The store is relatively LGBT-friendly, so there is no awkwardness because of that and you can comfortably be yourself. However, some people at headquarters are not.

A NT$500 Shin Kong gift voucher is given for birthdays.

The stores hold year-end parties together with the department stores, and sometimes you can win fairly good prizes.

Salaries are paid very punctually.

If you want to switch to a directly operated store, you can build up your experience; it will be better than at other dealers.

As several people mentioned above, the salary structure is unfavorable and bonuses are difficult to obtain. Previously, when a store received too much in bonuses, the store manager was asked to contribute money to treat everyone to a meal, effectively resulting in a pay deduction. No one dared refuse, so they could only be privately upset.

When the Facebook page initially had few followers, employees were told to like it and inflate the positive reviews. You can look at whether those profile pictures belong to senior employees at some of the stores and you will know.

There are only two operations supervisors. One is friendly toward gay people, but only on the condition that they have some value to exploit; people without value are discarded.

The other appears friendly but privately makes disgusting jokes about people’s sexual orientation. They especially like to chat proactively with young female employees. Because department-store floor managers change frequently, if they hear that there is an attractive floor manager, they will ask the store manager what the person looks like. If the store manager happens to be gay, they are particularly unlucky and get taunted with disgusting jokes such as, “Do you think they’re attractive? But you like something different from me, right? Would that even work?”

Or, if a certain supervisor is also gay, they may privately joke, “How would I know whether they’re good at blowing?”

But their work ability is completely unacceptable. They even make fun of themselves by saying that all they can do is stamp documents; whenever something goes wrong, the store manager has to handle it. This reputation is known throughout the entire company.

The other person who is friendly toward gay people is a woman, but her behavior is very patriarchal. In any case, she simply accepts whatever those above her tell her to do, which is apparently why bonuses are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.

Moreover, at first they will open up to you and lower your guard, making you think you can trust them. Little do you know that after they pry information out of you, they will use it to undermine you.

As long as Shin Kong has no intention of closing this company, you can work here until retirement. It is even better if you get married and have children; then they will be even less likely to lay you off.

Someone previously said that headquarters supervisors love adding people on Instagram and Facebook. Even if you do not add them, they will look at anything public, so it is recommended that you lock your accounts and not add anyone from headquarters, to avoid giving people something to gossip about. Also, when you submit a résumé, they will search for you online using your email address or name. No wonder they seemed to know so much about me during the interview. I only later learned from colleagues that things were not so simple, which made me uncomfortable.

This company really loves talking about astrology—to the point of superstition. For personality tests, they only like using the “Peacock” type (for store staff).

If an issue cannot be resolved, they just keep throwing it to the stores. It is hard to understand why people in lower positions with lower salaries are expected to clean up the mess. I suppose this is one of the secrets that cannot be discussed behind the appearance of sound management.

Basically, people in the north are more likely to encounter headquarters personnel, while things are relatively fine in central and southern Taiwan. If you want to advance quickly, remember to cultivate a relationship with your supervisor and volunteer for everything they assign. You will definitely be able to take on more work, but the increase in salary may not be proportional to the work.

The year-end bonus is highest only at the Zhonggang store, so they are not very short-staffed; the other stores do not get much. All I can say is that it is truly enviable to work at the store that is the company’s cash cow—the other stores lose money, and that store earns it back for them.

After saying all that, I still recommend going in and experiencing it for yourself; it will make a deeper impression. The anniversary sales event is about to start too. You will understand what it is like to work a full shift and be exhausted but receive no bonus. At least there is overtime pay—if they do not forget to apply for it, or if all the stores are not reprimanded because overtime costs are too high, there is still a chance of receiving it.