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Can I just vent?

6K views 39 replies 32 participants last post by  World of Fright 
#1 ·
K so I am not a big complainer at all but I know you guys will understand. Recently, I decided to apply to work for Spirit Halloween as well as Halloween City in my town. There are two different store of each one that I applied for, and I never got a call back. I'm pretty sad about that but then I went into Halloween City four days ago on their opening day and let me tell you what.......WHEN I LEFT I WAS SO PISSED. My husband told me to let it go, so I did but then yesterday I went in another Halloween city to see if it was different and guess what, IT WASN'T. I was in each of these stores for more than 30 minutes. Not once did I get a, "Can I help you?" "Welcome to Halloween City." Nothing............here's what pisses me off most..........I eat, sleep, drink, and live Halloween all year long. There are many people like me who I am sure applied to work for these companies. I never got a call or anything to go for an interview but yet they hire these kids who have no customer service skills at all and don't care that they working in a Halloween store. Personally for me, the best day of the year is Halloween and I truly feel you should love Halloween and everything about it to work here. Can i just say I will never go in Halloween city ever ever again.
Venting done............Sorry guys but I was pissed.:mad:
 
#2 ·
I feel the same way when I walk into either of those stores, which are quite far from where I live.

They hire a bunch of teenagers who don't have a clue regarding ANYTHING Halloween related.
Nor do they, like you say have any customer service skills. At all. They would rather chat with each other or play on their cellphones.

WTF? Really?? Hello, I need some help!!

I feel your pain. I too have applied at both stores and NEVER got a call back. Neither had my girlfriend, and she's younger than me.

So vent away
:D
 
#3 ·
Don't let those butt-heads ruin your Halloween spirit;) You can always come here to your spooky family to vent anytime! If you're looking for seasonal Halloween work maybe you could even try Target and places like that. I worked as seasonal help at Target one year and it was so much fun to see all the Halloween stuff before it was put out on the floor and pre-shop in my head and I got a discount too:D
 
#32 ·
Only once did I ever encounter a "helpful" sales person at Spirit. He also truely loved Halloween and enjoyed telling us all about how he decorates and what he builds. I have not run into another one like him since and this was 3 years ago. But, when you mentioned "treated like a potential shop lifter" it reminded me of the Spirit store we had last year. They had a big desk at the entrance with a sign that said your bag will be searched after leaving the store. Mine never was and maybe they put it up there because they had been having shop lifting issues but, after that, I haven't been in one of those stores since. It kind've left a bad aftertaste :confused:
 
#5 ·
I have had those types of experiences in the past. I personally feel that it should be mandatory for their seasonal help to be a Halloween enthusiast. Not just some teenager looking for something cool to do for a couple months.
 
#6 ·
I'm from the UK. We don't have Halloween seasonal stores like Spirit here :( but I do sympathise with you and fully understand your need to vent your frustration to people who understand.

Surely these stores must have some kind of selection process or interview procedure before hiring? and surely it must make sense to hire staff who have an interest and some knowledge of the merchandise on sale.

Most of us here probably have a pretty good idea of what we are looking for when we shop for Halloween goods, but for "Joe Average" who may require advice and assistance a couldn't- care- less attitude from a shoulder shrugging teenager who is evidently only there for the weekly pay cheque is a real off-putter and certainly doesn't encourage repeat business or word of mouth advertising.

I am often bemoaning the lack of customer service in stores here in England. I don't want fawning over, or forelock-tugging grovelling sales assistants, just the right advice on hand if I need it without having to run around the store vainly searching for somebody who actually knows what I require, and as an added bonus can actually string a sentence together, preferably in English.. It seems as though the days of personal service from knowledgeable, professional staff who genuinely took an interest in their customers needs are gone forever, not just in the UK, but everywhere.

I wish you the best of luck if you decide to continue with your search.
 
#7 ·
I'm sorry you've had trouble with helpful people at both of those stores. That's pretty sucky of them.

