, they dont train you and then write you up when you make a mistake even though you weren't trained properly.  They toss you to a normal employee and have you just shadow them to learn your job and then pick that employee apart and tell you not to do anything that they do.  You have to make a certain amount of sales per day usually 15 or 20 plus in busier months.  if you dont then you get written up.  you are forced to chase after every tourist that walks by and even when they are rude to you and say no you have to keep going because you'll get written up if you dont. Even if you make all your sales you often get called into the office to sign paperwork that says no one is doing the job correctly saying the lines the way they want you to say them.  You will meet your numbers and then they tell you that its not good enough because you sold too many cheeper packages. You will get overwhelmed with customers at times and no one will come out of the office to help you and then you loose potential sales that also hurts your numbers.  One manager will undermine the other and then you'll get in trouble for it. You are asked to do more then your job title, to include photographing special events and still be required to make your sales for that day.  When you call in sick they barder with you on the phone telling you too bad you have to come in or find your replacement.  You have to take everyone's photo even though most of them are rude to you and you spend half the time arguing with them to get them to stop and take the photo.  If you do not meet this number as a whole then the whole team gets in trouble.  And even when you are getting everyone's photo, they come out and tell you haw you are not being happy enough making the tourist experience a joyous one. Upper management comes down and helps out and then later you get paperwork saying you weren't doing your job right, instead of just pointing it out and helping you while they are there they wait and punish you for it later.  All little things that could have been corrected during the shift.  Turn around here is amazingly high people quit all the time.  It is stressful! And what you do is felt as though its never enough.  The pay is good, but I'm not sure its worth the stress of the job and its management.  They are all friendly and then throw you under to save their skin, which I'm sure is typical at any job.  When you do raise a concern it gets swept away and excuses are made putting the blame back onto the employee instead of the issue. With every sale you have to get the persons email too, or you will get written up for not having that.  So your basically getting written up because people dont want spam emails I feel there is something just not right with this.  This place is cut throat beware!  I'm sure if your looking for a summer job this would be excellent, but not long term.  Make no mistake, this company is all about numbers not employees.  And I made those numbers and still dreaded coming to work everyday.

I would say it's a 3/5 star experience over all. I came into the company mid transition form Sharp Shooter to Magic Memories. Management is generally fair and professional. Except one lead photographer. The schedules are fair and the equipment is taken care of. Everything is done in an efficient manner. My training was pretty informative. 

It's a fun venue. A little hectic on busy days, a little boring on slow days. Perfect when it's steady. It's not the worst job I've ever had. They are much more professional than previous employers of mine.

I don't like some aspects of the work culture because half of my coworkers are gossips and like to cause trouble if you get too close to them. We have one person in management who is letting their newfound leadership get to their head too much, I do not appreciate that. It can be difficult to be told no a lot or get rude comments about being a photographer, it requires a certain level of outgoingness and confidence to do this job well. There's also a lot of editing, be warned if you don't like that! You must be quick.

I am not happy with the uniform or recent company changes. There's been a lot more pressure to get a higher per-cap rate when it doesn't necessarily make us more money. Forcing people who do not want their pictures taken to take pictures wastes resources and time. It just causes distress on a busy day. The rate of photography and shooting should be judged by the business of the day. There's also a change in how we sell packages and it's less negotiable, I don't think customers like that very much. The ability to break down our packages gained us money more often than not. 

I am personally frustrated with the job because I feel that we should be paid more. I can't afford to live on my own with this job. I am also slighted by the coworkers gossiping thing. It's a good bridge job or temporary job but I would not recommend making a career out of it. Our venue manager is the sweetest thing in the world. I am on my way out definitely before she retires and the summer picks up. I need a more substantial job.

Before Magic Memories took over, SharpShooter was a good company to work for. However, now that Magic Memories took over they are all about 'labor control', meaning they will cut your hours and not think anything of it despite your years of service and loyalty to the company, they will cut you no matter what.

The work is straight forward and easy, but the pressure to meet goals and targets are unrealistic sometimes. The company and its higher ups do not understand that you can't make people take pictures or buy something they do not want, no matter what approach or line you use, it really is up to the guests and nothing changes that no matter how nice you are with your tactics. 

Another thing is the pay and benefits: the pay and the benefits are ridiculously low for the amount of stress you deal with from guests, and the busy atmosphere at this venue. No growth at all, and no pay increase, ever. If you do ask for a raise you'll simply be told "this company doesn't really do that". It also isn't fair that we did not adopt the Magic Memories pay structure throughout SharpShooter venues. 

Management is a joke, they do not care about employees, their progress, or their growth. They are self-serving. All they care about is meeting goals, no matter the cost. They don't care how you reach those goals, you just better reach them, that is how their perspective works. Management will also not fight for you or defend you, so if you're looking for a good foundation and good management, look else where. 

Overall, the job is really easy and it is fun, its just the new management from Magic Memories: the cut in hours, and the low pay and benefits that you'll deal with.

