Poor communication, lack of support, unmotivated staff and bad management - Cashier/Customer Service Big 5 Sporting Goods Employee Review

Communication is sorely lacking between managers and assistant managers, and between managers and employees. Different managers will often have their own ways of completing tasks or implementing policies, and their expectations are not communicated to the employees. Managers do not communicate their expectations for the shift, which employees are being subbed, for example, to each other, leading to confusion for everyone. Corporate provides little support to employees or management, and their cost-cutting practices often result in staff not receiving necessary tools or materials. The store seems like it's stuck in the '90's with outdated decor and sloppy, unprofessional advertising. For instance, the cash registers haven't been updated for over a decade, so it's not unusual for them to freeze or completely crash in the middle of transactions. Both managers and employees are equally apathetic about doing a good job, with, "Close enough" being a phrase commonly heard when putting up displays, implementing policies or maintaining the store's appearance. The result is a chaotic jumble of scotch taped plastic containers on items returned, returned women's swimsuits sans protective liners being put right back on the shelves, crooked paper sales tags printed off in the office and then slapped onto the wrong items and candy expired from +8 months still being sold. From working with this company, you get the sense that everyone just looks out for number one, especially in corporate. Aside from an initial 10 hours of training at the register when I was first hired, there was no further training on products in the store, no feedback from managers, no updates on when items would be moved around in the store. Everything else I had to figure out myself. Corporate is short sighted, out of touch with the needs of the store, and what goals are achievable in the next quarter, and doesn't care about employees or management. The general manager said that corporate only gives a certain number of hours per week, and that managers have to spread them out throughout all of the employees, which shoots the store in the foot--if there are not enough workers to do all of the work, all of the work will be done poorly, resulting in fewer sales. Managers do not have realistic goals for employees, often scheduling one cashier to open the store, work the register, put ads up on merchandise at the front and/or put up merchandise. Sales associates are also expected to service customers, maintain a dangerously over crowded and disorganized stockroom and unload trucks from the distribution center while wearing dress shirts and ties. Corporate does not employ much effort to maintain employee satisfaction, and suggestions are ignored. All employees get one ten minute break in a dirty, dingy stockroom per 5 hour shift (with two ten minute breaks and a half hour mandatory unpaid lunch for every +6 hour shift). My general manager also admitted to me that corporate expects him to work unpaid overtime. Several of the managers I have worked with at this company have been passive aggressive, micro-managing, rude, dismissive and generally unpleasant to be around, dragging the whole atmosphere of the store down, which I'm sure is passed on to customers. Employees (including other managers!) don't respect the management, and it's not uncommon for employees to make comments about customers or managers while on the clock to other employees.