Best job I've ever had!

If you like helping people, honest and willing to work hard you can do very well at Amscot. I moved up quickly and earn more money than I ever have. Contradictory to some comments on this site most employees love their jobs. I'm told turnover is around 30% which is low for the industry. Yes - the work can be physically challenging becuase you're on your feet for much of the day and you're required to work weekends and evenings. but i never work more than 5 days per week. Everyone starts at the bottom so getting ahead is up to you. Training is like boot camp - you can't be late or fail the tests or they will let you go. In training someone was fired becuase they made inappropriate comments during lunch time.

Hey EdSo,

I'm relieved to read your review on Amscot after reading so many horrible ones. I'm about to start training soon and am a little nervous now. Is it true you don't get any breaks ever? What is the dress code like?

xoxo

Breaks are informal. When there are no customers you can take as many breaks as you need including sitting down and having a snack. The branches have break areas with a fridge and microwave. Associates have non-busy tasks to do like filing and auditing but you have a chance to regroup and rest until the next customer rush. Our busy times are during lunch and late afternoon / dinner so its important you're prepared and ready to work through for an hour or two straight. In my branch we take turns taking breaks before the rush so everyone's recharged and ready for the busy time.

When we take breaks we must stay in the branch. Some Employees think this is unfair that we can't clock out and leave for lunch. My understanding is the company feels its a higher security risk if people are coming and going. So make sure you bring lunch everyday and the good part is you're always paid for your time even when taking breaks.

Dress code is black pants and a yellow or blu Amscot shirt. I think you get 2 when you start and can buy extra for $20 each. Make sure you have a comfortable pair of shoes! Hope this helps.

Edso! You've come through again. Thanks so much for all this information. You've really assuaged my fears. It's really unfortunate that so many other people on this forum are making working at Amscot sound like a nightmare. Hopefully in a month or so I can come back and speak about my positive Amscot experience. Thanks again!

xoxo

Edso hit the nail on the head! The shifts can be long, and a lot of time on your feet, no doubt about that, but.. There are a lot of benefits to the environment also. For example, see all of the postings about no breaks, I work at a busy store and get breaks all the time! I always liked that you get paid for your entire shift. Most jobs you have to clock out, take a formal break, and your at work for 9 hours but get paid for 8 because there is a 1 hour break in between! At Amscot, because they care about us and want to keep us safe, we dont leave for formal break periods but we are paid through the entire shift! If you clock in and 9 and you get off at 5, then you are paid for an 8 hour shift, not 7 or 7 and 1/2! How can people say we dont get breaks? In my branch we have a refrigerator, sink, and break area. We also have weekly goals to meet and if we do, they give us Publix gift cards which I use to buy food for work each week! If you have ever worked in retail, then you will appreciate Amscot because they pay you well, give you a nice, clean, relaxed worked environment. Everything in the company is directed towards good performance so by all of the other postings, I can only imagine the people aren’t with Amscot anymore because they didn’t perform well! But, if you perform well, you will do well financially and move up quick! They pay us more then any company I have seen; Branch Managers make $50 - $75,000 a year and NEVER LEAVE. They talk about people get fired I can agree, but not how its made out to sound in the other comments. Amscot is the best at what they do bar none. They have high standards, expect you to work hard, be professional, treat the customers good, and show up to work when scheduled. If you cant do those things which in my opinion are very basic, then you wont last and they will make room for someone else who can do it but if you do perform well, you get good pay, paid vacation like any other company, all types of bonus plans..

For example, each week the store has a set of goals. If we make them, everyone in the store gets gift cards.. there have been weeks where we earned $30.00 in gift cards for doing our jobs! Then we have monthly goals that if we hit certain levels, we get 10% of our pay as a bonus. On top of that, every quarter, if you don’t have cash shortages, aren’t late or absent, you get 10% bonus AND Paid day off!

The bottom line is.. If you are hard working, want a job that’s fun and challenging then you will like Amscot. If you are lazy, not ambitions, and like to complain a lot… you will likely be on this forum later on complaining about getting fired.

