Work at a department store, and you can walk around afterward.
You may also meet department-counter staff and get employee purchase prices, and meet many recent graduates.
Overtime! Overtime! Overtime! An insane amount of overtime.
You are semi-coerced into choosing compensatory leave; they say the department has no budget and won’t provide transportation reimbursement for getting home in the middle of the night.
Anything can be changed immediately because of a single word from a superior, and you’re not allowed to leave work.
If you leave work too punctually and don’t stay behind to provide support, you’ll be called in for a meeting.
A terrifying performance-rating system: every year, each department has to drag one person down to the lowest rating.
SKM Park has an excellent general manager
Hired gangster property assassins
I don't know how the people you hired got in
Raised specialists who talk like spitting turkeys
Has a brand
How is it that the salary for course planners has remained at NT$31,000 for fifteen years?
Prices have risen by more than 40%.
1. The benefits system is comprehensive; you receive what you are entitled to. 2. The company has a cleaning department, so someone handles the garbage.
3. Meal cards are provided and can be used at all Shin Kong Department Store counters throughout Taiwan. 4. The level of freedom is fairly high, with flexible scheduling.
5. There are many employees, so you can meet lots of people. 6. Large stores have abundant resources. 7. The year-end bonus is at least 1.5 months’ salary.
1. The design department at large stores in southern Taiwan inexplicably has two supervisors, and their ideas and direction are not the same. After one person makes major revisions to a draft, the next person revises it again. Proposals also have to be approved by the highest-ranking marketing supervisor, the deputy store manager, and the store manager. Therefore, working overtime to revise drafts until midnight is common, while the supervisors themselves do not work on campaign periods.
2. Campaign periods are classified as large, small, or easy campaigns. Work assignments depend on how much the supervisor likes you. If you are obedient and good at flattering people, congratulations—you can happily and comfortably stay here until retirement. But if you are not the favored one, you will definitely have a very difficult time.
3. Following from the previous point, because some people get to take it easy, the workload remains tight even when sufficient staffing is provided, since you have to take on the work of those people.
3. Supervisors do not respect or value their subordinates, nor do they listen to others’ opinions. They believe replacement employees can always be found and treat subordinates as disposable chopsticks.
4. Supervisors do not take responsibility. When something goes wrong, you have to shoulder it yourself. Even if they approved the proposal and the store manager later criticizes it, you still have to take the blame—and they will turn around and scold you.
5. The workplace atmosphere is very poor and stressful. Supervisors’ moods are unpredictable, and whether a proposal gets approved depends on their mood at the time.
6. When working here, do not be the best performer or the worst performer. If you are capable, you will be treated as a utility person and assigned many tasks; if you are at the bottom, you will be singled out and targeted relentlessly. Shin Kong has no option for laying off employees, so supervisors use workloads and hostile attitudes to drive out people they dislike.
7. Here, working hard and doing a good job does not mean you will receive the feedback or rewards you deserve. Knowing how to flatter people is far more advantageous than working yourself to death. You will understand what “advantageous” means when you open your bonus and performance-review payments.
8. The corporate culture and thinking are traditional. Old-fashioned attitudes prevail, and supervisors who do not do their jobs occupy positions indefinitely.
9. Staff turnover is extremely high. Apart from some older, experienced employees who cannot leave, young people usually leave shortly after joining—or are forced out.
10. Every month, a useless design meeting is held to prove that the supervisors are doing something. They say the same things every time, such as “manage your time well.”
11. Supervisors make many additional company rules of their own.
12. Do not become too close to your coworkers or go out with them privately. If supervisors find out, they will target you through work-related matters.
13. Pay attention to your own safety at work. If you accidentally have an accident and get injured, the supervisor and the company will not take care of you.
14. There is no overtime pay. To exchange overtime for compensatory leave, you must first obtain the supervisor’s approval. However, because overtime requests are often made difficult, many people continue working overtime after clocking out. Supervisors know this is happening but turn a blind eye, then scold you when something goes wrong.
15. Supervisors leave work on time, while others eat fruit, drink tea, and chat during work hours, and you work overtime endlessly, unable to sleep or rest.
16. If you are a newcomer, you can come in to build your résumé and portfolio for one or two years and learn how a large company operates, treating it as a stepping stone. Otherwise, I would recommend not joining at all. If you do come, think it through carefully. If you are favored, things may feel great for the time being, but you will always have to pay the price eventually. In this authoritarian environment, it is essentially, “What I bestow upon you is yours.” What happened to others may one day happen to you.
The supervisor isn't incompetent; all questions can be answered
You won't feel lost
Everyone helps one another
There is insufficient staffing, yet we still have to help other departments
The supervisor is very nice, the office atmosphere is relaxed, and there is no expectation to work overtime after clocking out.
The office is in the basement
The restroom is difficult to get into
1. Some benefits and systems at a large company are very well established
2. Working in a department store lets you get to know many brands
3. There is an employee purchase program; employees receive discounts at certain brands
1. When you first join, you have to write many reports, and later there are also many written documents to type
2. There are many miscellaneous tasks (Being a floor manager is the most exhausting, but don’t assume other departments have it easy either, because the company will make you do the work. Mainly because positions are not fully staffed, the share of tasks you have to take on will increase.)
3. Rumors and gossip spread very quickly, so you have to pray that you meet good coworkers
4. The gifts for the three major festivals are company gift vouchers, which can only be used at Shinkong Mitsukoshi
5. There is no overtime pay; you can only take compensatory leave
6. There are eight full-day shifts per month. Human Resources tells you this from the beginning. They say there will be a two-hour break, but you will find that your coworkers eat while working, and no so-called break time is actually scheduled, making eating under a lot of pressure
Overall, I guess the department-store industry isn’t a good fit for me.
1. HR provided a very clear introduction.
2. The written test questions reflected the level of professionalism, areas of interest, current marketing topics, and more.
The overall process took a very long time. Three weeks passed between the written test and the interview, and I still had to call to ask when the interview could be scheduled.
1. The company has a well-established system, with everything from new-hire reports onward being highly standardized.
2. At some department stores, employees have to handle merchandise inspections and take out the trash themselves; at this company, the business management and cleaning teams handle these tasks.
3. There is a large volume of customers, and sales performance is good.
4. The job allows you to get up and move around, and learn about the counters and fashion trends.
5. Flexible working hours
1. Sometimes it is really too busy—so busy that there is not even 20 minutes to eat.
2. Customers complain too much.
3. The environment is dirty and messy, with many rats; I have seen someone making cakes in the stairwell.
4. The staff turnover rate is high.
The HR representative was friendly and also carefully explained the salary, benefits, and other details!
After passing the written test, I received an interview notification. They directly informed me of the date and time, offering only one time slot. I told them that I already had an appointment and couldn’t make it, and they replied, “I may have to ask the supervisor; there may not necessarily be an opportunity to change the time. I’ll get back to you.” This basically meant that if the supervisor wasn’t available, I wouldn’t get an interview and would simply lose this opportunity.
I found this quite absurd and felt disrespected. For such a large company and its supervisor to treat an interviewee this way is extremely disrespectful. Perhaps they just wanted to recruit new staff as quickly as possible?
Even interviews at other small companies were willing to coordinate the time. Is Shin Kong Mitsukoshi unable to do so⋯⋯?
I understand that the supervisor may really have been busy⋯⋯
This was the first time I had encountered such an interview situation. I spent so much time on the written test and personnel information, only for it all to be a waste of effort!
During the three major festivals, occasional employee shopping discounts, free employee health checkups, meal subsidies, and employee training
1. All departments are severely understaffed, with one person doing the work of ten.
2. The employee turnover rate is very high; you often see new faces.
3. The three major festivals are also gift box-selling seasons. To meet the sales targets set by management, floor managers often have to ask vendors and counter staff to help purchase gift boxes, and sometimes even pay out of pocket, creating a great deal of pressure for colleagues.
4. Very busy—extremely busy. There are many miscellaneous tasks and reports, and the work is never finished.
5. Managers use emotional blackmail and abuse their authority, making the atmosphere at work very unpleasant while acting as though the problems are all caused by their subordinates.
1. Comfortable working environment, with air conditioning at least
2. All the benefits that should be provided are given
3. You can become familiar with brands and learn about fashion trends
4. You may have opportunities to get to know department-counter staff and receive employee discounts
1. There are so many miscellaneous duties that the job is not worth the monthly salary of NT$30,000. Based solely on the salary information published on 104, this pay is close to the bottom end of the average
2. Applying for overtime will lead to emotional pressure. When a superior is questioned by their superior, they emotionally pressure their subordinates
3. Overtime applications only provide "compensatory leave". Only overtime during anniversary sales is paid; other approved overtime receives no additional pay. The company is very good at exploiting loopholes in the law
4. There is no channel for employee communication. Even if there is one, you may be betrayed by the company's own departments and instead questioned by your immediate supervisor
5. There is no personal privacy; personal information may be accessed, as mentioned above
6. Staff turnover is extremely high, and new employees often have to teach other new employees the job
7. The head office is extremely negligent; many issues can be left unresolved for a long time before a response is given
8. There is no personal time—absolutely none
9. The corporate culture and thinking are excessively traditional. Relations between superiors and subordinates are extremely poor, making it impossible to overturn tradition and innovate
10. All company benefits are tightly tied to the company. The meal card is basically insufficient for dining within the (department store) company, and the gifts for the three major holidays are tied to the company rather than being cash
11. In February, the head office released news about the year-end bonus, saying it would be two months. Sorry, it depends on the profitability of each branch; stores with year-end bonuses below two months are the ones dragging down the average year-end bonus
12. The company takes a large share of the profits. Even during difficult periods, it refuses to reduce the commission charged to vendors. Brands changing frequently is considered normal, so you are expected to recruit merchants endlessly—but still cannot recruit enough
The office is very beautiful, and the benefits are pretty good.
The written test included a logic test, English, and professional subjects, and took about two hours. After the test, they said they would notify me within a week whether I passed or not, but I ended up receiving a silent rejection. The office was extremely quiet overall, which felt quite oppressive.
The most professional interview process I’ve encountered among department store operators (written test, three interviewers, interview venue setup, etc.), and the salary offered was also the highest among department store operators in Taichung.
I ultimately wasn’t hired, so I can’t comment on the drawbacks. Overall, the interview process was quite good.
...
Required to clock out at the end of the workday; bonuses for the three major holidays are issued as gift vouchers rather than cash
Suitable for recent graduates. The work mainly involves event planning and cross-industry negotiations, so you get exposure to a wide range of tasks.
You can find a specialty you enjoy through the work, such as card services, and it is easier to move to another company afterward.
It is recommended to stay for no more than two years. The pay is low, and overtime is required during peak periods.
There is infighting and bureaucracy at headquarters, and you need to flatter people to get promoted.
The marketing manager is moody; carefully planned events are often changed with a single remark.
During the interview, the interviewer will ask whether you’ve applied for any other positions at their company⋯
Would a normal person do that? It feels like they’re hoping to trick some naive people into taking a different job.
The written test lasted three hours