Ocean State Job Lot
Ocean State Job Lot Employee Reviews
Found 479 reviews matching the search See all 482 reviews
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work conditions are sometimes impossible/
Early Morning Stocker (Former Employee) – Randolph, MA – January 10, 2019
had a great manager and worked with some really great people. but sometimes refilling stock seamed an impossible task due to to much stock on shelves already.
A porductive day at OSJL
Sales Associate (Former Employee) – North Babylon, NY 11703 – November 29, 2018
My shifts would usually be starting at 10 or 12 and would end at 3 or 5. Peak time of most customers would be around that time so I would hustle to the front to start ringing people. The rush would last for about 2 hours and would slow down around 3. The front end supervisor would then ask me to collect carts and once finished with that I would be tasked with helping people on the floor or ringing for the rest of the day.
Pros
20% of discount on everything
Cons
very short on staff, requires extra work that you shouldn't have to do.
Okay place to work dont depend on raises....
Merchandiser (Current Employee) – Athol, MA – January 3, 2019
Worked in the company for 4 years now. Its has many pros and cons. Raises are few and far between work load is easy but never enough hours in a day to get it all done. Mainly part time associates... They offer dental and vision insurence cheap for part timers... And health insurence for full time employees
Pros
Discounts chances to get promotions
Cons
Raises are bleak management changes all the time!
Incompetent management from top to bottom.
Sales Associate (Former Employee) – South Plainfield, NJ – November 8, 2018
OSJL has a talent for hiring the absolute worst leaders. People with no social skills, no leadership skills, no ability to lead a store. Managers treat employees like children and hover over them for the most basic tasks. My reward for a year of service and great marks as an associate was a $0.25 raise, give me a break, thats a slap in the face. Other than horrible, unintelligent, and incompetent management, OSJL was an okay job. Met very nice coworkers, got along with customers.
Cons
management
Audits over Customer Service
Ad Coordinator (Current Employee) – Massachusetts – October 28, 2018
Coworkers were good and everyone tried their hardest but overall morale was bad since no one in the store seemed to ever take notice or give praise. Most supervisors were good and so were most managers. They took the time to work with you when they good. Nearly all time in the store I was in was spent unloading freight, and moving it around the store constantly. Because of this, customer service lacked and store cleanliness seemed to barely matter at all. Overall just a depressing and unmotivating place to work.
Pros
20% Discount
Cons
Short breaks, inattentive management
Productive work environment
Janitor (Former Employee) – Medford, MA – January 3, 2019
I don’t really have anything to say other than that was a really good work experience I enjoyed the environment and the people were very friendly the only issue I had was that the work wasn’t consistent the boss wouldn’t give me more hours but it was a managerial dang it wasn’t a personal thing and I understood that I just needed to move on and find something more convenient
Great co-workers, bad management
Front End Supervisor (Former Employee) – Pawtucket, RI – October 21, 2018
Ocean State Job Lot was a fun place to work most of the time. The management doesn't seem to care about the employees. They don't hire anyone full-time. They don't give enough hours to make a living and there is no opportunity for advancement. They also have a bizarre break policy that I'm not sure is legal. I was told that if I am scheduled for a six hour shift I was not allowed to take a lunch break. For any shift of six or less hours they give you a ten minute break and that's it. I was told that if I clocked out for a lunch then I would only have worked five and a half hours and that's not enough to qualify for a lunch break. If that sounds confusing to you, it's because it makes absolutely no sense.
Pros
Great co-workers
Cons
No breaks, no hours, low wages
Experience varies on location
Sales Associate (Current Employee) – Taunton, MA – October 3, 2018
Definitely not a good job if you have bills to pay. It’s a great part-time job. It’s generally a very easy job and teaches you a lot about retail. However, the pay and hours aren’t great. Customers can be incredibly rude. The 10 minute breaks are a joke. So I definitely don’t recommend this if you’re looking for a full time job. If you want an extra $200 every week, then go for it but don’t expect much more than that. At my store, I’ve made very close friends with my co-workers and our management is very friendly and helpful.
Pros
Good management, coworkers are very friendly, very easy job
Cons
Pay, breaks, customers, sometimes it does get very busy and stressful especially when you’re low on staff
Productivity and customer satisfaction focus
ASSOCIATE (Former Employee) – East Bridgewater, MA – December 11, 2018
Typical day at work: Customer satisfaction delivered daily with the focused being shared with Sales Floor work
What I learned: Recognizing a customer or person in need of assistance, Planogram protocol, baler safety, warehouse procedure, pallet placement procedure
Management: Very friendly with the demeanor with the demeanor of a Mom and Pop' store
Workplace Culture: Friendly and welcoming, focused and prided on customer satisfaction.
Hardest Part: A "Rush" is guaranteed to hit at least once a day, an overflow of customers at the Front End.
Most Enjoyable part: Genuinely making a customers day, the sense of pride felt with the helping hand you've given.
What I learned: Recognizing a customer or person in need of assistance, Planogram protocol, baler safety, warehouse procedure, pallet placement procedure
Management: Very friendly with the demeanor with the demeanor of a Mom and Pop' store
Workplace Culture: Friendly and welcoming, focused and prided on customer satisfaction.
