store manager

call center representative

sales associate

customer service representative

asset protection associate

Sportsmans Warehouse

As a former ICS I have seen it all working for an establishment that I thought maybe it had some positive outcomes. Boy I was thinking of something else. Sure its retail but if you want to succeed....the only thing that benefits anyone are the management positions.

If you are looking for a job that deals with the customer is always right and the managers won't have your back then maybe this place is your best bet. The amount of people cycling through positions are incredibly high.

As for recent times with covid, they did not care about the safety and well being for the employees. Hazard pay? More like here's a pizza party. Mask mandates were not set at all, letting employees think what's best for them and not everyone else around them. Cleaning and sanitation was a big joke. Let alone if associates were in contact or tested positive the managers did absolutely nothing to let those who have been in contact. As for the customers, there was a time where people had to come in with something covering their faces, now you don't even need to wear a mask. What are they going to tell you? And what are you going to tell them?

The only thing people come here for is the discount. So by the next time you see someone else take their position is because they got what they wanted and dip. 

Also the managers only care for themselves and will throw you under the bus. You want days off? Good luck, oh a family member died? Can you come in after the ceremony. Oh you are throwing up? Here's a bottle of water you have to pay later. You can't flick a booger without them noticing or whining to you.

Looking for minimum wage to the extent fast food workers are making as much the managers are elsewhere? You want a raise? The things that go on working here will surprise you to the extent of questioning yourself, what am I doing here.  

The management and HR are so toxic you have to watch your own back. If you know your rights as a worker and stand your ground maybe you can make it, other than that.....they will spit you out. And, for no reason as well. There are certain managers who will do things against company policies and then point the fingers at you. There have been plenty of harassments has taken place. What does the store or HR do....? Well you guessed it, absolutely nothing and sweep it under the rug. Remember that the office manager and store manager had connections to HR, you make a complaint or use silent whistle? They get it first, and if they don't like what you see? You won't hear it from HR. 

Also if you are a smoker, beware they implemented a new system where if you do use nicotine and even if you use your own health insurance and not theirs. You will have a $75 cut from your paychecks, until you can get a class and be clean for 6 weeks. Then you can get a reimbursement, but if not then you can even get terminated for having nicotine on you. They say you can't be seen using nicotine in their own parking lot...it's a plaza, they don't own anything, but they will complain to HR and try to do anything to fire you.   

Only advice working here is watch your back and be careful who you open up to. 

The people that have stuck around is great, helpful, and wonderful strong people. However the benefits and pay isn't worth it anymore. The job ad says they're hiring for 18 guaranteed it's probably going to be less than that considering everyone that got hired into management positions were waged lower than 17.50 . Considering the company itself is in debt and is still looking for ways to cut back in employees and other areas to save money. There were corporate meetings into considering combining this position and fishing together mind you every other sportsmans has a giftbar department separate from the camping department except this particular store. They cut out several positions when they went into debt no archery lead no extra help in the receiving department. The corporation itself wants to run the store as a skeleton crew. So trying to explain or even help out other employees for more hours is out of question even though the store is making well past the sales expectations they still reduce hours and expect part time employees to be happy with the deductions in store hours. It's very sad to see hard working employees that work hard and deserve more hours struggle and not beagle to stay due to the fact they can't make enough because the corporation themselves don't appreciate the employees that dedicated themselves to the job and put in the work. The benefits are not worth it worst than military insurance and recently made a ton of cut backs and changes to those benefits to save money so they don't have to cover the full time workers under those benefits. Would be a great place to work at if they actually cared about those employees or listened to the people that work there. They even had a bunch of us managers open up moldy grills which no doubt have inhaled that mold a lot of us smoke and vape on top of that considering the health risk they didn't just issue a recall on all those grills like they should have instead of having several different managers open 6 to a dozen moldy grills. They had no answers to anyone if people would be covered if they got sick. Not to mention other stores are having difficulty getting product in there's a store out there with barely any optics because you can't communicate to anyone to get what the store needs in. It's really unfortunate I mean the people are wonderful that work at this store location they're like family. Corporate however just isn't worth it. 

A typical day is generally enjoyable. Interacting with customers and if like me, you take pride in what you do and do it at the highest level of perfection that you are capable of, it makes for a fast and fullfilling day. 

What I learned  during my time working at SWH is that their is no insentive to want to do anything but EXACTLY and only EXACTLY what the company wants you to do. If you have any ideas or suggestions to help make things runs smoother or better than they are, they always have a DEFAULT excuse or explanation that is "this is the way HQ wants it period! So I ask you  WHY CARE? 
Workplace culture ! That's a joke. The only culture that I've experienced is one of , "pass the buck". I have noticed that when people were instructed to do something, they would more often than not, just wait for someone else to do it because all they are interested in, is selling guns  so they can cash in on spiffs. They just stand around behind the counter  waiting for the next customer to come in rather than utilizing their time more efficiently, like putting up stock,fixing shinners etc. 
The hardest part of the job at least for me was to keep my frustration level at check. 

