retail store manager

assistant de gestion

3ième clé

associé aux ventes

retail assistant manager

Urban Planet

The workload is incredibly hard, regardless of what position you are in. If you are a sales associate you will be burdened with numerous tasks; if you are management, you must work equally as hard as the sales associates on top of doing day to day operations such as budgeting, stock receiving, answering customer concerns, housekeeping, emails, doing loss prevention paper daily, cash out, unpacking and stocking product. Shipment of the stock is every weekday, and if you don't work yourself to the bone to get it all out, it will pile up very quickly, and you will have to answer for it. We were always exhausted at the end of every shift.
In my personal opinion, the visual merchandiser position is the most desirable one of them all. As a visual merchandiser, you are not expected to be on cash much, oversee fitting rooms, or oversee/solve day to day operational problems. Visual merchandisers typically get the best work schedule with a Monday to Friday day-time schedule - depending on the size and volume of the store. Everybody else from sales associate to management worked mall hours, which makes it difficult for work-life balance, especially if you're full-time management - say goodbye to having Friday evenings and half your weekend for the entirety of your employment. You may get away with the odd Friday or weekend day off once or twice a year, but your Dm will use the "favor" against you later on by pressuring you to return the favor by working additional hours.
You are also expected to work every holiday, and Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. If you are applying for this job, you must be prepared to give up a lot of your personal life and dedicate yourself wholly to the company. I do not recommend dedicating yourself to this company as you will be treated like you are dispensable regardless of how hard you have worked. There is little room for career advancement unless you are okay with always traveling, as the District Managers tend to do.
The District Manager that I worked for is a real piece of work. Although he puts up a charming front, he is a narcissist. He is incredibly manipulative and gaslights his management employees regularly. He also likes to gossip about management in his district, and use the information to his advantage. It was not uncommon for him to pin management against one another, which often created tension and hostility between stores in his district. I believe he did this to prevent any type of solidarity or united front between his stores, it is his way of triangulating his management teams. If you have fallen out of favor with him or he senses that you may report him, he will begin to systematically put false ideas about you into the heads of his higher-ups so that by the time you do work up the courage to use the company's open-door policy to report him, you will find that they will side with him over you as he has worked hard at discrediting you - even with HR. He has gone through numerous managers, each time a quality manager left it was because of him. It is shocking that the company has not connected the dots with the number of managers who have walked out on him and how none of them left on good terms, but I believe this is more so a testament to his ability to control the narrative between disgruntled employees and head office.
The only management who last are the ones who identify with, and exhibit, the DM's lack of integrity and maturity OR the DM has done a good job at manipulating quality employees into staying, accepting the poor treatment and outrageously toxic work environment until they burn out.

I worked only six days for this company.  Coming into a job as stock associate, when I have years of Inventory/stock/retail management experience, should have been a breeze for me.

Instead of making me happy, I was working with a ton of stress being shared with me.  The manager had a lot of complainting going on, about the company.  The lack of hangers for me to do my job efficiently, properly, well...never got resolved during my time there.   Despite there being two other locations in the city they could have borrowed some from - but the manager didn't have a car.  The co-manager did, but the manager apparently never even communicated with her co-manager about the need for a car to pick up hangers, so that the stock could be readied for the floor, and moved out of the back room.

The district manager said she would get us some hangers.  Two days later, I asked what was going on with that, and the manager's only response was that she didn't even know if the district manager had made a call to make it happen.  This is where I started to have a major problem.  As a former manager myself, I know that a lot of the time, companies will throw you challenges to see how you handle them.  This manager wasn't dealing with the situation, then suddenly, when the Regional Manager was scheduled to come in, she came into the back and told me that everything needed to be hung asap.  Without the hangers to do so.  As a manager, it was/is her job to get on the phone and follow up with the district manager and make hangers appear.  Or, go to the other stores, pick up hangers, and pay for a taxi to get them to your store.  Another store location was mere minutes down the road.

Having to constantly hear about the complaints the manager had, drained me.  The stock I was able to prepare just kept building up in the back room, instead of being moved right to the floor, as was supposed to happen, leaving me with increasingly less and less space to work.  They didn't have anti-fatigue mats to stand on in my work space, but did for the people on the tills.  

The store I was at was poorly managed, the sales staff were slow moving as soon as they were off the floor, no one moved with a purpose, they all seemed to just want to spend their time complaining.  This is not an atmosphere where management are doing their jobs in motivating/encouraging their staff, or helping them in any way.  

Oh, and my "training" lasted just long enough to read the booklet for my position, before I was literally thrown into the job with the briefest of directions, and we never returned to my actual required training, which was really aggravating.  And, for a job that was supposed to be 5 hours a day when I was hired, it was 5, then 6, then 8, then 5, and 4.  And after I signed on, the manager informed me she's not even supposed to use 20 hours for stock a week - yet, she told me when interviewing me that the position was 5 hours a day, 5 days a week.  

None of it added up to being worth the meager amount they offered for the job.  That kind of job deserves far more.  And, two weeks later, I still have yet to see any kind of pay.

