shift leader

shop assistant

store manager

assistant store manager

CheapasChips

Amateurish upper management and support teams in head office have no idea how a shop runs  at "chips" (lol) and the new head office  support staff (hired in last 4 years) that should know as they came from shops have either conveniently forgotten  what it was like or as is most likely the case, had little to nothing to offer in shops, so their lack of output and work ethic has naturally carried over with them.   

Used to sell cheap "stuff", now its overpriced "stuff" of lesser quality. Dont "try" to share this opinion with the buyers as they know more than the waves of customers telling you're expensive and im going elsewhere, plus they wont respond to your calls or emails. 
Regarding customer numbers, dont try to use it as a possible reason for falling customer numbers when HO are grilling you as to why are your customer numbers down, as its not a reason.  

This will be long winded but if you want a very basic  view of  day to day, whilst keeping in mind I am leaving things off this, then read on: As a manager if you want to do at least 4 things at once (have the cordless phone, be the only one on floor who can do refunds because we cant afford to give the coded staff more hours, even though they're begging for them and you're the bad guy saying no, have to get 6 pallets of stock out yourself today, manage 2 staff to get the remaining 6 pallets out, checking to see if HO changed the reggie challenge promo/facebook promo for the 3rd time today, along with all the other correspondence like recalls, pricing mistakes, something didn't download so can you print 300 labels and relabel those 300 things all of which are happening a lot more in the past few months!, customer service half the shop, help load furniture, pots, potting mix, cow manure into customer cars in any weather, from 45 degree heat to pouring rain whilst getting stick from HO for not making sales and wanting answers, whilst being jerked around by support office know alls who know nothing, whilst doing more hours than you're contracted, whilst taking home less a week than a checkout operator at coles, then you'll love managing here.                    

And dont try to confide or vent to HR, they will just push you out of the business or ignore you.

In the beginning of my time at Cheap as Chips it was great. NOW with the new lot in charge it’s has gone down the drain. The new management doesn’t listen to staff who have been in the company for more than 5 years and know what works at the store level.
This business used to be a caring and helpful place but the new folks running the joint couldn’t care less about the people on the floor. 
It sometimes feels like the buyers have stopped doing their jobs, as we have so many empty shelves and hooks that customers are asking us if we are going out of business. 
Time is being wasted moving too much stock to our promo area, we are, sometimes, triple handling stock, from pallets to section to promo to section again, when we should be getting all the stock out so our customers can get the products they are after. Customers still don’t recognise that we have a promo section, they go to the sections looking for the catalogue items so the promo dumpys seem like such a waste of time and space.
Many stores are running on a skeleton crew with customers finding it hard to find anyone in the store
The constant price changes are getting ridiculous. A lot of the products come pre priced and we are spending way too long cutting off tags or scratching off stickers or changing the price at the registers when the customer points out the discrepancy. It’s not hard to just stoped changing the price of these particular products. Most of the prices are increasing and customers are noticing, they are walking out without buying anything and upper management/head office are wondering why our customer count and spend is so low 
The morale in the stores have hit an all time low with all the changes happening in head office recently 
I miss the old caring management team who really cared about the people who are in the stores

There is one person in particular who is head of a department and personally, i can't think of anyone worse for that job.

-they have absolutely no people skills whatsoever.
-you cannot go to this person in confidence as they tend to discuss issues with other team members rather than address first hand with the staff member concerned.
-they play favorites 
-they make and act on assumptions rather than find out facts which leads them to automatically blame and point fingers at those who are clearly not their favorite.
-they completely ignore any and all concerns put forward regarding ridiculous workloads.
-you go to them regarding bullying issues only to be advised to ignore them and that it's about making $ at the end of the day.
-they intentionally degrade you in front of other staff.

This person walked into the roll and made a whole bunch of changes ignoring the warning signs and concerns from staff, without even getting to know the job and what it entails.
This person is in charge of a team that they don't even have the guts to support.

In fact the only thing this person ever demonstrated correctly was how to be a good licker, especially to the retail team.

If you are someone who enjoys being disrespected along with a ridiculous workload with a low and unfair pay then this is the place for you!

I learnt that being in retail requires a lot of patience, endurance and the ability to work under pressure.  I also believe that what company you work for will vary greatly and so will your working experience.
I have now made it a point to choose a company that reflects my interests as well as theirs. For instance working for a company that deals in outdoor travel or camping would suit me better as these are my hobbies.  I would also gain knowledge not just to utilise in my work environment but be able to transfer that newfound knowledge over to my personal lifestyle environment as well.
To work in an environment that interest you,  makes for a better customer service person and a better shopping experience for the customer.
Unfortunately this company didn't meet any of these points.

I worked at Cheap as Chips for 3 years, and resented almost every moment of it.

You are just a worker to the company and the store you’re located in, there is no family culture. You find great staff members to work with, and some not so much, especially the managers. During my time at CAC, I personally found only one (Assistant) Manager to be approachable, it is very much a ‘us and them’ culture, and a casual friendly chat with a manager is a rare sight.

You will not have any career progression whatsoever, you will be told it’s a possibility, but it is very unlikely to happen. You’re more likely to get scolded unnecessarily then praised for your hard work.

It’s a good place to start as a young person to gain customer service skills etc. but it is not worth the money (you are very much underpaid as a sales assistant) to stay longer then 1 year. You can do so much better by going somewhere you’d be appreciated for your work, and the effort you put in for a company.

When 1st employed as a senior casual with manager at the time, I loved it and was REALLY well looked after in my personal requirements of coping in the position I was given.
Changed to a new manager after other one left company and it went downhill from there. Lost regular shifts that went to new staff..no explanations on cancelled shifts. Manager refused to pay for overtime after conversation was had that they would if overtime HAD to be done. 
Literally went from 3 REGULAR shifts that I was happy with to NO shifts for 2 weeks at a time..
After a chat about this.. just NO  INTEGRITY in looking after good hardworking staff citing the budget doesn't allow it and then employing and giving new staff perm rostered hrs.. So I felt forced to resign Due to tension that would have followed and forseeable issue of NO more shifts..

The workload is not worth the low pay. As a Shift Runner, I was paid the same  amount as workers who just work on the register. A lot staff and managers left less than a year of the store opening. I could argue that I did more in a whole year than any manager I had, as they loved to turn up and leave the store as they please, while loading all tasks onto the employees. 

High staff turnover and the company relies on a wages budget, so unless you had juniors working at your store, you were lucky to have 2 people working in the entire store. Head office staff were clueless in their roles and clearly haven't worked in the stores. Middle management love to complain but never address the real cause of issues in store. No stock control, large amounts of stock to work every week with no assistance, and very slow system.

Honestly would not recommend this company to work for... high expectations ,minimal staff and no care for employees needs or concerns. HR are suppose to be there to help employees ,not ignore them. The toxic behaviour that goes on within this company is disgusting. Noone takes responsibility for thier actions and the blame game continues..wages are poor for the amount of responsibility they expect..how anyone can feel happy and positive about working within this company is crazy. Never have I working in such a soul draining company..the employee turn around should speak for itself.. 3 or 4 managers in 2 years... and constant employee changes... do not recommend working here.. amd if you do decide too, I wish you goodluck 

Working for this company is terrible and I wouldn't reccomend this job to anybody. Too much favouritism and unrealistic expectations. As an assistant manager the pay is so terrible that even the juniors earn more on the weekends than the manager. All judgement and feedback is based on personal opinions and people with great potential are often held back from opportunities and they obviously show a threat to the old dinosaurs of the company who refuse to change and will not be told otherwise. Very ignorant, very disorganised, absolutly shocking. Alot of bullying goes on and nothing gets done about it. HR are a joke!

Working at Cheap As Chips has been a really great experience because the workday is always filled with laughter. Management staff is kind and understandable people who will help you if you are struggling while working. The staff at Cheap As Chips aren't just people who you work with they are your friends and people who you can have a good time with. The hardest part of the job would be to handle customers who get angry easily because you don't want to make them madder. The most enjoyable part would be just coming into work knowing that it is a safe environment and you don't have to be scared to ask for help.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Shift leader 31 salaries reported	$28.23 per hour
Shop assistant 26 salaries reported	$30.06 per hour
Store manager 6 salaries reported	$67,250 per year
Assistant store manager 3 salaries reported	$63,000 per year

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