We don't have a Halloween City here, but we do have Spirit Halloween. I've never had any problem with the people that work at the one closest to my house. They've always been nice and helpful. Last year, my mom and I went to Spirit to pick up a few things. Since she has problems walking, they got her a chair to sit in while I did my shopping.
 
#8 ·
The one thing you can do is be sure to point out that you get the same discount they do when you use your 25% off coupon at Spirit. The manager of one of mine couldn't believe it the other day when I handed her one. They get lots of 20s, but that was the first 25. Guess she didn't feel so special then. And you're right about them hiring kids who don't know anything about Halloween props or customer service.
 
#9 ·
In my area I have found the staff at Spirit Halloween to have more halloween spirit. Can't say the same of my experience in Halloween City. They came into the area 2 years ago, Party City their parent company, has been here for a long time. Everytime I was in Halloween City it was pretty dead until right before halloween. The staff was bored I'm sure. They hardly had any props delivered to the store so people came in and went elsewhere to shop unless they were looking for a costume. Sales staff was polite enough but certainly not really motivated and into halloween. It felt like I was in Walmart, Tagert or any other retail store.

I guess I'm not surprised by your experience based on my own as a customer. And I TOTALLY get why you are annoyed. I've always felt that HC is just a business.

If you really still want a job at SH, I think you should call SH back and talk to the manager. Ask them if all their sales postions have been filled yet and if not let them know that you're still available and would love to work there. Explain how you like how the store gets into halloween and makes it more of a fun experience for their customers than any of their competition. Don't ever expect companies to just call you back off a resume or application. That makes you run of the mill and probably just looking for a paycheck or a store discount. You need to stand out from another piece of paper. How badly would you like to get this job? Actually instead of calling I would stop by the store and talk to the store manager personally. And if you are older than some of the workers there (like staff is mainly teenagers), use that one-on-one to explain how you have decorated your place, and can relate to the parents coming into the store looking to buy something for their kids or setting up a halloween display in their yard. All the better if you are a parent too and know how to work with kids. If you are good at setting up props, let them know that you do that every year at your house. Can you run a cash register and handle money or credit cards responsibly? Do you have a problem moving, opening and unpacking boxes...some managers might think adults would not really want to do this kind of work. If the jobs there are filled at that location, then ask if they know if one of their other locations might still be looking for a good sales associate and could put you in touch with the manager there. In my area it seems the stores kind of get to know each other.

Good luck. The fact that your HC experience bothers you is a good thing. Use it as a springboard to see if you can get a job at SH this year.
 
#10 ·
I agree that they should love Halloween and be enthusiastic to work there. I see this attitude by teens and young twenty somethings all the time mostly in subway restaurants around here. No smile. No how are you today. Its like it kills them to be there. So I get what you are saying. This generation coming up has no people skills I guess cause all they do is text. Its awful. No pride in what they do. I'm 33 with a completely different attitude from them. I would have been mad too.
 
#11 ·
We don't have a Spirit or Halloween City in my town, but do have a year round Halloween store and I don't shop there because I had a bad experience when I worked there in 2002. It's like some kind of weird store where everything is over-priced, covered in inches of dust, the employees are zoned-out heads and you wonder if they're actually selling a lil somethin' out of the back if you know what I mean. It's just not a place I care for.
 
#12 ·
I was a teen that worked at a Halloween store once. It was one of my first jobs ever. Also, it was my FAVORITE job ever. I loved setting up props and talking to the customers. I always wanted to help. While almost everyone else that worked there could have cared less. They didn't want to be there. Sometimes if it was really dead in the store and the only people that were there were my boring co-workers I would be the person to dress in a costume and be on the street to wave to cars and get attention for the store. That was always fun. I loved making the kids smile.

How could you not love working at a Halloween store? the only things that sucked were working the mask and wig area and having to stay late on Halloween. But still, I loved it!
 
#13 ·
Hmm....I don't see the problem. I go to those stores to look around and don't want to be bothered, so I like that they leave me alone. As long as the prices are well marked, what else do you need?

