retail sales associate

sales associate

TK Maxx

I worked at TK Maxx from the age of 17 to 19 as a retail assistant, and unfortunately, my experience was far from positive. What started as an exciting first job quickly turned into a stressful and unfair environment, mainly due to the management.
There was clear favouritism in the workplace – only certain people were given opportunities or treated with basic respect, and it felt like your appearance played a role in whether or not you were accepted. If you didn’t fit a specific “look,” you were often overlooked or left out. Managers constantly talked behind people’s backs, including staff who were working hard. It was extremely unprofessional and created a toxic atmosphere.
At times, managers wouldn’t even do their jobs, especially when the shop floor was busy. Instead, they would disappear or push all the pressure onto the younger staff. Fair treatment was rare – shifts and hours weren’t distributed equally, and there was no consideration for people’s availability or needs.
The reason I left was mainly because of how poorly we were treated by management. It felt like no matter how long you’d worked there or how hard you tried, it was never good enough unless you were one of the favourites. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend working at TK Maxx if you’re looking for a respectful, supportive environment.
i only stayed for this long since i needed the money and it’s hard to get another job since it was my first job. 

Myself and 5 others were hired as temp Xmas staff. After a few weeks, it was obvious who the management favoured, and they had training pretty much thrown at them. The rest of us had to repeatedly ask for training and were given really lame excuses as to why we couldn't get 15 minutes of till training, yet the favoured one was given till training and stockroom training on the same day with no issues. When it came to who would be kept on, management told us we would know by Saturday 13th Jan. This then changed to "latest Wednesday 17th Jan", and it wasn't til Thurs 18th Jan we found out the obvious favoured person had been kept on. Our contracts ended on 20th Jan so we were only given 2 days notice, but told we would get the next week as holiday pay. My colleagues were lovely, welcoming and friendly, and they are the best part of working there. I made some friends in my short time there. Feel let down that the other temps weren't given a fair competition in regards to being kept on. How can you judge someone when they get stuck sorting apparel 95% of their employment?!

What is the best part of working at the company?
the tiny 10% discount and some coworkers.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Too much going on, yes it keeps you busy however there are just so many tasks loaded onto you one after the other that coworkers start to bad mouth you if they are not done.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is very friendly and inviting at first, but if you are slightly different from everyone else they treat you different. If a problem comes up with a person and you talk to the managers about it, they side with the person who is liked more despite their actions, and give you less shifts due to such. So many thieves non - stop, and refunds coming in daily. Refunds can only be processed with a manager’s user & code, which almost 95% of the time they are in the office, which you have to call them over the headset to come and process the refund, leaving the line to clog up.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day was very tiring, customers leaving the store a mess, having to constantly re-display merchandise just to walk past it completely ruined just 20 minutes later. Dressing rooms is very isolated and tedious.

Lots of self training and prepare to be discouraged.
Not encouraging workplace or communication from management.

When you would think you're working your hardest and fastest speed, it still isn't good enough for them and they say you're too slow; they also threatened to give me less shifts if I didn't work 'fast' enough.

I'm only 5'0 tall and manager expected me to carry and move pallets, and my co-worker behind me who is much bigger and taller offered to do it instead but the manager snaps and angrily said no and that I can do it. I was left with bruises at the end of this shift.

Management also expects you to know how to do everything when they hardly even show you how to. Their egos really come out once you start working there for a few weeks.

Bullied me in a way that they picked on me for everything and every minor mistake that I made, they made it seem like it was the end of the world.

I've also reported these two particular managers to HR, but I believe they did not care enough to do anything about it as I did not receive any updates.
 
Don't waste your valuable time here, it isn't worth it. You'll just be setting yourself up for a miserable experience.

I was over the moon about getting the job at Tk Maxx, however after getting the job at Tk Maxx, I had a lot of things happening in my personal life including my pop passing away. I felt no support from the manager of the store, and she actually did NOT even acknowledge my pop's passing or did not ask ONCE if I was okay. I was just expected to work normally DAYS after my pop had passed away. I left the company as I felt absolutely support from the manager which is why I quit and looked for a job elsewhere. I do not recommend working here if you want to have any sort of sympathy or even have a good relationship with your manager as you will not get that. There is clearly favouritism within the company as I could clearly see that there were only a few workers who the manager liked as they have been in the company for like 10 years and they were treated VERY differently to everyone else. 

I can't fault the workplace culture, most of the workers are really friendly and inclusive, training was pretty good and management made sure that when anyone was required to embark on a new role they had assistance and supervision until they were confident enough to perform the role themselves.

The cons of this company are the customers who shop here. They will try anything to get a cheaper deal and even though store policy says that refunds aren't allowed if the item has been used/over 30 days since purchase, management always lets customers return regardless. So basically the customer culture is really entitled and treats the register workers badly until they get their way.

Also when it isn't a peak shopping or holiday period they understaff, so there are never enough people to cover all duties and it's common to miss assigned breaks or be told to take your break later.

Rotate between flowing stock to shelves, cash registers, store maintenance or processing. 
Minimum shift 4 hours 
No real uniform - mainly wear black w/ optional TK Maxx tee
Celebrate birthdays, milestones, and holidays (Halloween, Christmas) !!
friendly managers
Good training process- get buddied up with another worker during the first few shifts while you get to know your way around. 
Good staff room w/ TK Snaxx, kitchen, couches, lockers
Managers are passionate about a good workplace culture 
It is rigorous work sometimes but it gets easier once you know what your doing
I'm a first-year Christmas casual being paid $23 an hour + sunday rate + evening rates. 
I'm currently being offered 1-2 shifts a week max but almost everyday there is a shift or two available for that day that you can fill in for!

They overwork you, under pay you (as a part-timer). They don't hire enough people to help with the work but have very high expectations to get things done. They don't keep casual workers so often you are overworking because you're short staffed. Sometimes they tell you to make big store changes only for them to dislike it and change it a couple of days later. Upper management also often tell you to do things "a better way" but a lot of the times, these changes make your life harder (less efficient) and make you double-handle things.  New workers are sometimes not trained in all areas, so they don't know half of the things e.g., registers. They want to make money but I don't think they care much about the wellbeing of their associates. 

Good thing is the friends you make at work. During tough times, if you have a good team, they can help you get through the shift. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The job itself was really good with lots to do and associates were lovely. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The store manager was not good, no people skills at all, the store was fabulous prior to this person coming to store. Also maybe the company need to look more into why so many associates come and go. Maybe their hr needs an overhaul also as they are no help whatsoever only care about the big dollars. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work environment was great when the store manager was on days off. Very happy work done with ease 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day was getting in focusing on getting all stock  unpacked and out on the floor, enjoyable.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Every one there is really kind and helpful, and while I do not get many shifts, they all help me understand what task I need to do with so much kindness.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
I don't believe there has been anything stressful working there yet

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
the people there are really friendly and they all are willing to help me out

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I will arrive and be given my tasks for my shift, then throughout the shift the managers will come in and check on me if I need any help.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Retail sales associate 7 salaries reported	$28.00 per hour
Sales associate 4 salaries reported	$27.76 per hour

Working at TK Maxx: Company Overview and Reviews

TK Maxx

TK Maxx Ratings

Popular jobs at TK Maxx

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected