OfficeMax Employee Review

I worked at OfficeMax full-time for less than a year

Pros – Associate discount (10%). Flexible work schedule. Some managers are natural leaders and great to work with - depends on whose schedule you get on.. One manager in particular was awesome: treated employees with respect, was helpful and patient training new employees and always said "please" and "thank you." He told me I was great with the customers: warm and welcoming. I was motivated to work even harder on his shift. I would have stayed longer in that case. If they want to be the Nordstrom of office supply stories, they need to have adequate staff to serve the customers.

Cons – Unrealistic expectations of line employees/cashiers to clean the whole store including vacuum, clean restrooms, wash windows during a one hour closing period. Understaffed during second shift when a lot of people shop. Skeleton crew expected to restock and recover and respond to customer requests. I felt like no matter how hard I worked, I was never good enough. I don't think managers are trained in leadership and communication skills. Appreciation of employees' efforts is lacking. At the end of the day I felt beat up, like I was never good enough. Office Max will continue to have high turnover, low morale and upset customers until they start treating their employees like human beings, not machines. It's impossible to listen on the headset and listen to customers during check out. It's crazy making. Listening to the customer and making them feel important should be most important.

Advice to Senior Management – See above and don't try to run an evening shift with a skeletal crew. It only results in low morale, poor customer service.and high turnover, costing the company even more money in down time and training new employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company