I do enjoy working at Urban Planet, I only wish that they would have accommodated my schedule and continued to give me the shifts I got when I first started working there. At first I got 2 days a week with an on-call shift (perfect for me because I am currently in highschool and did not want to have work be my main focus over school),now I'm lucky if i get one shift a week. Definetly not worth it.On top of that, if I do get a shift its a 4-5 hour shift which equals no break (must work over 5 hours to recieve one). Other than that, the work environment is quite light hearted, fun, and easy going; it makes shifts enjoyable and makes the time fly when you like working with your coworkers.Though I've never had any personal problems with any of my coworkers, it is apparent that professionalism isn't always on the top of the list, it makes it especially worse when it is in front of customers. Some coworkers make rude comments over the walkie talkie about customers, which I don't find to be amusing or respectful in any way, shape, or form. 
A typical day involves me cleaning rounders, colour corrdinating them and the walls, making sure items are put in their proper place and most importantly doing my very best to give exceptional customer service. The hardest part of the job I would say is closing. Just because it takes a really long time to clean all the clothing left around throughout the day and sometimes the racks and walls are so full, you can barely fit most of the drag back where they originally are suppose to be put, causing items to constantly fall off and sit weirdly, hangers interlock constantly,and in all honestly, the racks and walls can just look down right messy and clutter with all the stock that is put out.The most enjoyable part of the job is being able to help customers find/ develop their own personal style; being able to recommend them piece's that work together, and just helping them feel great about their external apperance. All in all I learned how to be more confident when greeting costumers, how to make displays look asthetically pleasing, and I've further developed my customer service skills.

My typical day at work (Urban Planet) I usually get to work an hour before i start my shift, to check where all the clothes is placed, because they change everything, every week and I only works morning shift..Of course this part I don't get paid for,I just do before my shift to prep myself.Then I go in the back, put my stuff away. put on my work tag and check myself in the mirror.I have to do a walkie check and when someone says you're good.I'm good. :) then I can clock-in..Then I go on the floor, I'm a sales associate/Cashier,my shifts usually fall on a busy days.routinely, i run a wrack of clothing from Fits, then clean up the tables because they get really messy, I go through all the clothes, make sure they're colour coded and in order of sizes.That usually takes me 15 minutes.When a customer needs something then I drop whatever i was doing and help them out.if they need extra sizes I go get it, if the size they want isn't on the floor, I have to climb the ladder to check upstock, which is not only a pain, it's scary too.but it's okay.The question I probably get asked the most is where is your fitting room, which is funny because when I point out the giant arrow hanging from the ceiling that reads fitting rooms, they get pretty embarrassed! The best part of my job is to put a smile on customers,and when I have to use my skills/imagination and create a design to promote our company or products. But yeah, that's mostly it, I can't really fully describe it just because it's different everyday depending on what the costumers want me to do.but I usually get a half hour lunch in there, which is really short but feels long, because few of my co-workers and i goes on a break together.we talk about our personal life funny stroies which is fun.My feet sometime hurt from standing up, but I get through it.when my shift is over i go in the back clock-out, take off my work tag and get ready to leave. before I get to leave, however, they do a bag and coat check.the worst part of my day is the bus, because I can't drive yet, I have to use public transportation.I have to take the bus one hours before I am scheduled to work, and depending on how late I work, I can wait up to one and the half hours to get back home.but with all that i still loved my job!

A typical day at work consisted of keeping the clothes organized all around the store. I would never NOT be refolding, replacing, and putting things where they belong. I was always on my feet at a fast pace. Alongside this, I would greet customers, ask them if they need any help, and deal with any concerns they may have. Doing this as a job taught me how to stay organized, how to be patient with others, and also taught me the importance of customer service and staying on task. 

The overall vibe of Urban Planet was very lively. The store was constantly blasting dance music that kept me going and on my feet. The workers were always very friendly and cheerful, and that helped me radiate the same attitude to customers. 

The hardest part of my job was probably trying to find where specific clothing items were kept in the store. If a clothing item was out of place, it would always be either super easy to find and I could put it back right away, or it would be more on the difficult side and I would take longer to find where it belongs. Since Urban Planet sells so many products, and sometimes even so many styles of the SAME product (I think they have around 30-40 different styles of jeans) it got a bit tricky at times to find. Majority of the time, however, I was able to do this with ease.

The most enjoyable part of my job was my job as a whole. I never not wanted to work, surprisingly. I always wanted to be busy and let the time fly on its own. Luckily, I was able to do so at Urban Planet. I was always helping something or someone, and that to me was very enjoyable in itself. To anyone interested in working for retail, just know that you cannot get distracted and you must keep up with the pace. This also means to NEVER BE IDLE AND STAND THERE unless you're in charge of greeting customers at the storefront or something. Other than that, in a place where many, many products are sold, there is always something that needs cleaning, replacing, etc. and there is always someone who needs help.