When you work your butt off and watch and see your counterparts just mulling around the store BSing not doing their jobs it just frosts my cookies ! Mgt does not do anything significant to stop the situation from continuing, ESPECIALLY  when you have managers who are just as gulity of do very little themselves. 

The most enjoyable part of working there was the people, both the customers, and MOST of the store employees. Heck, NO one gets along with everyone, although I do Try !
I really enjoyed  meeting new people and emparting alot of my vast knowledge of guns and reloading, shooting and such. I have been involved with firearms and shooting and hunting for OVER sixty years. I loved it when a dad would come in with his son or daughter for the first time and I could see the look of wonder and amazement in their eyes when I would tell them a story .

Management often doesn’t support employees even when customers request to speak to a manager or employees are being harassed and berated by customers. It becomes a high stress environment when your department is understaffed and management does little to nothing to problem solve and the manager rarely steps in to help. Most managers are only “helpful” in their departments when the district or regional managers are visiting. Hard working employees are expected to pick up the slack for other employees who choose to show up late and refuse to do work in their departments consistently with hardly any repercussions. Managers like to talk poorly of employees, including other managers. The open door policy is a joke because if you try to raise a concern about anything, certain managers will become passive aggressive and will screw up your schedule (reduced hours, horrible shifts, hardly any off days) and sometimes become petty to the point of refusing to acknowledge your existence even when you ask for help in the department they should be helping run. Most managers are typically found hiding in their natural habitat known as the back offices, where they have nice lunches that they brag about in front of the rest of the employees who are occasionally fortunate enough to be allowed to have some of the scraps or at least hear about how important the lunch “meetings” that take 2+ hours were while all the other employees were out struggling on an understaffed sales floor. Employees see the problems, customers see the problems, management continues to ignore the problems. Hey, at least they’re consistent in something. Over time this place will drastically diminish your sense of self worth and the raise is a joke.

Where to begin…

This used to be a very enjoyable company to work for, but that is no longer the case. You might as well expect to do the job of six people every day you work and run yourself to the point of mental and physical exhaustion, but don’t expect corporate to care at all or add more payroll to allow you to schedule what should be minimal staffing because of their “it is what it is” mentality. Then if your department or store isn’t up to par as far as their standards are concerned then it’s still YOUR FAULT even if you aren’t allocated adequate payroll to maintain a pristine area when you’re exceed to do your job as well as the job of several others while not getting paid for the amount of work placed as well as the mental and physical strains placed on you on a daily basis which is completely demoralizing and doesn’t allow you to maintain proper health. 

Higher levels of management such as district and regional managers preach about the importance of obtaining credit card applications and the selling of their firearm service plans and how they are important components of the company structure, but that’s only because they’re bonus incentives for them and pure profit for the company. So you might as expect that your job is on the line for this reason as well as no to little incentive if you’re an hourly associate, lead, or department manager. 

Then there is how the trucks come in from the distribution center. The freight is stacked from floor to ceiling in the back of the trailer, and unless you are paying close attention then you will probably end up getting injured at some point. 

The only redeeming quality at this point is that it has an unmatched employee discount compared to other employers. It’s absolutely second to none, but that’s it. That’s the only reason for the second star. 

My experience with Sportsman's Warehouse (5 years) is I got out what I put in. I was hired as a sales associate in the Fishing Department. I showed up every day, on time, and did  my job. Later, I was able to transfer to the Camping/Gift Bar (Hard Goods Department.) When the Receiving Department Manager position opened, I was interviewed and got the position. Receiving Department Manager was my favorite position. I was responsible for all incoming and outgoing merchandise. I also contacted vendors to process defective merchandise. Whenever there was "downtime," I walked the floor and talked to customers. My only direct supervisor was the Store Manager. He was probably the best boss I have ever had. He believed in making the work environment as much of a "family atmosphere" as he could. As with any family, you get along with some, and not so much with others...but that is anywhere.
 
The hardest part of my job was setting and enforcing boundaries with fellow coworkers regarding how they would discard their boxes in my department or fill out defective merchandise slips, but that was not so bad. The easiest part of my job was basically everything else. As long as I did my job, my boss never had to "manage" me. He was always there to answer questions but let me do my job in peace. While there were harder days than others, the management style at my location made every day enjoyable. 
 
While the pay might not be considered "competitive" with other jobs, the atmosphere made up for that. I think this may have been my favorite job. The only reason I left was to help with a sick family member in another state. If not for that reason, I would have stayed. In fact, I looked for the same position in the city I relocated to, but there was no opening. I would absolutely apply if the same position became available.