By the way.. I told other people at work about this forum bashing Amscot so expect other replies!

Starting pay is $12-$15 an hour depending on your experience. I started at $14 because I had retail management experience. Not true you don’t get raises. You get a raise every time you get promoted and on your annual review. Like any job, there are salary caps one you reach a certain rate of pay and each position you get promoted to has a different, higher pay cap. You don’t get fired for “minor things” – get fired for having bad attitudes, being lazy, and not showing up to work… just like any job.

Aaaron - these comments you're reading are basically not true. These people are disgruntled ex-employees who have been let go and they're pissed off becasuse they were fired. The person who's a current employee is a Branch Manager that we all know about who's probably about to get fired for poor performance and a negative attitude!

Every Associate in my branch got a raise last year and will do so this year. In fact several of my Associates have been promoted to other branches and one went to the Corporate office. Yes - if you're an Associate and not willing to take on more responsibility over the years your pay will be limited to approx $35,000. Doesn't take much to move up and as an assistant and CO manager I was making between $40-45K, as a Branch Manager we make $55-60k. And we have monthly bonus' plans that includes everyone. Becuase we beat certain goals last month everyone in the branch made a bonus.

I know the company has opened locations in East Florida where you are so should be lots of oppurtunity to move up. good luck!

Thank you, I appreciate you getting back to me.

Thanks!

I am thinking aboutg applying at Amscot, but my husband is worried about my safety due the the typical locations and hours of operation. Can you guys give me any info about safety going to and from work. I would really like to convince my husband not to worry.

TF - There is a reason why most of these people don't work at Amscot - it's because they were likely fired for bad attitudes or poor performance! There has never been an Amscot location that has successfully been robbed. Banks are robbed all of the time, Amscot is not because of all of the security, crooks see us as a hard target and move on. You are behind thick glass, steel doors, re-inforced walls, keeps you very safe... safer then any bank!

I am suppose to start next week working for Amscot, currently I work in a position that is strictly low hourly wage plus commission based on booking vacations. Now with that said, and the economy the way it is, would you decide to go to Amscot or stay in the vacation industry? Dont you think Amscot is recession proof? And yes they may work you like a race horse, but even the job I have now does the same thing. I work my ass off to make commission so I have enough money to pay my rent, car payment and other bills.

Agree with you EdSo... John Schmoe's comments are far from the truth and hold no credibility... One reason, he got fired! Listen to the people who still work for Amscot like myself and EdSo - great place to work! If your lazy and have a bad outlook on life and work, and find the glass half empty in anything you do, then you won't enjoy Amscot. If you enjoy helping people, working hard but seeing the rewards of your labor, and like working for a company with strong values and who appreciates you, then Amscot is it!

I have worked for Amscot for several years now, best job I have ever had... I often hear my friends complain about their jobs at other companies... saying there bosses are jerks and hold them back, talk down to them, company doesnt care about them, "i'm just a number" and so on... I never feel that way at Amscot! I have had the pleasure of meeting the owners of the company during the annual awards banquet they throw for all of the Branch Managers each year and they are all honest, down to earth, hard working people just like us! I worked at the original Amscot store, the first one ever built and the customers truly love the company and the services that we provide to them! Some of them have been coming to Amscot for over 20 years cashing their checks and such. Company is great, great culture, nice people, top notch training, pay, bonuses, everything you can imagine. I have learned so much about buisness, life, customer service, and everything else during my time at Amscot! I love my job and will work here until I retire!

O yea... and Amscot does a lot for the community too! A few years back, they asked for volunteers to ring the bell for salvation army at Christmas time... I was happy to volunteer my time to help out for a worthy cause! The founder of the company himself was out ringing the bell and taking donations, including a $10,000 check he pulled out of his pocket and donated! Anyway... I did my shift and thought nothing of it.. when I got my paycheck, it had overtime on it... they had actually went through and paid everyone who volunteered to ring the bell! I didnt even want it but they felt that it was a nice thing to do for everyone who had come out in the cold and "done the right thing" - Amscot is a great company with great values which includes "Doing the right thing" - whatever the right thing is!

