executive assistant

CPI Corp

I spent three years in total at this job. All I can think of to begin with is that they need a complete make over.

I took the job thinking that I would be trained properly on how to work the camera and the equipment in the studio, only to learn that there was no real training available from head office. I was thrown in during busy season (December) and expected to run the studio by myself within the first week of working there.
When the manager left the company to pursue another career, I was offered the managerial position WITHOUT a pay raise.

For the two following years, I was never offered a raise, but the work load piled on higher and higher. I am to understand that the raises are given out once per year in April, and even though I was working sometimes 6-7 days in a row, I was still not eligible for a raise, because my 'PRS' or 'sales' weren't high enough.

In December of 2011, I finally got the opportunity to spend some time abroad, so I quit my job with an offer from the current manager to come back if I wanted to.
I came back home after my opportunity came to an end, and resumed my position, after a complicated re-hire.
I spent three weeks without a paycheque because they changed the system in the computer for clocking in and out, and because the DM had forgotten to contact head office about me being a rehire.

The first phone call in which I spoke to her about it, she had the audacity to ask me if I was going to "stick around this time" (after being an employee, working two consecutive Christmas seasons with only myself and the current manager holding the studio afloat, both of us being the only reliable employees they could find to work).
Meanwhile, I was 'promoted' to full time hours, seeing as we were in need of extra coverage at the studio.

Not two months later, the studio hours were cut, meaning I could no longer be afforded the hours to obtain full time, seeing as the manager was required to have full time. I asked the DM why, and as she explained it to me, she did not see our studio to be "high volume" (even though our goals were chillingly similar to the busiest studio in our district with four employees, as opposed to our two) and that there needn't be more than one employee working per day.

After this happened, the goals were raised and instead of having to shoot 6 poses per session, we now had to incorporate 12 'sellable' poses, meanwhile taking passport photos and delivering printed portraits to previous customers... all with one person a day. I can safely say I've never wished I could clone myself more.
When the equipment broke down or got dirty, it also became the employee's prerogative to fix and/or clean the item. Technical help was based in the United States and would usually be unreachable by telephone (eg. ~30 calls ahead of you etc.) and once reached would be largely unhelpful. In my three years of employment, I had only seen a field tech twice. The camera was loose on its tripod and the lights malfunctioned frequently. The curtains used for floor posing would often get dirty and needed to be taken home to be washed.
The software was dated and unable of fixing blemishes, and the print lab was printing things wrong, more often than not. Customers complained constantly about not having Photoshop and misprints, and only having one employee working per day.
When the studio ran out of things like envelopes and paper and till tape, the DM told us to purchase supplies out of pocket and wait until she would be around to refund us.
On Wednesdays, the manager or a tenured employee would be required to take half of their lunch and spend it on a conference call ("but clock in for it!"), and on Mondays, you were required to take the monetary deposit of cash to the bank... on your lunch hour.

And that was only the tip of the iceberg.
NEVER WORK FOR THIS COMPANY IF YOU VALUE YOUR SELF-WORTH AND BEING RESPECTED!!!!!

CONS
Every day presented new challenges:
-There were a lot of unhappy customers due to poor quality printing from the lab or poor quality photography from the untrained/unqualified staff.

-The most difficult part of the job was trying to help the unhappy customers. Many of them had been ignored/left unresolved by either the manager or previous staff members, and their cases often became long term issues.

-There was no system in place to track and monitor the quality, nor shipping/receiving of the products.

-The management seemed to only care about the sales numbers, rather than the individual clients or the quality of the products.

-The number of tasks assigned for the day was often unrealistic; many of the tasks, such as cold calling customers, are for strictly increasing sales numbers/bookings.

-Tasks that would benefit the productivity and general maintenance of the studio is discouraged in favour of tasks that increase sales, resulting in messy/disorganized studios.

-Co-workers are not necessarily photographers, as the rate of pay is too low for any serious photography professional. Despite the Sears Quality Guarantee, the photography unfortunately reflects this.

-There is a discord when the high expectations of customers are met with the low level of product quality.

PROS
-The most enjoyable part of the job is interacting with the nice customers and children that come into the studio, and creating their memories through photography.

-Genuine appreciation from the customers that were happy with quality photography.

-I learned a lot of techniques for photographing groups and maintaining control in the studio.

Managing multiple stores in two separate divisions was both challenging and rewarding.  Everyday was different and although planning was essential, change was inevitable and being able to think on your toes and adapt was crucial.  Creative ways of running the business was rewarded and often recognized between peers.  There were challenges and targets and lots of great competition to keep you engaged and motivated.  There were multiple support tools and resources on how to be successful. 

