sales clerk

sales associate

inventory coordinator

outfitter

retail sales associate

Cabelas Inc.

Work variety:
Season and department dependant: tasks can vary from tidying/dusting, ordering stock from the warehouse to fill holes on shelves, putting out fresh freight, helping customers make informed purchasing decisions or showing them how a product works, and doing repair/service work on customer items. More experienced staff may be expected to do additional work such as set min/max quantities on the sales floor for the automated replenishment system, fill out department sign requests for sales and flyers, and fill out forms for inventory inaccuracies or damaged products that have been found on the sales floor or returned to the store. 

Growth and Challenges:
As Cabelas provides few resources for staff developing expertise and relies heavily on the knowledge and generosity of existing staff and customers to train new staff, opportunities to learn will vary per store. Despite this, new staff who aren't already experts on the products in their departments are expected to behave as such fairly quickly and may be working alone as soon as a week after being hired.  In my case, many existing staff were experienced resources for both customers and coworkers alike to learn from and I was able to manage the challenge fairly well. However, after working there for 18 months, there is still more knowledge I could learn that would improve my capabilities in delivering expert service. 

Management and Culture
Store mid-management, HR and LP/AP positions have been a revolving door during my time at Cabelas due to toxic upper management that places a lot of pressure on all levels of staff and seldom shows gratitude in meaningful ways. Both upper management and customers expect a lot from staff paid the same minimum wage as other big box store employees. During busy seasons it can be difficult to manage regular duties on top of additional store traffic with such a priority placed on delivering high-quality service. 

The best part of the job is the ability to quickly move up if you're a motivated employee.  There was lots of expansion. The most enjoyable part is working with some amazing hard-working, intelligent, and fun floor staff most of the day. 

The worst part of the job is the lack of Work life balance.  Very low pay, not really enough to live on but that's all retail work.  They also cancel your pre-approved vacation plans to cover their lack of planning without any actual policies to back up their reasoning.  The other negative is as a salaried employee, you are pressured to work around 50-60 hours for free over the course of the such as 16 hours inventory days, boxing day, black Friday etc... There is no banking these hours, they are just expected of you as part of the gig.

To get full time pay and benefits, You must commit 100 percent of your life to the company and give full availability from 530am to 10pm 7 days a week. Mostly, you will only get 1 day off in a row, and work every single long weekend even though there's enough staff to easily split this 50/50. Your shift times will change every single day making work life balance very challenging and impossible to plan a regular social life with friends.  Regular scheduling was Sunday 10-7, Monday off, Tuesday 1pm - 10pm, wed 8am-5pm, Thursday off, Friday 10am-7pm, Sat 530am-230pm.    Enjoy planning your social life around that schedule one week and a completely different random schedule the following week.  

Managers are excellent leaders to learn from and always willing to discuss issues and give advice.  I learned a lot working there, and will miss the team spirit from most of the staff.  A major eye opener is that you cannot trust HR as they work for corporate and their main focus there is to protect the company from lawsuits from staff who have been mistreated or mishandled, and helping staff is secondary but they are very good at their job.

Be prepared for little to-no recognition of hard work. It is quite often that management will not recognize any of the hard work you have done. I was only ever thanked by 1 manager in my 3 years at Cabela’s. I worked my butt off at that place. 
Individuals that don’t do their job and prefer to stand around socializing get more praise from managers for “how hard they work” and fail to act upon complaints from outfitters. Individuals that are a manager “favourite” are protected from any type of consequence. 
When I initially began working at cabela’s, I loved my job. But as time went on and management changed, the culture changed and it became a very negative place with everyone feeling frustrated from not having their opinions heard and the lack of recognition previously talked about. 
Getting weekends off in the summer became nearly impossible as we were severely understaffed, but management refused to hire anyone else. They were okay with completely over working everyone in the department, instead. 
When you provide your availability for the summer- be sure to mark yourself unavailable for 2 days back to back. Even as a part time employee, I was scheduled nearly everyday for 3 or 4 hour shifts, making it impossible to get out to the lake to fish or camp. A day off would be given in the middle of several other working days. Management will try to guilt you into canceling requested time off. Be sure to advocate for yourself, because no one else will. HR is out of touch with the employees on the floor, and doesn’t address real issues until it is too late. 
I really enjoyed working with everyday the store. As awful as the environment could be some days, we all knew the struggle each other was having with management. And we all enjoyed, and even lived for, the outdoors. The team of outfitters at Cabela’s is like a big family. 
Unfortunately I was never contacted for my exit interview, and I firmly believe that it is because they know that I have a lot of things to say about their management team, and further demonstrates their unwillingness to implement changes and listen to their employees. 

