locality manager

shift leader

seasonal associate

sales associate

character performer

Cherry Hill Programs

I was hired as a seasonal photographer by Cherry Hill Photo for the santa booth which was held at the local mall. 

A Typical Day at Work:

The days were spent interacting with families, helping decide which photo package they would like. I would organize large groups so that everyone would be captured in the photo. I kept an eye out for people taking external photos with their phones and politely reminded them of our 'no external photos' policy. I would also keep track of how many kids came in just to visit Santa. 

On the technical side I would position the camera as necessary, replace the paper and toner in the printers, reboot and troubleshoot the computer if any problems arose, etc.

I would keep the candy canes and stickers in stock for Santa. I would also clean up the play area nearby (align tables and chairs, replenish the coloring pages, throw away broken crayons, etc.)

What I Learned:

I learned how to operate the camera, the computer, and the two printers. I learned how to troubleshoot if any technical problems arose. 

I interacted with hundreds of customers, 90% were very patient and friendly when it came to getting the perfect picture.

Management:

Management was fairly friendly and willing to lend a hand if the day got busy. The downside was that the work schedule was very unstable - I would only know maybe a day in advance when my next shift was, and there was one week where I wasn't scheduled at all even when they knew of my full availability.

Co-Workers:

My co-workers were very fun to work with (both the helpers and the santas). It was very easy to talk to each other, we got to know each other really well, and in the end we all became good friends.

Hardest Part of the Job:
There weren't really any hard parts per se, other than having the stamina to be on my feet all day - although we were allowed to sit with the Santas during lulls and when Santas was on break.

Most Enjoyable Part of the Job:
Definitely the people I worked with. They were such a blast to work with and they were all such big sweethearts.

I suppose it was a good enough overall experience. It was nice to gain some professional enough quality, photography experience, as well as the running of a small business essentially. 
It could be fun at times too; especially getting young kids and even adults to “get into it” with a nice photo and a short visit with Santa. 
Certainly, the biggest drawback by far was how the company seemed to intentionally overbook us during busy times. The amount of booking appointments that were allowed, combined with walk-ins during the peak, busy times was an overall unreasonable amount of client sessions to process from what I observed. 
I’ll add that additionally, I believe that this is an American based company that is only just making headway into the Canadian market over the last approximate two years. So with that, at least during the time that I worked for them, I don’t think that they were very familiar with quite all of the Labour law regulations in Canada. And with that, a person working a regular, full length shift is entitled to two paid 15 minute breaks during their scheduled shift. 
Even if one is taking their break time all at once, (to make things easier on the company scheduling wise), that total 30 minute break is supposed to be paid, and not minused off of one’s time, and thus pay. Just a tip. 

This job will definitely burn you out. Local Manager disappeared all the time, leaving all the heavy lifting to the others that are working hard in the job. The season gets crazy busy towards the holiday and you have to put up with lots of conflicts with people that booked a reservation vs. the walk-ins. The company also tries to fit in 5 reservations within the same time slot and the families come in super late. Dealing with the overall nastiness of parents speaking for their ill-behaved kids when they get impatient. It doesn't help if you have an unreliable team that refuses certain jobs, despite the fact that it's part of the job description to do that duty. My only positive experience is the last Santa Claus I worked with was supportive as well as the Regional Manager at the time as they understood the problems that went on set and made appropriate actions. Overall, not worth the trouble. You will lose the Christmas Spirit.

Upper management at cherry hill is lacklustre at best. Their communication and coordination with mall management, local management, and assistant management was nowhere to be seen. The scene was always chaotic and it was never clear what we should do or who we should placate vs who we should let down because everyone wanted something different. I was often thrown under the bus for many problems with the system itself. I tried to be friendly and do what I could to ease customers and keep lines moving, but policies given by the mall and the company didn’t match up and it always turned into a disaster.  I would not recommend working here in management or as a photographer. It’s more effort than the pay is worth. 
As others have pointed out as well, the quality of the work the company expects us to produce is far below acceptable, and the company does not make an effort to improve it. They sell packages to people who just want to see something come out of the hour they spent in line and don’t want to leave empty handed, but it is a scam by all definitions.

