field manager

merchandiser

field coordinator

sales analyst

responsable de secteur

Carlton Cards

This job is won or lost in how passionate you can become about the product you're selling; you need to care if your customers find the right thank you card for their dog walker, or the right picture frame for their mother, or that perfect Valentine's gift. The product and store atmosphere are the parts of this job I can't imagine trading. That and my co-workers. The type of people working in card stores are usually the cheerful, optimistic, friendly kind, which makes your co-workers become your friends, especially in such a small store environment with so few staff.

However, the job is not without its downsides. There is very, very little opportunity for advancement with a staff that small. And in non-peak seasons (from March to September, essentially), head office cuts payroll hours significantly, meaning fewer to go around. And there are no benefits to be found unless you are a full-time employee - meaning a full 40 hours, not the maximum of 35-39 they might give a non-management associate. And it can be hard to make a living when the pay is one step above minimum wage, and you don't receive regular performance reviews to have a chance for a wage increase.

Overall, I would recommend the job if you are looking for a pleasant place to go to work everyday, with no aspirations of growing a career there or saving up any "extra" cash.

A typical day of work is helping customers find what they need, cashing them out at till, keeping everything neat and tidy, occasionally receiving product that wasn't finished ( no delivery on weekends after all) changing the displays, things of this nature.
I learned how to run a store alone if I had to, or at least keep it from burning down until the manager was back from vacation.
Some of my managers were lovely, wonderful people, and I was super happy to work with them. Higher management is very goal oriented, and I am not sure the goals were the same as that of store level.
Some of my coworkers were lovely girls, I had plenty of fun with them and making the store look right was a challenge we took up as a team, and I liked that. Some, however, were the type who didn't tell you they were quitting and you never heard from again, or just put down their key and said this is my last day.
The hardest part of the job is being alone on closing shift in a really, really dead mall. And the crazy amount of boxes that need dealing with leading up to Christmas.
The most enjoyable part of the job was doing things I knew how to do because I could do them, and being with people I liked and wanted to help as much as I could.

I was trained for the first week on what I was expected to do because I would be working alone for the most part. I was still in school so I was only able to work on the weekends.

A typical day at work was pretty simple; I'd get to work take the money out of the safe and count a certain amount for the day, I had to make sure the person who closed the night before balanced out the money correctly. As soon as I was done with the money, I would start opening up the store, turn the lights on and take out display tables. I would mainly work the cash register, keep up the cleanliness of the store, open new packages, and help customers. At the end of the night, I would vaccumm the floor, take out the cash and count to make sure it was balanced.

The hardest part of the job was the very beginning, getting used to working alone. I was always worried I would make a mistake on a sales transaction and wouldn't know how to fix it. Fortunately, the mistakes I did make were nothing I could not fix, or call a co-worker and ask for some assitance.

The most enjoyable part of the job was working alone, I didn't mind the quiet when there weren't very many customers. It gave me a sense of independence; to do everything from start to finish on my own.

It was an okay place to work for the most part. My manager was sick often (which obviously isnt her fault), and was away on sick leave for months at a time which left the remaining associates and assistant manager scrambling. The assistant manager was rude and strict, make one mistake and it would lead to months of bad treatment and passive aggressive behaviour which I found to be quite anxiety inducing. She also has a habit of picking favourites. It just led to feelings of resentment and anger and I hated working with her. 
Training lasted maybe 8 hours, which I found to be stressful when new employees were hired. We had to take over their lack of experience and training from management and it was draining and added more work, it was often more work training someone than just being shorthanded. 
You were either crazy busy or left with nothing to do for a five hour shift, and if you were caught 'not doing anything' you would get reprimanded. This job involved a lot of 'looking busy' and mindnumbing tasks to pass the time.
The 45% discount was the only positive and theres nothing in this store worth buying, also who buys a $12.95 birthday card??

typical day: when the manager was not there I would be in charge of opening the store, counting the cash to make sure the tills balanced, putting out cards, greeting customers etc

pros: I always got along with all the staff, they were all very friendly to be around and to work with. if you like to work alone then this is a good job for you, you are often left alone for 4 hours at the most because you need a 15 minute break when you work a 5 hour shift. 
- easy work, not very stressful on a regular day
- easy cleaning (straigtning cards, dusting shelves) 

cons: it is a very boring job in the down months (months with no special occasions) the 4 hours would go by very slow if you are alone. 
- working an 8 hour shift, you only get a 30 minute un-paid meal break, no other breaks
- no pay raises or advancements
- company is cheap, they never give anything back to you no matter how well you sell
- christmas months are crazy busy in the store and there are only 2 cash registers open, meaning you have a line going all throughout the store



A typical day at work started with arriving 20 minutes before the mall opened to set up and balance the cash registers, organize last nights bank deposit and tidy up before customers arrived. The mornings often started out slow and traffic picked up steadily throughout the day. We got shipments once a week, ranging from 5 boxes to 35 boxes, so when you weren't assisting or ringing up customers, you were unpacking shipments; restocking current products and merchandising new product.

I got along very well with my co workers and my manager worked hard to make sure everyone was satisfied and that the store was in tip top shape. I enjoyed learning under her, and she taught me a lot about patience and working with customers.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Job is flexible you are given hours to do your stores and you go in when you want to service them.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
New management coming in and not knowing how to properly do a merchandising job and then micro managing the merchandiser’s 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fellow merchandisers are great to work with. That is the best part of working there we help each other out. But the environment and culture at Carlton cards is horrible 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Go into your stores and stress about not having enough time to put away product and tidy so you are leaving stores a mess and store managers then get angry with merchandiser and file complaints about stores.

A typical day at work usually involves receiving shipments, putting inventory out on the floor, and maintaining and organizing displays and merchandise. My co-workers were fun to work with, and could always make me smile, my managers were amazing as they were strict, but fair and friendly. I learned about managing tills and the importance of filling out the paperwork correctly every time. I really like to organize things and set up displays, so this job allowed me to do what I liked doing, but in a work setting. The hardest part of the job was when a big shipment comes in on an unexpectedly busy day. We always try to work our hardest, do our best, and co-operate, regardless of how difficult a task is, so somehow we always manage to get through the rough parts of the job.

Was a great place to work overall  when the stores were owned and operated by Carlton, since they were bought by Papyrus Shurman Fine Papers it has changed dramatically. The focus is on growing profit at all costs with no realistic incentive programs for management and no recognition for success in means of pay increase during the last 4 years of employment even when my store surpassed sales goals for every month of the year and was #1 in company store Sales increase for 7 months straight. There was a lot more duties/responsibilities added but no increase in pay and no final decision directive communication delivered, depending on who you talked to  the directive was always different which created confusion and frustration.

A typical day begins with me either opening store or coming in during lunch hour, usually moving stock from one area of the store to another to make space due to receiving excess stock as it must always go out on the floor straight away. Organizing and disorganizing cards, helping customers find what they are looking for, and closing the store as quickly as possible at the end of  the day.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Field manager 3 salaries reported	$59,333 per year
Merchandiser 7 salaries reported	$15.36 per hour
Field coordinator 5 salaries reported	$23.30 per hour
Sales analyst 2 salaries reported	$62,500 per year
Responsable de secteur 3 salaries reported	$58,667 per year

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