Obviously the bad comments come from bad performers, anyone should trust that if you perform good, have a good attitude then Amscot is going to treat you good. Just read online about of the community involvement Amscot does. I am so blessed to know that the company I work for donates to the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army does so much to help people in need, I remember when the hurricanes came through and the Salvation Army was there to help the victims, it made me feel so good knowing that my employer contributed. Amscot cares so much about their employees, their customers and their communities, why wouldn't I want to be apart of that!

You folks ever wonder why anyone in the branches were not allowed to participate in the "best place to work" survey (only corporate stooges could vote)? Ever ask why you weren't told that the owners were charged and convicted of racketeering and insurance fraud?(integrity would be owning up to it) Have you noticed that while Amscot deceives customers into believing they match their donations in the "just a dollar" scam, they only contribute about$60 per branch? And yes,there are salary caps,restrictions on vacation times,firings for being late or sick twice and more. I'm not saying you should or shouldn't work at Amscot,there are some good things too. I am saying anyone who says it's all good or all bad is full of crap, and you should know the whole story.

Actually Branch Leaders are the ones that completed the Best Places to Work survey, rightfully so since they are the ones that know the company the best, work the hardest and deserve the right to decide whether or not the company is the best place to work. You can make up to $20 an hour at Amscot, you just need to be willing and capable of moving up into Branch Leadership. As far as vacation restrictions yes there are, however they are when our customers need us the most, the busiest times of each month and each person is different and there have been exceptions made to this. I think we have a very lenient absent and tardy policy...i mean what company allows you to clock in up to 5 minutes from the time you are scheduled and not count you as tardy. Would be interested to know what branch you work for Kukala because I absolutely love my branch, the branches I have worked for and this company!

I think we all agree that not everything is perfect, can never be... Sure you have to work a weekend day, sure no formal breaks, ext... But - like you said, it's not all bad... and the good surely outweighs the bad however, all you have done on this site Kukala Makas is talk about the bad in yet you say you like your branch and branch leader. Amscot could pay everyone a million dollars a year to work 4 hours a week and someone, somewhere would find something to complain about. When all the good and the bad is weighed, Amscot is a great place to work and that's why there are so many Amscot associates on this site defending our company... we love it!

Here you go... all the "little" details that were left out when talking about "salary caps"... everyone fails to mention how much the caps are. Also - find another company that doesnt cap your pay if you dont wish to move up? Also - Amscot's pay raises are generous - a lot of company's give you a small raise like .10 or .25 cents... If you do well at Amscot, you'll easily get a dollar.

Salary Caps: Entry level teller position is capped at $31-35k a year, not including bonus. If you move up, your salary cap moves up, all the way to $65-70k a year as a Branch Leader. It's silly to think a company could continue to pay people huge amounts of money when their responsibility stays the same. Show me banks and such that will pay tellers $31-35k a year with bonuses... for a teller position!

You get a raise annually and then with every promotion. If you don't want to move up, there are other positions such as collections, call centers, HR, accounting, all are promoted from within and include large salary increases.

Branch Leaders work 55 hours a week, 40 hours regular time and 15 hours OT - no salary positions at the branch level, a lot different from most industrys where branch managers work 70 hours a week on salary! This position is also "capped" but the cap is $65-70k a year, not including bonuses which can be very large if your branch is doing well.

What was not the truth? Associates are capped at 31-35k a year. $31,200, as you say.. this does not include any overtime throughout the course of a year, any bonuses (could earn quarterly perfect performer and monthly income bonus if your branch makes income bonus) and you get 8 hours extra pay on the main holidays? Like I said 31-35k. There is an opening posted on the intranet right now for Clearing Center at $18.00 an hour and an opening in collections... so not sure what your talking about. Kukala Makas - your obviously not happy at Amscot so you should quit - as quick as possible, and go find something you will like..

Wow... I didnt know Amscot pays that much! I read all the blogs and think it sounds like a interesting place to work. All the people are usually very nice when I go there so can't be that bad!

