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.

 Flashman wrote:
Seriously? GW just started a thread on dakka?!

Kind of like those scenes in westerns when the gunman walks into a saloon, the music stops playing and everyone turns round to stare at him.

There's always the ignore function.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
I don't speak for Games Workshop, that is for other people who see a bigger picture than me. I look for people who want to work for Games Workshop. Our positions are not for everyone, but there are people out there that want to run a business and love our product. We are opening new stores, which is creating jobs in different communities, helping those peoples families grow and prosper, which in turn is spreading the hobby. It is easy to be hostile but remember that at the heart of the first message is talking about Work.

I'm assuming you're serious, but please leave the corporate pep-talk speak at home. You're not going to win any support with it.

I live in Maryland, and recently the old Battle Bunker location closed, before re-opening in another part of the state. None of the employees put out of work for over a year by this were guaranteed positions at the new Bunker, they were told they'd have to re-apply (and had no idea when the new one would open).

The GW in the Arundel Mills mall closed after several years of operation, as seems to be common with small GW stores trying to get market share in different areas, but not being there to stay long-term. And the GW nearest to me downsized their second employee (after hiring him less than a year previously) and cut the hours of the one man left running it, to cut costs.

This is NOT a family-friendly career, it does not help families grow and prosper as you had the gall (imo) to say. It does not help people find long-term work.

Instead, it's a high turn-over position, involving high pressure sales tactics, and high pressure management interaction with employees. It does not offer them career advancement, or job security. I would never, ever recommend anyone I care about working for Games Workshop.

This is my honest opinion, and imo you're just parroting back corporate lines that will do nothing good for the company you're representing. I'd stop posting in this manner if I were you, because no matter what your goal is, you're certainly not accomplishing it.

I would except for two reasons...one i was a redshirt five years ago and the army treated me better but two and more importantly i like competition in demon more then just open category but.kudos to you guys for posting and maybe someone great will be.found from it.

I did often wonder where the employees would go beyond manager... I never known any to go anywhere else beyond that
a lot of companies toss that "career" word around, though most of them obviously do not offer that.
I have had a lot of jobs, most of them claiming that, and most, only the managers were ever there for longer then a year, the rest came and went, low pay, low benefits-if any, lousy treatment...
Now I cannot speak for GW, I have never known anyone personally to work there, nor did I ever have a chance to work there (I remember the one time I applied the guy doing the hiring didn't like me much, and i hated him)

I'd like to see them be more honest, even a little, it would go a long way...even just a swap of words

Ya know, I really thought this was some sort of joke when I first clapped eye's on this post late last night....But clearly not

I know a lot us on here (myself included) have lost a lot of respect for GW as a company over the years. This is probably not the place to set up a recruiting post TBH. Although I'm sure that someone at GW HQ had the bright idea to advertise on a free-to-join Wargames Forum, maybe it would have gone down better had GW treated it's customer's less like gak and more like people over the last few years. I can only agree with RiTides' comment above I'm afraid.

Does anyone know whether BOL's or Warseer have been similarly targeted? And if this is the way GW are recruiting now, then they must be pretty desperate. I really don't think anyone on here with a modicum of sense would join GW, and their sending a rep here would surely only exacerbate the current feeling's held by many of the members on Dakka.

Edit:
Hey! I used 'Exacerbate' in a post, and it's 5:04 am. Go Me!

does take some gonads, though I still am sure they wouldn't hire me (even for drone lacky)
how many of you do have manager experience in...anything?

I do know they are rated as the second worst company on the Forbes 500 only being beat by Walmart.

@rainbow...u would be surprised but i definitely do many times over.

walmart has ponies, GW has no ponies!

(oh I am more curious if anything)

 Rainbow Dash wrote:
does take some gonads, though I still am sure they wouldn't hire me (even for drone lacky)
how many of you do have manager experience in...anything?

I run my own little group of luvverly ladies at work. No, I'm not a pimp (which sucks), I manage the day-to-day aspects of a ward with some 21 resident's in it at a large Nursing Home, which includes looking after 3 20-something single ladies and their duty's. But that's a far cry from running a GW store. For a start I get respect from the upper echelon's of the Management at work, I'm not treated as a high pressure sales drone and I actually enjoy my job.

I'm actually a great salesman, oddly enough, though that's not what I do currently (I tear out kitchens in town houses and apartments)

First, welcome to DakkaDakka.

I work as a store manager for a retail chain. I've had supervisor or higher level experience for about....eight years now along with doing retail a total of 12 years. Very few people respond negatively to my selling. In fact, many comment I should do TV commercials, work as an announcer on the radio, or do auctions.

