OfficeMax Reviews

Pros

They pay higher then mcdonalds

Cons

You have to wear a walkie talkie with a headset (hurts your ears!) and its very uncomfortable
You have to wear dress shoes
When you close you have to clean toliets & the break room (disgusting)
They dont have there own stock team so the employees have to sit there and stock everything in the store while also helping customers
Very disorganized, no training that can give you product knowledgement
Same old music playlist every single day
Boring job
I have to sit there and ask for hours
Grumpy old coworkers, wheres then teens at?

Pros

I learned enough so I can work at FedEx/Kinkos? Close to home.

Cons

Poor leadership. I was 17 at the time and felt like I was working with 14 year olds. Grow up.

Advice to Senior Management

I visited recently and not one single person I knew was still there. So I hope you guys are doing a better job.

Pros

Corporate has a handle of ongoings in company wide business. Management was good in the store. Certain employees were very helpful. Training was adequate Very helpful with time off requests and adjusting schedule when an emergency came up.

Cons

Began work during busy season, back to school. The hours were very late, store closed at 10 and stocked shelves until 12:30. The Impress area was understaffed at times, and became hectic or had no time to take a scheduled break. Closing duties included cleaning bathrooms and break room.

Advice to Senior Management

The opportunity to advance in a retail setting only includes moving up to management. I feel it is not my area to be in management. I would like to see some other area to advance in, perhaps having professional shopper, computer shopper, impress designer, or furniture specialist.

Pros

Very friendly environment, good place to learn about basic technology (cameras, printers, etc)

Cons

Some managers will do anything to get out of work and leave the floor associates to do everything.

Pros

Great environment to work with an excellent group of individual on a certain level.

Cons

Promotions of Management position are based on friendship with the District level and past knowledge interaction. The are not based on performance and execution.

Pros

- Flexible work schedule
- Spiff (Well, pay is 9/hr so this should be DUH)

Cons

- Managers with lack of knowledge in electronics
- All manager care about is warranties.
- Headquarters expect way too much from sales associates
- If OM want more sales, they need to invest in product knowledge training, better equipment (cash register freeze like crazy making customers wait very long), and hire managers who have good knowledge about tech.
- Don't give "TECH ADVISOR" name badges to manager who don't know much about electronics. I work part-time and I know way more than my manager who is a TECH ADVISOR...
- The job requires employees to improve their product knowledge outside of workplace....
- Control Center staffs are unreliable.
- Store sells fast computers and yet our registers are very old.....and very slow...

Advice to Senior Management

Advice to District Manager Mark Russel of Office Max. Ask the non-managers about what can be improved at Office Max. You always walk in to my store with your nose up so high and you never ask non-managers what can be done to improve sales and customer service. All you do is come to my store and bark at the managers for crappy warranty sales. Come on dude!

Pros

You have compensations for the assurance that you sell; every year you have a revision of salary and maybe you will get a raise.

Cons

Sometimes when the sells are bad; you will get less hours at work.

Advice to Senior Management

Always tell the employers the changes at OfficeMax, also make available more intensive to your employees.

Pros

- Employees are kind and fun to work with
- Pay and hours are decent
- Spiff earned from Max/E.K.'s are nice
- Some kind customers

Cons

Lack of training. Usually expected to know everything about the store and how things are done within 2 weeks. Bosses get angry when you don't know how to do something. Managers are VERY short-tempered and expect too much from newer employees. Micromanaging is a HUGE issue. Managers (some) are snotty, rude, and act like employees are stupid.

Advice to Senior Management

Managers need to relax and make OfficeMax less stressful. Just because your title says "Manager", doesn't give you the right to talk back and act snotty. Work on being nicer to employees.

Pros

There are very few pros to speak of. The lone positives about working here is the opportunity to meet small business owners and professionals who are often willing to consider you for future employment.

Good place to hone your customer service skills as you will meet friendly, rude, and downright disrespectful customers which will leave you with a thick skin. You will also learn how to use various electronic devices to help you make price changes, set up plan-o-grams, and print ads which you can add to your resume to demonstrate your ability to use resources to get the job done.

Cons

Management is often under immense pressure from District Managers to meet MaxAssurance's and Essential Kit's sales quotas. As a result, if you are unable to meet your goals you will be singled out and have your weekly hours cut regardless of how hard you work.

Do not expect managers to be sympathetic and be prepared for anything. Lot's of politics and backstabbing involved. You will hardly receive any praise but any criticisms will always be pointed out and used to pressure you. Mystery Shoppers are the devil. If you score low, your hours will be cut and you will be demoted to cashier duty and be the only one required to take the trash out and clean the bathrooms (which are disgusting).

This job is not for the faint at heart and if you aren't willing or able to stand up for yourself you will be singled out and forced to perform any and all tasks while other associates who are favorites with the managers will have it easy.

If you are a male, you will be expected to lift heavy chairs off the top shelves (despite being dangerous for one person to do) and be forced to work as a mule and do all the heavy lifting without getting any assistance from management. If you want to survive without being used do your tasks slowly but surely. If you perform all your tasks quickly you will be assigned to take on more and more responsibilities to the point of exhaustion.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees and quit being so heartless. Stand up for your co-workers and defend them if you know they are doing everything that is possible to keep the store running smoothly.

Don't stand around and or chit-chat with other managers and favorites while all the other associates are busy with work. Get involved and show that you care. Stop acting like slave owners because your employees are not your slaves or servants.

Pros

Fairly well organized, quick salary advancement (roughly every 6 months), friendly and professional atmosphere, customer oriented

Cons

Somewhat boring, ornery and impatient customers

Advice to Senior Management

It is too bright in the store, tone it down a little with the lights for a more relaxing experience. The customers that shop there are already high strung, make shopping for their business needs less stressful.