store manager

retail sales associate

team member

sales assistant

sales associate

I love being a manger here, took a long time to get to where I am, as you have to push and push and push to get to the top. I’ve worked for bws for 6 years. I’ve been a manager for two years was a assistant manager for 4 years , I hate the budget cuts they make us to do our rosters as it’s hard to keep the team happy, it’s also hard to find good workers as they’re uni students so their commitments are else where, so they find there phones and friends more important then helping a manager keeping customers happy or a store running. We get smashed with budget cuts and paperwork hence why we need more help from our team members but we find that friends commitments and phones on the job are more important than to help keep up with date checks and customer interaction with customers face to face or over the phone. All we ask as managers  is for our team to do date checks, serve with a smile and personality all while filling and face the store. It’s really easy work and casuals get paid really well to do so little for this job. Your hours will be cut due to work ethic and budget cuts as a casual. We put our part timers first for hours cause you cost less and you get paid holidays and sick leave but casuals don’t want to transfer to part time so your hours will get cut and that’s not the managers fault that’s head office. As a store manager it’s pretty good job when you have heaps of paperwork to do and safety stuff to keep on top of, even though it’s very repetitive. The down fall is it’s a lot of environmental wastage keeping paperwork for 7 years on paper is a concern for paper wastage. This can all be held on the computer honestly it’s the 21st century. The only issue is casuals and part timers calling in sick which makes us as manager do from 40 hours to 58 or more. We don’t get paid over time and we only get paid 38 hours a week but our contract is 40 so when the team call in sick, yes we will be there to replace but it’s not worth it we don’t get paid for it, and kinda drains the manager and we crash. 

Other then that it’s a good place to work for and if you can make your way to at least manager it’s easy going you meet amazing people and learn a lot from the business and all about liquor while making customer experience amazing. I am disappointed with the company with my unexpected  surgery and I didn’t have sick or annual leave and I got left to work out my own financial situation,( which was non) when I have a mortgage and got mental health problems from the no pay and stress I have to deal with, this could be assisted by health and wellbeing safety manager. As now I’m without pay for 4 weeks of an emergency surgery that was not my fault. My fear is if I speak up to head office I don’t get promoted in the future as I have spoken up before about bullying happening to me in the workplace and it took me a long time to prove myself that I’ll fall in line again and keep my peace , so I’ll go without pay and be financially struggling for a bit to just keep my job. But that’s how it is in big business who are more interested in budget cuts and making money then support there full time managers who want to return back to work on life duties to keep their head above water with the financial hardship this country is in. 

Worked at BWS for two years and for the first year everything was peachy. Watch out for flex-up contracts as they tend to guarantee you a very small amount of hours a week but use you for a lot more and then cut you right back with no notice if they haven't managed their wages properly or accommodate other stores mis-management of employees (offering hours they never had to give). 

The last 6 months I've hated going to work, we had a different manager transferred in and they have been pathetic. Not good with customers, not good at communicating with employees, hasn't trained new employees leaving it for the co-workers to do. I had a colleague complain about said manager to his boss which resulted in my manager having one on ones with everyone to ask what the issues were and how he could improve, I was honest with them and that was the biggest mistake I made...  Since then I'm not offered any higher paying shifts (cut back my Saturdays, doesn't offer any Sunday shifts and takes me off when a public holiday happens to align with one of my regular shifts). One week I had two days rostered, was unwell so couldn't work and he responded by taking me off the next weeks roster and telling my colleagues I would have to ask for shifts if I wanted to be rostered back on. Luckily I had managed my money well enough that it didn't affect me but as a casual employee it is very worrying that he would do that because I was sick (has done this to other casual employees).

In the two years I've worked there I've met the area manager once and have never been asked about how my manager was performing.

- A typical day begins with ensuring the stock is presentable and the store is tidy. As the day goes by and sales are made, stock is required to be refilled. Often Stock is delivered from the warehouse and is needed to be packed away appropriately in the cool room and throughout the store. The day ends with a final clean of the store to ensure it is ready for the next day.