If you're considering working at Sportsman's...don't. The culture of this company is horrible. If you decide to pursue a career at Sportsman's here is what you have to look forward to:

-Back biting among departments and management.
-Obscene amounts of corporate micromanagement.
-Absolute refusal to think "outside of the box" when it comes to problem solving. 
-Gossiping, cliques and rumor mongering on store & corporate levels.
-Non existent training with a pervasive "sink or swim" training culture.
-A decent discount on gear that you can't afford to buy because you're a junior member of management making $11/Hour in your full time position.
-Conflicting instruction from district, store and corporate management.
-Working for a company trying it's hardest to transform itself into a soul-less big box store that will run itself into the ground (or get bought out by a larger soul-less big box company) within 10 years. 
-Working holidays and weekends consistently. 
-Finding it nearly impossible to reach corporate management via phone or receive a reply by email. 
-Mediocre benefits at best. 
-Working in a purposefully understaffed store in order to help the Store Manager get a bigger annual bonus for coming in under budget on labor.  
-Working with college kids who don't actually hunt or fish. 
-Dealing with irrational customers on an hourly basis.
-Watching EVERYONE ELSE go play outside every weekend.


If you want my advice, work here as a part time gig to finance your hunting and fishing and get a killer discount on gear. (I'll bet they get rid of, or lower the discount within 2 years) Don't degrade yourself to their level by accepting a full time position or management role. If you bothered to read this far you probably have potential! Don't throw it away working at Sportsman's! Go to college, get a real job!.

I start off my day by processing all company mail.  Then I will enter, code, and validate freight invoices.  I regularly communicate with Accounts Payable Manager and the Director of Transportation to help out with tasks, as needed, by priority.  I help other people in AP when needed to meet their deadlines after all of my work has been completed for the day.

I have learned a lot of great things working with this company!  I would ask the managers to teach me new tasks in the department after I had completed my work.  They were very willing to teach me the accounts payable process and the hardware/software used to complete all tasks in the department. I have learned how to use; Microsoft Office, Oracle, Tomax, Markview, Copier, Fax, Scanner, and 10 key.  I have also learned how to effectively negotiate with freight carriers to meet deadlines and make sure we receive all discounts.

The management is great as far as teaching and working with people, however, they lack on using the right people for the right position.  I  have seen a lot of great, hard working employees either leave the company for more competitive wages, or get passed up by an outside hire for an open position.

The co-workers are great.  They all work hard and are willing to help in the trenches.

The hardest part of the job was learning how to use all of the office equipment and software.  This was a great challenge, which I took upon myself.  

The most enjoyable part of the job is working with great people, who love the outdoors(hunting, camping, fishing, hiking etc.).  I have also had the opportunity to learn a lot of things about the job,  the industry, and some of my favorite hobbies.

Worked here for 5 years and they are not ones to give raises easily. No matter how hard you work or how much you sale, it’s a matter of how good you are with the manager. They heavily discouraged employees talking about wages due to it being unfair and more of a popularity contest. There were people who started on, with no experience, at a higher wage than some great long time employees. Store Managers in all the stores I worked were pretty terrible. You had some wonderful shining stars who cared about their employees in their departments, but the company and demands of corporate drove the good ones out. The company as a whole has gone downhill in the last 3 to 4 years. Products gets cheaper, the hours get thinner, as well as the staffing. Rumor is they began to buy smaller stores to cut down on staffing but still dealing with the same flow of customers. Unfortunately, it has become less about customer service and more about making credit card capture quotas. Do not go full time with them. They will treat you like garbage and run you into the ground. You do not get paid vacation until one year of being a full time employee. Doesn’t sound too bad, but eventually it’s tiring dealing with the craziness of retail. Not only that but you can’t take four days in a row off without having to work ten due to the requirement to fill 73 hours in a work period. The wage isn’t worth it for what they make you do. Now with COVID you are expected to go above and beyond working in every department even if you don’t have experience. Management doesn’t do a good job of training and they just kind of leave you flailing. Sportsman’s used to be a great company to get in with but due to the company being traded from many hands it’s not an ideal place to be. 

Working for this company has made me realize how important it is to hire managers that are reliable, professional, and that generally care about their employees. This place doesn't have that. If you want to keep employees, you should treat them right. I have never worked somewhere with so much drama. Work is not about that. Of course, every place you work will have some people like that and there will always be drama but, this place is ALL drama and most of it is started from the MANAGERS. You can't trust any manager to keep things confidential. The office manager is one of the worst. She plays favorites and let's her favorites bully other employees without repercussions. The office manager sits on her phone all day in front of customers and then yells at other employees if they take their phones out at all. Managers are suppose to set an example and the office manager sure does set a "great" example. You can't go to a manager about an issue without them gossiping about it. Its absolutely ridiculous and extremely unprofessional. Working here was honestly fun in general. The store itself is nice and the customers are great it's just the unprofessional management running the place that makes working here terrible. The store manager is a nice guy but he let's the managers get away with things that shouldn't be happening. Maybe consider letting some unprofessional managers go and replace them with people who actually care for their employees? The camping manger is one manager that I will say is a genuine person. He cares about his employees and wants what's best for them and will actually make sure that any issues you bring to him, stay between you two. That's how a manager should treat their employees! The office manager should take note from him

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Store manager 8 salaries reported	$79,788 per year
Call center representative 1 salary reported	$15.50 per hour
Sales associate 19 salaries reported	$16.85 per hour
Customer service representative 2 salaries reported	$14.28 per hour
Asset protection associate 32 salaries reported	$19.40 per hour

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