[sneakykid]

Have you ever worked at Spirit Halloween? What was it like? I see either really good reviews of working there or really bad reviews of working there.

 

[mmmkap]

I just got hired today for a part time seasonal. Will let you know how it goes. I know there is a 30% discount on everything you buy plus after Halloween the 30% still applies along with the 50%. I am thinking it can't be that bad to pass up the discounts but I am going to have to add on to my house I am afraid! Will be interested to hear any comments on this thread.

 

[SpookyBethesda]

How flexible are they with schedules for part-timers? I would love to do this for a season but I have a full-time job in events so I already work some crazy hours. Do they hire people to work stocking or setups late night?

 

[xredge]

I've thought about this to, my issue along with work crazy hours and first 2 weekends in Oct is my Campground haunt. Plus the wife says I'll spend whatever I make there.

 

[Cephus404]

Not Spirit, but I ran a Halloween City many years ago and while you might think it would be fun, it really isn't. The pay is generally bad, the company doesn't really have any idea what they're doing, you are absolutely guaranteed to work on Halloween, no exceptions, and probably 1/3 to 1/2 of your employees just don't show up that day and screws everyone else over. Customers are terrible, they rip up your store and leave costume parts all over the place, they steal, they make massive messes and because the employees know it's temporary, they figure they don't have to show up when they don't want to. Again, can't speak for Spirit, but at Halloween City, there was no late night shifts, every single person in the store stocks all the time and shipments are coming in constantly. They begged me to come back the next year and I said no.

 

[mmmkap]

I haven't gotten my first schedule yet but I work 55+ hours a week at my job so when I went to Spirit to inquire, the store manager said I could work as little as 4 hours a week. They will work around my schedule because theirs is posted 2 weeks out whereas my full time job is 3 weeks out. I will update once I actually start. I have worked retail for a long time so I am used to the call outs, theft and mess left by customers so I am not concerned with that. I worked Toys R Us at Christmas time many years ago for a seasonal job and that was a nightmare! I think for the discount at Spirit I am going to give it a try! I too will more than likely spend more than I make!

 

[Cephus404]

I haven't gotten my first schedule yet but I work 55+ hours a week at my job so when I went to Spirit to inquire, the store manager said I could work as little as 4 hours a week. They will work around my schedule because theirs is posted 2 weeks out whereas my full time job is 3 weeks out. I will update once I actually start. I have worked retail for a long time so I am used to the call outs, theft and mess left by customers so I am not concerned with that. I worked Toys R Us at Christmas time many years ago for a seasonal job and that was a nightmare! I think for the discount at Spirit I am going to give it a try! I too will more than likely spend more than I make!

Oh, it's a whole different level. Because you spend a lot of time dealing with high school age kids, they will go in purposely to make messes. They are destructive on purpose because they can be. I never really made use of my discount because I don't really buy much at retail except parts. I don't do generic props, it's all custom built. I walked away with some of the custom signage at the end of the season, which was nice, but otherwise, I don't know that I spent all that much there.

 

[doto]

I worked at Spirit a number of years ago and absolutely loved it. Since I too have a full time job the manager was fantastic scheduling around my work and family schedule. They let me work until October 29th so I could focus on my display, and gave me Canadian Thanksgiving off so I could travel. The experience I had in Ottawa ON Canada was amazing. I can't speak for any other location however; like most jobs, the effort you put forth, the people you work with and for make the difference. I loved working with the staff that was there at the time. Unfortunately after every shift I took my cheeks were sore from smiling.

 

[kuroneko]

I worked for a Halloween City a few years ago and I had a lot of fun. However, I think your experience will depend both on where you are and who you get as your management team. My store manager was awesome, but I've heard of nightmare managers who just don't care or are jerks. The jobs being that they are low paying and temporary usually leads to crappy, uncaring, and lazy co-workers. In my area, we get a good mix of trashy customers and super entitled customers that have a rather unique local flavor to them. I've always been amused at people who come from other areas of NJ to work in my area and go "WTF is up with people around here?"

The schedule shouldn't be that bad, but expect a lot of weekends and afternoon/evening shifts. Everyone is expected to do pretty much everything. You will get a lot of people trashing the store and trying to pull a lot of crap (trying to get discounts, returning used stuff, etc). If you really need the money you can probably pick up a lot of extra shifts, because people will not show up unless you get a really good core group. Also, don't be surprised if you're the ONLY actual haunter working there. I was so I tended to get stuck working the prop/décor section a lot.

I managed to actually get Halloween off, but I totally negotiated that up front with the manager. Considering that I showed up for every shift, came in every time I was called, and took shifts just walking in (I literally worked next door for my regular full time job so I would pretty much stop in all the time), he didn't give me crap about not being able to work Halloween. That includes working with a bad ankle in a cast after hurting myself a week before Halloween and not being able to stand (I was stuck as a cashier instead). I loved working there and would do it again, but only if I had the same guy as my manager.

 

[DavyKnoles]

I've never worked for Spirit, but most of the people I've met who have rave about the job. I did work at a seasonal Halloween store called Halloween Illusions back in Southern California a few years ago. That year I was also working as a scareactor at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA for their Shipwreck event (which is now called Dark Harbor). The combination added up to one kick-*** good time; selling Halloween by day and scaring by night. We didn't have the messes to deal with there because of some strict policies the owners (two brothers) had, namely, no one under 18 was allowed inside without a parent or guardian, and trying on costumes was not allowed. People were allowed to take the costume pieces out of the bag and hold them up in front of a mirror so long as me or some other associate was with them, but that was all. The owner did the stocking, he hired a girl whose only job was to cashier, so I was always on the floor with the customers. And like Doto, my face often hurt from smiling so much.

