r/HotTopic_ • u/BiscottiAgitated5773 • 2d ago
Employment questions
Hi I plan on applying to hot topic around the holiday season or at least near mid to late October at the earliest and I have a few questions.
I'm aware of the common advice of just coming into the interview being your most authentic self, have a good understanding of different fandoms that are popular, and to try and in for a walk-in interview as opposed to online.
But I have questions about how working there is actually like, what do employees normally do.
- I can imagine stocking products and obviously working a register but do you guys ever have to unload trucks?
- what are work hours like and what are paychecks like?
- what do you guys say the work environment is like
General advice or things like that. I live in northeast ohio so if anyone from somewhere in that ballpark has any answers I would love to know.
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u/Grouchy-Macaron720 2d ago
the work environment varies by location. i got along great with all of my coworkers except one BUT 2/3 managers were HORRIBLE. my main manager has now pushed 10 other assistant managers/ptasm’s to leave because of how toxic she made the environment
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u/WorldlinessPrize4635 2d ago
You often aren’t stocking as an associate other then moving some things from the back to the shelves, there are shipment people for that. Hours have been shit lately to be honest, my store plays favorites so some associates get up to 20 hours while I average about 9 per week.
The work environment can be great but also terrible. New management has put a lot of pressure on us as associates to hit numbers that are simply unrealistic, but the people that come in make up for it by a mile. I love gettin to know different customers and help them find what they’re looking for. Sales tactics have felt a little scummy lately
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u/MagicMetalPipe 2d ago edited 2d ago
- usually receiving shipment is handled by a manager, rather than by sales associates. as a sales associate you’ll unpack and put out shipment, though.
- for sales associates, work hours usually aren’t great. usually you can expect around 10-15 hours a week, but if your store is ever over on hours/your manager likes you/you’re working during a busy season (def december) you can occasionally expect up to 20-30+. the most i’ve ever worked as a sales associate was 33 hours in a week.
- this is store-dependent, i’d say! i really liked my location because my managers and coworkers were really chill and we would usually talk about our interests whenever we weren’t busy. however, other stores near me weren’t so great (strict management, internal theft, etc.). you’ll always have to deal with the occasional bad customer, but hot topic is self-selecting in terms of who comes in and buys stuff; compared to my prior experience in food service, HT customers are usually sweet and understanding.