This place honestly gave me such anxiety. 
   When I left, it was a huge weight off my shoulders. I LOVED my co workers, but the managers were HORRIBLE. The morale there was so low that I honestly felt my mood change as soon as I walked through the door. 
   When I wanted vacation time, or even two days off, they constantly asked me why, or just flat out rejected it. The management here is like dealing with an evil step mother who always feels the need to be in your business (even though it's not legal for them to ask). 
  If you have life/work problems, good luck talking to a manager about them. They will just use your problems as a way to either fire you or make it seem like you are a horrible person who brings toxicity to the workplace.
   As for HR here? What a joke. That's all I have to say. 
   Training here is a joke as well. They expect you to learn everything within 2 MAYBE 3 hours. And their way of training is legit standing beside you while you fill out papers and then throw you in the deep end with no help….and God forbid you ask for help. The managers just blow you off or say "can you call me" AKA they are too lazy to walk down a set of stairs to deal with a problem. Management asks some other employee or a lead even though you asked managers help. The "leads" there are legit the managers little slaves because the managers are too busy hiding in their offices to help out their employees. The leads are treated like utter garbage as well. They are expected to do everything the managers do with little to no pay for their extra work. 
   And whenever anyone complains about the work environment, the managers cover it up with a cute pizza party and freezies. They honestly don't give 2 shakes about you or your feelings. All they care about is their fat checks at the end of the day. 
   As for co workers, they are honestly the best. I've met people here who I can consider my life long friends. It's the only good thing cabelas has given me other than a decent paycheck. 

1000000/10 would not recommend to friends 



Management has no clue.  There is a strong culture of indifference with them.  They don't communicate with you or train you appropriately.   You literally just have to figure out stuff on your own, as you go, because nobody is really there to assist you. 

"Cash pickups" (where excess cash is removed from registers for security purposes) are NOT done with any haste or regularity.  Management always just excuses their behavior, stating they're busy. But they'll always demand you drop whatever you're doing to do whatever they ask of you.  Typical double-standards.

Some of your co-workers are pretty cool, but many others (on cash at least) can get super lazy because management never pays attention (E.g., younger cashiers chatting with one another rather than assisting customers. Very frustrating.)

Unfortunately, you do not receive positive feedback.  You will generally only hear from someone if you're doing something negative, or not good enough.  If you've ever seen Office Space (the movie), specifically the scene with Jennifer Aniston involving her amount of "flair,"  you understand the culture of Cabelas.  (E.g., you are required to ask each customer for their postal code.  I was told not to say 'Can I grab your postal code?' on account of 'grab' was considered too aggressive.)

The company also intentionally only hires part-time to avoid paying benefits, which should be an indication as to how much they value you as a person.  If you're a retiree, semi-retired, or high-school student, this job is ideal to keep away the boredom / earn some minimum wage.  But trying to live off the wage here?  No can do. 

The store itself is visually cool, and it has cool items. And truthfully it has a lot of potential.  But shoddy management ruins it, and I wouldn't recommend working here.  In fact, I have already found a different position and will be handing in my notice this coming week. 

Was almost an enjoyable place to be. There are a select group of people that make it bearable, however management is highly typical retail attitude. High-volume movement is all that is important, whether it be products moving out the store or employees.
On the job training is very poor. On the job direction is very poor; I spent my first hours of my first few shifts, wandering the store just because I could. No one knew I was there, nor did anyone know what they were doing or what I was supposed to be doing.
90% of the current employees are under 6 months into the job, with many of them being young (under 20) or semi-retired senile people that are very cranky and not enjoyable to work with.
This is a high-turnover business - as with most retail businesses.  I was terminated less than 4 weeks after being hired for missing shifts. I informed my interviewer pre-hire that I am a business owner and that my employment was a trial, as we did not know if I would be able to make all my shifts while still running my business. I was unable to and ended up missing two shifts, as we had discussed during my interview was a possibility.
 During my termination speech I asked for the reason for termination, where I was met with a sarcastic laugh and told that I should be able to figure it out myself.
In final, I was given a termination letter that informs me my final pay will be coming in a few weeks - not only unacceptable but illegal. In BC, upon being terminated you're employer is required to pay you ALL moneys owed within 48 hours of your termination.

I will post back if they do not pay me within the 48 hours. Overall, if you're a fresh young student with a plan for life and you know you won't stay here long, it's a great job for kids or retired adults that need a mentally and physically very simplistic short-term job.