28K for the first year? really? WOW!! That is amazing! Good thing I applied already! I hope they call me! I have worked in retail for 4 years and make just over $10 as a manager! I agree with Robert and all the others that support Amscot, sounds like a pretty amazing place to work!

Thanks, that is very helpful. Do you know what the pay increase is when you become a co-Leader?

Actually Aaron, you do get an increase for Assistant Leader, and Co Leader and Branch Leader. Kukala is wrong. Leadership positions, all of them, have the lowest turnover in the company. Great opportunity for anyone who wants to come in, work hard, and who has a positive attitude! You will be very happy joining Amscot, best decision I have every made!

Also as far as promotions go, there is no time frame it is truly up to you! You know how most companies they make you have to wait a certain amount of time before you can be eligible for promotion? Not here, if you have a positive attitude, keep your head down, and work hard then your possibilities for promotion are endless.

1st time on this site in a while... many of us dont appreciate misinformation that few have added. Hopefully no one's fooled. as I've said before - if you work hard and do the right thing, following the laws, serving customers and helping other employees, you will do extremely well, as I have at Amscot. IN 18 months Ive gone from being a trainee to BL earning $2300 every 2 weeks. My subordintates love
my branch and we work well together. Surely there are other good jobs out there but for the most part Amscot is a great employer! That's the truth.

I love Amscot! I received a bonus on my check because my branch was #1 in collections this past month! I don't even make collection calls but just because I am a part of the branch team I got a bonus!

I applied at Amscot last Wednesday, got called Thursday, was interviewed Friday, and got called back Monday & offered the position. I have a million and one questions, but I'll try to keep it at a minimum. First of all, how difficult are the tests they give you during training? I'm not very good at test-taking, and I don't want to get fired before I actually start working.

Secondly, since the schedule is made 2 weeks in advance, if you know ahead of time that you need a day off, can you request it?

Also, how often do they ACTUALLY have you working really late at night, or have you working at a location 25 miles from your home? I'm accustomed to working a set schedule (in an office environment), in one location. I also have no sense of direction, so I'm worried that if they send me to a location in Tampa (for example), I'll end up getting horribly lost.

I know I'm probably worrying for nothing, but I just want this to go well...

THAT being said, I also have a comment about some of the other posts I've read on here. This job is like any other company you work for...You get out of it what you put into it. I may not be happy about the shifts, or the moving around, but with the recession, I cannot afford to be picky. I haven't worked in 5 months, and I'm grateful to actually have a job to go to. If I don't like it, then that's too bad. At least my children will be able to eat, and the bills will be paid. Try being unemployed for a while, with no way to pay your living expenses, and see how much you complain about making $12-$15 an hour. If I can go to sleep knowing I've done my job, and we're not about to lose the roof over our heads, then I have no complaints.

Lissie, more than likely you will be close to your home, if you live in Clearwater. If you need a day off, just ask your Branch Leader. The tests are good, just stay alert and listen in training class. And if you have questions, please ask the trainers. They are absolutely wonderful and will even stay over to help you if you needed them too. I am sure you will do great in training. Best thing is to take a "test run" to the Tampa office just to make sure you get there on your first day and your not late. As far as set schedules, you basically have a set schedule, granted it isn't Monday-Friday 9am-5pm but you get your schedule 2 weeks in advance and they use templates so you typically work the same schedule every week. We usually don't work all nights or all mornings, we have a mixture that way you have time throughout the week to get the things you need to get done outside of work. Best of luck to you and I am sure you will do great, it is up to you. And the best thing about Amscot is that they promote from within and it doesn't matter how long you have been here. Good luck!

Hopefully you made it lissie and realized the tests arent that difficult. I was a horrible student in school but did well during training. Yes you can request days off and they're usually honored. at my branch we always have the same days off so we try and schedule appointments etc on that day. I only work 2 really late shifts which means i close around 930pm which i would prefer not to but i have other days im finished much earlier. my first branch i had to travel around 25 - 30 minutes but i eventually got to a branch much closer to where i live.

