retail assistant store manager

store team leader

retail sales associate

retail store assistant manager

retail team leader

Ocean State Job Lot

The job itself is fine, nothing to write home about. You stock shelves, you unload trucks, you help customers with finding things, loading their cars, getting rugs, whatever. Not a big deal. A bit back breaking at times, but overall it's fine and it's not complicated. I think the managers here are more cognizant than most department store managers in that they are aware that the people they hire probably don't see themselves here in ten years and aren't going to be actively working like they want to be. It feels very much like a "We pay you minimum wage, so we basically kinda expect minimum wage effort from you" kinda job to varying degrees. There are bad days here like at any other job, but that's to be expected.

I think my biggest issue working here is just the scheduling of hours. Obviously if you screw things up all the time, you act up in front of customers, you show up late or even have no-call-no-shows, they aren't going to give you as many hours. It'll take them a long time to fire you for doing that, but they'll just nuke your hours long before then anyway. That much is obvious from some of the other people who have worked here historically. Inversely, if they do like you, they give you more hours. That's pretty normal, but what I haven't seen before and what bothers me, is that they don't ask first if it's okay to just give you more hours. And it's not typically hours added on to a day, it's just a whole other full scheduled day of work in my experience. A while ago I had noted I was only working four days, and then suddenly without notice, a few days later I checked my app to show someone what UKG looked like and I had noticed I was added for a fifth day out of absolutely nowhere. They didn't ask if it was okay, or even communicate with me in any kind of way that it was happening. It wasn't there, and then it was. Screw whatever I may have had originally planned that day I guess, I was planning on taking my girlfriend to dinner but that won't be happening now. I mean yes, I didn't ask for it off, but I refuse to keep checking UKG every single day in the morning to make sure I wasn't suddenly scheduled for a shift I wasn't previously that I would be considered a no-call-no-show if I didn't come in for.

Look, all I'm saying is that if I get into trouble for cancelling a shift without any kind of warning or anything to the sort, you should get into trouble for suddenly making one. I wasn't brought into this world to work at a discount department store, and I'm not planning on living my life like I was any time soon either.

I was recently let go from OSJL and let me tell you, it was the worst experience ever. This was two years wasted where I could find a job where I would be appreciated. The management is terrible from corporate to the store managers. I was expected to close every single night despite not being able to because one, I live an hour away and have to walk and two I'm a woman so walking home alone at 11pm isn't very safe in my town. I was expected to brave blizzards where other employees would have their call-outs waived under "sudden weather emergency."

I experienced the brunt end of favoritism. Employees were allowed to be on their phones despite me constantly telling them company policy prohibits it. Managers let thieves steal and collect store credit despite knowing they stole from the store first hand. I was punished for being hospitalized with an infection I contracted from the store. (My hours were severely cut for calling out) I worked through the early stages of my infection and when I finally called in to go tot he hospital, my ear and face were swollen and purple, I received an attitude from the MOD and was told that they had no use for my hospital release forms or doctors note. I was going to get full points and the company didn't accept doctors notes. 

I wasn't allowed bereavement when I lost my grandmother during the holidays because the store manager was so unapproachable and he couldn't afford to give me the days off so I could bury my grandmother. 

Coming to the end of my employment there I was blindsided. In the middle of my shift I was called into the office and terminated for "under performing." My previous points from the last year and this new year were added up (even though they are supposed to be erased November 1st of each year) and apparently I was over my points and had already received my final warning, one I wasn't aware of receiving.

I dedicated myself to this company. I praised it when others badmouthed it. I faced sexism, favoritism and down right abuse by customers and management. Unless your soul has already been sufficiently killed through retail I highly advise against this company.

