set manager

engineering team leader

area manager

warehouse technician

photographer

Scene To Believe

I believe I did not get paid properly as per fair work stated standards and was told other team members and managers of shifts did not either, among other issues.

Was paid as a part time worker for Nov-Dec contract however did not meet the definition as per fair work (no sick leave, annual leave accrued was paid out in Feb and not taken, no consistent hours/days each week etc). Initially did not get paid for the training online- had to chase up.

Did not know how many or what shifts I was working each week frequently with only the night before’s notice - and frequently scheduled on days/times requested unavailable.

We had a covid outbreak on our set and did not have any cleaning supplies. A coworker bought supplies. 

Our set had grass peeling up and becoming a trip hazard, temporary managers did not or did not know how to report this so a coworker brought in glue themselves to fix it.

Workers came to work out set at times and were not given money for petrol for working outside of their usual place of work.

Managers frequently worked overtime and extra hours without pay. Workers temporarily working shifts as a manager while waiting for a manager to be hired on were not paid the manager rate.

Frequently technical issues on our set - though have heard our set was just cursed in this way, which resulted in lots of days becoming very far behind and angry customers. 

Extremely fast paced - early November there are 5 minute slots per group which is manageable, but just before Christmas, it is 2 minutes a slot with a couple 15 minute blank times to try to catch up. Was also expected to get in walk in appointments even when fully booked.

Would not recommend working here unless you are desperate 

This is the worst company to work for. I was told I was being terminated twice - it being held over my head for a few days where I didn't know if i had a job or not. 

Typical day was lugging equipment to set having 30 minutes to set everything up with staff that were under trained before the set would open. First three weeks were incredibly slow and boring. Last week was 12 hour days multiple in a row. Breaks consisted of 10 minutes paid for anything under 5 hours. 5 hours or more was a 30 minute unpaid. If you worked a 12 hour day you only got a 10 minute and a 30 minute taken separately.

Management was lacking. I was bullied and harassed by my supervisor and when I went higher in the company to have my concerns heard my emails were ignored. 

Workplace culture is very blame games. If there is an issue they blame a specific person and never take ownership for mistakes made. 

Hardest part of the job was training incompetent people and having no support. Angry customers because of equipment failures and not being about to offer anything other than a sorry. 

Do not work for this company. The pay is bad and the working environment is hostile. Working with Santa is cool but definitely not worth the rest of the drama and stress.

This is my 4th Year with Scene to Believe. I love working as Santa & enjoyed every year so far. Of course things may not go smoothly all the time. Only a simpleton would expect that. We have to see hundreds/thousands of children and their parents/guardians in a short few weeks. They all stand patiently in line no matter the weather nor how well or badly the venue is air-conditioned. 

No matter, most of them do it for the kids, even those who scream at the sight of Santa, so it's all worth the effort. 

I intend continuing, (health allowing) for  the next 5 or more years. STB is a good company, well run and they pay on time and without fuss. Would I like more money? Naturally. My travelling costs are fairly hefty but I do the job for the kids I see so I will plug along for the moment. 

What's hard about the job? Heat & Poor Airconditioning in some venues. No STB's fault. They do their best to provide good ventilation and the costumes seem to have improved over the years. Thank you for that. 

If you are thinking of doing some work like  this, STB is a good company to join.

Team work is vital and apart from one job at another venue last year, I have unfailingly found the teams I have been assigned to work with have been great and worked smoothly.

A typical day on the job is opening up the set and setting up the equipment, camera, computer and merchandise (which I struggled with in the first week), towards the second week I was a pro and could set up in 5 mins (normally took around 15mins). The rest of the job was taking pictures, taking videos, selling photos packages and refilling stock. I learned so many skills about customer interactions and how to upsell. I got to experience working with an awesome team and seeing cute babies every day (even the crying photos are cute). The hardest part of the job is being on your feet the whole day, but after a while you get used to it. My set supervisor was awesome in working around my second job and my uni life. I built a great relationship with the management team and the other elfs. There is also room for promotions and the harder you work the more shifts you earn. Best job I have ever worked to this day. Macarthur Square Set.

The company was okay, I only worked for them for 4 weeks leading up to Christmas.I liked the job itself and the people I worked with, however the manager of the set was hardly in and was never organised which caused more problems then there should of been. I enjoyed the people I worked with more then anything they were super helpful and patient with me but the set manager didnt seem to understand that not everyone likes to wear tight fitting t-shirts. I cant really complain much i only really had an issue with the set manager and the people who do the pay roll stuff as they only ever gave me one pay slip and didnt put all the appropriate information on it. The products they sell are good very sturdy and cute (photo frames/ snow globes)

I've worked for this company the last 2 Christmas seasons. The first year was great, I had no issues and had a lot of enjoyment. Last year was not so great. We had a whole new group of staff, including a manager who wasn't very competent. Shifts were never organised properly, and I was usually only receiving them if I was called in an hour beforehand. Our new area supervisor was terrible. She was constantly changing my worked hours after a shift and I was paid incorrectly a number of times. I'm still in the process of trying to claim back hours and money I haven't been paid for during the final week of the season, due to the area supervisor changing these hours. There's no way I can prove when I worked and my supervisor doesn't seem to care. I feel like I've been used or scammed, and I don't plan on returning this year if the same people are controlling the place.

The management team was very scattered and rarely communicated with Team members other than the supervisors and often will place blame incorrectly on certain staff members in order to appease the client with no regard for their staff's actual well being or livelihood. This occurred to my manager the first year I was employed by this company and occurred again to myself the following year. I am hopeful that they have stopped doing this to their employees and start communicating better with CSAs and 2ICs. I was very unhappy to have to go through this experience, however, I return yet again this year as the job is genuinely enjoyable and the atmosphere and other employees on set are always very kind and work hard to create a positive experience and a wonderful Christmas for everyone that comes to our set.

going into christmas themed work, you'd expect a high speed, high stress environment, but you'd also expect that managers who could handle the workload would be assigned, 

The sets were beautiful, the Santa was jolly, and the equipment was good quality and good condition, but set management was a mess, shifts were irregular and sometimes changed last minute, the line would get so long customers couldnt walk through the shop properly and a staff of three was not enough to handle it

the families were wonderfully understanding, even with their own holiday stress and it was wonderful to work with the excited kids, listening to them gush to Santa about how good they'd been, but honestly, having done it now, I can say I wont be doing it again

I was hired to run a Santa photography set. I applied for an assisted roles however was essentially begged to be a manager and promised thorough training in Sydney (I love 5hrs away) with accomodation and food paid for daily. I agreed. Well the accomodation was paid for but I wasn't provided any food at all for the 5days I was there like promised, and the training was also supposed to be paid but it took months of chasing for them to pay me.  On top of that the training was extremely rushed and not very well done. There were plenty of people there actively saying they didn't think they were capable of remembering this all and being told they'd be fine and receive lots of support on the job. Well I'm glad I think on my feet because on the job support from upper management is absolutely none existent. Worst company I've ever worked for. 

a typical day at work consisted of setting up photographic equipment, talking to customers and taking photos.
I learnt more about dealing with children with special needs, and this opened my eyes to job paths I didn't originally consider. 
the management is mediocre in some respects. personally, my area manager was horrible and required several complaints against him within the first week of business.
however, being able to put smiles on young kids faces as they go up to see Santa Claus and enjoy the spirit of Christmas is the biggest reward in the position.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Set manager 1 salary reported	$31.15 per hour
Engineering team leader 1 salary reported	$825 per week
Area manager 2 salaries reported	$70,000 per year
Warehouse technician 1 salary reported	$60,000 per year
Photographer 1 salary reported	$825 per week

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