I find that any job or career an individual has is a basic form of a relationship. It is important to stay committed to that relationship through working your hardest and helping the team achieve a goal.  A typical day at work for me was to engage with customers/clients through making sure that they are satisfied. Working in retail it was my personal practise to make sure that the customer was aways pleased with their service, and were aware of sales, promotions, and incentives that they are entitled to. I know that everyone wants to save money because that is a common goal lay people have, so if I knew of ways the person could save I made sure I made them aware of it. We had goals amongst employees to make sales for a reward, and I found myself to be competitive but extremely helpful. I believe verbal and non verbal communication is key, and once that is mastered it makes your daily interaction with people extremely pleasent. The hardest part of the job was to always have an eye for loss prevention issues. I was known as the individual whom always was on a lookout for customers that would increase the shrinkage for the company. I had dealt with many teens and older customers who just stole for the sake of getting away with it, and it was a great challenge to approach them and through doing that I found that the positive outcome was that I built a lot of self confidence and improved my communication when it comes to dealing with a situation where you have to approach an older lady who stole clothes and had kids. I made sure I wasn't insulting or disrespectful and avoided any form of altercations because I felt that I represent the company as an employee and I made sure I had to keep it professional, and respectful.

My typical day at work is mainly folding clothes neatly, helping customers in any way I can, handling fitting rooms, doing stock such as tagging new clothes and shoes and as well as cleaning floors after closing. I learned that it's important to be efficient in every task and learned that I always have to be helping out my co-workers when they need me and working together to get tasks done so basically, I'm learning that even though things get stressful, we do our job properly and we would work together as a team. Management, well it's good that most of the time they look out for us when things get really busy in the store and they give fair breaks to everybody. But, what I don't like about them is that they constantly cut off shifts and when it comes to a small issue, they cause a bit of mistreatment even though you're doing your best to follow what they say. Honestly, they don't even encourage or give any motivation about goals or the fact they don't help when it comes to us employees talking of emotional/mental or physical issues. The hardest part of the job is communicating with managers about concerns and difficulty to understand new information like new promotions-for example. The most enjoyable part of the job is working well and getting along with my co-workers and getting things done earlier than expected when either during morning shift and finishing around early evening and after closing shift when the time our shift supposedly we finish.

Working at Urban Planet was honestly a really disappointing experience, especially after the new management took over. They started hiring all their friends from their old store in Brampton and gave them most of the shifts, while people who had been working there for years were suddenly taken off the schedule. I was removed from all my shifts the day before I was supposed to work and then went over two months without being scheduled at all. 

They constantly ignored staff availability, rarely responded to messages, and had terrible communication. Management would even talk badly about customers behind their backs, leave early, and even vape in the back room while others were trying to work. There was also constant drama and fights between coworkers, which made the whole environment toxic and uncomfortable. 

After everything, it’s made me not even want to shop there anymore. I used to really like the store, but now all I can think about is how unprofessional and unfair things are behind the scenes. I wouldn’t recommend working here unless there’s a serious change in how management runs the place and treats their staff.

if you're planning to work here, say bye to your social life. it's worse than school. you're here 85% of your day almost everyday of the week. the on-call scheduling is messy. the managers will call you in work even when you're not schduled (whether on-call or not scheduled at all, THEY WILL CALL YOU TO WORK). the managers don't know how to schdule their workers. you'll never be able to make time for your friends OR FAMILY because they will eventually call you in to work, sometimes even earlier than you were originally schduled. i understand from time to time managers need their employees to come in a little early, BUT almost everyday for almost every shift? i don't think so. they schdule their employees as if the employees don't have lives outside of work. they RARELY allow two weekends off in a row, and if they do allow it, they will get mad at you for it. moreover, they may seem nice and a "chill place to work" but sometimes they treat their employees with disrespect and and they joke around with them to the point where it seems rude and hurtful. overall, management is messy with schduling and how they do things around the store, and how they treat their employees. there are better places to work where you can get the same experience and skills but with better treatment and respect as an employee and a human being. 

IF I COULD GIVE ZERO STARS I WOULD.

Can be slow, can be really busy. Busiest times are baby bonus days, back to school, Christmas, and Boxing Day. 
Cleaning lots, putting out stock, visual changes, promo changes, floor layout changes, being cashier, helping customers always, shipping/receiving stock. 
Management is great at the moment, used to be not great but those people are gone now. 
Staff is great at the moment, great for young people. No drama, everyone likes everyone. The staff being so awesome makes the job enjoyable. 
Hardest part can be busy seasons. For management I’d say all the changes we are constantly making like visuals and promos mostly. As well as the schedule, hard to leave town ever. We don’t get 2 days off in a row ever unless we request it. 
I’ve learnt so much, I’ve learnt everything I know, since this is my first job.  
- customer service 
- sales associate position
- management position
- sales 
- cashier 
- supervising 
- visuals
- promos 
- shipping/ receiving/ putting out stock 
- cleanliness 
- how to run a retail store 
- how to deal with conflicts 
- problem solving 
 



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