sales associate

lead associate

seasonal associate

assistant store manager

store manager

Virginia ABC

VA ABC offers great service to the public to meet consumer demands but as a part-time employee there is not much other incentive. Part-time employees are the primary source of labor and full-time is only offered at Assistant Manager, except for special circumstances for store availability. However, they are considerably flexible on schedule which makes it ideal for students and people people who work more than just one job. They offer extensive internal resources to educate employees and products. There is not much movement for promotions towards the top.

Promotions for Lead Sales Associates (from entry level part-time) is only offered to employees that express long-term plans to stay at a location; per conversation with supervisor. This limits any potential growth for part-time employees who are looking to gain experience in other roles effectively limiting personal professional growth. Without the potential for growth, this combined with lack of employee benefits, offer little incentive outside of flexible schedule and earning an income.

If you are looking for a flexible schedule, build your knowledge on liquor and spirits, and/or looking to supplement your income while working a second job this an ideal position. But if you a driven, career minded individual with long-term goals then this may not be for you if you work retail  at anyone of their stores.

This is a job that is very easy to get into and advance in. For a part time employee, your day involves cashiering, stocking shelves, helping customers with products choices, and answering the phone. If you want to do more, just ask and you will be taught how to do inventory, store products from the truck and into the store room, and receive and fulfill liquor vendor orders. Part-time is paid Around $10.15/hr with a maximum of 28 hours a week in particular areas. Full time positions are only open to Assistant Managers / Managers, and higher up the chain, and assistant managers have benefits. If you're a friendly and hard working character, chances are you will be very much liked within the workplace, and you won't have many problems with others. The hardest part of the job is probably working with customers, as with any customer service job, especially the homeless people that will come in every now and again. It really is a test to your patience. 
There were also quite a bit of scheduling concerns, as you only get your schedule per week, and people can call out at a moment's notice and you're a little understaffed that day and someone might have to come in on their off day. Be strict about your work schedule if you want it to be stable.

A typical day at work consists of selling booze to happy customers. Other responsibilities include stocking the shelves, taking care of the money and paperwork, receiving the shipment once a week, making the store order once a  week, ensuring that the sales signs are changed, and writing off broken bottles.

I have learned how to manage time better and how to work with other  members of management to ensure that the store runs smoothly. This is a small store and all of the staff work closely with each other. It is important to maintain harmony and have good communication skills.

The hardest part of the job is to avoid any political subject with customers. Sometimes, customers see something on the news and want to talk about it with the staff. At ABC, the employees are forbidden from discussing politics, particularly with customers. This can be tricky, especially when  a law  is passed changing the rules in ABC stores.

The most enjoyable part of this job is interacting with the customers and  with my coworkers. The store I work at has some colorful characters as regular customers. I enjoy their presence thoroughly.

As a cashier, I was only allowed to work no more than 28-29 hours a week in order to avoid receiving benefits. The work itself was pretty easy, and I was able to gain lots of knowledge about different types of liquor, and a huge variety of delicious cocktails. The customers had a huge impact on whether or not each shift was pleasant, or extremely uncomfortable. Thankfully, they were usually in a decent mood, and I managed to meet lots of awesome people from all walks of life while I was there. I loved stocking, and viewed it as being paid to exercise and level up my strength. It also made the time go by super quick, and helped me remember the location, prices, types, and codes for each bottle of liquor. Overall, I enjoyed working there, and was fortunate enough to have amazing coworkers/regulars. The pay could have been much better, and especially added benefits considering you're technically a state employee.

VAABC has a mentality that they don't have to provide good customer service because they monopolize spirit sales in VA. Management at my store has made such a claim verbatim, addressing employees. Within the few months i've worked at my store, middle management is constantly micromanaging salespeople and there is absolutely no concept of a team based model to complete daily tasks etc. This has gotten much worse since ABC corporate has gutted store hours with a new scheduling matrix, affecting all retail stores in VA. Every salesperson in my store (5) is getting, at most, 15 hours p/week. This is a very demanding customer service gig but now daily tasks like stocking are piling up and ultimately corporate expects salespeople to complete the same amount of work despite gutting the schedule.   Ultimately, after one of most profitable years in VAABC's history, they have decided to gut employee hours and consequently customer service at VAABC is getting worse.

     I was employer with Virginia ABC for over 7 years in Fairfax county. I started out in a store that wasn't the best and we had our share of some shady clientele but had good ones as well. I did gain experience in management and processing the licensee orders. Eventually, I left the company for over 2 years before returning to the company but a different location.
    The next location was easier to run, in a better neighborhood and a great manager. The only downsides were no benefits unless you were at least assistant manager, and I wasn't very lucky making management, the hours were limited and dealing with a few unreliable employees. The liquors stores in Virginia are all run by the state and every store varies, depending on what sells. 
       It was good while it lasted in the last few years I worked there and then I had to move to another state. For anybody else out there, it depends on which location you may work at, who you work with and what the store manager is like. There are pros and cons to every job.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Flexible hours and each day being a new challenge. Customer interactions can be fun but beyond that not much else.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The Authority care very very little for there employees and will willingly not show any care or regard for the individual needs. Either the stores or its employees, they treat everybody exactly the same, replaceable and expendable. The Authority is ran by people who don't understand how to run a monopoly because that is by their own admission ABC is a monopoly. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Profits over compassion. 
Money over sense.
Conformity over innovation.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Learning how to best serve and cater to the customer. Stocking each day and trying to ensure that customer have as many of needs met.

This was a part-time job while studying. The work environment at my particular ABC was very welcoming, relaxed and friendly. Management was more than happy to teach everything one needed to do their job. 

The hours are flexible and management is willing to work with you but expect to usually work closing shifts - but that is a common trend in retail jobs in general.

I recommend learning basic knowledge of mixology as the most common questions customers have is recommendations for new drinks to try and what goes with which mixer, as well as pointing them to other ABC stores that carry a product they can't buy there.

My only complaint would be the lack of hours if sales were low - which they often are if the nearby university is out of session such as over the summer. This is, however, not management's fault as they are assigned hours by headquarters so they can't really do much. I mention this to keep in mind if one needs a second job or another source of income.

A typical day at work for me would include ordering/reviewing stock, managing a small team to ensure all of ABC's expectations are met. Daily managing of store funds to include deposits and operational funds, train and develop management staff to better enforce ABC policy. Motivate my coworkers to get the best out of each and every individual.
Because I enjoy a challenge I don't consider any thing I encounter hard, but if I had to choose anything it would be keeping employees motivated to ensure continuous success despite the lack of hours and moderate pay.
The most enjoyable part of the job is being the leader of the team.  Evoking spirit of togetherness, creating and upholding policy, training employees, making all the tough decisions that most people do not like to make.  It's far more than just being the "boss." It is making a last impression on someone that will carry well into there next work experience.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working for Virginia ABC is only the customers

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful well not really stressful but the saddest part about working for Virginia ABC is the young and experienced unprofessional managers that they hire

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment and culture is horrible, there is no teamwork and the managers show favoritism for their gophers

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day at Virginia ABC is not great, part timers have no benefits, management are unprofessional, some pets can do things and other associates can't, management seems to want the associates to do management functions with no benefits

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sales associate 11 salaries reported	$15.50 per hour
Lead associate 5 salaries reported	$15.45 per hour
Seasonal associate 6 salaries reported	$13.63 per hour
Assistant store manager 1 salary reported	$42,243 per year
Store manager 2 salaries reported	$59,199 per year

Working at Virginia ABC: Company Overview and Reviews

Virginia ABC

Virginia ABC Ratings

Popular jobs at Virginia ABC

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected