Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

yeah,
I imagine having two or three staff does wonders for security.
It's got to be a deterrent against theft / violence and scams etc...

I'd be more worried about a group of youngsters 'rushing' the store and stealing stuff.
My brother worked at a single manned off licence (Liquor store) and was robbed at 'Brick Point' by a group of children.

Panic...

nkelsch wrote:

 Pacific wrote:

There is a very real reason why schools, kindergartens and care centres have very strict policies in place determining children being left under stewardship of adults, and specifically children not being left with a single adult for an extended period of time, in order to prevent the kind of problems above happening. GW completing ignoring those factors, like always just to help that bottom line, is I think an immensely ill-advised and potentially fatal decision considering what they could stand to lose.

The GW manager should simply not allow unsupervised children in his store alone without an adult. Pretty easy to tell unsupervised children to leave and to tell parents who are walking out 'what are you doing about your children?'

No other company out there allows it. And dozens of other retail companies have a single employee working so this idea that GW is the only retail company with lone cashiers and is responsible for child supervision the same way a schoolteacher is isn't reality.

Children shouldn't be left alone at a GW store, or any store... and any unsupervised child needs to be handed over to the police for detainment.

I agree with you in principle, but unfortunately it isn't the case in reality and the fact is that (at least in the UK - so perhaps this might be OT) that kids are left unsupervised for hours at a time at the store. Something that generally won't happen in the other stores you have listed. It used to be years ago when I worked at GW, and these days with the increasing focus on younger kids it seems like even more the case now.

Yes the store shouldn't be used as an impromptu creche, but that is what happens. Come to think of it, I myself used to spend 3-4 hours a time alone in a GW store before I was a teenager, although that was 20+ years ago and the demographic age in the store back then was a bit more varied.

Any chance there will be one of these for the UK anytime soon?

Well I have no control with what the UK recruiting department does. But I know they Interact well with there Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/becomelegendary.gw . So you can ask them questions through there or follow what they are doing through the page.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Announcing a New store in Austin TX. You can apply through this link ----> http://workfor.us/k6u3

Or check out the Become Legendary page and follow when we will be opening a store near you.

http://www.facebook.com/GWBecomeLegendaryNAm

NM

CptJake wrote:
NM

Lol wrong thread mate?

 Alfndrate wrote:

CptJake wrote:
NM

Lol wrong thread mate?

Yep, too many tabs open and not enough coffee injested.

Announcing a new store

Louisville, KY - NEW STORE!!! - http://workfor.us/9i7qx

We also have several Hobby specialist positions

Hobby Specialists - Games Workshop: Orland Square, IL - Part time role - http://workfor.us/zs3xx
Hobby Specialists - Games Workshop: White Marsh, MD - Part time role - http://workfor.us/3z9l
Hobby Specialists - Games Workshop: Chinook Calgary - Full time role - http://workfor.us/37yk

Full time positions have full benefits.

Another New Store

Palm Beach Gardens, FL - New Store - http://workfor.us/l0vu

I've worked as a retailer manager before in addition to working loss prevention and the one man model has me scratching my head as it seems like there are a number of loss prevention and labor issues that it seems to ignore.

If you only have one employee what do they do when they need to take a lunch or bathroom break? Do they close the whole store?

For mall locations this would be problematic as facilities are often not in store requiring them to lower the security gate just to make a quick run to the restroom. They would also need to close the store in order to take their break, unless corperate wants them to leave the store unattended. Which would result in loss of products. It seems very unlikely that you'd be able to have an on call employee that comes in for an hour each day to cover a lunch break.

If the stores plan on making employees skip lunch breaks or take them only while on the clock then that is going to raise a large number of legal issues which might result in the company being sued over wages or labor rights, forced over time etc.

Having one person on the floor creates a number of safety and loss prevention issues. Even in a small store a single employee cannot watch the entire store, it is very easy for them to be distracted by somebody posing as a customer. The second they turn their attention to help what they percieve as a customer other people in the store can shoplift items or even steal money directly out of the register. Having a small store can actually aide experienced criminals as it's less distance to cover in escaping once they've grabbed whatever item they are pilfering.

Also as mentioned earlier in the thread having only a single staff member can create potentially dangerous legal conditions if the store employee were accused of improper behavior. There are a large number of scammers out there who will claim that employees were acting improperly to file false lawsuits or allegations against the employee or the company in effort to get money. When there are no other people around it is very hard to defend against a worker being set up. Anytime there is a employee-customer confrontation it is usually a standard policy to have other employees witness they exchange to prevent false claims from arising.

It is unbelievable what some people will try in order to scam a business out of money by threat of lawsuit, even when all their behaviour is being actively recorded on cameras it doesn't stop them. Having a single employee store makes them an even larger target. Locations like shopping malls further increases those risks as malls are a preferred location for scammers due to the high density of businesses and distracted employees.

A faked "Oops I slipped on water", or "I was treated rudely or racially slurred by an employee" becomes very difficult to defend against in court when it's only the word of one employee vs several people working as a group to scam the business.

Having worked for well over a decade in retail I know that you can run a sucesful store with very few employees, but a single staffed store is not a good idea. It may work for food and beverage vendors but that's because they aren't having to watch shelf space and retail product at the same time as serving customers.

I find it interesting that fear of potential things happening issues. I think I would be I would worry more about my drive to work than most of the things you listed.

If you are successfully running your store, most times you are not alone let alone in a situation like your worried about. I worked in one for a year and half. Never ran into those kind of issues. Now times that by 95 stores and ahving never even heard about a situation like those that you suggest.

Next time you walk into one of our one man stores and really look at the lay out. The are wroughly 600 to 800 square feet with no large displays through the center of the store. Product laid own that once you become familiar with your store you will almost instantly know when something is missing. Small things that keeping your trash cans empty.

I'll start a discussion internally to see if I can come back with something more solid.

In our one-man stores there is a posted "closed for lunch" time on the actual store hours, so I know that they are not working through lunch. I know there are plenty of stores that work with one person only on duty. The 7/11 manages pretty well.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
I find it interesting that fear of potential things happening issues. I think I would be I would worry more about my drive to work than most of the things you listed.

It's not stuff that was a constant concern, however it's something that managers need to be aware of and be prepared for.

I worked loss prevention at best buy so it had a huge amount of traffic, on average we had at least 1-2 people per day attempting to steal items (that we caught). Typically they are escorted form the store but we had to arrest people maybe half a dozen times per month.

The professional theives work in groups and are rarely caught. A common strategy is to start a heated confrontation at customer service to get the management and security distracted meanwhile others in the store start taking items. If it's a smaller store they request that the employee retrieve something from a high shelf or backroom and keep them distracted while others help shoplift items.

The arrests are a pain and costly to the company because security staff and managers needs to attend as well as a lawyer. It is also time consuming to review the tapes and file reports with the police, which is why in most cases it isn't pursued unless it's a large loss involved.

Often the people who are responsible for the distraction efforts make false accusations. Both myself and 2 floor managers were accused of assault ie grabbing a woman despite the fact we never got within 3 ft of her. She also made the same claim against the two police officers who were there to remove her from the premises. The store video verified that she'd filed a false complaint and that none of the staff or police had done anything besides talk to her and no contact of any sort took place. However in order to prove the claims were false it required us all to attend court and bring legal representation for the the company as she attempted to sue Best Buy.

To further compound the ridiculous claims upon leaving she attempted to fake a fall just outside the front door claiming that the confrontation had spiked her blood pressure causing her to pass out and sustain injuries from falling on the concrete. This of course was caught on store camera and additionally was caught on the police officers dash cam. She could clearly be seen looking around before she laid down on the ground. She filed this as a seperate lawsuit against the company which like the assault and harrasment claim was thrown out. But it required both the managers and police to attend a second appearnce in court.

Later when we were reviewing video we discovered that at the time all this going down her son and a friend were busy stealing a large number of video games and several GPS units which they sucessfully exited the store with. They were able to be identified as they came in the same vehicle as the woman and were later arrested, but if they had arrived seperately it would have been very unlikely that we would have caught them.

Our store is not the only location that has experienced such situations, when we did our monthly district reviews I saw a number of simular occurances at other stores. Maybe not as extreme but very damaging in terms of losses and legal costs.

Another huge factor in store shrinkage is due to employee theft, as much as 60% of total losses are from employees. If you have unsupervised employees then you can expect to see an increase in losses. Employee theft is typically much harder to prove and prosecute than theft from outside sources. As a hobby business GW may not see the extermes that other retail busienss have to deal with, but it's something that every large company needs to evaluate.



Our goal was to keep total shrink at or under 1%, our location typically saw a sales turn over of aprox 1 million per week. (1.5-1.7 during holidays) At 1% that meant as much as 10-15k worth of stuff was walking out the door every week, and the store had over 40 employees and video coverage which most GW stores don't.

.

Well, with relatively low production costs on all of their products, except perhaps the printed stuff (which is hardly the first thing to be stolen, I'd think) I can imagine GW doesn't really see some amount of theft as a significant loss factor... (understandably so)

Edited by AgeOfEgos

 Ravenous D wrote:

 LazzurusMan wrote:
I'm seriously considering applying, I was wondering if you could tell me what exactly GW is looking for in their prospective employee's. What experience is required, what skills etc.

Cheer's

LazzurusMan

No skills, just a brain wipe, zealous loyalty to abusive managers and the willingness to get screwed at a moments notice.

So...any job

Shame they only wanted managers, might have attempted to offer a resume, not that I would have got it but it never hurts to try...

Edited by AgeOfEgos

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Another New Store

Palm Beach Gardens, FL - New Store - http://workfor.us/l0vu

Another store opeing in FL? Wow, thats like 4 stores in the state within the last year and a half. My local club is the GW at Altamonte Springs in Orlando.

 Ravenous D wrote:
Edited by AgeOfEgos

Yes, you are so correct. 16.92$ an hour should be reserved for true crappy jobs for low-paid jobs which require no skill or responsibility...

Like teaching our children...

Many educators, Substitute teachers and professionals who work in education currently make less than 16.92$ in some parts of this country.

So why do you think that the ratio is so 'off'? How much more than a teacher do you think someone managing a toystore should make?

I also like how people look down on more than twice the minimum wage... People are dying to get a job period... let alone one which pays more than minimum wage.

It is entry level retail management with room for growth. I just don't understand what people expect... If you don't like it... Don't apply? Even bad jobs can provide people much needed employment and experience and personal growth and can help someone pay their bills.

There are plenty of good jobs and companies out there that care about their staff and treat them like human beings instead of cattle.

It all depends on who you are working with, not the company itself.

nkelsch wrote:

 Ravenous D wrote:
Edited by AgeofEgos

Yes, you are so correct. 16.92$ an hour should be reserved for true crappy jobs for low-paid jobs which require no skill or responsibility...

Like teaching our children...

Many educators, Substitute teachers and professionals who work in education currently make less than 16.92$ in some parts of this country.

So why do you think that the ratio is so 'off'? How much more than a teacher do you think someone managing a toystore should make?

I also like how people look down on more than twice the minimum wage... People are dying to get a job period... let alone one which pays more than minimum wage.

It is entry level retail management with room for growth. I just don't understand what people expect... If you don't like it... Don't apply? Even bad jobs can provide people much needed employment and experience and personal growth and can help someone pay their bills.

Thats the thing though.

GW has a well worn track record of gakking all over the hired help. On top of that, there are more negative stories then positive from LONG TIME employees on how they are lorded over and pretty much threatend into hard sells distribution.

This "One man" store idea is a joke. WHy even waste money on the stores if this swill is going to take place? And that 16 and some change an hour? They didn't tell you that you might not make it a month in the position if you don't shill out enough space marines. If anything, look at how many "Veteren store managers" have positive things to say about them.

Might be different in other places, though. aside from being able to call down there to the head office right away, you probibly don't have as many debate club meetings in your stores over there.

"Even bad jobs can provide people much needed employment and experience and personal growth and can help someone pay their bills."

Not to the extent of how bad this job can and does become when the ooh and aaahhh of working for them wears off and reality of the situation brings you back to real life.

More negative then positive out there about them. Just saying.

I've not seen a long time retail manager that was happy or satisfied with their job, barring perhaps grocery managers who are paid insanely well.

nkelsch wrote:


It is entry level retail management with room for growth. I just don't understand what people expect... If you don't like it... Don't apply?

Tis' probably a good idea for future applicants---and also a good ideology regarding this thread. Not directed toward any one poster--but this thread has seen the proper way to discuss critical analysis of Games Workshop employment---and the improper way to address others/ideas. Let's endeavor to keep the balance of that affair in the positive...and not post in the thread if you feel you will fail in that area. Thanks!
-AgeOfEgos

When you decide to re-engage the region of the country called "New England", maybe I'd take an interest. But, since GW has utterly abandoned the region, not only can I not work for your company, but GW's influence in one of the densest, most affluent parts of the country is next to nothing.

