team member

retail sales associate

customer service representative

operations associate

forklift operator

Bunnings

I started as a team member at the Timber yard as I have a forklift license and they needed someone to do forklift driving to assist customers complete purchases. This was fine until it became a burden to do the job as there were not enough staff to complete the job as I needed a "spotter" whenever I had to operate the forklift. It always took a lot of time and pressure on other staff to come as "spotters" because not everyone is trained and certified to do this job too. This situation always triggered some irritation and unpleasant times with some customers and I always tried to reason with the customers but some just left their goods because they could not wait or elevated their complaints to a manager.I was classified as a "Qualified Electrician" by the company and that is my main trade but I was never assigned to the Electrical department since I joined the company.I am often called upon, though, to sort out complicated questions in the electrical department as well as some of the other sections in the store like the plumbing, painting and tools sections.

Despite all these, I enjoy working at Bunnings because talking and trying to deal with other people's concerns is always a learning process to me. There is also the opportunity to meet other team members who share a common passion for working hard, having some humor thrown around sometimes at each other and learning about new products and trends in the market.

The safety to the risks involved in such a working environment as Bunnings should be reviewed by management. Heavy lifting, exposure to the elements like cold wind/rain and heat should be focused on and there are ways to make these situations better for employees but are put aside for the reason that it means added costs to operations and there is always work compensation for injuries.

The atmosphere at bunnings is toxic. Managment is bullying to you, I was once mocked for not being able to pull a heavy pallet with a manual pallet jack due to a severe shoulder injury. When I told him I could not do the job and he laughed at me, he then got mad at me for not completing the job. I'm sorry but that's just toxic behaviour.
Some coworkers are good, if you can relate to them. 80% of all employees just complain about their life, and are grumpy and snap at you all the time. I've been yelled at by numerous coworkers in my department for helping other departments. I've even had one coworker go to a store manager to complain that I was helping other employees? 
Work place gossip is real. Workers will make up rumours and spread them, and coworkers are always telling you some story about someone who's working there. A very toxic workplace. 
If management don't like you, they'll get rid of your shifts. When casual, I gave 3 weeks notice to go on a 3 day holiday. My manager told me that because of this he was going to cut my hours. I went from 30 hours a week to 5. All because I took a 3 day trip. By law, as a casual I had no obligation to take assigned shifts, and I even gave 3 weeks notice. 
They will constantly hire new employees to look good to the public. What some people don't realise that when they hire too many people, some employees aren't going to get shifts. I haven't had a single shift in a year, and they've had 4 influxes of new employees. This is often referred to as 'lost in the system' by other employees, and will happen to you if you don't suck up to the management. 
The customers are rude, expect you to know everything, and think because you're wearing a polo that they can take the anger from their small, meaningless lives out on you. Management do barely anything to support employees with this issue. 
Overall, the pay is good as a casual. Much higher than other retail positions. However, this does not compensate that the company is a toxic workplace. 

This is an excellent first job workplace as they offer much support to all team members. Comprehensive training on how to use the cash registers, product knowledge and special deliveries were  done. 

A typical day of work would include meeting new and regular customers and helping them with any project they needed the tools, equipment or accessories for. 
I learned a lot of new concepts on how to handle difficult customers or customers that had problems with out services or products. I also learnt lots of things on general product knowledge. As this workplace is a warehouse, they house thousands of items that I got familiar with. For example I learnt all the different types of wood used around the home, such as decking timber, untreated pine, fencing palings and timber used for floor boards. The skills and knowledge I learnt working at Bunning's had and will help me for the rest of my life. 
Management was always supportive and approachable. And very understanding if time off was needed. 
Once I got comfortable in this workplace and with the other team members we had an average of 110 team members working on a 7 day roster,  they were always happy to help me when I needed it and they also taught me things. 

The hardest part of the job was the working conditions as it was in a warehouse and during summer and winter the warehouse had little protection from the water elements. Also the long shifts that I has was about 8-12 hours at a time. 

The most enjoyable part of this job was meeting friends while working that I am still friends with.  And also gaining valuable product knowledge on just about everything Bunning's sells. I have extensive knowledge in all areas. Also I gained valuable retail/ customer service experience and register use.

