Entry Level Job with High Stress in customer service
Job started out as a seemingly promising way to finally leave the retail circuit while you work one on one with customers on projects creating banners, books, paper fliers, posters, basically a wide variety of creative work. Working with the public always causes stress and customer interactions however, especially concerning production on very personal/important projects sometimes mean crunch time and taking verbal abuse as communication can become difficult as company limitations for practices vary from project to project and aren't *always* consistent. The learning curve to master software and production practices is very long, about a six months before new employees will even begin to be remotely comfortable on the production side, where as the shipping side is easier and quicker to manage.
Promotion within past the lowest level management (a shift manager type position) can take years, assistant management jobs (one step below store managers) are available, but depend on store size only. If you live in a a town or city with smaller stores you may have no assistant positions available within reach.
Salary is dependent on local minimum wage and not as high as it should be with the work load.
Clientele atmosphere very much changes from store location store location. So working at a smaller store with a higher income client base can mean sometimes unreasonable and very rude customers. COVID's precense causing a cultural shift with increased deliveries and remote/at home
ProsHolidays Off and a variety of creative work
ConsPoor entry level compensation, crunch time, inconsistent management, inargueable involuntary transfers and overtime with no bonusss
I just wanted to take a moment to let everyone know the direction that FedEx Office is taking regarding its employees.
This may get me fired but you know what? I’m okay with that. The days I can’t work are going to start reflecting negatively on my attendance anyway.
Federal law allows employers to schedule its employees any time it wants. Regardless of the situation.
Certain state laws protects the employee with unavailability, with said employer, with this new predictive scheduling craze.
Florida does not have any state laws regarding scheduling. Therefore federal law applies.
I have been with the company for 3.5 years. I purposely applied for this job because I enjoy this work and I am exceptionally good at what I do. I am proud to work for FedEx. Overall, they are an amazing company to work for.
I’m posting this because I’m mad that just now, after 3.5 years, my district/regional team will no longer work with me and my colleagues, regarding our availability. Company policy says you can tell your manager when and when you’re not available. However federal law states that if a certain manager Chooses too, they have a right to refuse the accepted schedule previously agreed upon.
I don’t want to look for another job. This job fulfills me. I’m writing this in anger that my particular district doesn’t care if you are a single mother of three, have a second job or are on dialysis 3 days a week. You will be available 100% of business hours or you will be p
3.0
Customer Service Representative | Columbia, SC | Oct 26, 2015
You'll Learn Alot, But You Won't Advance...
A typical work day consists of you working on various projects with customers such as book bindings, poster printing, and banner design. You'll also have plenty of packages that you'll be accepting and holding for FedEx Ground and Express to pick up.
The downside is, the software that you are required to use is proprietary. Meaning you will have ZERO experience with it when you first join the company, but you are expected to use it with every single print job you do. This is a hassle during the first year, because the company does not have an official training regimen in place. You aren't put in place to shadow any one and you aren't given the opportunity to take the program home or read up on it. The first 6 months are spent either trying to avoid customers or trying to uncomfortably stand over the shoulder of more experienced employees.
For example, I went to school for graphic design and I feel I am quite proficient in Adobe Creative Suite, which FedEx office uses. However, after things are put together, you still have to pull the file into their proprietary software because it keeps a record of all the files and customers. Basically, the software lets you do, everything you could have done through Adobe...but do to the checks and balances the company lays out, you have to learn to fiddle through a very complicated new software that you'll never ever use outside of the lower level employment within the company. Seriously, when the execs come into town, they h
ProsHour lunches, You'll learn a lot about design and writing programs, paid holidays
Conslack of training, frequently altered schedules, managers take precedence in all scheduling
Typical day going is basically helping people who know what they are actually doing but wants you to assist them because you are there. Any and everything could change in the store at any time. The goals were unrealistic they want you to sell a phone cleaning product and if you don't you will be written up for it. The management is horrible most don't know what they are doing and if you work at their store to fill in due to high turnover they will leave you and have you work a their high traffic store by yourself. I had a manager who wrote you up if you didn't clean the bathrooms but if she decided to clean the bathrooms she had an attitude. She would wait until you come into work midshift at 1pm to tell you that there was alot of work to be done but some of the orders were submitted 3hrs before you got there. Then she would go back to a designated desk in the back of our small store (it was only 3 of us that worked there) and she would sit back there for the rest of her shift as you handle the store. Even taking breaks to go get money for the safe then would come back and take another break saying it was her lunch. She considered herself by the book because she has been at FedEx Office for 9 years but was never good at training and that seem to only depend if she wanted to help if she was in the mood to do it. My co worker was great we got along very well when there was something that needed to be done we got it done with great team work and strategy. It was always a great
ProsBenefits
ConsAnnoying management, no job advancement, unrealistic sales goals.
Good for kids living home with parents that take care of them
Up until recently, I was an employee at Fedex Office in NY. During the first few months of being employed, I was excited to go to work and learn. My coworkers and managers (training and assigned store) were great. Both my managers were with the company for 10+ years. It took me a little longer than most people to understand why they were so miserable working here. I always had another job, which was my main source of income. The paycheck from FedEx was just something to make me feel like "a part of societly". I admit, I did learn alot workjng for this compaby. But the biggest lesson I learned was that this compaby does not care about their employees. They just want you to work hard and practically kill yourself to make them money. You can hit and/or Exceed sales goals and there is still no type of real recognition or appreciation for those workers that go the extra mile to exceed expectations. I was very happy working with this company until they hired a new district manager who is just an idiot to be put nicely. She has no idea what shes doing and immediately tried to come in and implement change without even being knowledgable about the profession she was in. Me being the good worker and person that I am, I tried very hard to over look a lot of the negative and just be grateful that I had a job. This job was just a rip off. They murder you in taxes, don't EVER give you a 40 hour work schedule. And then pretty much tell you that you're not doing a good job. My district manag
2.0
Customer Service Representative | Frisco, TX | Jun 5, 2016
Few good managers, high pressure, low pay.
I have worked for this company off and on for over six years. My hiring manager at a tier one center was amazing and the work environment was rewarding. The tier one (larger) centers can be great when everyone is on the same page and working seamlessly. The team can be cut throat with the majority of people wanting to work production and shipping area, often referred to as the hole, is treated like a time-out for those who do something wrong in production. This is a good center to be in for those who like fast-paced environment, learn complex systems and processes quickly, and wish to move up to a higher level position in six-twelve months.
After my awesome manager left the center to become a district manager in another state (yes, it is possible to move up the corporate latter). I moved to a tier 3 (lower level center). These centers can get busy and overwhelming during peak shipping times, but for most of the time they are steady or even occasionally slow. This is a good option for college kids and part-timers, but should actually be run by seasoned employees who know the ins and outs of design, signs and graphics, as well as current operating systems as procedures. Unfortunately, the company only cares about revenue in relation to pay role which limits the centers ability to vastly grow business and move up to become a higher tier center which would overall grow the business. It's a downfall they do not wish to address.
About six months after starting at the tier t
Was a great company to work for before FedEx bought it
I started years ago with the company when it was named Kinko's. It was an incredibly fun place to work, the training given was hands on and impeccable. The management throughout the years as Kinko's was very supportive and encouraged and helped with setting a path towards advancement. Bonuses were also incredible and were based on status such as part-time, full-time, and management. Bonuses were calculated based on your store's profits and then split amongst the staff. This really encouraged all employees to go the extra miles to bring up our profits. The environment was always friendly back then. Once FedEx purchased Kinko's and changed it to FedEx Office is when everything started going downhill. FedEx immediately slashed salaries of management, even though now we not only had to provide printing services but also shipping services, causing a mass exodus of experienced managers who were then replaced by cheap hires outside the company rather than promoting experienced team members from within. Then profit sharing was eliminated and now how much profit your store makes means 0. It's all now based on how many products of the month you sell. You want to make $5 bonus well then sell 5 packs of paper. Oh wait you only sold 4? Nope sorry $0 for you. I went from making around $1000 a month in bonuses to $20 on a good month. The management now is worse than ever. Laziness is encouraged and hard work is punished, literally. Employees who lean on counters and call out sick only to l
ProsThe starting pay is good, and the health benefits and 401k are as well.
ConsHorrendous management, laziness rewarded, hard work punished. High stress with no acknowledgement, or compensation for your hard work.
1.0
Customer Service Representative | Newburgh, NY | Aug 26, 2019
Toxic, stressful, and difficult.
I have worked in quite a few places, but, this job has poor training. Everything is lead by metrics, and not just because it is a shipping company with fast services. No matter what you do, it will never be enough, because management will hammer you with more metrics, more failures, more timed goals. Whether it be timed goals for placed orders, variances, customer reviewed surveys, to your overall profitability to the company by up-selling. The reviews are now quarterly, rather than yearly.
