After applying online I received a call from the Assistant Store Manager with in days, requesting to set a date for my first interview. The interview with the ASM was 1:1. I was asked to give examples of how I would interact with customers in different scenarios. Example..."What would you do if you were the fitting room attendant and multiple customers needed you to get them various styles and sizes of clothing"
The interview was surprisingly & extremely short, seemed more like a casual conversation than a job interview.
My first impression of the ASM was very good. She seemed to enjoy her job, she spoke highly of the GAP as a whole and was very friendly.
I got a call with in a few days from the Store Manager for a second interview. This interview was 1:1 also, not very detailed and took about 15 minutes. My first impression of the SM was similar the that of the ASM. Cheerful, happy, friendly, welcoming. Within a week I was offered the job, I accepted on behalf of the good impressions I got from the managers.
On the job...The store operates in a militant sort of way, every move you make needs to be reported over Walkies to managers. The ASM schedules employees for 4hr shifts regardless of availability so no one gets breaks. When I was hired I wish they had told me all my shifts would be 2-4 hours long, as a commuter I was spending more time coming and going than working! When I spoke to the SM about this inconvenience she rudely told me "this is the way it is done here, it's so that we don't have to schedule any one to cover your breaks". The schedules come out weekly, two days in advance of coming Mondays. Not enough time in advance to make any plans or keep appointments what so ever. On-call shifts are common at the GAP. Generally 4 out of 5 shifts every week would be on-call, meaning until 2 hours before my scheduled shift I would not know wether I would be working or not. It's incredibly stressful to have your life at the mercy of a ill spirited manager. It seemed like Leader on duty(or manager)'s mood determined wether or not I would be working.
During my interview with the Store Manager I was told GAP has a very low turn over rate. I respect that in a company, it means they treat their employee's well! It was part of the reason I accepted the job in the first place.
Here's the truth: With in my first month 13 hourly employees quit. Two ladies who were both hired at the same time as my self resigned with in weeks. Every employee I spoke with in the break room complained of unfair treatment, the stress of working under an unpredictable schedule and boss made this job unbearable. It was a bad sign.
In short, this is definitely a temporary kind of job. Very high turn over rate. Unpredictable schedule. Strict militant unhappy managers. Not the best situation.