Getting involved and showing teams how to be successful was encouraged, which allowed more hands on training and great manager employee relationships that in the end built team support.  Managers were leaders and worked with the team.

The hardest part of the job would be work life balance.  There were times that working around the clock was mandatory for a successful business.  However there were times that you cold take that time in the off season.

Great career!

90% of the time you will be working alone, managing the studio and handling retail.

They hire you as a photographer even if you do not have any photography experience at all.  And don't expect to have proper training.  The training given is just a surf the CPI website and read. For a "profesional" photography service that they claim to offer, employing people with no experience in photography is very untruthful with their clients.

Management-wise, you are left alone without proper training managing a great number of clients complaining because the stores only require one person to do the job for a 2-3 person job.

You will be taking passport photos, portrait photos, handling cash, receiving shipment, and you need to finish on-time. If you go over store hours because you can't manage to close the store / studio alone with the amount of clients, you also don't get paid overtime.

The experience was so bad I didn't even care to last more than a month.  It was a total waste of time and energy.

- During the Christmas season, the studio becomes extremely busy and is filled with clients whose ages range from two weeks old to 90 years old.
- Being both a photographer and a salesperson, I had to multitask and juggle both tasks as my co-workers were often busy with other clients.
- After a 30-45 minute photo-session with the clients, I would digitally edit the photos and then present the edited photos, allowing the clients to choose from a variety of designs, sizes, colours, etc.
- What I learned from this position is that time is of the essence. Time management is absolutely essential and deadlines are extremely important (i.e. If one photo session, editing session or sales pitch is prolonged, the appointments for the remaining clients are postponed, resulting in the entire team to fall behind on the scheduled appointments)
- This position has taught me to take initiative and help my co-workers when they required it most.

My day  working there ,were responsible and having fun taking pictures ,after that,the responsibility selling packages ,cash operator. Always  greet customer with a smile on ,making then feel comfortable, some times working  alone all day made me learn and practice more and more about customer service.
My co-workers was a real team ,honesty ,friendly and professional.
The hardest part was when I wanted to do something more or different but I had to keep on The company rules.
Everything was enjoyable ,I was learning and showing growth ,the most enjoyable was feel  professional,solve problems alone in a fast paced Environment,made me feel happy ,it was a kind of a job I was doing like hobby a thing you know how to do ,what to say ,how to solve ,makes you go happier to work ,because you wont have any complains and this is the better thing for me never having complains.

You come into work and deal with rowdy children and get paid "a competitive salary" (.25 over minimum wage) constantly harassed by management for not brining in sales and when you do bring in sales you didn't do good enough. Management is so scattered brained and doesn't care about you unless you bring in $1000 in sales on one person. The District Manager expects you to do things she should be doing. They are so understaffed, I was practically working every single day and when I wasn't a manager was there doing nothing and complaining you aren't bringing sales up. I will NEVER return to this job. My district manager didn't even care enough about me to say bye, and I know she was working that day. Do not bring yourself to work here, fast food is better then this.

A typical day at work involves opening the studio and preparing for sessions booked for the day. The studio I work at is very busy, so we typically do not have to go out and do very much "outreach ". The rest of the day is generally spent taking photos and doing passport photos and session planning for the following day. Upper management is very helpful and hands on. Each studio in our district is in constant communication with eachother and is very supportive of eachother, as we are one big team. The team inside our studio is also just like a second family. 
The hardest part of this job is constantly being on your feet and moving very quickly. 
The most enjoyable part of my job is pretty much everything. I enjoy working with my associates and the families we photograph.

This was the absolute, hands down WORST job I have ever held. I am not just compaining because I have a poor work ethic and things did not work out, I have successfully held high level jobs and am a post-secondary graduate who needed an in-between job and thought this might be fun. However, they pay you next to nothing for the ammount of work,dedication and responsibility they expect you to have, no wonder they cycled through 4 employees during the 3 months I was there and always looking for new ones (yes, I could only take 3 months). Always under staffed and lack of training leaves you high and dry in the photography studio on your own ....DO NOT work here

A day of work at the photo studio consists of calling the clients to have a better idea of how to plan there session to best suit there needs. Recruiting new costermors in store and finding new ways to do so. Taking seances followed by showing our products and closing the sale. Answering the phone taking passeport photos Making and seperating the orders. conferance calls and making the money deposit once a week.
The hardest part of the job is only one employee works at a time. But the most enjoyable part is the challenges and meeting the clients and getting to know them.

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