specialty shop manager - Sales Associate Scheels Employee Review

2.0
Feb 3, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The discount and retirement is excellent. Working around people that are upbeat, professional, and trying to expand their place. Get management experience before you work there not after. You have much greater chance to advance with verified supervision experience. Best PART TIME job or COLLEGE job to get for student. For a career it can be a right fit. Assistant managers advance within 3-3.5 years usually. So if you haven't in that time continue as a part time employee so you can make maximize yourself. Part timers working 20-30 hrs can make 50-65% what full time associates make.

Cons

The first year or two is like a game. It is fun for people who like to sell and help people. Over time management will totally mess with your mind. They ask you what you think. Then you say your opinion. Then they say but don't you think we should. Prepare to have about 6 supervisors simultaneously have different expectations about what you do, how you do it and the expected time. When you are helping customers, they will ask you to get your freight out. When you start putting your freight out, they will ask you why you are not helping customers. If you like to connect the dots and grow a place a consistent 2% a year and be a good lackey this is your dream gig. If you get stuck with a real mean power hungry supervisor, there is no way to escape the torment other than to quit. The Scheels family model is good but they thrive on controlling as many people they can by their twisted way to make you a subservient yes man or woman lap dog. You will be called a manager but you are a clerk. They don't even let so called shop managers have outside e-mails. They will have you place calls to vendors to check on open purchase orders. They forbid employees to have outside e-mails. This place will suck your soul dry in the end and probably make you lose your spouse. Great job for a person fresh out of college who needs real world skills.

Explore other reviews about Scheels

5.0
Jun 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great work environment Sales metrics tend to be attainable Employees are very nice to work with Team will help you succeed

Cons

Competing with full timers can be close to impossible Sometimes closers are held longer than expected Not much room for growth unless you move to full time

3.0
Jun 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You get to try lots of cool new shoes, there is tons of entertaining retail drama, you can make a decent amount of money if you are good at sales (I could easily double my base salary on weekends), and the discount is quite nice. Management usually seems to care a lot for employees, and many are very flexible with scheduling and make it easy to work around other jobs/classes. There is room for progression, and I was offered a higher position, but the salary growth wasn't ideal for me in this economy.

Cons

You are on your feet A LOT - I often walked 30-40k steps a day during the holiday season or Saturdays (with only a 30 min lunch break), and sometimes you get scheduled for multiple weeks with no days off in between. Getting a good manager for your schedule is also important, because some give only a week's notice before putting out the next couple of weeks, which makes it hard to plan things with friends/family. Part time employees also get no benefits, even when I was consistently working 40-50 hours a week for months at a time. Additionally, there are some unscrupulous characters working there, but most have gotten fired.

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