BIG W Employee Reviews
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A typical day for me would include being on the shop floor mostly within the hard goods side of the store and serving any customers that need a hand, especially during the busy weekend trade. Working store stock during and after store operating hours and listing any excess stock to existing pallet(s) out the back dock. Also ticketing any lines that have missing shelf tickets. Especially in the Toy section as that was my main zone/area of expertise. Also general cleaning duties which includes tidying the store and back dock ready for the next days trade.Hardest part of the job was sometimes dealing with unhappy customers as well as being short-staffed which lead to extra pressure getting tasks done throughout the shift.Most enjoyable part of the job were very supportive colleagues as we consider ourselves like family and being praised by management for hard work and effort into your work Future improvements that could be made include extra staff rostered on for weekend shifts and busy periods. Especially for floor staff as it can be difficult being the only one on the floor at times as well as better organisation as to who's working in which department at any given time. Also accessibility to be able to pick up extra shifts so that shift allocation is as fair as possible. Otherwise I have no further suggestions for improvement and would happily work for Big W again :)
Pros
Great pay, Job security, work/life balance, approachable management
Cons
Having to work most weekends, extra hours may be hard to get at times
Great place to work. Jobs are described well.Staff are easy to get along with and have made friends easily.Technology is easy to use. (Registers/phones/symbols)
Best team of people I Ever worked with. Shame they had to close our store down is was one of the best 😢 We had top sales, great reviews and awesome place to work with lovely country people.
Pros
Birthday lunches for everyone
Cons
Shut us down 😢
Unfortunately being a mature aged worker I was only ever going to be a Xmas fill in and get given the minimum amount of hours. Very lazy, unhygienic juniors, friends of the manger seem to be very well looked after. The companies internal processes are a mess and find it impossible to have things like superannuation payments be adjusted and payed into your super account.. Major lack of communication and often just felt not wanted there at all. I honestly was hoping for a different experience as I had wanted to work there for quite some time.
Pros
Discounts. Long breaks
Cons
0 job security
I've been with the company for 2 and a half years now. Unfortunately almost a year ago, my previous store shut down and since then my job has completely changed. It went from a fun, drama free, healthy working environment to an unreliable, unhealthy, toxic workplace where you are unfortunately treated differently if you don't suck up to the managers. There is no communication, you will be pushed when you're already down. There is no getting ahead.
Pros
Staff discount
Cons
Unreliable hours, management, toxic work environment
Big w started out as a great company, they understanded my needs and listened to what I needed help with. But it changed really quickly when I tried looking after my own mental health, I was ignored by the store manager when I brought up concerns with one of the managements. I was told by my manager to do what I needed to do and they would support me and then as soon as I left, I was getting messages from co-workers saying they were talking badly about me when I left. They only look after you to a certain extent, the shop comes first and everything has to be up to christians standards, even if it is impossible. You can work your hardest and still get growled out because of something extremely minor. Save your energy and work somewhere that knows that you're a human.
Pros
Free food, Chocolate, Gift Cards
Cons
Horrible Management, Store Manager Doesnt care, Ridiculous Standards to keep up with
The work itself was pretty standard retail, cashier/door greeter. First couple weeks were solid, but suddenly dropped straight down to 1 shift a week and despite my best efforts to gain more, they couldn’t offer me any more. Management were nice, a lot of the staff didn’t try to get along or get to know you. No one said goodbye when I left, except for when I went up and said goodbye. Obviously discounts are a plus, that’s about it. Just be wary, good temporary job - nothing more.
Pros
Work/Lunch Parties.
Cons
No hours, staff don’t want to really know you.
As nightfill I would report to the Manager who assigned us cages to unload on the shop floor and restock products. I learned a lot about where items are located, how to pack cages and put away excess stock.As cashier I would stay on checkouts serving customers, if it wasn't busy I would clean up nearby aisles or put away stock left at the counter. The management was good, seemed to care about mental health and made the start to the day kind of exciting as we had team gatherings and pep talks. The hardest part of the job was getting through the quiet, boring times on checkout. Had to pretend to be busy such as clean the same thing three times otherwise would get told off. The most enjoyable part of the job was night filling by myself, no customers or staff. Was relaxing and felt really productive. I was also a casual working part-times hours over Christmas so is good pay.
Pros
Good learning environment for first job and fair breaks.
Cons
Have to keep busy 24/7, even on dead checkout or Management will be upset.
SAVE your soul ,and dignity and pride.Have a little more self worth and confidence to keep looking for other jobs other than RETAIL , get educated and be persistent.BIG W IS NOT IT.DO A COURSE not in retail ,maybe at TAFE , or UNI. IT IS A DEAD END JOB.
Pros
None
Cons
Everything about working in retail
Just turn up to work & work also enjoy your self know what you are doing be polite to others dress accordingly to our workplace no skimpy holey short skirts ,shorts.
