stocking associate

sales associate

associate

sales lead

store manager

West Marine

West Marine is a failing company.

First, the products are overpriced and poorly displayed. Almost half the customers walk into the store and then walk right out because they can find cheaper prices nearly everywhere else. Commonly the store had huge quantities of products that nobody wanted and low quantities of popular items. The process to "special order" a part from the manufacturer is slow and archaic. They still use a fax machine to send these orders! After three weeks, the part will finally arrive and the customer won't even come to purchase it. So we would just throw it on a random shelf to collect dust. The warehouse routinely has overstocked items that won't sell and corporate's solution is to just put it in a box and ship it to a random store. I worked at a store in Florida and we received ice fishing kits....

Secondly, the pay is poor compared to other jobs. Most employees are either highschool/college students or semi-retired sailers. There are so many products and so many variations of products that commonly nobody in the store can properly inform a customer. The company offers a limited online training program on some products, but you aren't paid to take them and therefore nobody bothers to. 

Lastly, the culture of the company is really bad. It is clear that corporate is trying to squeeze everything it can out of this company. They continually dismiss good ideas from their own employees. The computer systems are ancient and it shows. Customers become frustrated when the cash register goes down, they can't redeem advantage points at register, and the inventory system is always off. Commonly employees would just sit around talking about how they couldn't wait to move on and how the company was clearly failing. 

I think the best example of how poorly West Marine as a company is doing came during my last week of employment. A co-worker had ordered a GPS unit for his boat from the WM website. A box arrived at his house and he was excited that his unit had arrived. He opened the box (large enough for the unit and pull of packing paper) to find a single sheet of paper with a promotion for the extended warranty option for his unit. The unit wasn't in the box! It did arrive in a separate box one week later. A whole box complete with packing paper for a simple piece of paper...

Not much different from any other chain-store experience except that you're dealing with boat stuff and boat-owning customers. If this is entirely alien to you, you should work elsewhere.

WM tends to value salesmanship over technical expertise; but you still need to know what you're talking about. Many staff don't; they just look it. As 'big blue', WM has reputation of being THE place to get boating gear; but they are finding they're not and have slowly begun to change. Company had financial trouble c.2015-2018 and 'reorganized', in some cases cutting staff. Best people in any store are those who know boats very well.

Quiet stores (FM/XM radio) with sedate, clean, professional conditions. You sell parts, hardware, supplies, nautical fun stuff and, increasingly, shirts and shoes (has been lucrative for WM but many customers are disappointed at reduction in hard-core boatie gear).

Some AMs and managers can be annoying; most are just like you. Customers tend to be grateful for help but will dislike the prices and/or selection. Dress code recently changed to allow variety of navy/khaki/casual attire.

Sales quotas drive business. As AM I worked on developing loyal customers, not making money - the one will follow the other. Got chastised a lot by district manager (bully who disliked competent people); but I built business significantly and many customers came in because I was there. You can do this too - helps business, helps you learn, helps your resume.

Schedules flexible but subject to change weekly. Except for manager and AM, no one's likely to have same shift every day.

Employee discounts were recently reduced (employees pay more for store product now). Ironically many employees get better deals from employer's competitors.

Whether or not you'll enjoy working at West Marine depends a lot on which store you work at, whether it's a large store or a small one, and whether you even have any interest in the boating industry.  If you want a 40 hr a week, decent paying position that will allow you to live, you pretty much have to be a Manager, at least an Asst. Manager.  Some stores can't offer full time during the winter season.  Some stores cap asst. manager pay at around $12-$13 which is not a living wage. If you don't maintain full time status, you aren't eligible to buy insurance. 

That being said, if you're looking for a 15-20 hr a week part time job or you are just looking to supplement your income and don't need the benefits, it's easy to enjoy.  The customers are primarily laid back, working class fishermen with a few yuppie snoots mixed in for good measure.  There are some jerks here and there but in general, I have found West Marine customers to be much nicer than the average retail customer. The store managers in my district are awesome and the stores are good about working together to make sure customers get what they need & are happy. 

Other stuff:
30 min. lunch breaks
Learn something new every day
Good PTO accrual rate as long as you aren't a seasonal employee
Gain sales experience
Opportunities to transfer to other stores if you want to move (for example: move from a small store to a bigger one that can offer more pay)
They usually promote from within so if you want to eventually be a store manager, it is possible to make a career of this job.

I have been working as an Inventory Manager at West Marine for the past two years. The experience has been a mixed bag, with some positive aspects and some areas that could use improvement.

On the positive side, the company culture is quite friendly and supportive. My colleagues are hardworking and always willing to lend a hand when needed. The work-life balance is generally good, with a reasonable number of hours expected each week. The company also offers a decent benefits package, including health insurance and a 401(k) plan.

The job itself is challenging and keeps me on my toes. I've learned a lot about inventory management, supply chain logistics, and the marine industry. The company also provides opportunities for professional development, which I appreciate.

However, there are a few areas where West Marine could improve. The biggest issue is the outdated inventory management system. It's clunky and often leads to inefficiencies in our daily operations. I've raised this issue several times, but there seems to be little urgency to upgrade the system.

Additionally, the pay scale could be more competitive. While the benefits are good, the base salary is lower than industry standards for similar roles. This is something that I believe the company should address to retain talented employees.