To be fair, upper level management talk and recruitment sound much better than reality. That is the truth in most cases. Of course, an employee's attitude and commitment may make their job far worse than it could be (I'm not saying become a sheep, but you have to put effort and creativity into the job). And yes, some bosses and companies are actually awesome to work for and be around.

GW has a lot of bad press and publicity, especially by the former employees and disaffected customers who bemoan the fact that GW simply does not offer either a great career choice nor a product that is affordable or worth the said price.

What does GW offer to prospective hires? What are the benefits?

How do you specifically contend with the criticism leveled against the company you are representing? How far do you go to represent the company you are recruiting for?

hows about re opening the store in regina? ours closed ages ago.... and the gaming community here has suffered majorly since then.

ill volenteer as manager

 WarOne wrote:
First, welcome to DakkaDakka.

I work as a store manager for a retail chain. I've had supervisor or higher level experience for about....eight years now along with doing retail a total of 12 years. Very few people respond negatively to my selling. In fact, many comment I should do TV commercials, work as an announcer on the radio, or do auctions.

To be fair, upper level management talk and recruitment sound much better than reality. That is the truth in most cases. Of course, an employee's attitude and commitment may make their job far worse than it could be (I'm not saying become a sheep, but you have to put effort and creativity into the job). And yes, some bosses and companies are actually awesome to work for and be around.

GW has a lot of bad press and publicity, especially by the former employees and disaffected customers who bemoan the fact that GW simply does not offer either a great career choice nor a product that is affordable or worth the said price.

What does GW offer to prospective hires? What are the benefits?

How do you specifically contend with the criticism leveled against the company you are representing? How far do you go to represent the company you are recruiting for?

thats kind of deep

 Breotan wrote:

I don't know that it's a troll or if he's just having a little fun with us.

I think BLNA's reply is meant to suggest (in a subtle manner) that he isn't a person who can implement changes at GW or explain corporate policies such as why the prices are what they are. I think it's best if we regard him as your friendly neighborhood red shirt until proven otherwise.

I hadn't thought of that. I'm just not used to giving anyone on the internet the benefit of the doubt. I apologize, BLNA.

Hopefully you'll stick around and discuss other publicity initiatives on behalf of GW. It might prove to be very interesting to have someone from GW actually interact with us on...well, not neutral territory, but close to it.

Oh, and tell James that people are still talking about him in L.A.. Just don't tell him what they're saying!

Are there employee discounts?

 Alfndrate wrote:
Are there employee discounts?

More importantly, are there employee discounts that are large enough to offset the money you are required to spend on buying an army for all three major games (even if you hate them)? Because I'd rather settle for a 20% discount at an online store than get a 50% discount and have to buy (and paint) a fantasy army.

Or did GW finally remove that policy?

just play daemons if you'd have to lol

We are talking about a company that has 35 years of history behind it. Those years mean change, with change comes feelings that are good and bad depending on how you look at each issue. People have a right to their feelings.

Yes we have benefits, it is one of the most amazing packages I have had in my career.

No we don't require you to buy models. I would question why you would want to sell miniatures, if you were not into them.

Our one person business model works extremely well. It means that person has sole responsibility for the success of that business. The job is not easy, but it can be really rewarding for people up to the challenge. People do fail at the job, just like any other role out there that is performance based. But there are also people who do really well with that kind of responsibility. It's not a fit for everyone. I can also say that I have learned so much about myself working for Games Workshop, and will always value my time with the company.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

No we don't require you to buy models. I would question why you would want to sell miniatures, if you were not into them.

Anyone else see how that could be used almost as a hammer to hold over someone's head?

I'm not really liking what you are saying, you seem to have answered none of the points and instead just said 'yes we have the best benefits' and the spiel about change means absolutely nothing.

You don't address many questions and instead say 'just go to the FB page or GW site.' If thats all you are doing, I have to agree that you are serving a similar function to a spambot, as peregrine pointed out earlier.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
No we don't require you to buy models.

Well hold on their Legy my man - that's not always true. I knew a guy who worked for GW and he had to buy a Fantasy army for a staff Fantasy tournament. He had no choice. He was not allowed to not participate.

Please stop referring to your shops as businesses too.

Unless your managers have control over holiday, budgets, salaries, recruitment, stock orders and get to keep any profit they make it's not their fething business, they're simply working in a shop.

To put it in a slightly less confrontational way:

A GW store is not a small business. They are retail outlets, nothing more, nothing less, so please call them that.




"When did I become the good cop!" - Rorschach, 'Rorschach & Deadpool'

Oh boy you guys are brutal!

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
To put it in a slightly less confrontational way:

A GW store is not a small business. They are retail outlets, nothing more, nothing less, so please call them that.




"When did I become the good cop!" - Rorschach, 'Rorschach & Deadpool'

Perhaps, but up until recently I ran my own business, which is freaking tough, and to be lumped in with jumped up till monkeys grinds my gears somewhat.