My opinion on a typical day at work, what is learned, the management, workplace culture, the hardest part of the job and the most enjoyable part of the job. 
A typical day at work in my opinion is, is that it was challenging but awarding. 
What I learned in this experience is that time is important and giving the costumers a positive experience in a workplace.
The management of this company is well put together and has a positive dynamic in the company. 
The workplace culture is very easy to get comfortable in. 
The hardest part of the job in my opinion is that sometimes it is very hard to accompany all of the customers needs and achieve what they expect from their of having pictures done for seasonal events ( such as Easter and Christmas), and dealing with manufactural problems that could occur within the shifts could slow down production. But needles to say, the job always gets done in time. 
The most enjoyable part of this job is the employees, the costumers and of course the children.
This job is very awarding and I am very happy to work with this company.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Taking the pictures of the moments when kids are first meeting Santa or are eager to, of course.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Unreliable employees and Angry Parents. 
Also the hours.  They're split shift and I nearly fainted towards the end of one work day, close to Christmas Eve, had to break the line up and someone started yelling at me.  People don't really care about whether you get to use the washroom or eat.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
They are generally interested in your success but sometimes lack the support you may need.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Split shift.  Morning and evening.  Bank runs.  Shift Inputs, and scheduling.  It's a lot of time and you don't have much time to yourself for a few months so get your shopping in.  If you have young kids, might not be the best fit as you don't get to see them very much through the most wonderful time of the year, if you are manager.

Very slow shifts where all you did was stand around for hours, and during those shifts, it was non-stop phone calls from managers in different provinces and/or countries. Calls were received from Area Managers nearly 24/7, making it difficult to separate personal and work life. They messed up several paychecks of more than one employee and in some situations, straight up refused to pay their employees for certain hours so they could earn more money themselves. They disregarded Alberta's Labor Law and made up countless lies to cover themselves and get away with their wrong-doings. The local management was good, but communication lacked significantly between the area and local managers, causing misunderstandings on the local end. Everything that happened locally was great, but the area managers across the country made this job extremely difficult and stressful, wouldn't recommend working here. 

The job in and of itself is easy. Set up camera, let parents in with kids, take pictures, point of sale, upsell, goodbye. 

But at our particular location people waited HOURS for their chance to sit with Santa, and we weren't allowed to close the line ahead of time (estimating how many would get in before Santa's break) and we dealt with A LOT of angry customers. It was the worst part of the job. The particular mall we were at might have made money having Cherry Hill there (because the prices were crazy for the demo of the mall) but having parents and children wait in line instead of SHOPPING in the mall while waiting for their picture was a huge huge huuuuge mistake. 

Management is also a joke and they couldn't keep us stocked with basics like price sheets and bags.

I had three different duties; photographer, cashier or greeter.
I enjoyed taking pictures, you got to interat with the parents, children and Santa. It was fun and sometimes challenging to get the kids to smile. If you were greeting you had to explain the process and packages to the customers and keep control of the line up. It was a very difficult positon because you had to deal with hostile parents who didnt like waiting long hours. There were many days where parents would yell at you or threaten, and I learned how to stay calm under pressure. It was a very eye openining experience. I also enjoyed working as cashier because it was simple and I worked in a mall so a lot of customers or people would ask me for directions or qeneral questions about the mall and I enjoyed that.

I worked for cherryhill for a number of years
The job it self if very fun! However the pay never did match the hours one puts in. As a set manager I was expected to do all pretty much run the business like your own. Which lead to 50 60 hr weeks and just a small base salary. I had a great district manager that was always there for me. However I felt there just was no support from the home office.  I was constantly having to prove myself with an office filled with highly incompetent people. 
My stress levels were constantly up as we would have continual issues with equipment due to a home warehouse that would send us broken down equipment.
Overall a poor company due to its incompetent home office staff.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Locality manager 79 salaries reported	$20.64 per hour
Shift leader 91 salaries reported	$18.36 per hour
Seasonal associate 103 salaries reported	$17.30 per hour
Sales associate 41 salaries reported	$17.13 per hour
Character performer 22 salaries reported	$19.23 per hour

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