I'm not calling it bad customer service either. I get the welcome, do you need help finding something and have a nice day. But even if I didn't get them, I wouldn't care. That applies to most places I go...I know where I'm going, leave me alone. Heck, at Lowe's the other day, a worker came up behind me and asked if I needed any help, when I turned around, he said: "Nevermind, you probably know the store better than I do"
 
#14 ·
I worked for Halloween City a two years ago and let me tell you they are only looking for people who show up and don't steal anything. The companies are here to make a quick buck and leave which is why they don't focus on customer service. Why worry about it if you're going to be closed in the next month or two?
They don't pay well which is why you probably didn't get the job. I was over qualified and made way more at my regular job, but I talked to the manager personally when I did my application and sold him on letting me work there. I enjoyed my time there, but I'm not sure I'd do it again. I doubt I'd find a manager as cool as the one I had (he let me have off for Halloween).
 
#15 ·
I have worked for Spirit Halloween twice. What I did is I waited a week to call them after my interview, when I called the manager, she told me to start the next day. I worked hard and I always came in when someone else didn't show up or called out. The 2nd year I put in my application and the district manager called me a few hours later asking when I can start.

It can be very stressful though, both times I started early ( starting in July/August) because I helped set up our main store and helped setting up other stores in the area.(I also think this helps getting hired, apply really early, not when the store opens) You can work 15+ hours in a day with the store manager and district manager very stressed out because they have a deadline when to get the stores ready. If you are one of the good workers, you will be called in a lot at the last minute, sometimes stay late ( I stayed till 2 in the morning one time doing inventory), work extra shifts in the same day. We had a lot of teens not taking the job seriously and not showing up, so I would be working, next person doesn't show up and I would take over their shift. I still loved working there, though.


But it's true, most of the staff were teens who didn't care about Halloween, they only wanted quick easy money. I remember one girl would hide out somewhere so she could text. Also, as I said, some never showed up to work again. Try calling SH back and speak to the manager or apply much earlier next year but be prepared to be very stressed and very tired.
 
#16 ·
The first two years that we had a Spirit around here, it was staffed by people who loved Halloween and that was obvious. Last couple, they've moved around, probably changed management completely, and both the selection and the employees have gone somewhat generic. Quite the change - I mean, the first year they had a hearse with customized Spirit vinyls parked outside by the highway. Last year, back of a strip mall, no signs, no service. Originally, lots of props and less costumes.

Still waiting to see what this year is going to be like - they're back in the original location. (Maybe! They may never open at this rate!)


So strange how it can vary that much between locations. Guess the same is true for seasonal stores as regular ones: management is everything.
 
#18 ·
Me, I don't like to be bothered by sales clerks. Most of them are not very good
at what they do, nor do they have an interest in what I'm doing.

However...if the clerk is somehow interesting to me, I do let them "help".

One of our type not getting a job at Halloween City? Yeah, I would say we're
way beyond over qualified. That being said...be glad you aren't there where
they would only drag you down.

Halloween is more than a costume on a shelf. Halloween is that spirit that lives
deep down inside of us. For us, it's personal. We aren't like other people.
 
#19 ·
I have had both instances at Halloween stores I've visited. I don't like to be hounded by sales people, but I like them to be around and knowledgeable should I need them! I just love it when I want to try on a costume, but it says you need a sales associate to do so...of course, there's no one in sight. I had to walk all over the entire store I went to this year to find someone to help me!! (I think it may have actually been Halloween City, lol.) Spirit is usually a little better, in my experience. I had a young associate see me looking at a skull skirt at a Spirit and she came up to me, smiled and told me if I wanted to try it on to just ask her. She was very nice...I was surprised to have an associate actually approach me and offer to help, lol.
A few years ago or so my hubby and I went to a Halloween Express out of town. It was a terrific experience!! The store was huge and filled with tons of stuff, they also had a very large clearance/sale section. Normally I can't find many costumes I like or that fit me in stores, but this place had tons! I asked a sales woman if I could try stuff on and she was so helpful and happy. I somehow acquired a small group of sales people, lol, and they were so excited to help me try stuff on. It ended up being a mini fashion show! They even kept bringing me costumes they wanted me to try on!! We had a blast laughing at some costumes and deciding which one I should buy. That's how it should be!! FUN!
This year, I wanted that same experience, so I searched for the closest Halloween Express and we drove all the way there. I was so excited...but when I got there I was let down. They barely had anything but the same old stuff, higher prices, barely anything in a decent price range or on sale and the staff was severely lacking. No one said a word to us and they all stood at the register and chatted. I guess that's just how things are now. :(
 