And yet I'm the one trying to be kind.

Maybe the Mayans were right...

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
We are talking about a company that has 35 years of history behind it. Those years mean change, with change comes feelings that are good and bad depending on how you look at each issue.

This is most definitely true.

If you look at the changes from a GW corporate point of view the feelings certainly must be good lately!

However then there is the customer's perspective which unfortunately hasn't been quite in the same sphere of jubilation as it has been in times past...

It is similar to when you become devoted to Tzeentch. At first you think "hey, this is cool stuff!!", but after you suddenly start to grow three extra pairs of finecast arms, a second butt and a big hump where your shoulders & head used to be, at 140% of the previous charge, then the feelings of jolly happiness suddenly start to go downhill real fast.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Guys this is hardly a member of the design team posting in our little neck of the woods. Cut him some slack.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Pricing? I can tell you the current price of any of our current product. Which you can find over at Games-Workshop.com.

Oh aren't you just adorable! *pinches new member's cheeks*

I am sure this friendly gesture is much appreciated, but did you really have to hold onto his cheek like that for a full 7 minutes?

If GW ever decides to open a store in the Anchorage Alaska area..I will be happy to apply, this town could use such a store, and I could staff it with former military guys.. (our gaming group has grown quite a bit)

I am about ready to retire and don't really need to work, but would gladly do some store duty

But welcome to Dakka regardless of reasons for visiting.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

 Peregrine wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:
Are there employee discounts?

More importantly, are there employee discounts that are large enough to offset the money you are required to spend on buying an army for all three major games (even if you hate them)? Because I'd rather settle for a 20% discount at an online store than get a 50% discount and have to buy (and paint) a fantasy army.

Or did GW finally remove that policy?

.

Yes we have benefits, it is one of the most amazing packages I have had in my career.

No we don't require you to buy models. I would question why you would want to sell miniatures, if you were not into them.

You rather twisted that around when answering that. How is asking if you have to buy miniatures for all three systems become a challenge as to your interest in the hobby? He asked if you'd have to buy all three systems, you say there's no need to buy miniatures but that you'd then query why they weren't into miniatures. I can almost feel the inquisition as to why a member of staff hasn't bought an army if Hobbit stuff (The staff discount had better be good to make that affordable)

My wife works in a bookshop and while they like people informed about books, there's no expectation to buy anything from the shop, or indeed read any books in your own time. Many staff don't buy a thing from the shop using their discount. Now I think about it, she often has publishers and some games companies send the shop numerous books and other products for free for staff to read in order that they familiarise themselves with new book lines.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
No we don't require you to buy models. I would question why you would want to sell miniatures, if you were not into them.

Oh yes, the good old "mandatory volunteering" management nonsense. You aren't obligated to buy armies for all three games, but if you aren't willing to do it we don't need you. But let's consider a couple reasons why someone might want to sell miniatures without buying their own:

1) Because they're into one system, but not others. For example, I love 40k, but don't really care about LOTR and hate fantasy.

or

2) Because they're into them, but can't afford to buy multiple armies of their own at their own expense.

or

3) Because they just want to get a paycheck. Call it "become legendary" all you want, but in the end you're just another generic retail chain hiring generic managers to sell generic products. Just like nobody has to care about groceries to sell them, or any other retail product, people can sell miniatures without caring about them. The only difference is most other companies don't pretend that their stores are part of some kind of "hobby" and just focus on selling you what you want to buy.

Our one person business model works extremely well. It means that person has sole responsibility for the success of that business.

Is there anything that you can't turn into a positive for the company? Let's look at the bad parts of your "business model":

1) Limited operating hours. Nothing says "welcome to the hobby" like a store that isn't open during normal business hours because you're too cheap to hire a second employee.

2) Limited operating days. Local store manager had to take the day off for some reason? Store's closed, come back another time.

3) Poor customer service. For example, what do you do when a new customer comes in while you're helping an existing customer deal with the 10th badly deformed finecast model in a row they've had to return? Who gets ignored?


But I suppose it's good for profits, so let's pretend it's good for the customer too!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
A GW store is not a small business. They are retail outlets, nothing more, nothing less, so please call them that.

This. Calling a GW retail outlet a "small business" makes about as much sense as calling your local walmart a "small business". It's insulting to the people who actually run small businesses.

This thread makes me smile, it smells like vindication, because I saw it a mile off. :-D

Welcome to the site, try and concentrate on the several hundred sensible sociable people's comments, and just ignore the needless gak you get thrown in your direction by a tiny minority of strange individuals who act like they caught you fingering their sister just because you happen to work for a company that charges a large amount for their stuff.

Funny I don't see people trolling Nike on the football forums, have you seen how much they charge for boots?!