Fuck Chapters in the ass.
I don't know what I was thinking sending Chapters my resume in the first place. I've done corporate retail before and I hated it, but I guess I'd just forgotten why. To say that big companies value sales profits over everything else doesn't really caputure it. The fact is, it is the only thing they value.
I had no idea this would be a "group interview", so I'm already feeling jerked around by this company before management even has a chance to open their mouths. They put me in a room with three other wannabe "customer experience representatives" and two managers who asked questions like "Can you give an example of a time when you handled a difficult customer service situation?". Putting four canditates for a single job a room to be interviewed en masse creates a ridiculously competative atmosphere to begin with. But when you start in with questions like that, it makes everybody fall all over themselves to give a better answer than the last person. It's sick, and it's the first time I ever seriously considered walking out of a job interview. I couldn't believe the bullshit spewing out of these people, it was truly astounding. I also suspect that forcing potential employees to compete with one another directly in this way is indicative of what it's like to work for Chapters. I should have listened to this guy and saved myself the bus fare and time I spent to go up there.
After that part of the "interview" was over, they managers launched into a long speal about the dress code at Chapters: you have to wear either black dress pants or khakis, no sneakers but Doc. Martins are okay, you can only wear shirts with collars (eg: golf shirts), and your shirt has to be one of the following solid colours: black, white, blue or gray. Then, without any prompting from me, one of the managers looks at me and says "We'll have to get back to you about corporate policy on peircings. We've never had anyone with a peircing at this store, so I'm not sure what the policy is." You've got to be fucking kidding me. If I thought it might be an issue, I would have asked upfront. Silly me for thinking that it wouldn't matter.
Then, the final humiliation: the managers handed each of us a shopping bag with a product from the store inside. We were then instructed to go out into the store and find other items that customers who bought the first product might be interested in purchasing. You see, selling people the stuff they want isn't enough, you're also expected to pressure them into buying a bunch of crap that they don't want. Forever the optimist, I have enough faith in humanity to assume that most people know what they want to do with their money and don't need my assistance in being parted from it, thank you very much. This is the crux of the issue of my not wanting to work in corporate retail again. I'm intimately familiar with what its like to live on a limited budget, and when I can afford to buy myself something at the book store, the last thing I want is someone trying to make me spend just... a little... bit... more. Fuck that. Besides, it's arrogant: it assumes that the customer is an idiot who doesn't know what they want and can't shop unassisted.
The two managers said that there would be call backs for second interviews by the first half of next week at the latest (have you ever heard of a part-time, minimum wage job that required a second interview?). God give me the strength to tell them to fuck off if they're dumb enough to call me. You want to know the worst part of this experience? All three of the other people I was interviewed with were graduates of the same university I went to, and all three of them are unemployed and apparently desperate enough to be looking for work at the mall. How depressing is that?
I had no idea this would be a "group interview", so I'm already feeling jerked around by this company before management even has a chance to open their mouths. They put me in a room with three other wannabe "customer experience representatives" and two managers who asked questions like "Can you give an example of a time when you handled a difficult customer service situation?". Putting four canditates for a single job a room to be interviewed en masse creates a ridiculously competative atmosphere to begin with. But when you start in with questions like that, it makes everybody fall all over themselves to give a better answer than the last person. It's sick, and it's the first time I ever seriously considered walking out of a job interview. I couldn't believe the bullshit spewing out of these people, it was truly astounding. I also suspect that forcing potential employees to compete with one another directly in this way is indicative of what it's like to work for Chapters. I should have listened to this guy and saved myself the bus fare and time I spent to go up there.
After that part of the "interview" was over, they managers launched into a long speal about the dress code at Chapters: you have to wear either black dress pants or khakis, no sneakers but Doc. Martins are okay, you can only wear shirts with collars (eg: golf shirts), and your shirt has to be one of the following solid colours: black, white, blue or gray. Then, without any prompting from me, one of the managers looks at me and says "We'll have to get back to you about corporate policy on peircings. We've never had anyone with a peircing at this store, so I'm not sure what the policy is." You've got to be fucking kidding me. If I thought it might be an issue, I would have asked upfront. Silly me for thinking that it wouldn't matter.
Then, the final humiliation: the managers handed each of us a shopping bag with a product from the store inside. We were then instructed to go out into the store and find other items that customers who bought the first product might be interested in purchasing. You see, selling people the stuff they want isn't enough, you're also expected to pressure them into buying a bunch of crap that they don't want. Forever the optimist, I have enough faith in humanity to assume that most people know what they want to do with their money and don't need my assistance in being parted from it, thank you very much. This is the crux of the issue of my not wanting to work in corporate retail again. I'm intimately familiar with what its like to live on a limited budget, and when I can afford to buy myself something at the book store, the last thing I want is someone trying to make me spend just... a little... bit... more. Fuck that. Besides, it's arrogant: it assumes that the customer is an idiot who doesn't know what they want and can't shop unassisted.
The two managers said that there would be call backs for second interviews by the first half of next week at the latest (have you ever heard of a part-time, minimum wage job that required a second interview?). God give me the strength to tell them to fuck off if they're dumb enough to call me. You want to know the worst part of this experience? All three of the other people I was interviewed with were graduates of the same university I went to, and all three of them are unemployed and apparently desperate enough to be looking for work at the mall. How depressing is that?
posted by Mary at 3:26 p.m.
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