#20 ·
Yeah, I've never gotten a call back from Spirit, either.

One thing to be aware of is the fact that most seasonal stores are operated as consignment businesses. They aren't even franchises. This means the corporation gets its money no matter what and all the risk is heaped on the shoulders of anyone dumb enough to agree to the terms. They really don't give a damn about storefront customer relations, because they have no vested interest in the success or failure of any of their storefronts.
 
#21 ·
Sorry to hear about your experience but I think I can top it. A few years back during season 1 of "The Walking Dead" we went to our local Spirit store. We know the manager and she was into H-ween as much as we are. She told us that the Spirit store 20 miles away had a huge zombie display we just had to see. That weekend we made a family day of it and went for a visit. We got there and it was awesome. Zombies, body parts, toxic waste, the whole deal. We were impressed. I saw a "twenty-something" with zoned out look on her face standing in the corner "mouthbreathing" and thought I would give her a verbal pat on the back. "Good job, love the set up, looks great". I strolled up and said, "Love what you all have done. I bet you'll have a ton of business with the popularity of The Walking Dead." She looked at me, puzzled look on her face and said, "What's that?"....my jaw hit the floor.
I tried to explain it to her but between her texting and pointing customers in the direction of the adult size Whoopee cushion costumes all she could come up with to defend what she just said was "Well, I don't watch that much TV.
I haven't been back to that Spirit since.
Marc V.
 
#26 ·
When it's time for building weird Halloween stuff that uses regular hardware store goods in unusual ways, I DO know more than most of the people who work at the hardware. Because I know what I need. And because I'm female and young enough, they all look at me like I don't have a clue. Hi guys, I designed and am building all this wall that I'm here to buy parts for...now pick your jaw up off the floor and get me my pvc.
 
#25 ·
Every time I go to one, which is every time I see one, I see the same. That and products that don't seem to hold up. Just once I'd like to walk in and find all the animatronics working. I'm alway saddened to see that they are all not working correctly! As a Cleveland sports fan, I'm used to the mantra "there's always next year".
 
#29 ·
Personally, go back to Spirit and ask about the job or call. On the call actually, the manager won't know how old you are, but if you can sell yourself on the phone - then you are in!
As far as customer service is concerned, I really dont care if no one knows about halloween set-up, walking dead, etc. I just want them to know how to process my coupon (this time around it took 15 minutes!- had to wait for the mgr to come back from the grocery store next door) and ring me up quickly. I know about Halloween. That's all that matters to me.
 
#36 ·
Omgosh!! I know!! I brought in one of those 25% coupons to a Spirit last weekend and it took FOREVER for the guy at the counter to figure out what to do with it...and he kept making sounds and looks like he was just SOOOO put out by having to figure it out. This wasn't even a teenager, either, it was a grown man!!! I had 3 of those coupons, so 3 different transactions...it STILL took him quite a bit on the next two coupons, lol.
OH, lol, and last year I brought in a coupon to buy something, and the person at the counter told me the coupon was for online only! I was like, no it's not, it's a printable coupon! Why would you need a printable coupon for online?! They still insisted it was online only, but them I read it and pointed out to them that it said for use in locations, or to use a code for online...like they always do. The sales person just looked at me like they still didn't believe me even though it said so right on the coupon. It made me scared to even try to use a coupon this year!!
 
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