This company has so many amazing fundamentals relating to growth and store development. Where they truly lack is in their compensation and team-staffing abilities relating to their corporate professional team(s). If a department directly relates to sales and growth, or learning and development...they are staffed well and paid fairly. In other departments, traditionally ones that are on the back-end (however are crucial for company function) such as Human Resources and Payroll, not only are some of the departments understaffed but they are also disgustingly under paid and overworked due to understaffing. When discussing pay increased or the additional of essential personnel, the answer was usually "it's not in the budget" - however the company was projected to open several stores in the next few months.
HR and Payroll could not support the thousands of associates, especially considering that these PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS (Most of which require degrees and certifications) are paid HOURLY or the lowest rate to hit salary status (less than 55k).
This company has such amazing potential and some of the senior leadership is truly inspiration, but the lack of support specific departments have resulted in me leaving the company, as well as many others.
Statistically, this company pays its corporate professionals 40% under the AVERAGE for the state. Not a good look for the company.
If you want to grow as a company, don't forget about the little man upholding a large part of the functions.
3/10 left the company in January, and would never go back.

A typical day starts at 5 am when the freight is pulled onto the floor to separate into departments. I originally began as a part time F3 member which the store had slight issues with maintaining strong associates that were committed to working for a company instead of just a "job." I was trained by very patient long term, invested members of the staff.  This was the best way of learning the flow of merchandise and prioritizing items on the Top 40 report. Once I was considered a person reliable and hard working, and willing to follow the standards expected of sales associates, I became very interested in the culture of the company and began to ask questions about learning new ways to contribute. Management is fair and my store manager is very approachable and willing to advance his staff, filling department head positions from within. I was able to advance to a full time seasonal department head. And that has motivated me to learn about the business side of the store and have been learning about better merchandising and strong customer service. This did not go unnoticed, and received the "Customer Service Employee of The Quarter" for the entire district. I am proud to have brought that to our store and have been driven to keep it up. Most jobs only point out when you mess up, OSJL strives to retain employees and it shows. My department is the largest and most difficult to keep neat and prepared for upcoming moves with frequent changes in respect to the seasons.  I am extremely pleased with the atmosphere created by management and can accurately say I love my job.

This is a terrible, terrible place to work. Everyone, at least in my store is extremely selfish, making it a very hostile work environment - managers are just as bad or worse. Even the district manager is no picnic, they're supposed to have an open door policy but anytime an issue from the 'little man' gets spoken it does not get resolved. Let alone, addressing any problem whatsoever is a task harder than the work.

They also tend to play favorites, you can even see in their eyes who they like or don't, and it definitely shows through behavior both verbal and otherwise. I have seen good workers leave because of this mistreatment; unfortunately, I have also seen a range of poor workers get treated like they were some miracle in comparison.

Overall, the work isn't the problem - it's the management. They don't even communicate with each other. Most days are spent rearranging what one person ordered in one area, just for the store manager to get upset and have us spend the next day fixing what the assistant manager said the day prior. I wish I can say I enjoyed my time here, but it's just a part-time gig..truth be told the money isn't too great, but it's retail.

All I'm trying to convey is management makes the job more difficult than it has to be. The manager I had constantly swears, has a poor attitude, acts extremely arrogant, and isn't very understanding. Anytime I try to speak up about any issue I have with scheduling, a co-worker, advice/assistance it is usually met with being shrugged off at best.

Please, if you value your dignity - value not being appreciated for the work you do, value not being treated like a human by all means, work here.

This job for me was great because of employees however theyre isnt real potential for an advancement. 

Yes one can move from a cashier to a Front End Supervisor its hard if you already didnt have the credentials when you had first been hired. Ex: An employee who was hired before me had to wait 3 years for him to be a Front End Supervisor.

Compensation wise you will receive 20% off of certain items (not big ticket)

Management is very demanding,to the point of expecting impossible things to be done without enough employees and in the amount of time Ex: A manager would put too many pallets on the store floor a hr before opening and expect the impossible to be done with only 4 or 5 employees

I have had many jobs before working here and i have never had my entire work/productivity based off of a point system.You can receive points for the following:
-Being Late
-Forgetting to clock out when you leave
-Not clocking out on your 30min lunch
-Clocking out late after your 30min lunch 
-Being sick and unable to come in to work
-Coming into work and leaving a few minutes early than your scheduled time
-If you dont call in to let anyone know you cant come in 
This is just a few 

This can be a decent job as a stepping stone to where you need to go but from my experience this job can be a trap dealing with incompetent managers, unbearable point system and gossip. But if you need a job and money stick through just enough to make it worth a while for yourself. Remember everyone's experience will be different, dont knock it till you try it, i guess

While I enjoy the company of my coworkers, most genuinely nice enough people. Ocean State Job Lot has numerable issues when it comes to company policy and management.
Managers in particular often fail to provide proper information as to work flow and fail to follow company policy. They often steal credit for employee ideas and actions, they show little regard for the safety and well being of costumers and employees alike, and will often lie and blame employees for their own actions so they don't get in trouble. And that is when they bother to come out of the office at all.

The company provides poor hours to it's part time employees and is often unsympathetic to the realities many of their employees face.

They also no longer hire full-time employees thus allowing them to claim there is room to grow in the company but in fact never allowing anyone to grow beyond their current situation except in very rare cases in which even then they have to want you in that position - often leaving people confused as to what their job hold. Positions will be offered or hinted at and then withdrawn while newer employees will be fast promoted to jobs they are not ready for simply because management decided they wanted that person there as opposed to them being ready for the responsibility.

Sometimes you'll be told you've been promoted only to find out that not only have they not done so, but they had no intention of doing so and just wanted you to do that job.

When I worked at Job lot I was the main cashier and after a few months I became employee of the month and the head of the clothing department . Working their was a lot of fun , you have a few good coworkers that cared and we all worked together . Some of the other coworkers just talked badly about others . In august I got injured at home and tore all the ligaments in my foot and could not work anymore . When my foot was all healed I decided not to go back because I was working full time hours and I was only being paid part time . The hardest part of my job was being head of the clothing department and the main cashier . Every time I would walk to go do clothing I was called back up to ring out customers and I never had time for the clothing department . There was a manager there that did not follow rules nor treat people the way she should have been treating her employees and I did not want to deal with someone doing the wrong thing and talking badly about most of her employees . The best part was actually helping the customers and seeing how much they really appreciated it . A lady I had helped finding stuff in the store actually wrote a letter to my boss about me saying how much I helped her and I am a very good worker and that made me very happy ! I learned when you work your doing it to help yourself and others and if there is other nonsense going on around you , ignore it and keep doing what you were doing .

I absolutely loved starting at ocean state job lot in Berlin Connecticut. I finally worked somewhere that had great people that cared, a place where I can do more work and get better results as well as have a big chance to advance in the company. Everything went well in the beginning until one of the managers started to show that he had a problem with me. for next few months I was subjected to this persons targeting and ego getting the way of actually have a good work relationship. I had dealt with this persons actions towards me until enough was enough, the constant meetings about my performance being poor and saying that I was bad to the work environment, which was far from true. I would go to work every day and give 110% even when my body was beyond hurt and broken down. As far as me being “bad to the work environment” this was the one thing that really put the nail in the coffin as everyone there got along with me and I was just being myself which is being a caring person who is willing to help anyone in need. I would resign my position on February 3rd, 2022 and I am at the making of this review steady applying to other jobs, I really hope to find one that not only pays better but also I can feel welcome and grow with the company indefinitely.

     Overall the company is in great financial health and growing southward in the East Coast. It is a great company to work for, however you must be ready to adapt and work "their way" in order to succeed. 
     As a general manager, the compensation is great, but for all those under you....not so much. With that said, retaining high talent becomes difficult and loss to competitors offering higher pay is a given. Full time associates do get a decent benefits package and other company provided support programs.
     The most significant challenge is their way of merchandising. You move items, then you move the same items somewhere else, and then you move the same item again. Yes, new items are coming out, but the amount of labor used becomes inefficient. Oh, and expect years of old product to be sent back and forth from store to the DC. This model is profitable, it's just not for everyone.
      It is a great place to work for. You know the term "being different", well this company is just that. As a bonus, we dig ourselves out of snow storms. Yes, we shovel our own sidewalks.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Retail assistant store manager 184 salaries reported	$60,208 per year
Store team leader 12 salaries reported	$69,250 per year
Retail sales associate 11 salaries reported	$22.09 per hour
Retail store assistant manager 108 salaries reported	$58,389 per year
Retail team leader 96 salaries reported	$59,486 per year

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