Pros
Meeting different people & working with great people
Cons
There is none for me
Working in Big W can be interesting. There are plenty of positions available within the store to make working there an integral part of learning more.
Pros
Good staff interaction
Cons
Working weekends and sometimes long shifts
Great friends made working here in staff and management. Family atmosphere after working there for seven years. Good work life/balance if you have the right team
Pros
Staff discount
Big W is a fun and nice place to work in yet salary and coworkers don’t really like to cope rate and a team in many ways employers are strict but forgiving
Pros
10%off
Cons
Long hours
With the support and encouragement of the Store Manager and Leadership team, in 6 months I have regenerated the Garden Centre bringing new customers to the store.
Sales are growing along with customer relationships, and it is an absolute joy to come to work, despite the challenges of the current health pandemic and economic situation.
It is a physically demanding job that suits me perfectly, even in our prevailing weather extremes. I care about presenting my products to our customers to facilitate that perfect match up and look forward to hearing feedback from them on their gardening journey.
Working permanent part-time allows me to pursue my interests in Community gardening, and participate in online study and volunteering.
Working at Big W in the Garden Centre has been a wonderful late-career change offering me a great life-work balance.
work place culture was very stressful with lack of friendliness in the staff and management. Alot of very negative people to work with who would do anything to try and get you fired so they could get more hours
Pros
nil
Cons
long hours at times
Good casual job, work over 40 hour weeks during events like easter, christmas and eofy. They cut hours, however and management definitely have favourites. Good for just out of school or sick of the 9-5 office job, if you want flexibility, Big W is great. You make great friends and get a good experience with customers. Good and bad. Great extra money. Understanding when you need leave or have to change availabilities.
Pros
Good hours, make friends, great experience.
Cons
Management have favourites, some managers can’t handle stress and get cranky with everyone.
Le travail commence a 5H30 du matin avant l'ouverture du magasin nous somme charge de le nettoyer
This place has destroyed my soul.
Talk about feeling like an adult that has been taken back in time to high school with a bunch of gossiping bullies.
Talk about feeling like a prisoner serving time that is constantly being watched over cameras. On the floor and with timing your tea breaks. 15 mins to leave your work station, walk to the back of the store, go upstairs, toilet, supposedly still have time to make a cup of tea, supposedly drink that same tea and then head downstairs and back to your workstation.
Talk about feeling like a victim of mental abuse from the downright rude trouble making customers that you encounter each week.
You reach out to management only to find out later that they rewarded the customer for their bad behaviour towards their team member with a gift card and chocolates or some other suck up gift.
No reward for the team member who was the victim of the verbal attack.
There is no protection or support. (oh but wait... they will pretend to care if you make a little song and dance about the issue. They will even hand out a contact card for EAP services. Mainly to shut you up I presume. That or because it is written in the guidelines and done purely out of procedure) Because they truly only care about their customers at BIG W.
Sick of giving so much effort to this workplace for so little in return.
There is no rewards other than a discount team benefits card and being able to go home to a better life after your shift.
Save your soul - Look for a better place to work.
Pros
Team Benefits card and home time. Thank god I have a life outside of BIG W.
Cons
Gossiping, Bullying, Abuse from customers, Camera monitoring, Fight for annual leave, High stress, Difficult team members and management
Firstly the positives:
1. Big W was quite good when it came to the whole initiation and training part of the job. The training was manageable and did over what was needed.
2. Some of the fellow staff members were friendly and welcoming (defiantly not all).
3. The pay was good, not amazing but enough.
However, the cons about the job:
1. The biggest and one that made the biggest impact was the management. As everyone would know, management is an integral part to ones job. How someone is manage affects staff morale, the job itself and the motivation of getting up and going to work. When management fails at their job, its sends ripple effects throughout all levels of staff. This is what happened at Big W Capalaba. To be put simply, management was severely under qualified, untrained and overall not fit for their position. Some attributes associated with one particular manager (that is no longer there - and for good reason) is hypocritical, extremely unprofessional and intimating. You want your staff to feel comfortable around you so why are there individuals in management that are unapproachable, rude and intimidating. Touching on that, "practice what you preach" - do not tell staff to not do something then flat out do it yourself (hypocritical).
Lastly, the store manager. Yelling at 14yr old employees? I don't care if you are the prime minister or a store cleaner, not on! Control your anger or get out of your job.
2. Some of the staff are extremely condensing and rude. They have their own little groups and very segregated from the rest of the staff. Some of the middle-aged - more...
Pros
Training
Cons
Management and rude colleagues
I enjoyed my work placement there so much that I would like to be employed there. I learnt so much in my short space of time here. The team made me feel comfortable and helped when I needed it. I enjoyed getting up everyday and couldn't wait to get to Big W to do another day there. I am hoping when the covid19 calms down, that Big W could offer me to come and work with them, that would be great.
Pros
people are nice
Cons
not working there