sales associate

retail sales associate

sales assistant

sales professional

assistant buyer

David Jones

A typical day at work
- The good thing is that you get to work from home in your comfort majority of your shift (you need to go into the office once in a while and work from there). You can start work as soon as you wake up, no need to dress up and look nice. I usually work 9 hours shift - basically just answering to customer's enquiry and complaints. Apart from your break time you are not really allowed to leave your desk so it can get tough when you need a quick break because the managers will literally ask you what you are doing if you leave for a minute.

Management
- There are a number of supervisors and managers. What they tell you is usually contradicting to each other so you get confused who to follow at the start (after all, you just need to change depending on who is supervising). It gets annoying when one say this and the other say that - not really helping. Some supervisors are very micro-managing, I was once told that we are not allowed to leave out desk apart from allocated break time (which is very unhealthy when you are sitting for 9 hours straight) and if you do, they will just ping you and ask what we are doing. Some managers are very chill and you can feel trusted. The management team often makes mistake on allocating shifts, especially if you are a casual worker. They also will try their best not to take any calls from customers if customers request to speak to a manager.

Workplace culture
- Colleagues are all lovely, just some micro-managers making it worse. Be ready to be told quality over quantity but to also meet KPIs and lack of support from the management team.

The hardest part of the job
- Dealing with tough customers, some are unreasonable which is fine, it gets frustrating when the customers' issues are completely David Jones' fault and management doesn't really help to resolve. After all, we are the first point of contact, no matter how bad the policies and we think it is bad, we need to own it up and apologies for the customers.

The most enjoyable part of the job
- There is not much, it feels very good when you are able to assist the customer all the way and resolve the issue. But the negatives outweighs the positives. The discount you will get is pretty good as well if you like to shop from DJ or CRG group.

A typical day at work -  is beginning with Sales Managers morning meeting then to the floor to engage with all staff and conduct morning meeting, mentioning how we are tracking with daily/weekly sales budgets for the department and also how staff are tracking with individual sales productivity targets.  We also discuss daily tasks to be performed and ensure the number one focus is customer service! The morning also entails daily managing of staff connect (virtually managing pay roll for staff we are responsible for under our management) updating coaching plans etc.

 On the floor between 12-2pm running the floor and ensuring our customers are being served, leading by example and delegating where necessary. On the job one on one coaching is a focus for underperformers and recognition for a job well done for all performers, it is imperative to recognize and praise for a job well done etc.
Always ensuring our staff are following all company policy and procedures.  

Learnings - to always have and keep a positive outlook in everything you do, achieve results through others and to lead by example.

Co-workers - to build and maintain good relations with all co - workers on all levels and to gain respect and to give respect. 

The hardest part of the job - would be performance managing underperformers out of the business (but this is a necessary to be successful and achieve all KPI's an KRA's).  

The most enjoyable part of the job is when you performance manage a staff member and there is an improvement then they go onto achieve there budgets etc.  I enjoy empowering people to achieve set targets and goals.  Last but not least I enjoy the feeling of success and achieving in all aspects of the business.

Our company have competencies we follow and one that stands out to me is 'Results through Others' this is the key to success and I believe the best way to achieve this is to Lead by Example, treat all people with respect, delegate, diplomacy, a positive attitude and passion for what you do!!

Chances for advancement are nearly nil unless you’re someone the other managers want to have lunch with. YES! That’s basically how advancement works, not through skill or ability, but by being someone who other managers think would make good lunch company.

Seem to always be willing to transfer someone else in from another department to fill a vacancy or worse, hire externally, rather than giving addition working hours to experienced staff who already know the job.

Be prepared to work under managers who have no idea what you do, or even how you do your job on a day to day basis.

Look forward to basic IT necessities not working, you’ll forget to get things ordered for customers because the computers will crash so many times in the process, you’ll eventually forget what you were using it for in the first place.

Have your own company undermine and undercut your job by advertising a deal on your own company’s website that is not available in store, be bombarded by customers visiting in store or calling on the phone (trying to keep you in a job) asking you to do the website deal when there is absolutely no way you can.

Be hired for a retail sales role and discover that the most important part of your job is actually selling financial services (credit cards and interest free offers), no manager will commend you on achieving the massive sales targets, but they’ll hound you until you sign up a poor shopper to a 22% $99 annual fee credit card.

My store had a resident regional manager, store manager, two sell related managers, an LPO manager, a regional LPO manager, a finance manager, a planning manager, an admin manager. Below them there were a logistics manager and 11 sales managers, with at least 23 assistant sales managers - all for about 300 staff in total.

Christmas party or other staff interaction outside work is basically non existent.

I was a casual for just over a year, I was not at uni so I was available full time and worked overtime and did tasks that were for a manager. I constantly asked for a party time contract and showed interest in management. The managers continued to say “we’d be more than happy to give you a part time contract because you work so hard and everyone talks very highly of yos told many times   we are creating a part time position specifically for you” after a few months of the “trail” there was no more talk about it. I was told there was no part/full time positions going through n my department they told me they’d give me part time in another department. When the moves happened they told me that they weren’t going to give it to me anymore but make the new manager decide. The new manager quickly had her favourites which is also a problem in at David Jones, iits not what you know it’s who you know. They started to cut back my hours, I did have an incident at work but even finding out from scans that it was not caused by work and having two different doctors clear me for work they still wanted me to fill out more paper work and get another clearance from my doctors. Since leaving I have spoken to my friends who still work there and they are getting bullied, harassed and pressured. The David Jones card itself is a scam and the only reason they care about is because it makes them more money. Some managers bully you into selling a card with zero training or knowledge of the card. The floor is always understaffed and they usually only put staff in area they care more about for example they put more staff in shoes than they do handbags. 
Overall I would not recommend David Jones working at David Jones, the treatment affected my mental health frmamtically to the point I ended in the mental health ward. Only positive is you learn to resilient and how to deal with different personalities. mhoursdramatically which t

The harsh reality is that staff are often stressed and overworked.
Management is very driven and most are ambitious and so seem to care more about sales and statistics than the welfare of their staff.
Many people are not happy in their jobs.
It is a challenging place to work -- to survive you will need to be tough skinned to deal with customer complaints, and then gossiping, and backstabbing.  Unfortunately this is the harsh reality. 
Some staff are very driven to make commission and so this can be another challenging problem that can make or break a team environment.
There are some pleasant staff members here, that can become lifelong friends or like family.
But there is a high staff turnover, due to the stress and demands of the job.
Don't expect to be thanked for your hard work day-in/day-out-- you will be expected to deliver results.
Budgets are often cut and staff can be minimal. This causes staff to be stressed and customers to be angry. You will have to carry the load and more often than not, Management wont be there to support you.
With the current economy many retail businesses are struggling -- there will be a lot of pressure to deliver results and perform in the DJ city store because it is the city store and it is expected to out perform all other DJ stores.
If you are up to a challenge, are a good team player yet can survive autonomously, love hard work, can deal with pressure easily and keep calm, are not in need of recognition -- then David Jones is a place where you will thrive.
You will be exposed to high-end international and australian brands that are not available else-where. 
If you perform well, there will be potential for you to be promoted with David Jones as well as make connections with other brands and companies and find alternative career paths. It is a great place to network.

David Jones is generally a great place to work.
A typical day at work includes communicating with co-workers and upper management,as well as customers. Stock handling and working with a target budget in mind is also a few of the many things I do. Having the ability to juggle a few different things at a time is essential for this position. The hardest element of this job is the uncertainty casual workers face with gaining enough hours of work. David Jones does not have any minimum hours policy for their casual workers which means that very often, these people can find themselves out of work for a few months at a time. All of this depends on the season, how many other employers are contracted on part time or full time work and whether the target budget has been met. The most enjoyable element of this job is being able to meet and communicate so many interesting people who could be employers or customers. I anticipate the times where I am able to help a customer find exactly what they want. The satisfaction they get from purchasing their desired product is enough to make my day at work enjoyable. Most other employees are easy to get along with, and I feel I connect with them on a very personal level.

Part-time worker was good as our shifts were guaranteed but when applying for annual leave, management rarely checks them which is troubling because in the end, they will blame it on you for not doing it "earlier" and tell you to find other employees to take your shift. Long hours and is tiring if you do a 9:30 to 7pm shift. Good pay once you're 20 though. Casuals only get one shift a week in the quieter months though. A lot of talking behind people's backs in the workplace and managers play favourites. This would be fine until they make it too obvious. They will give shifts to those they like and joke around with them during the shifts but will tell you off or order you around if you're not their "favourite". Super unprofessional. Also A LOT of upper management walking around the floors so be ready to dress professionally and be on your best behaviour. I felt like I was working at an office on certain days because it is a very professional workplace. Don't think they are like other retailers where you can slack off. I've only been working here for a little less than a year and the other girls with me want to leave already. We're just tired of the workplace. Same routine, typical rude customers, tiring and nothing new. Wish we had longer breaks since we work an all-day shift.

Having had several jobs at David Jones I can say that it is a typical retail workplace. The hours were fair and there was always a lot of work to do, but the team members were great to work with and the salary was good for the role - especially casual rates. The management were a bit of a mixed bag, some were fantastic and some were terrible. The customers were much the same, some very grateful for your help and attention and others thinking that they are better than you because they are shopping at “such a prestigious store”.. you just have to ignore those people, they can and do find their own way. The company culture is fantastic however and there are always chances for promotion if you are flexible, hard working and show initiative. It’s a great place for management pathway development. There are always competitive staff discounts, but I advise against opening a company staff credit card.. that is designed to gouge customers and staff alike. All-in-all, it is a good place to work.

I was a loyal employee to Djs for nearly 2 years… as other reviews have said, managers can be super passive aggressive for no reason and stress you out more than the job itself. Managers will tend to also move you between departments they weren’t familiar which made many employees feel uncomfortable and hence the turnover through djs is fast. The managers were  the main reasons for why I quit my job. 

Another reason is that employees at the same level as you (who have been there for many years) are very condescending towards younger staff. 

The job is physically tiring and during non-peak periods you will basically be given nothing to do and be expected to stand in your section for 8+ hours straight waiting for someone to take over for your breaks. 

Employees are okay but most like to chat a lot about others in the break room, and managers loved to talk poorly about their staff too in the staff room… typical retail job…

Never did I ever leave this job feeling proud and happy was rather emotionally exhausted, drained and upset. 

I thought it would be fun and a decent place to work at but i dont recommend it:
- Managers don't listen to you (ignore your availability and roster you on times that just suit them)
- Ask you to do a million things when it's pretty much impossible (check fitting room but also never lean counter, retag all returns immediately but always help the customers first and dont keep them waiting) 
- Don't treat you with respect (make you take your break only a few hours into the shift and at hours when there aren't lots of customers, meaning you might have a long time without any rest) 
- Poor scheduling (as a casual> make you work in departments that are not your own with no previous understanding of products and expect you to just deal with customers when you wouldn't know anything) 
- Lack of support (Dont answer phone when you need assistance or just vaguely explain stuff and leave you to figure it out yourself even if its your first time and your not familiar with a procedure)
In conclusion, not the best place to work. Better off being a concession in DJs.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sales associate 9 salaries reported	$29.67 per hour
Retail sales associate 9 salaries reported	$29.00 per hour
Sales assistant 1 salary reported	$32.75 per hour
Sales professional 6 salaries reported	$30.83 per hour
Assistant buyer 3 salaries reported	$74,333 per year

Working at David Jones: Company Overview and Reviews

David Jones

David Jones Ratings

Popular jobs at David Jones

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected