Books-A-Million – “Want bad pay, no hours, and to be treated like garbage by the people you are trying to help....well this is your place!”

Pros

First of the month 30% discount, 20% the rest of the month. This is the only thing really that makes the job worthwhile. But always watch out, if the item has a larger discount with the member discount card use that first!

Cons

Well first of all if you end up dating someone in the company, expect one of you to be relocated. Nepotism of any sort is frowned upon by the company unless you are an Anderson. Secondly, the pay is horrendous and now it is even worse since the company is cutting hours even more than they did before. Chances are the hourly cuts are going to make getting any benefits a thing of the past. The supposed "flex budget" the company is using now doesn't take into account that there actually has to be employees on the clock to shelve the books and then find them again for the customers. Thirdly, the discount cards and magazines. With the economy being as down as it is, I think the worst thing this company did was raise not only the price on the discount card but now they are raising, yet again, the percentages for the cards and magazines goals. In the past I never had a problem making the goals of these, but I had to talk unil my mouth was literally numb some days. For some people who struggle with these sales, they will probably find themselves job hunting very soon. :(
Finally, I have worked retail in the past, and I have never in my life been treated as badly as customers tend to treat us in these stores. And no matter what, you have to smile and bear it or fear a corporate complaint....which means termination. I have been yelled at, snapped at, and cursed at, sometimes just over something as small as being out of java jackets or sold out of a new hot best seller.

Advice to Senior Management

Get into the stores, especially the ones struggling to meet your so called "metrics". See why they are struggling. Try to sell some discount cards to people who are budgets but still need to buy the summer books for their childrens' educations. When was the last time anyone at corporate worked in a store? Did any of them?