manager

sales associate

seasonal associate

baker

retail assistant manager

Mainland Skate And Surf

A typical day at work would involve general merchandising of the store, if our clothes don't look nice people won't want to shop through them. When customers are present in the store I am engaging in friendly conversation with them to determine why they chose to shop here, what they're looking for, and just asking questions to make the customer feel comfortable talking to me. I've learned a lot about the product the Mainland carries, I've also learned how to assemble skateboards. The hardest part of the job would probably be grip taping skateboards because you have to be so steady and focused so the grip goes on properly and so that it looks nice for the person buying the board. My co-workers and my managers are amazing we all work very well together. My managers have created a comfortable environment for me to work in, and they always have new things to teach me or different methods of doing the tasks that I've been taught throughout my time there. I'm constantly learning new things.

Like the title says, I had some great times and memories made within Mainland. I am grateful for the growth that I had made in my three years with the company, it is definitely a place to grow. During the pandemic there were strict guidelines we had to follow and enforce which sucked so bad, but have since been lifted. There was a lot of thefts in the store which made it a tense environment at times. However more security measures were added to help with the issues. Upper management does listen and take into consideration all concerns and issues. I had a good relationship with the DM and owner. If there was ever any major issues they were usually very responsive. I loved the people in the cooperate office, they are very friendly as well. Overall, I loved working here, it’s just the thefts that made it suck. As well, it often felt like I was babysitting the associates.

To put it lightly, this is the worst job I’ve ever had. Especially the valley plaza location in Bakersfield. The managers sabotage you to have an excuse to write you up. They will tell you to do some thing and then yell at you for doing the task they just asked you to do. They will tell you to help a customer and then yell at you for helping a customer instead of finishing your store tasks. You can never make these people happy and the hours are slim to none.  You hardly get any training that means anything and anytime you try to go above and beyond for the customer you are reprimanded for not sticking exactly to policy. They pretend to recognize peoples Hardwork but in the end stick to playing favorites and don’t give any new people a chance to be recognized for their hard work. 

During my time with this company, I found the work easy and my coworkers and managers enjoyable to work with. However, the CEO turned this relatively relaxed position into a living nightmare. His conduct, attitude, and demands I found to be extremely rude and unreasonable. In my experience he overworked management, treated employees as replaceable, and expected everyone to function and behave like machines. If you do not fit his standards, your hours will slowly be reduced until you no longer get scheduled. Unfortunately, a fun work culture cannot make up for a toxic corporate. Don't waste your time here and pick someplace else to work for.

Genuinely nothing to do all day, but fold clothes and tend to customers if any. Make sure greet every customer.
 Management used to be pretty cool until they quit and got replaced. Now new management abuse their authority and makes inappropriate comments about my outfits. 
Mainland doesn’t care about their sales associates. The managers words are absolute so making a report to HR is useless, they’ll listen but won’t do anything to mediate or prevent the situation. 

My typical day at work was slow. Except in the weekends. This store was located in Eastridge mall so the environment was low key. Management was unorganized and proper communication was not present. To me, it was a good first time job. It's definitely not something I would advise anyone to stay in long term. Hardest part of the job was trying to get days off. Since it is a retail job, schedules were made in advance and getting days off, especially the weekends was nearly impossible. Most enjoyable time, I would say is getting to talk to different customer and having the opportunity to help them out when they needed something.

Management has no care for anything the employee does outside of the job, they want you to be open 7 days of the week even if you have schooling but will only schedule you a few days out of the week. HR is literally two guys so good luck with equal representation. Business decision by the owner/gm are dodgy and actively lose the company money which in turn cuts your hours as a worker. My advice to them is sell early and retire out of the skate bushiness. Their companies identity has drifted far far away from being an actual skate shop. Yet another poor business decision by the owner/owners of Mainland.

The job is OK if you just need a part-time gig for extra money. Other than that, i wouldn't recommend it as a long-term source for income. Bad management all the way around, the warehouse is ran like a kindergarten school. Not allowed to talk at all unless you're communicating with the managers. And most of the people there can be very childish and misleading. Always hot in the summertime(no air conditioner), Always cold in the winters. And the manager himself can be an prude at times. Even if you're doing good work.

The day is very slow, we start in the morning making the agendas for the day.  On weekdays there are more workers coming in than customers it is extremely slow but even when everything is done we are still expected to work on everything. They have cameras with microphones and watch us when they come in once a month. They do not discipline management who aren’t anywhere near in a position to be a manager, putting all the work on one person, while also getting paid the least.

Overall my experience working at Mainland was a good one even though it was short-lived. The staff was nice and the management was motivational and positive. I was initially hired to work the sales floor but ended up moving the store to a different location along with a few other new employees whom I had just met. After the move I was let go unfortunately, so I didn't get to work on the floor as much as I wanted to but I decided to leave on good terms.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Manager 17 salaries reported	$19.76 per hour
Sales associate 56 salaries reported	$17.74 per hour
Seasonal associate 15 salaries reported	$17.62 per hour
Baker 10 salaries reported	$20.10 per hour
Retail assistant manager 5 salaries reported	$18.10 per hour

Working at Mainland Skate And Surf: Company Overview and Reviews

Mainland Skate And Surf

Mainland Skate And Surf Ratings

Popular jobs at Mainland Skate And Surf

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected