Workplace reviews and discussion: 東急屋實業有限公司

Pros? There really aren’t many.

The only thing I can think of is that you’ll max out your life skills.

That’s about it.

The salary complies with the Labor Standards Act—because the boss is afraid of getting sued.

The cons? There are a ton. Although the salary is paid according to the Labor Standards Act,

it seems that each store does things differently. Some store managers let you clock out at the time you actually finish, while others tell you to clock out when your shift ends

and then stay behind to finish the work.

The Labor Standards Act stipulates limits on overtime hours,

but whether they actually follow it… hmm, I’m not sure.

Also, however many branches there are, you have to adapt to however many store managers’ working styles.

The items are placed in different locations at each store, so you have to memorize them.

It often happens that you’re working at one store but remember the layout from the previous store, then give the customer the wrong location and make them angry.

During the interview, you usually fill out an application form that asks whether you’re willing to be transferred between stores.

If you’re not willing, they’ll ask why during the interview.

Usually, when a store is short-staffed, the branches borrow employees from one another, so they’ll ask whether you can be transferred. The duration isn’t fixed either. Sometimes it’s quick: if the understaffed store finds someone, you can return. But if they can’t recruit anyone,

then basically, you’re staying at that store.

Personally, I think the reason they’re short-staffed is that they’re obviously understaffed but keep opening new branches. When they can’t recruit anyone, they transfer a few people from other stores to help out.

They call it “helping out,” but if no one is hired, you stay at that store. The chance of returning to your original store is extremely small.

Ultimately, when you work there, you’ll be adapting to a new environment every day,

and to the feeling of having new coworkers, because you never know when they’ll suddenly tell you to go help at another store~

At work, you’ll encounter lots of unreasonable customers who try every possible way to take advantage of you. For returns or exchanges, they’ll fail to bring the receipt. When you tell them it’s required,

they’ll turn around and accuse you, saying, “You never gave it to me in the first place”……

But the cameras can see everything, so it’s obvious whether it was given or not.

According to the rules, you can only exchange it for an identical item, and suddenly their expression and attitude improve… They just wanted to scam you into giving them a new one.

Another situation is when someone buys an electrical appliance, such as an electric kettle or hair dryer.

It has a one-year warranty, and after using it for more than a year, it breaks once the warranty has expired.

When you tell them repairs may incur a fee because it’s been a year since the warranty expired,

they’ll complain, saying, “It hasn’t been that long! Why can’t you do it?

I only bought this recently. How could the warranty have expired a year ago?”

Well, thankfully, all products have a warranty sticker with the date on it before they’re sold.

The customer shuts up once they see the date. In the end, we still send it for repair, ask the manufacturer to quote the customer first, and repair it only if they agree. If they don’t, we send it back to the store and ask the customer to take it home and deal with it themselves.

There was also a case where a defective rice cooker was returned from repair, but the customer wouldn’t answer no matter how many times we called.

When they finally answered, they said they’d come pick it up, but never did. It sat there for almost a year.

Apparently, they treated the place like their own storage unit and planned to pick it up whenever they remembered.

There are also customers who tell us “Thanks for your hard work” when they’re checking out,

but it’s really rare.

As for the benefits of working here?

Your skin will probably get much thicker, because you have to deal with a bunch of unreasonable customers.

If you’re thin-skinned, there’s a high chance they’ll lead you around by the nose.

And your mental resilience will improve a lot, because after dealing with a bunch of customers making inexplicable demands every day, nothing surprises you anymore.