Lastly, communication from upper management could be better. There are times when decisions are made that directly impact our work, but we are not informed until the last minute. This can be frustrating and disrupts our workflow.

I worked as a team lead for one week. Basically I quit halfway through training. I was set to be a lead on their 2nd shift at their Rock Hill location. They told me I would have to train on 3rd shift. I agreed, but did not know just how ridiculous of a schedule they where about to give me. The hours changed every night. One night they had me START at 2 AM and leave at noon!! Every morning after the night shift left, I had to sit through some sort of HR/Upper Management nonsense. Almost everyone here rubbed me the wrong way and I get along well with anyone that's reasonable. My trainers were either bad at explaining things or just plain rude and disrespectful if I made a mistake. I have never been inside a warehouse so depressing and tormenting. They use severely outdated DOS terminal computer tech from the 90s to receive and fix issues. They handed me a notepad to take notes... By the end of the week it was packed with ridiculous formulas, key commands and prompts that barely made any sense. Felt like I was learning to code but in the worst way possible. They don't let anyone go outside during breaks. Not even to your own car. So basically I had to freeze to death in their prison yard area every time I needed some nicotinee to calm my nerves. Do not give this place a chance! It is soul crushing and I found myself hiding amidst the shelves for the last 15 minutes of the shift. They also call for overtime halfway through the week so no work/life balance can be planned. 

From the beginning to the end, working here was not bad. I enjoyed what I thought it was I think I could say the only issue working here is the lack of communication between management to employees the people they have in charge are very unprofessional. If you’re not a family member, you will be treated differently . You can’t talk to each other while working the older people will give you stank face looks They lie about other employees to get each other in trouble. It’s just a very hostile environment. No job should feel this way. And to make matters worse, you can’t call off at all or else they will fire you. I worked there for a full month straight showed up every single day called off one time to go to the hospital for a family emergency and they fired me because they said attendance is very important to them. Overall, if I didn’t have to deal with any of the negativity I would have enjoyed working there with the people that I did meet. I can tell that it was a very sad place and I brought light happiness and smiles into their. 

I worked at 5 stores. I also worked on store builds and closings. I enjoyed all of my time at West Marine. My favorite store was in Clearwater where I received my certificate for apparel specialist. My average day began with zoning. I would start in the back straightening out the shoes. Working my way forward through apparel to the front bag wall. On truck days I would work in my merchandise.
Every 6-8 weeks my area was to have a fresh look. Rather than wait and do it in a rush, I would work one shop at a time. (Ex: woman's West Marine, women's Columbia, women's etc then through the men's shops.) After completion it would look good for a few weeks then I would start all over. While working the "shops", I provided customer service sometimes acting as personal shopper. In passing through my dept I would adjust out of place items. I believe no one wants to buy something that looks like other people have tried on. 
Half an hour before I left I would start at the front of the store. Walking through towards the back I would make sure the area was set before I left.

It must have been a good place to work at one time when managed by people with interest in the boating community. The investment firm that purchased the company cannot seem to get a grip on a inspirational purpose other than to extract the greatest amount of short-term profit from a dwindling group of wealthy large boat owners. The customer service above the store level was abysmal. Store staff could not count on deliveries promised to customers through store processes. The regional manager occasionally visited the store but showed no interest in the employees while there; not so much as a simple hello. Just a group of drones trying to keep a job with no inspiration. Stores did not get credit for sales fulfilled more reliably using the internet. I did not purchase products there even with the employee discount as the same products could be purchased elsewhere faster and cheaper. The company will be liquidated within the next couple of years.

A typical day at work: You come in and are instantly greeted by a mess. There is almost no job training and you are expected to perform at 110% at all times. The computer system is non-functional and cannot lookup customer information in a timely manner. The support center that tries so hard to help also can't fix the problems because of a lack of funding.
What you learned: How to be awesome with customer service
Management: Store management is great. They treat you as well as they can considering the shape the rest of the company is in. Upper management is out of touch with reality and do not value the store staff, and also insist compensation to grow 10 cents every two years.
Co-workers: My co-workers are some of the hardest working people I know. West Marine is lucky to have such dedicated people.
The hardest part of the job is dealing with the inconsistencies in policy - sometimes things are enforced, other times they aren't. Its confusing, and sends a mixed message.
The most enjoyable part of the job: Working with most of the staff in my store.

In short : You will have to become a jack of all trades to take care of specific and often technical needs of the boating community, On average there are never enough trained employees to properly facilitate this as there will be plenty of DIY scenarios which require the hands on hardware experience to provide  proper guidance for possible solutions.  

Following up from the previous paragraph that also applies to chemicals, marine craft, and navigation components/computers. There is no possibility to earn a living wage unless you are management and there are no salaried positions available even to full-time employees no matter your tenure, experience, or skill set.  In regards to the subject of raises and bonuses there are next to none for full-time employees if the store's (Subjective) performance is not up to snub that eliminates any real consideration with the exception of management and their superiors (guaranteed bonuses regardless) 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Stocking associate 10 salaries reported	$27.50 per hour
Sales associate 41 salaries reported	$17.58 per hour
Associate 2 salaries reported	$23.20 per hour
Sales lead 22 salaries reported	$19.78 per hour
Store manager 11 salaries reported	$34.69 per hour

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