The sale of wine and beer is perhaps the most enjoyable part of the job as it allows you to dialogue with customers about their thoughts and attitudes to different brands, tastes regions, etc.

-I learned a great deal about the products we were selling, their strengths and weaknesses. I also learnt how to nurture customer purchasing habits in an environment whereby our USP did not revolve around the lowest price point.

-Middle and upper management within the company framework were stiflingly restrictive at times, as we endeavoured to bring a good name and profitability to the BWS Brand. Management served as a negative distraction, rather than a driving force behind propelling the BWS brand. Having said this I am of the opinion that this is not the case in other states and territories.

The hardest part of the job was the knowledge that you were contributing to an industry that has many casualties, those being the individuals who have succumbed to alcohol abuse and dependence.

The best part of the job was talking to customers about products you were passionate about, and sharing that passion with them.

The overall work environment at BWS was quite enjoyable, I like dealing with customers, I like keeping busy with tasks and I even like the heavy manual labour.

Management could be frustrating at times, but that is the case in any job.

I never once had any personal issue with any co-workers, and I worked in a lot of different stores filling in, and had a lot of people come and go in my permanent store, overall the people that work at BWS are relaxed, easy going and generally do their tasks and jobs promptly and effectively.

There was no single part of the job I found hard, except for maybe requesting new product into the store to match our demographic, there was a lot of hurdles to jump through for that. 
Apart from that 1am close shifts followed by an 8:30am start the next morning were pretty horrible for me, they often gave me a headache.

I really liked multiple things about the job, sometimes just dealing with delivery in the cool-room all day, marking it off, dashing around carrying heavy boxes in a cold environment I actually quite liked that. I also really liked it during busy customer periods, I just enjoy dealing with pleasant customers it's a fun social interaction. I ended up making a lot of friends from regular customers who came into the shop.

Working in liquor can be physically and emotionally taxing, but if you have a good team it’s not so bad. You deal with rude customers in any retail job, but with upholding the legal responsibilities of working in liquor, you deal with another class of rude, depending on where you work, and it’s astounding how many people don’t understand liquor laws (or refuse to accept them). When you’re a manager, everything is on you and if your team is unavailable or don’t want to work, you have to pick up the slack, working overtime and on your days off (higher ups don’t bat an eye, it’s pretty much expected of you. Overtime is also part of your contract, so you don’t get paid any extra and half the time if you ask for help, nobody responds - be prepared to suddenly cancel plans and not have much of a personal life) which leads to a lack of work/life balance; sometimes you get support, most of the time you don’t. It’s less pressure to be a team member than a manager so would recommend that, but management is not really worth it; team members have more rights than the store managers do sometimes, it’s all about keeping the team happy, we’re told (managers don’t need to be happy apparently, probably why so many quit). The money is good, but the depletion of your mental health isn’t. Being a team member can be worth it, but being a Store Manager kind of sucks most of the time.

A typical day at work requires making the shop look neat and tidy and also filling up the shop with goods from out the back.
I have learnt how to be a more assertive employee and confidant in what I do.
Management is awful. Nearly every BWS has poor management and employee relations. They manage the store well, just not the people that work there.
Workplace culture is fun and there are a lot of jokes. Be sure to make anyone know if the jokes go too far though.
Dealing with bad workmates is the hardest part of the job, if someone acts badly then you should fix the problem instantly as it will escalate and increase to the point where people will quit. Dealing with bad customers is easy as you only see them a couple of times but the only reason why many business have good staff turnover is when they like who they are working with.
Most enjoyable part of the job, the reason why I'm sad to quit, is how peaceful and non stressful the job is. Sure you have deadlines but it's about the customers who enter the store that are happy. They have just finished their shift and are coming in to buy their alcohol. Having nice and really kind customers that you can not only talk to without you being a robot, but you also see them come in again and again, which makes you remember their names and start to want to come into work to see them also.
Just watch out for management and stop bad mouthing straight away.