No one ever receives a 5, so, the scoring is typically 1 out of 4. I worked well at my job, but, had extreme difficulty because my training was awful, and our store was inside of a Walmart, which wasn’t typically busy. You’re literally graded by a decimal system such as 2.17, or 2.52 grading system and so on.
When the manager literally created an extremely hard work environment, for simple mistakes, management only listened to their side. Everything was to make the manager look better, and not the team. This included trying to use hours as leverage. Very spiteful, only cares about itself, and is quick to critique an individual. The “open” door policy only seems to apply to what better suits management, and not you.
The hours are completely unstable. Granted, I was part time, but, many times I worked only 12 hours a week, when promised up to 25 hours a week. Hours were always cut first if you’re part time. Mileage is compensated, and you can work at other stores for more hours, bu
ProsI loved the 75% off the FedEx shipping services.
ConsEverything is about meeting X amount of metrics, training is poor, managers are robots. It is a trial by fire work environment. Current store manager is spiteful.
2.0
Customer Service Representative | Dublin, OH | Dec 31, 2015
High stress work enviroment
A typical work day at FedEx Office would be simultaneously taking complicated customer orders by either online, over the phone or in person, producing already taken customer orders by the deadline and processing and packaging customer packages as they come into the center. All the while making sure that all incoming and outgoing packages are processed on a 15 minute deadline when the Fedex drivers show up to either drop off or pick up outgoing customer packages.
I've leaned how to multi-task, use time management to meet important deadlines, have great attention to detail at everything I do, supervise myself and others.
Management varies from center to center and from one manager to another. I've been lucky enough to have the pleasure of knowing a couple managers that have been very helpful in my growth in the company.
My fellow co-workers also vary from one individual to another. Some are very hard-working and have a great work ethic and others seem to have just given up on the job and do just enough to keep from getting fired.
The hardest part of the job is working in such a high stress environment, working over time more often then not. You may think that this job isn't stressful but it can be much of the time. You have multiple deadlines to meet simultaneously while trying to provide good customer service and are required to up-sell/cross-sell on a continuous basis. Like in most retail environments you will come across many angry customers but when it comes
ProsOk Pay
ConsHigh Stress, fast paced, long hours with sometimes no breaks or lunches
I started working at FedEx Office in 2018 in customer service. I worked in the Annapolis location and the one thing I can say about the training is it's abysmal. You watch training videos and someone shows you how to operate the shipping terminal and basically you are thrown to the wolves. FedEx Office does printing and shipping and in the almost 3 years of being employed there I learned absolutely no printing because my co-workers hated working on the shipping side. In my 3 years there all of the people who were hired after me quit do to the working conditions. You're expected to work in shipping while the people who work on the production/print side watch videos and play video games on the computer most of the day outside of completing print orders. You're expected to hassle customers for We Listen Surveys which 90% of them won't fill out because you get the same customers most of the time. My saving grace from Annapolis was getting sent to College Park during the Pandemic where the manager there started showing me what little production comes into the store, since it's a smaller location. I was splitting my time driving between College Park and Annapolis and working hours which specifically cost me my part time job, missing my kids games and practices. My hours got changed because people quit, during our so called meetings to see what our Manager could do to help us, I explained I pay child support and need my part time job and changing my hours messes that up to
ProsBenefits
ConsMust work a weekend day
Questions And Answers about FedEx Office
How often do you get a raise at FedEx Office?
Asked Mar 4, 2021
Yearly
Answered Mar 20, 2023
once a year like 25-50¢
Answered Mar 14, 2023
What is the promotion process like at FedEx Office?
Asked Sep 22, 2020
as needed to fill spots, as long as you put in the work to learn all the tools/equipment and are driven toward moving up there should be availability.
Answered Mar 14, 2023
They do not promote from within
Answered Feb 24, 2023
What is the best part of working at FedEx Office?
Asked Dec 20, 2019
The benefits
Answered Jul 3, 2022
The people and environment at the workplace are extremely diverse.
Answered Jun 28, 2022
What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at FedEx Office?
Asked Feb 25, 2017
Wear smart casual to the interview.
Answered Mar 26, 2023
Just be yourself and be honest
Answered Feb 22, 2023
How did you get your first interview at FedEx Office?
Asked Jun 30, 2016
I applied on the FedEx website after an AM out of my office put in a good word.
Answered Jan 18, 2021
Recruiter contacted me after seeing my resume on Indeed