Like Rick, I only work 2 really late shifts too. I actually like the schedule I work, I get one weekend day off and one week day off. I love the week day off because i get to do all my stuff that i need to do while everyone else is working--it is great! Plus it gives me a break from the kids too!

nycdude - where are you working now?

At Amscot, you can sit down and eat at any time you want provided you don't have customers. If it's busy and the customer flow is to heavy that you can't sit down, then you just let your manager know your going to the break room to eat and the rest of the associates take care of the customers until you get back, that simple. Your paid your whole shift - no clocking out for an hour.

NYC Dude - good luck at the credit union... with hard work and a little kissing up, maybe in 5-10 years you can become some sort of supervisor and in 15 years, provided you work real hard... you can be a brach manager and that's when the big bucks roll in. Can be making 35k a year. If you don't work at Amscot anymore, get a life and move on.

EdSo in Clearwater, Florida said: 1st time on this site in a while... many of us dont appreciate misinformation that few have added. Hopefully no one's fooled. as I've said before - if you work hard and do the right thing, following the laws, serving customers and helping other employees, you will do extremely well, as I have at Amscot. IN 18 months Ive gone from being a trainee to BL earning $2300 every 2 weeks. My subordintates love
my branch and we work well together. Surely there are other good jobs out there but for the most part Amscot is a great employer! That's the truth.

Ed speaks for many of us. Hoefully will be a BL soon.

so after being fired by amscot he took a $4000 pay cut with the credit union. sounds like he's really moving in the right direction. $100 bet he's back looking for his old job in 3 months.

and you think the credit unions are so credible??! What do you charge customers when they bounce checks? $35 each check?! and you make sure the big check cleats first so the many small checks bounce causing the customer many fees. And what's the daily overdraw fee - $5 a day?! what's the APR on that $20 over draft- 10000%!!!!

we get so many customers coming to us from banks and credit unions who are sick of all the hidden fees, bounced fees and overdraft fees. with us they know exactly what they're paying. that's why so many customers love our prepaid card.

THE TRUTH: of course you can sit down and take breaks. corp sends out regular emails urging people to take breaks and meal breaks. i do it all the time and ive worked in the busiest company store. THE BEST PART - LUNCH, DINNER AND ANY BREAKS ARE PAID FOR. someone i worked with worked for the largest insurance company and they were given an hour off for work. she would always only take a 30 minute break or work at her desk over lunch AND IT WASNT PAID TIME! That would suck.

you're very naive - your credit union charges more fees more often. we charge one fee for 2 or 3 weeks. you charge a $25 fee for every bounced check. i once saw a customers monthly statement from your credit union: $450 IN BOUNCED CHECK FEES!!!!!!!!!! And the money is guaranteed becuase the customer is paid direct deposit. the credit union always gets their money first!!! THATS THE TRUTH

Ted M in Bradenton, Florida said: At Amscot, you can sit down and eat at any time you want provided you don't have customers. If it's busy and the customer flow is to heavy that you can't sit down, then you just let your manager know your going to the break room to eat and the rest of the associates take care of the customers until you get back, that simple. Your paid your whole shift - no clocking out for an hour.

NYC Dude - good luck at the credit union... with hard work and a little kissing up, maybe in 5-10 years you can become some sort of supervisor and in 15 years, provided you work real hard... you can be a brach manager and that's when the big bucks roll in. Can be making 35k a year. If you don't work at Amscot anymore, get a life and move on.

Exactly Ted M (AKA Charity McDowell or Benji Bridwell)!!! Get a LIFE & MOVE ON. Couldn't state it better than that for working at Amscot. I have moved on. I left Amscot 3 months ago. So HAPPY NOW!

read my comments under MIS-TREATMENT amscot employees. Everything you read above in regards to it being so great to work with amscot is a LIE for 99% of the people who work there. This is just a cover up campaign from their corporate office you make you think it is a pleasant job environment.

please my comments under another blog mentioned above.

I don't even work there, my girlfriend worked there for three years so I know everything about how they treat their employees.

hi,Collin B in Tampa, Florida could you please tell me how is the first training test? i am so nervous about that, can i pass it or not?