From GW's own site, a 400 mile radius from my home:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/storelocator/search.jsp#page=results&radius=400&address=Arlington%2C%20MA%2002474%2C%20USA&latlng=42.423216,-71.153764&showGWS=true

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Thanks.

--Brian

 Grot 6 wrote:
On top of that, there are more negative stories then positive from LONG TIME employees

There are more negative stories about absolutely everything that ever was. That's how humans work.

 DarknessEternal wrote:

 Grot 6 wrote:
On top of that, there are more negative stories then positive from LONG TIME employees

There are more negative stories about absolutely everything that ever was. That's how humans work.

thats how the internet works

Come on. Seriously?

What was the point of that little tidbit of nothing? People are cheeved because I want to post a little truth to a feelgood thread?

I like GW when they do good things. The really bad thing about it is that I, in the pit of my dark soul- KNOW that they can do better. Even through the price gouge, the finecast, the closing of successful stores, the treatment of the rank and file of successful stores, the haphazard way in which they treat stores that are against thier sort of sales shtick, yet do very well and are then closed down for less then honest reasons, the transformers takeover, the lack of focus on what exactly they are selling and to whom, the lost potential in the starter sets to introduce new gamers to the scene, and the emphisis on selling expensive army men.

I get it... "Its a business", they want to make money and they want to open more stores for some reason other then making money.( because they care so much about gamers, or something) BUT I don't know why its so bad to engage in an honest discussion on the topic at hand. I thought this was Dakka, not GW's site and forum. Even from a potential applicant, its ok to strip away the soft candy shell and explain WHY we are out here in the either being treated like gak by their company.

I could see if I was making this stuff up, but what I'm throwing out here is true for numerous posters and forum readers. We've had discussion ad nausium about it, NOW we get someone from said company in here, and we're all supposed to put the kid gloves on? Excuse me for being so blunt, but why should I? You and your company have stuff to answer for. You won't do it on your site, so if you come here, you can go on ahead and suck this one up. You are in our house now.

If I have a criticism or issue, why don't you go out on a limb and step up and discuss it/ address it. Not that you'd do it on your own forum, where everything is space marines and chaos cherry pie.
( Oh wait- they closed that forum down... )

You want to dismiss my issues with some clever quip that has nothing to do with the discussion, try again chief.

I'm throwing it down that working in that environment has its own issues that arn't nessesarily on the table before someone goes into this job. While that might be ok in the Empire, it ain't so ok to us over here in the land of Lawyers, Guns, and Money.

You want to suger coat it, I'll taste the rainbow with counter-discussion. The door swings both ways.

If all your doing is putting up a help wanted sign, then you should have done it in the swap shop. This is a discussion forum here, chief.

You wanted in, now your in... Step up.

 Briancj wrote:
When you decide to re-engage the region of the country called "New England", maybe I'd take an interest. But, since GW has utterly abandoned the region, not only can I not work for your company, but GW's influence in one of the densest, most affluent parts of the country is next to nothing.

From GW's own site, a 400 mile radius from my home:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/storelocator/search.jsp#page=results&radius=400&address=Arlington%2C%20MA%2002474%2C%20USA&latlng=42.423216,-71.153764&showGWS=true

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Thanks.

--Brian

I like the part where the second closest store is in another country that isn't just down the road from you.

 Briancj wrote:

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Well I can not give you an official response for something I have no impact or input on. What I can tell you is there is a team of people who look for potential locations for Games Workshop that have to meet business requirements. We are currently on pace to open around 5 new stores a quarter. If you follow those locations on a map you will see a trend of GW spreading outward from memphis mostly seems east to west.





Automatically Appended Next Post:


Grot6,

You say you want counter-discussion but what you are really doing is slinging mud. I'm not going to have a discussion with you because nothing I will say will impact the very negative outlook you have for Games Workshop in general. I am truly sorry you feel that way and that you have had experiences with Games Workshop that have caused these feelings.

My thread is about possible employment opportunities with Games Workshop, and you are in no way a subject matter expert, as you have never worked for Games Workshop.

I don't like it when they try and sell me things, but I am very hard to please and prefer to be left alone lol
Shine on you crazy diamonds, and bring the world plastic sisters of battle ...