Remembering the awesome experience of that year prompted me to take a seasonal part time Halloween job at my local Party City. Talk about having the wind kicked out of your sails! It was everything Halloween Illusions wasn't. We were constantly on giant ladders stocking (before working there I had no idea how high up everything is displayed). Corporate came up with a slogan, "So what are you going be this year?" and demanded you greet every customer with it. If you didn't, you often had this fat, annoying manager right down your throat literally threatening your job. The hours were long, the people obnoxious. Children would pull down accessories and play with them in the aisles while their parents paid no attention to them. Some girls would try on as many a 15 costumes at a time and then leave without buying a thing. It was dreadful.

But even though one experience sort of cancels out the other, I still wouldn't mind a gig at Spirit. I'm betting it would be a great deal more like Illusions than Party City.

 

[19215]

I worked at Spirit years ago and loved it. We were in a VERY small location though so we couldn't do all of the displays and stuff they're typically known for. You'll get to know you're co-workers quite well and will probably make some lifelong friends like I did. They will generally work around whatever schedule(s) you have if you're upfront about it. As someone mentioned above you can work as little as 4 hours a week all the way to 35 (I think). I generally got around 20-25 hours which is great when working a full time job like I was.

People will trash the store and try to get discounts on everything, Theft is also a big thing so you will probably be assigned an area and told to patrol it as much as you can.

Yes, you do get 30% off everything and that discount can be applied when something is on sale. Although it probably isn't done now we had a log we would sign saying whatever we purchased wasn't going to be resold by the purchaser for a profit.

It was an awesome experience. If you get the chance, GO FOR IT!

 

[DavyKnoles]

I have an interview set up at my local Spirit store on Wednesday, September 19. As I pointed out to the girl, Melissa, with whom I'll be interviewing, that's National Talk Like a Pirate day. Oddly enough, I was wandering down the Halloween aisle at the Dollar Tree when I got the call setting up the interview. Everything seems so right about this!

 

[DavyKnoles]

Here's an update on my last post: When I showed up for the interview last Wednesday, the store manager was busy with a handful of guys. I took them to be other employee candidates who were also there to be interviewed. So I said hello and shook their hands. Then I wandered away to wait my turn. As it turned out, it was a corporate walk-through of the store, and the guys I'd just met were the state manager (in charge of all the Spirit Stores in Florida); the regional manager (in charge of all the Spirit Stores on the East Coast); and the Vice President of Spirit Halloween. Seems the store I had applied to on Kirkman Road a couple of blocks from Universal Studios Florida had been selected for a corporate tour on the same day and time as my interview. What a coincidence, huh? Anyway, when the suits left, I sat down with the store manager, Melissa. We talked for maybe five minutes, six tops. Then she hired me on the spot. And so now I work at a Spirit Halloween store. Or at least I will when a bunch of forms and formalities are signed and I'm given an initial shift. But really, how cool is that? I'll keep everyone here informed as I learn more.

 

[RCIAG]

I've never worked at Spirit but I'd imagine it's like any other retail job. It's gotta be different from store to store. Store A could be great, great owner/manager, great co-workers, a great schedule that works WITH you not against you, while Store B could be an owner/manager that doesn't care, rotating co-workers, bad schedules,etc.

I'm sure the one constant is the same as with all retail, crappy customers. They cross all boundaries. You'll find them from all walks of life & in every retail job.

Good luck & keep track of all the crazy stuff that goes on, good & bad!

 

[SilentRaven]

I worked at spirit for about 3 or 4 years, and i loved it! the schedule was very flexible and i was able to work around my full time jobs schedule. I made some life long friends that even though i have moved 6 states away i still keep in touch with today. after i moved i tried going back to work there but my scheduale along with child care just didnt work out. eventually i will probably get back to it once my kids are older (4 and 2), i just enjoy the (atmosphere and discount!) so much. The thing i loved the best was helping people figure out their costumes. like things that they couldnt just grab off the shelf.

So this one time i had a young black male come in with his mother and he wanted help with a costume. The mother seemed slightly embarrased about what the boy was going to say. I asked him what he wanted to be and he replied "a slave". a bit taken back i asked him "what kinda of slave?" he replied "acotton [icking slave from the south" by the look on his face he was completely serious. so i took him back to figure out what he needed. i got him a basic zombie torn upclothes outfit. and decked him out with some chains, and a neck chain that was from the walking dead michone costumes.... he bought it all and loved it, his mom not so much but she went along with it. weirdest thing ever.

 

[Sky]

If I ever worked there, I would have no money to bring home, it would all be going toward the store!
I have to (evilly) admit I would get sick of asking customers if they wanted to donate to Spirit Kids.
I always like seeing workers dressed up!

 

[tiger1874]

I was a store manager at Spirit for a few years and loved it!! My team was great, my DM was freaking awesome!! It's like any other retail job, it has it's ups and downs. The best part was the discount!!!

 

[JennyParnassus]

My younger sister worked for a Spirit Halloween in Boulder, Colorado in 2000. So, I know, it was a long time ago. She had a pretty positive experience, though. She had just graduated from high school. She was still trying to firm up her college plans, so she didn't go to college the autumn directly after high school. She worked at a Spirit from the beginning of September to early November. Shortly after she started working at the store, she was named as an assistant manager. (She had worked at a convenience store when she was in high school, so I guess that the store determined that she was experienced enough to be the assistant manager.)

Anyway, after her employment ended at Spirit, she moved across the country to enroll in college.