First I started off working in the loading dock, counting stock that was being delivered and then moved the stock on pallets using various pallet jacks etc. Later on I was moved into the nursery section, where I was responsible for ordering plant stock, fertilisers, herbicides etc. I was also one of the ‘go to staff’, regarding customer queries, on plant related issues and was incharge of the water feature section, due to my thorough knowlege of aquatic plants, filtration systems and pond construction.

I learnt to be dynamic in various roles throughout the store, using cash registers on many occasions, helping with ‘loss prevention’, I also improved on my customer relations skills, stocktake orditing and was able to use the PDA electronic devices used to count/order in new stock.

Management were professional, team players (got involved themselves with various roles) and helped maintain a positive work environment.

The workplace culture was that of friendly banter, including after work activities, we all worked well as team players and I found working there to be a very enjoyable place to work. They were also flexible whilst I was undergoing my undergraduate studies and gave me work on weekends, university holidays etc.

I found the hardest part of the job was initially learning, where everything was in the huge department warehouse and putting stock in the correct aisles/sections.

I found the whole work experience enjoyable and have fond memories of working there, with various friends from my Highschool and a wide range of personalities. The banter was fun, there was always plenty of work to do, thus was kept busy all day  and gave me my first taste of working in a full-time job.

It can be full on with split shifts covering breaks as I do now.
When in Trade it is full on, because you are doing more than your share of work as you could be the only person at the desk for an hr at a time or in my case I did a 3 person job on my own on a weekend.

I learned very quickly you get shown what is relevant and its sink or swim. I have learnt so much as I can do the job of 3 to 4 people on my own as there is never enough staff to assist me on a weekend so I run the Trade Desk on my own. I own my job and responsibilities.

As management had changed over we have been settled with bullies and too much problems with rosters. There is no longer work life balance.

Co-workers are the best I have a relationship with everyone in the store as I can ask for any item from any department at any time of the day and the team members always deliver as I have seen on different occasions I have never seen this for other Trade Team Members.

Hardest part of the job is to complete work that someone else had started and they are not full time so you can not ask and work out what to do so you use your common scene to make sure your customer still gets be very best of your service associated with the company. My customer always come first.

When we have a special occasion like fruit day or we have reached a mile stone in the company. Like my favorite is when we have targets for surveys or something happening for the Tradies I get target my best as a team is we hit just for our department the One million dollar mark and as a bonus for the last day of the month I worked that one weekend alone and still brought in fifty-one thousand dollars extra.

I would go straight to the section I was working in on the day and see the person in charge of the section for my instructions. Most of the time it was customer service and seeing to the customer's needs, and stocking shelves.
     I learned more about the system on which Bunnings runs, and the sections they have within the store. I learned a lot about myself and how I relate to customers. I was doing this work experience as part of my Certificate II Retail training so I was putting what I had learned into practice. By doing what I had been trained to do I found myself enjoying the role more each day. Gained a lot of confidence knowing I could make a career from being a part of the retail industry. A lot of my past employment has been in kitchens and hospitality. I want to change my direction and work in retail or warehousing and logistics, and after my work experience I believe I have the skills to be successful in retail.
      My co-workers at Bunnings all seemed quite happy in their roles. Everyone seemed easy to talk to and always willing to help. My supervisors were friendly and I felt comfortable. I fit in seemlessly I thought. 
     The most enjoyable part of my work experience was every day. Just to be working again and in the working environment felt really good. I have been unemployed for quite some time so it felt great being busy again, even if it was for just four days. 
     The hardest part was realising that it is just work experience. I was not getting paid wages or superannuation and it is not on a full - time, part - time or casual basis. There is no job security. At the end of the week I will be walking away to be unemployed again. That was the hardest part because I would love to be employed again.

Life at Bunnings is very varied, you can have a quiet day with sufficient colleagues in your section (hate calling them team members) or be alone and receive 10 pallets of stock. Rostering can also be inconsistent and create situations where you must manage multiple departments. 

Training consists of online modules on workday, training days with brands and any info passed down from co-workers. 

Management can be understanding and competent or separated from those on the floor. Their lack of experience creating unrealistic expectations and exerting downwards pressure. A feeling of "us vs them" persists with relatability lacking and the likely true observation that your manager is not there for your benefit. 

That said if you're lucky you can tailor your roster to suit your activities but shifts occasionally change without warning so be aware of that.  

The culture doesn't reward hard work as that is rewarded with a coffee card or a certificate and socks most of the time. colleagues are generally friendly and happy though. 

