Pros
Good part time job, I enjoyed it when there was a decent team. Going full-time was a mistake. There’s a lot of room for growth, as people quit left and right. Discounts and freebies were nice. Some team members were great. Shoe reps were awesome to work with.
Cons
We were constantly understaffed, and that was supposedly my fault as a manager. Everyone I interviewed found different jobs because the wages were so low. The employees were typically unreliable and unprofessional (you get what you pay for). There was no consistency. Area, store, and assistant managers were constantly changing. As a manager, I was barely able to afford the things I needed. I was expected to work more than 40 hours a week due to events and being understaffed. But, if I tried to claim over time, I was told that I couldn’t work more than 40 and therefore wouldn’t get paid for it. The GM was awful. He ordered what he wanted. Never listened to store staff or reps when buying product, then would blame stores for not being able to sell the product. He was very impersonal and everyone felt on edge when he was around. Completely played favorites. He told reps that they couldn’t give out product to staff unless it was cleared by him. (Which never used to be the case.) Several reps I became close with admitted they didn’t like working with RR because the GM was awful. Head office was a joke. We could never contact them. Yet they would come after us when we didn’t do something perfect. They expected the US stores to be exactly like the Canadian ones, which doesn’t work at all. Running Room apparel was pushed way too hard, even though it was extremely low quality. Several pieces I had wore out quickly in the elbows, butt, etc. It is not made to fit an average American, just the incredibly fit runner with no curves. There were frequently holes, loose threads, and overall manufacturing defects when the apparel arrived to the store. The one year warranty is a joke. Most of my brand apparel lasts a few years. If you make quality product, you don’t have to use a warranty as your only selling point. Overall, Running Room is a joke. If my friends asked about product or jobs, I typically sent them to competitors due to better discounts and higher company standards.