Retail vs Coffee (1 Viewer)

Ranger Stacie

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I'm currently working in a coffee shop and at the body shop. I have just been offered a casual position at reiss and I'm unsure what to do. I am def. looking to leave the body shop cos the hours they want to give me dont work with the uni hours I have when uni goes back. The coffee shop i work at is insanely busy ( i do 50 hours a week) and really stresses me out, but on the upside, i have great, really reasonable management , and they have made it clear they understand uni is my first priority. I also enjoy it most of the time and find the time flies.
the reason i applied for reiss is i thought it would be my 'dream job' however im not sure now. im a bit apprehensive cos the manager made it clear in the interview that i would have to keep buying the new stock all the time. even discounted, this would prove to be really expensive. As a poor uni student I dont feel the need for 200 sass and bide outfits. Other things against it would have to be the boredom factor- they dont seem to get as busy. the pay is also less than the coffee (weird i know). another thing is they are ALWAYS looking for casuals- a sign that it is shit working there?
another thing is it has a 3 month probation period-im worried im leaving a guaranteed job to a 'maybe' job.

does anyone here work at reiss or a similar store and do they like it? how would they compare it to working in a coffee environment? what are the pros and cons?
 
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Ranger Stacie

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yes they sell clothes. they said in the interview you ALWAYS have to be wearing new stock when you are working and shewas saying how theyve had heaps of problems with girls saying they cant afford it and stuff. all of the stuff there is heaps expensive, even with the discount.
I just was freaking out cos they rang me and wanted me to come in for an induction today and this is my first day off in like 8 days, ive done a crazy amount of hours with my jobs combined but then they ended up not being able to do it today and they are ringing me back on friday so ive got a few days to think about it all at least
 

Scanorama

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I thought they would provide the clothes to you for free, it is part of the clothes you have to wear isn't it? If you like your current job at the coffee shop, and your boss is willing to let you work less for uni, then don't leave.
 

Ranger Stacie

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Scanorama said:
I thought they would provide the clothes to you for free, it is part of the clothes you have to wear isn't it? If you like your current job at the coffee shop, and your boss is willing to let you work less for uni, then don't leave.

no they dont provide them for free, you get a 30% discount and 50% discount for some of the things
 

Agnes2810

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ive worked in coffee for 4 years now. someone shoot me, or get me outta there!

lol,i got a group interview for myer in a few days.. fingers crossed!
 

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I just got an interview for the coffee club but im not too keen on working in a cafe
 

*Minka*

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Be careful of a job like that Ranger. I have a friend who had a job at City Beach because she got offered it and she spent pretty much all the money she earnt making sure she was wearing their new and expensive clothes.
 

Ranger Stacie

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Undertoad said:
I just got an interview for the coffee club but im not too keen on working in a cafe

why are you not keen to work in a cafe? i am currently at the coffee club and it is great.
 
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Ranger Stacie

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*Minka* said:
Be careful of a job like that Ranger. I have a friend who had a job at City Beach because she got offered it and she spent pretty much all the money she earnt making sure she was wearing their new and expensive clothes.

do you know, would it be possible to claim any of the money spent on clothes on tax? my mum was just saying since its a condition of working there i should be able to claim it.
 

Skeeta

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honestly i'd stick with the coffee shop, the pay is better, you wont be spending as much on stuff you dont really want

the fact that the time flies is a bonus

I work in a coffee shop, and really enjoy it.. just the atmosphere would be better IMO.. also if you get ur barissta certificate that is something you can take with u anywhere if you ever want to travel - and the hours are generally better and will fit in with uni
 

Ranger Stacie

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Skeeta said:
honestly i'd stick with the coffee shop, the pay is better, you wont be spending as much on stuff you dont really want

the fact that the time flies is a bonus

I work in a coffee shop, and really enjoy it.. just the atmosphere would be better IMO.. also if you get ur barissta certificate that is something you can take with u anywhere if you ever want to travel - and the hours are generally better and will fit in with uni

im pretty much leaning towards staying with coffee. already got my barista certificate as well! but i dont wanna turn down what could be a good job and then regret it. all my friends are telling me im nuts though. i hate making decisions!
 

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Stick with the coffee. There's no point in working to earn money as a poor uni student, only to go spend it on expensive things that you don't need/want... You'd just be back to where you started off - As the uni student with a job, yet still poor!
 

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Ranger Stacie said:
do you know, would it be possible to claim any of the money spent on clothes on tax? my mum was just saying since its a condition of working there i should be able to claim it.
I'm not entirely sure, but I think for you to be able to claim it on tax, it needs your workplace logo on it.

As the others said, stick with the coffee place. You tried a clothing store once before and hated it, remember.
 

*Minka*

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Ranger Stacie said:
do you know, would it be possible to claim any of the money spent on clothes on tax? my mum was just saying since its a condition of working there i should be able to claim it.
Well, the post above me pretty much explained it I think - you can only claim a certain amount and Brielle was spending much more than that to ensure she had those Billabong/Roxy clothes. You get roughly 250 allowance and a pain of Billabong jeans cost $120.

Also, they can be a bit picky with what you claim as well.
 

Ranger Stacie

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thanks for your input everyone--at the moment i ma thinking im going to not take the job. I'm still not sure what to say to them when they ring me tommorow.
 

Undertoad

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Ranger Stacie said:
why are you not keen to work in a cafe? i am currently at the coffee club and it is great.
My sis used to work there, they didn't pay her on time, never gave her any shifts and she was working soo hard all the time.
I guess different managers would handle it differently though and it would be great to have a job. Do you know about how much 18yr olds get paid?
 

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well you've probably made ur decision seeing as they were going to ring you yesterday, but for what its worth, i really hope you stuck with the cafe job. the reiss thing sounds a bit dodgy and you'd end up spending way too much for what you would be earning. plus the coffee sounds way more enjoyable despite the crazy number of hours.
 

iambored

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Do not give up the coffee job for the clothes job
 

Ranger Stacie

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Undertoad said:
My sis used to work there, they didn't pay her on time, never gave her any shifts and she was working soo hard all the time.
I guess different managers would handle it differently though and it would be great to have a job. Do you know about how much 18yr olds get paid?

i guess all stores are different- i havent had any problems like that at all. it is REALLY hard work-the erina store gets really busy. but, that makes the time go fast, and you get used to it as well. its easy money. i get 17.10 an hour as a 20 year old, but my store is paying above award wages and i dont think all of the coffee club stores do that. I dont get paid sunday rates though- its a flat rate. (however, i avoid working sundays)

anyway what happened when reiss rang,
they caught me by suprise-they rang at 6:30pm on a friday night and iw as expecting it during the day.i was suprised cos i thought it was my bf, and the chick was like 'so are you excited for your induction?' and i said 'um..yes'. and she snapped at me 'um yes, or yes?'. then she told me she wanted me to go to some qvb building in sydney for it (i am from the central coast). and i said i wouldnt be able to do that, and she said 'well, we will have to give it a miss then, because theres no where else i can do it' and hung up.

:)
 

Undertoad

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Ranger Stacie said:
i guess all stores are different- i havent had any problems like that at all. it is REALLY hard work-the erina store gets really busy. but, that makes the time go fast, and you get used to it as well. its easy money. i get 17.10 an hour as a 20 year old, but my store is paying above award wages and i dont think all of the coffee club stores do that. I dont get paid sunday rates though- its a flat rate. (however, i avoid working sundays)
They were gonna pay me $10.56 as a 18yr old and I would need to work until 2am sometimes so I said no. Just not a job for me
 

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