Like any job, you get out of it what you put into it. Be positive, happy, kind, and respectful of where you work and how you work, especially when it comes to guests.  For this job, you must be have high energy, love people, and respect the culture. "We make people smile" is the BEST motto for this type of industry. You get to meet people from around the world. You have a huge range of locations to apply for, and this company is most certainly a people-people company. 
However, as much as I absolutely loved and adored this job, the company needs to really focus on their employees. The employees need better pay, and the company needs to focus on the quality of people they hire, because that can make/break the bank. They need to promote within the company, and look at who they really have working for them, because they have some REALLY amazing people in their company. Also, the company needs to give the employees more of a resting time. A 30 minute break when they stand in the sun, on their feet, for 7-9 hours, helping anywhere from 4,000-30,000 people per day during the busy season? No, they need to actually REST, especially during the summer. The employees are the face of the company, and need to be taken care of. 
 I feel like the training was quite good, and they really did focus to make it a positive work place. I adored my managers, and I got a lot of one-on-one training from them and a lot of positive feedback. I had a lot of great people I worked with, who really loved and respected the company, and it was the BEST job I have ever had.

I started working here when we first opened the site and I must admit it was rocking but we were learning and excited about our jobs. As time went on it started to become more and more about money than qualities. The managers changed from fun and friendly to money craved. 

Then began with favoritism which was the employees that were making the sales or kissing up to them which happens at every job but they were too obvious with theirs. They'll be friendly and joking with one employee and assertive and strict with the other. It was not a good thing to see as an employee who started with the new site.

Managers from all over different sites were coming to help out and you began to see people get fired for no real reason and most were black which had some of the employees question rather if it was racist thing. We as employees tried to understand but we couldn't we started talking about finding new jobs because we would be next because they would smile in your face then fire you out of nowhere.

The job is fast paced except for slow days, the employees are fun and always joking around but the management is faulty. I was not fired from this job but I did however quit because as much as I loved that place I will not be treated unfairly or short handed any opportunities that should be given.

The pay is good when you have the full hours and when you make the day the extra money comes in handy but when they cut your hours it is not worth it.

There's a review that's completely positive on here that is from management which should let you know right there that they are faulty.

The job isn’t exactly worth the pay we receive. Often times the customers are very rude and entitled, but sometimes with reasonable explanations. Management expects you to pressure individuals to take a picture even after they say no multiple times. You are required to be outside all day long, sometimes in the sun and sometimes in the shade. Most of the day (during the hottest part of the job) you are not allowed to have your water near, which is a major health risk in my opinion. We have had multiple workers drop from heat exhaustion and dehydration simply because it is so hot with little water. Workers are also only given a break on 6+ hour shifts, but most shifts are scheduled for 5 hours only. When working a 5 hour shift, you are given no time to eat, so you’re basically expected to starve and “get used to it.” Management also does not communicate many things effectively. I was unaware of not being given a break until my first shift after training where I worked 5 hours and didn’t receive a break. I also was not given any information about pay roll and still have yet to know how and when I get paid. Additionally, all of the management staff only cares about themselves. 
The lower down employees are expected to stand in the hot sun and do all of the difficult tasks while management enjoys the shade and fans. They will purposely make the schedule to where they benefit most money wise and health wise. The schedule is always chaotic and changes throughout the day.  The employees are however very fun to be around and I enjoy working with them. That’s probably the best part of the job.  


I certainly enjoyed working at Magic Memories, I am still employed but currently on leave for the winter. Our venue is mostly outdoor so it was my choice to leave. Since we are outdoors it is very cold and pretty slow. Working in the NYC tourism industry is great since you get to meet people from all over the US and the world. I am a part time employee but if we are short staffed like we were this year then I would wind up working full time hours. It was better for my pay but physically exhausting. I would go home just to collapse in bed and have to do it over again the next day. At times it would feel like we were forced to force the customers to take a photo when you could tell some of them really didnt want to. I would look back at the pictures and see people giving me a dirty look or not even looking at the camera, covering their faces or backs turned to me. On a rare occasion when I would see some of those guests I would apologize to them for being so forceful and aggressive and they would be understanding most of the times knowing I was just doing my job. Anyway for some positive notes, I worked with many great people that made me happy/ want to come into work. I met many wonderful people from various states and countries and I had many great experiences working with Magic Memories. I learned more about photography and how to operate a professional camera by changing settings and flashes. As the companies slogan is I feel like I did a good job at "making people smile" I would be happy to recommend Magic Memories to a friend

I convinced tourists on a historic steam train to let me take their portraits, developed the portraits while they ate lunch, then sold them on the return trip.

The local manager took a group of raw recruits and developed us into a team of pros who came from way behind to exceed the sales figures of another manager the previous year.

The hardest part of the job for me was preparing the product in time to sell it. I am a bit of a perfectionist, and I was learning my craft, so it took me longer. Some others would finish their work in the darkroom in time for a brief nap before they had to head back to the train.

The most enjoyable part of the job for me was dealing with the passengers as I was shooting their photos. I also liked dealing with my boss. She remained supportive even when she didn't know whether to cry or scream, and she built a team that I was proud to be a part of.

I rated management so low because the input from higher levels was such that I came away cynical about anything that smacked of "corporate." I started out aspiring to become a manager myself someday, but after watching a season of middle management's performance I want no part of management.

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