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 -Loki- wrote:

 Grimtuff wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:

 Grimtuff wrote:

It's so cute that people still think that their 50% discount is "hefty"

The discount for other retail work hovers at 10-15%. So 50% is pretty sweet, expect to be popular with your friends.

You do know using your discount for your friends is an instant dismissal right? With GW's Gestapo esq. culture you'll be gone very quickly when you do that.

So they're going to follow you home, and watch you personally open, build and paint your stuff, then make sure only you use it in games?

Um, yes. His area manager wanted to go through his stuff and make sure it matched with the order forms to make sure nothing was sold on. He has been my friend for many years and I was there when he was confronted about this at work. GW has ZERO unions and their staff generally do not know their rights.

Their Inquisition (yes, they really call themselves that) has been known in the past for "virus bombing" problem stores and getting rid of all of the staff in one fell swoop. Removing the taint as it were. This is well documents in many other forum posts across the Internet. GW's upper management thinks its the Imperium. Quite odd really.

 kronk wrote:

 Lake wrote:
I recently applied for a job at my local GW and have passed through onto the phone interview stage. I'm very confident as to my ability to get the job, but it struck me today that i have no idea as to either the basic pay or the benefits of being a GW sales assistant.
So i was wondering if anyone could enlighten me?

From your profile, I see that your 21. Running a store is a big responsibility, and something you can put on your resume later. If your title is store manager, it isn't disingenuous to say so, despite what other posters may have said. If the $25k/year (US) is accurate, what are your plans? Living with the folks for now? Roomates in an apartment? Using this to help pay your way through school?

Make sure you're thinking everything through. Best of luck, either way!

Agreed, definitely sounds like a good resume builder, especially if you're only (no disrespect intended) 21.

25k is the sticking point. It's possible to live on your own on 25k, but it's hard. Don't count on bonuses or commission to get you through, and budget like mad!

Ooh, I sound like my dad now. Sorry about that. Hope it works out for you!

 Grimtuff wrote:

 -Loki- wrote:

 Grimtuff wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:

 Grimtuff wrote:

It's so cute that people still think that their 50% discount is "hefty"

The discount for other retail work hovers at 10-15%. So 50% is pretty sweet, expect to be popular with your friends.

You do know using your discount for your friends is an instant dismissal right? With GW's Gestapo esq. culture you'll be gone very quickly when you do that.

So they're going to follow you home, and watch you personally open, build and paint your stuff, then make sure only you use it in games?

Um, yes. His area manager wanted to go through his stuff and make sure it matched with the order forms to make sure nothing was sold on. He has been my friend for many years and I was there when he was confronted about this at work. GW has ZERO unions and their staff generally do not know their rights.

Their Inquisition (yes, they really call themselves that) has been known in the past for "virus bombing" problem stores and getting rid of all of the staff in one fell swoop. Removing the taint as it were. This is well documents in many other forum posts across the Internet. GW's upper management thinks its the Imperium. Quite odd really.

Sounds like one manager being a dick. Clearly this isn't their attitude company wide.

A decent manager would have better things to do than scrutinise his employees' home life.

 BryllCream wrote:

Sounds like one manager being a dick. Clearly this isn't their attitude company wide.

A quick Google search would tell you this is false.
For example, have a read through of this. http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?311733-GW-employee-policy

The pay is gonna be low but it is a good stepping of stone if you want to go further with GW or you want to go higher in retail.

It won't be the greatest job in the world but it is something you will probably enjoy.

I would take it if you had no better prospects but you shouldn't settle because retail is a crappy career choice.

Since the question seems to be answered, my question becomes simple:

Why didn't you ask this during the interview?

 Mattlov wrote:
Since the question seems to be answered, my question becomes simple:

Why didn't you ask this during the interview?

...because asking about your pay and benefits tends to be a job interview faux pas, especially at the phone interview level?

Chozo wrote:

 Mattlov wrote:
Since the question seems to be answered, my question becomes simple:

Why didn't you ask this during the interview?

...because asking about your pay and benefits tends to be a job interview faux pas, especially at the phone interview level?

Which I find strange. I mean if it isn't reasonably accessable info, who would want to hire someone who hasn't the balls to ask what is clearly one of the top three questions they have? But then again, as the BNL song goes "I've never worked a single day in retail", though I've never gone for a job that I didn't know what the Pay/Benefits were either...

[quote
Their Inquisition (yes, they really call themselves that) has been known in the past for "virus bombing" problem stores and getting rid of all of the staff in one fell swoop. Removing the taint as it were. This is well documents in many other forum posts across the Internet. GW's upper management thinks its the Imperium. Quite odd really.