The hardest part of the job is the physical work that may be required as well as dealing with different instructions from different people as a result of poor communication. 

Colleague interactions and payday are the highlight of the job. You can develop close bonds with people that extend out of the store. 
Speaking of pay, I believe it is reasonable and performance reviews results can result in a rise. You can also receive in-store credit called E-Balance. 

All in all, if you are happy with physical work and have good management it can be enjoyable job but quite often that is not the case. 

Worked at Bunnings 6.5years, have had experience in every department/position there is. There is a big difference in how much you’ll enjoy this job depending on the position. The management is usually a bit of a joke. However, working with a diverse range of ages can be fascinating. Depending on the role, you can leave work and not think about it till you come in the next time, or you can bring home the stress of working in an unsupported department. It’s a typical retail job, but on a larger scale. I would say I enjoyed it, although I stayed too long and ended up seeing the worst sides of the business, which left me with a bad taste in my mouth. There are others that have worked there part time and pursued other endeavours, who have a lot more joy in their lives compared to the long term/full time employees.

Cons
There is periods as casuals that you will not be given hours and therefore may go months without pay due to “budget”, which can be incredibly stressful on those without work and those that have to make up for the lack of staff support. As a multimillion dollar company, this is unacceptable. However, if you are related to managers or favoured by them, don’t worry as you will be given hours, whilst others starve. All coordinators receive $10,000 bonuses whilst patting themselves on the back for walking around, looking busy and gossiping about low level employees (this has happens at every store I’ve worked at). 

Bunnings stores are fantastic first jobs. Lots of different skills required to do the numerous jobs that litter the store. You learn everything from customer service skills to forklift operation and supply chains all within the same building. Met lots of fantastic people and had many great opportunities there. 

However management and pay are two things I have issues with here. At my store there were a lot of power tripped G4's (supervisors) who would treat themselves as if they were more important than everybody else. All while doing not a whole lot. There were a lot of managers who were incredibly rude and would treat you like trash. 

Safety procedure at stores is an issue. At least at the store I worked at. They would punish you for forklift mistakes, even when they weren't your fault. If you were driving when something went wrong. You get punished. If one item fell off a pallet, you get punished. Also no matter how experienced you are with forklift, you have to complete a probationary period where you are only allowed to pick up AS pallets. And the probationary period lasts until your forklift coach can be bothered to sign you off. This took about 8 long months in my experience.

On top of that the pay for what you do in some circumstances is far from what you should be payed. When I received my forklift licence I got a $0.02 pay rise. I understand its retail wages not warehouse wages but Forklift operators should be compensated with at least $28p/h at stores, not $25p/h. We perform high risk work, yet we are paid the same amount as general customer service team members. 

To conclude. Its a great first job. But just be aware of all the red tape. Get your experience and move on is my advice.

I had the misfortune of being employed for the opening of a new store in Coffs Harbour. When in group interviews and orientations, management couldn't be friendlier, but that disappears once you start working. After so much training on safety, I was shocked to be refused a pair of safety gloves for cleaning up timber with exposed nails during the store set up. I was sworn at more than once by my co-ordinator and constantly harassed and bullied and my roster would change literally overnight, no phone call, just altered on the online roster. meaning I was away on 2 days off, and had to come straight home for a 3 hour shift. 
In the third week a customer asked if we had any more of a certain product or when we would. My Co-ordinator told me "I dunno, ask someone else". I did, and was told it would be ordered but we don't give any ETA. I was embarrassed and felt sorry for the customer. 
We were also told at induction we'd be employed as casuals at $26ph, but then were individually asked to sign temporary contracts for set hours at $21ph. If these were not signed there'd be no guaranteed work at all. After this 8 week period I was offered a permanent 20 hour contract at $21ph, I declined and was told I couldn't expect any shifts. After I resigned I went back to get a separation certificate and was told they'd put it in the mail. I'm still waiting after 3 months. 
To be fair, a lot of this negativity had to do with 1 co-ordinator. I'm sure some stores are run much more professionally and respectfully.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Team member 30 salaries reported	$29.80 per hour
Retail sales associate 7 salaries reported	$31.00 per hour
Customer service representative 81 salaries reported	$28.79 per hour
Operations associate 5 salaries reported	$29.24 per hour
Forklift operator 29 salaries reported	$30.42 per hour

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