Vistek

Vistek is decent if you’re looking to gain sales experience, network with customers, a few co-workers and browse online to gain knowledge or close out your twilight years before retirement. 

A typical day at work is using a Point of Sale/Inventory program that takes up to 20-30 minutes to load/or reset. The Microsoft NAV Program is powerful IF it's programmed properly, NOT using outdated old servers that crash, numerous issues to post a simple and impossible for a large invoice. Microsoft came in one time and couldn't believe how bad the setup was.

A sale is very frustrating. Stock is usually low, every store is fighting for product, and Special orders take forever because they purchase within days/week of the order paid for and don't have a proper warehouse. 
Trying to get the Customer's money is an another problem with Terminal Issues, online payment problems, shipping out products late, and the program doesn't even provide an automated tracking number. All of these sales procedures have to be done MANUALLY.  

There's a lot of red tape if your orders get over a certain high dollar $5000+. Other departments will take it (or try), even if you do the work. There's NO Team bonuses which creates hostility between employees.

MAXIMUM Productivity for MINIMUM wage.  

Management are button pushers if they can be found or get a hold of. They're mostly in meetings or looking at their phones in their offices instead of developing sales budgets, metrics, inventory control lists, constructive reviews. They're not Leaders but Yes Men.

The Company and Corporate politics are nasty. CEO has called himself a failed artist, but better business man. He's a moody failed artist and a cheap owner whom berates anyone if you aren't holding the company line or simply he doesn't like you. There's been plenty of employee lawsuits in history of the company. 

The Tech industry and Vistek took a big hit in 2014. Store closures, massive layoffs, and now they have a new website that is a knock off of BHPhoto. Looks like it, but doesn't operate nearly as good or have any useful info.  

HR (2018) doesn't know how to run/handle the company. HR can't hire fast enough with low pay employees with high end specialized skills. HR (only 1 person) makes over six figures and cares about keeping salaries low and corporate bonuses high. Complaints or issues will fall on death ears until you quit or be ignored.

There’s been an extreme churn in all departments over the year with new HR (district managers, managers, sales, purchasing, repairs, stock warehouse and lastly but most importantly the CEO and HR's own assistants!) so plenty of JOB (not careers) postings. 
Try and get the best contract before going in because that's mostly what you'll get. 

The mental health of every employee deteriorates with overloading tasks and long hours and you have to work every (or every other) Saturday, BUT you get a free unhealthy lunch like Pizza or fast food.

Benefits are very limited. Dental isn't 100% and the other ones don't matter, because you can't afford to use them. 

The Pay is so low compared to your Sales of millions of dollars. You have to deal with high end maintenance customers with their issues and problems, and providing technical support for tons of products. It's barely over minimum wage and there's the tiny commissions that are taxed. The majority of your bonuses will go to Managers and Head office.

Vistek is trying to be BH Photo in New York, the gold standard of Photo/Video industry but can't compete with their resources. BH even ships to Canada..

I worked for four months there. Never had enough stock so I lost so many sales to either the downtown store. Amazon or Henry's.  I asked so many times to increase our stock but fell on deaf ears. And why would it take 3-4 business days to get something transferred from downtown Toronto. 45 minute drive!
Wtf. 
Never any support from the management team. Bad cop- good cop.
Never did have any proper training. The computer system is F**cked.
The GM favours the photo and rental teams. And has created a toxic work culture.

The training is based on word of mouth and there is really no training manual. The manual was actually written by previous employees and in my book that is bad.

Management is lazy and they always sit at the back doing personal stuff. They never back you up if you need help and that is not a very good culture. The floor staff are mostly left to fend for themselves.

Stressful for a minimum wage paying job. Management uses very inappropriate language in meetings. They diminish your ideas unless you have worked there for years, even then, you need to be a favorite. You will not get recognized for your hard work, nor will you get a raise. 

Multiple employees at Vistek have left on mental health leave to never return. I thought it was a joke. It was not. It's never okay when employees actually hide away from the owner. They would rather walk through the parking lot, than past his door.

Upper management has no clue how to run a store and tend to retain people whom are incompetent. The computer system was upgraded from buggy to horrendous. The owners son is in charge of processes and does not understand what a retail operation does. The buyers have no understanding of what they are buying.  Therfore there is stock, just not what customers want.

The staff were some of the friendliest people to work with, unfortunately the pay is low and there is no opportunity for advancement within the company. The Store Management like to do the bare minimum and spend most of their time in their offices. 

Pleasant workplace environment with a supportive management team. Vistek is a great place to build your customer service skills and sales techniques. The customers were great, the workload was fine, and the hours were balanced. I really enjoyed my time working for Vistek.

When you first get hired at Vistek is kind of seems like an ideal situation. It's above minimum wage, you're working with photography equipment, you have a lot of freedom. But the management is a joke. The managers in Mississauga have no photo/video experience and are not very nice people.

I was pulling in lots of business, making lots of sales however I wasn't compensated what I deserved & what I was promised when I had started. Management was all over the place.

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