Management can often be seen walking around, chatting with each other while holding their phones and a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, they don't provide feedback on your performance (with the exception of the yearly feedback, which is usually not useful feedback that will help you grow because they will give you silly things) unless you are doing something seriously wrong. Even then, they will not tell you themselves. They will inform your lead, who will then give you a talk. The overall communication could be better. 

In the mornings, a lead or manager will always stand in the "locker" area to ensure you clock in on time and have put away your belongings before clocking in. You may be reprimanded if you clock in late, even by a few minutes. Also, getting a day off can be challenging if you don't have someone to cover your shift, and management can sometimes be threatening. 

I want to clarify that not all management is bad. Some leads are great, genuinely care for their team, and work hard. However, they are few and far between.

On the positive side, your coworkers are amazing and supportive. They are always willing to help you and answer any questions you may have. Most customers are friendly, so you can enjoy working with your coworkers and serving the customers.

To sum up, this is a good job for someone starting, but there are some downsides. The pay does not increase significantly, as you can only expect a mandatory yearly raise of a few cents. There are also no title changes or promotions, even if you train in multiple areas and gain knowledge. However, it is a good job for high school or university students. 


Cabelas was a really great place to work, I really really enjoyed it the coworkers really made it all worth while. at first the management was very responsive and helpful but after awhile I noticed they were very flawed. no one ever really communicates with eachother and you are unlikely to ever move up in the company unless you work the same job there for like 5 years. The atmosphere was lovely but after about 2 years there I couldnt go anymore, management would make me spend my lunch breaks crying in the bathroom because of how i was treated and their benefits are only half worth it. alot of the managers have an awful attitude especially those working HR. the morning rallies were always exciting. I could say so much more but this is already getting long.

if you want a temporary job then i would say work here.
if you are a student I wouldnt recommend unless you are okay with working 2 shifts a week.

i was over worked and undercompensated and felt extremely invisible and unwanted within the company. I was hired for seasonal temp and was kept on and once christmas was over they didnt care about me anymore. 

I worked 40 hour weeks sometimes even 48-50 hour weeks for almost 8 months straight and didnt once get recognition for anything I did. I was the most reliable and was called in frequently and not even a thank you was given. I did get a raise after each year there which was a handful of cents.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I dont know that there is a best part, I've been here for almost 2 years most of the people i knew here have left due to the bs of this place. Ive been promised promotion thats not came and im currently activly looking for another job myself.  I was promoted within 2 months of starting to lead and was working towards manager position but looks like that wont be happening. I had an interview for it and was told my interview was perfect and they had zero critic's they could give me and just give them a few months as opportunities were coming. That was in March and its now November. I applied internal for another store cause i was prepared to move for advancment and they approved my application then said someone would be in contact never heard another word and then saw job was closed. So thats the last straw.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Managment doest give a shiteabout you your just another idiot they have to get to make them look good. Theres no time spent training you gotta train yourself if you want to get anywhere.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Its like high school gossip and more gossip.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
My day is busy but ive seen people stand around leaning against a bulk stack so depends what you want outta your day

1. The people you will work with are the best part of this job. But most people will not stay here for too long. It can be a massive revolving door.
2. You will receive the worst button-up work shirt to wear. Shirts hold onto sweat, and do not breathe at all. They are very uncomfortable especially in the hot months. 
3. If you have colored hair and a lot of tattoos and/or piercings do not work here. A few tats and piercings are ok, but you absolutely cannot have "unnatural" colored hair here.
4. You will never be considered full-time officially on paper, unless you give them 24/7 availability. They literally tell you that in the beginning, you have to be available whenever they need. Even if you work just under 40 hours a week, you will always be part-time on paper. 
5. They will start you at 25 cents above minimum wage to start, and don't even think about working towards a great raise. Everyone got the same year end 4% raise. 
6. If there aren't enough lockers to go around for everyone, you WILL be forced to share a locker with someone. 
7. I saw co-workers and higher ups who gave years of their life, only to be given the cold shoulder and no appreciation when it was time for them to either move on due to graduating from their schooling, or wanting a raise. You will not be appreciated for your time and effort. 


Top Job Titles	Average salary
Sales clerk 14 salaries reported	$15.34 per hour
Sales associate 14 salaries reported	$15.34 per hour
Inventory coordinator 5 salaries reported	$41,600 per year
Outfitter 6 salaries reported	$17.03 per hour
Retail sales associate 5 salaries reported	$15.25 per hour

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