Chozo wrote:

 Mattlov wrote:
Since the question seems to be answered, my question becomes simple:

Why didn't you ask this during the interview?

...because asking about your pay and benefits tends to be a job interview faux pas, especially at the phone interview level?

There are a couple of schools of thought on that one. Some think it's not really kosher... but to some interviewers, not asking shows a lack of interest in the job.

As ststaed - i woudl guess basic for "staff" would be minimum wage.

I had a friedn who worked at GW for 3 days and got his discount. he left because they refused to allwo him to book any time off over any school holidays - understandable i suppose but his wifes a teacher so it was a deal breaker.

he started on the Monday and on hsi way out on the Wednesday blew abotu £200 on stuff with 50% off.


I'm only guessing but i have an inkling that some of the BNIB stuff on Ebay that is 75% of retail price just might be from GW employees buying on their discount and making a bit of cash back.

 Praxiss wrote:

I'm only guessing but i have an inkling that some of the BNIB stuff on Ebay that is 75% of retail price just might be from GW employees buying on their discount and making a bit of cash back.

Maybe, but I suspect a lot of it is just abandoned projects; I've probably got £150 worth of GW stuff that's still sitting in shrink wrap over a year later.

 insaniak wrote:

Chozo wrote:

 Mattlov wrote:
Since the question seems to be answered, my question becomes simple:

Why didn't you ask this during the interview?

...because asking about your pay and benefits tends to be a job interview faux pas, especially at the phone interview level?

There are a couple of schools of thought on that one. Some think it's not really kosher... but to some interviewers, not asking shows a lack of interest in the job.

Maybe it is different in the rest of the world but asking about pay and benefits early in the interview process is a no-no in the States. A pretty stupid policy as I have had my time wasted a few times.

the GW in Baltimore starts at like $9.25 an hour with a 50% off discount and im pretty sure you get a tiny discount off forgeworld stuff like 5% if that.... Full time employees need to paint miniatures for the store and you're judged and let go based on the 3 starter boxes you can sell Hobbit, Dark Vengance, and Isle of Blood.. I heard you get like $.25 raise a year... if you can survive off $9.25 an hour go for it!! benifits? im not sure i just remember a manager in NJ told me they were amazing.. but i doubt that.

OP. As usual go to the source for information on pay and benefits. Call or email GW get put through to personnel, they should tell you what you should be expecting.

Good luck on the rest of the application, any paid work is better than none and will provide good experience and something to add to your CV when you decide to move on.

At Lowes we got a 10% discount, it was gak, I ended up buying a few items from Home Depot as they still worked out cheaper. 50% is an excellent discount, but that should also be factored in by the shrewd suits at the top of the GW food chain as important to keep the employees enthused and involved in the hobby. Still, it's served me very well in the past, so no complaints there.

I can tell you that yes, the 'imperium' worded crap like inquisition and virus bombing and such is likely true. In North America, the regional managers would summon the store managers to a meeting and select one at random to perform 'commissar's summary execution' on their lowest selling employee and some poor schmuck would find themselves sacked due to low sales for the month. It's a strange bullying culture of blame and almost entirely the antithesis of modern corporate management thinking, which should be about team building and mutual support. But then the store and regional managers are a strange bunch, whilst I have no doubt there are some great ones, too many are the result of this very peculiar and almost religious love of the company some folks exhibit coupled with the furious attrition rate. It leaves the company promoting fanatical yes men who seem to thrive on firing people and dishing out punishments as the gak cascades down from the Nottingham Reichstag.

It is bad form to ask at the telephone interview as this is only a vetting stage. However this should be covered in full by the interviewer during the interview and this is laid out in most good practice guidelines.
You should also know about the holiday blocking which will mean you cannot take time off during school holidays in the UK.
I worked for GW for 6 years and to be fair the current managers pay they are offering is the same as they paid 10 years ago when i was made redundant. The cell manager pay i got was much better.
In 1998 when i joined we got all new rule books free of charge.
We bought metals and plastics at 50% discount. in shop.
and £30 a kilo from Lenton direct if you went to do a staff pick.
Forgeworld was 20% but didn't exist when i started.
Plus an annual Christmas gift and a £100 per year of service bonus paid in December.
The benefits are ok but in retail a manager in the UK should start at £22500 rising to £45000 with experience. I will say that manager on your CV only works if you have a proper headcount reporting to you. A one man store operation really means nothing, they are currently paying sales assistant money for sales assistant responsibility levels. I would not employ an ex manager at this level in any level of responsibility i'm afraid to say.