Hardest Part: A "Rush" is guaranteed to hit at least once a day, an overflow of customers at the Front End.
Most Enjoyable part: Genuinely making a customers day, the sense of pride felt with the helping hand you've given.
Pros
Positive feedback given by customers, healthcare programs, discounts offered.
Cons
Serious customer satisfaction focus, "Rushes" dealt with on the daily, Schedule changes
Overall a charitable company with advancements
Supervisor (Former Employee) – Canton, CT 06019 – August 8, 2018
Although OSJL offers a month long training sessions prior to hire at location selected, after that it's non-existent! Assistant Managers and Supervisors state that our employment is to train and advance us towards Store Manager. However, there's a large turn-over and not enough employees. More Chiefs than Indians. A busy retail store with understaffed employees lead to working all day long- usually missing your break or wait all day to be relieved. Unacceptable.
Pros
Employee Discount
Cons
Understaffed and rough clientele
Lack of respect and appreciation
Front End Supervisor (Current Employee) – Fall River, MA – December 6, 2018
horrible place to work, and not enough hrs. There is no respect for regular employees. If you aren't management or the managers pet you will get treated poorly and you will see your hours go down drastically. They really cross the line of professionalism.
Want to know more about Ocean State Job Lot? Just ask.
What is the interview process like?
Average company to work for, kind of weird customer base
Sales Associate (Former Employee) – Palmer, MA – December 15, 2018
The company was fine to work for, but the customers tended to be rude, impatient, or not very understanding There's no consistent product or placement of the products in the store, so customers would get upset by that.
very laid back stay busy kind of place
Cashier/Stocker/Customer Service (Former Employee) – Gardner, MA – July 29, 2018
typical day at ocean state was doing anything from stocking, organizing inventory, making bales, carrying out customer furniture or product to cashiering. ocean state had no hard part to the job it was a really easy going work place with always something to do but nothing that difficult. systems were well set into place that made every thing easy and kept things fairly organized, customers were great never to difficult on us and management was great might have been to many mangers but wasn't hard to work around. if i had to pick my favorite part of the job it would be the customers love meeting new people and keeping my customers satisfied.
Pros
swing you around positions a lot make for great work experience
Cons
not many hour and scattered throughout 6 days
Love the people i work with.
Field merchandiser (Former Employee) – Vermont – October 26, 2018
I'm a field merchandiser at store 426. Been a cashier,dept head,area supervisor. Liked them all but LOVE MY JOB NOW. Love working at Ocean state. The group of people I work with are great. Most of the time. We get on each other's nerves at times.
Cons
The stress
Skip this company
Store Manager in Training (Former Employee) – Sturbridge, MA – July 11, 2018
I had the dis pleasure of working for this company. If there was an option to rate less than a one start I would. I wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy. The company does not value new ideas, the break rooms and working environments are dismal. Workload is un achievable as is the salaried manager scheduling. The culture is not one of learning or respect it is one of "gotcha" very rigid compliance driven company run By arrogant and pompous and often times crass, unprofessional leaders. Poor leadership from the owner down.
Pros
Full time
Cons
Workload and work environment
Not a favorable place to work
Stock Associate (Former Employee) – Concord, NH – November 1, 2018
Management was inconsistent. The people were nice to work with, but the turnover is great. The job was stressful because of the management style. It is a good job for a high school student
Pros
people are nice
Cons
management is inconsistent
It was great
Sales Representative (Former Employee) – Waltham, MA – September 5, 2018
I have a mental iullness byut it doesn't makie me worse, iit makes me better. I can imagine a goood ex[perienve and use my power opf fiocus. The most enjoyable part of the apploication is cleaning. I can focus to make customers happy. That's whazt I learned. OSJL is great.
Pros
Money and busy
Cons
Fast oaced
A fast moving company with plenty of room to grow
Area Supervisor (Current Employee) – Clinton, CT – December 29, 2018
I started as a department head and within two years I recieved two promotions. I ended my career as an area supervisor with them. They are a great company to work for.
Pros
Great benefits, flexible schedule
Great people to work with
Assistant Store Manager (Current Employee) – RI – December 15, 2018
Enjoyed the team, pay could have been better. Health benefits were great but long hours and a 6 day work week with 10 hours a day between Black Friday and Christmas
Pros
Great health benefits
Cons
Long days and hours
It's okay, management were great people but communication wasn't the best.
Cashier (Former Employee) – New Britain, CT – November 11, 2018
Honestly, its a great place to work if you need some extra cash and like a retail setting. However I felt a lot of pressure to maintain a sufficient number of insiders we sign up.
An alright part-time job if you don't plan to advance
Sales Associate (Former Employee) – Hooksett, NH – September 26, 2018
It's not a bad place to work, but honestly there are literally no opportunities to advance if you aren't initially hired for a management position. Benefits are sparce if non-existent aside from a 20% discount
Overall rating
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Women's ratings
4.5
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100%would recommend to other women
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