jobbite
Pros: You get to take photos and learn more about portrait photography.
Cons: On the days you don't work you are almost always on 'flex' (on-call) and the manager(s) will call you in on those days just so that they don't have to work or because they don't want to have to close the studio. They will get away with this by saying that they thought it was going to be too busy for them to work the studio alone.
You get a low pay (around $8.50-$9.00), which sounds okay EXCEPT for the fact that you are constantly on-call, you have to run the studio solo very often, and you practically have more responsibilities than the manager does.
Customers will at time complain about you. NO MATTER how well you actually take photos. The manager(s) will take this as an opportunity to be able to criticize you for things they themselves don't do well with.
You are expected to sell a LOT of photos, but you hardly ever get commission for any of it.
Your hours change a LOT from week to week. One week you might work 30 hours and the next you are working 3 hours. And despite what they might say, it is NOT based on how well you do in the job, its based on who the favorite/friend is of the manager.
This job is not worth it, trust me, if your desperate for a job go work at a McDonalds (it would be better than Sears Portrait Studio... anything would be better than working at Sears Portrait Studio).
Sears Portrait studio does not appreciate their employees, they don't pay well enough for how hard this job is, and they hire the absolute worst managers possible.
Starting: $8.00
Ending: $9.00
No bonuses. No vacation time.
I started at sears not too long ago. At first I loved it! Then they started get extremely pushy with selling credit apps and now I dread going to work everyday! I know I shouldn't complain because I'm not forced to work there. It's just that I am not satisfied with my job anymore. I think I am going to quit sometime soon.
I am currently employed at sears. I worked out on the sales floor and in the warehouse. Current starting pay is minimum wage with no raises because of the wage freezes. They offer part time and full time insurance. I am part time and 95 percent they hire are part time. Hours vary from 5 to 30 each week so you cannot plan anything financially. Full time employees are only guaranteed 30 hours a week. Not 40. If you are lucky enough to get a lead position you will only be making 10 dollars an hour. I work with a woman who has been there for 19 years and she is not making over 9 dollars an hour. That is because when they would continue to raise minimum wage law that was considered her raise for the year. They have an automatic scheduler now that schedules you in 3 and 4 hour shifts instead of a normal 8. So if you have to pay daycare or above average gas costs you are paying to work here. The cheapest part time health insurance plan costs over a 100 dollars every 2 weeks for 2000 dollars worth of coverage for an entire year. I don't know about full time insurance. You can only enroll in insurance one time per year so if your hired in after October you have to go until the following October until you can sign up for it. But they did offer PET insurance midway through the year. My managers and fellow co workers are for the most part enjoyable. Probably the reason I am still here... And the economy. After the holidays are over they cut hours terribly. Almost non existent. I've went almost two weeks without work last year. If you get hired on as a cashier watch out.. If you do not keep your credit applications to par youu will be fired or your hours will be cut until you quit. A few times a year they will have incentives for cashiers to earn 4 dollars per credit application they get in a MasterCard not regular sears card. You can plan on working every weekend as it is retail. The company spent tons of money on inspirational videos, bracelets and pens for us to wear to try up increase our morale for sales. I think a RAISE would suffice. I am thankful to have a job at this point but this is the reality of sears as if right now.
Sears is a very "old" company. Not in that the employees or customers are elderly, as there is nothing wrong with that. In that everything they use, sell, and utilize is out of date or on its' way out or just plain obsolete.
The computers use Windows NT still, the inventory system is archaic, the registers look like they need an entire room with a punch card to operate, and there is no way to "streamline" any process. If you need to do something over, you have to start ALL over. No starting from where it screwed up...and this is simply on the mechanical end. The management ranges from over-worked, under-appreciated, and stressed; to completely apathetic with the Store Manager being the worst of all.
In short, it is a very hostile, very unfriendly (behind the scenes), and very competitive environment based around selling credit card applications to people who can barely make ends meet in a struggling economy.
I get no bonuses, and I am paid minimum wage (8.25 an hour at the moment). Reimbursements include $4 for every credit application after the fourth, including all past applications ($16 minimum).
I would avoid taking any sort of position with Sears right now. Same store sales have been sinking for years. The information systems and inventory management systems appear to be decades old. Sears is simply being poorly managed. They do not seem to have a path to retail success. Sears has a storied brand and they still have a chance to turn things around but they need the right leadership in place. When this happens I do believe there will opportunity for a fulfilling career with Sears but until that happens stay away...
Worked at their corporate headquarters and lived in Chicago. Getting out there was a nightmare. What where they thinking when they moved out of the Sears Tower in downtown!? They built the new HQ in the middle of nowhere, not even near a Metra station (commuter rail). Even if you have a car, you will sit in rush-hour hell. Forget about even thinking about working at this place unless you live nearby.
Salary was good, management was ehh...just OK. The gleaming headquarters is a huge contrast to their dingy Sears and K-Mart stores. Morale at the store level is at an all time low and the news about their poor performance will only cause the Titanic to sink even more. And think about it, how cool does it sound when you tell somebody that you work for Sears/K-Mart?
Benefits is average, standard 2 weeks vacation. Store discount sucked, 10% off non-sale items at K-Mart, 20% off Sears soft goods, 10% for everything else. I shopped at mostly at Target the whole time I worked at Sears.