Working at BWS Balaclava presents itself with a lot of hard work and challenges, but is rewarding once all the hard work and tasks have been completed. 
For me, a typicla day at work involves working with fellow colleagues to ensure that the load gets put away as quick as possible in order to be able to complete other tasks that need to be done. Doing all these duties as well as ensuring that customers are being served and all the stock is there available for them.
BWS Balaclava is one of the busiest shops in the area, therefore, there is a constant flow of customers that come into the shop throughout the day and night. The customers that come in vary including customers that are incredibly challenging to deal with and who push the boundaries. However, as I continue to work there longer, you learn how to deal with those people appropriately with the help of other team members who have worked there for an extended period of time.
All team members who work at BWS Balaclava get along well and work well as a team. Everyone supports and helps one another with the tasks that need to be done as well as teaching others how to do tasks for efficiently based on what they got taught from other team members. 
The most enjoyable part of working at BWS Balaclava for me are the people that I work with. I enjoy working in teams, completing the tasks at hand together and assisting each when others may need help.

Fun fast paced job apart from the unrealistic amounts of pure physical work expected to be done whilst running around trying to keep customers happy, working as fast as possible.
Biggest problem is the lack of communication between management/full time staff and casuals.
Favouritism will usually play a role in whether you get what you want or not. This job will take you nowhere unless you can make friends with management or higher up. BWS do not even throw staff xmas parties. Heaps of whining and jealousy in and between every store. You'd think better from a store dominated by 'mature' male staff.
Also you'll ve expected to sign the usual regular paperwork to say you know how to use manual handling techniques correctly as to not hurt yourself at work - however, doing these tasks wrong is unavoidable as the stores are set up badly and many cartons are hard to get to under shelves or in corners etc. Don't expect Woolworths to ever support you when you hurt yourself doing this work.
Being on casual you will either get plenty of hours (30+ p/w) or you'll get the scrap shifts (3-5hr shifts here and there) all depends on who you are.

Started as being a great place to work as a casual/PPT job, good hours and pay rates, nice people to work with on a store level. Was offered an opportunity in store management and found there to be little support in training or assistance. Management culture is one based on favouritism and popularity, where it doesn't matter how hard you actually work it matters how hard you seem to work, and where doing your job isn't enough, you are expected to publicly brag about how good a job you are doing.

The reason you can get good hours as a PPT team member is because there are not enough staff to go around and any shifts that can't be covered are essentially left for the store manager to complete, so if you are flexible and will travel to other stores, its easily possible to work 36 hours a week. As a manager on the flip-side of this scenario, a lot of your time can be taken up trying to cover shifts for absent staff requiring a lot of overtime to catch up or complete the shift yourself.

I have been working for BWS for about 4 months.
and I have loved every moment!
Being 18 years old, my knowledge on alcohol was quite low, but with the eagerness to learn I have in such a short time gained so much knowledge. I love working for BWS and am extremely proud to! BWS staff truley Pride themselves on excellent customer service and to be apart of the team is something Inwhich I too my self take great pride in. I Find BWS to be such a healthy environment to work in, they allow you to express idea's and really allow you to be you.
The mangers are amazing, esspecially mine!
Good Customer service, Trying your best, and being reliable are 3 factors I believe are some of the most important. 
Knowledge is a Path, Inwhich I've love walking.
Spirits have a story and wine's have a history, there's so much to learn and I continue to do so. 
Tastings are always a bonus!

Overall I am so happy, I can honestly say I love my job! I work for a company who treat me well, I work for a company who are fair and I work for a company who are fun! 

#proudBWSstaffmember.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Store manager 4 salaries reported	$79,500 per year
Retail sales associate 3 salaries reported	$29.67 per hour
Team member 12 salaries reported	$29.50 per hour
Sales assistant 3 salaries reported	$26.01 per hour
Sales associate 4 salaries reported	$27.63 per hour

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