The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

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James T
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The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by James T »

So, the ladies & gents... reissue will definitely be in stockin Ahston-Under-Lyne if I have anything to do with it.
bunnyben
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by bunnyben »

out of the pan... a freind of mine worked for them and they kept cutting his hours until one day he turned up and they said 'there's no hours for you next week'. good luck with the new job!
'raging and weeping are left on the early road
now each in his holy hill
the glittering and hurting days are alomst done
then let us compare mythologies
i have learned my elaborate lie
of soaring crosses and poisened thorns'
JSpaceman.UK
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by JSpaceman.UK »

Enjoy your staff discount! :)
spzretent
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by spzretent »

Good luck. Whats left of the world's record shops needs big music fans like your James. Exert your influence.
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Mustard
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by Mustard »

Hey! I just got hired by HMV too but...

We dont get a discount.....? wtf?

We dont get to play anything other than Channel HMV...? Oh dear

Good people working there though so should be a laugh.
Laz69
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by Laz69 »

For those who have just started workin in HMV, why not try and convince your local HMV shop manager/supervisor to create a vinyl section again... if for nothing else, just to see their reaction :D
spzretent
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by spzretent »

there is a chain over here, FYE, that has. At least my local FYE has. They have one long row of vinyl and it sells really well. Their prices are a bit on the high side but I give them my business.
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JSpaceman.UK
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by JSpaceman.UK »

Mustard wrote:Hey! I just got hired by HMV too but...

We dont get a discount.....? wtf?
Hmmm, perhaps things have changed for temp staff now but when I was a full-time employee for the company Christmas temp staff were given discount - which I think, if memory serves me correctly, was 15% as opposed to the 30% that full-time staff received.
Mustard
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by Mustard »

Yes, the vinyl suggestion is something I would mention as I would also buy but then there are some other shops around so I guess I'd be more likely to use them.

And no discount for temp staff and discount for permanent staff is only after 6 months! Seems very tight to me.
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by radioshack »

Can you find out when HMV or at least HMV online are gonna have SOC or PP on vinyl?
MODLAB
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by MODLAB »

James are you still around???? At least a ping...



M
Design.
toomilk
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by toomilk »

James told me a few weeks ago that his laptop can't access the forum for some reason. I just asked him on le facebook and will relay the answer here.
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by MODLAB »

Ah ok... Good to know. Thank You TM!


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toomilk
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by toomilk »

James says:
"I'm not sure about HMV online, it's run by a seperate office and I can only check what we can order into the store I work at. We can get them in stoe on customer order and they will cost £23. Ouch!

LAGWAFIS 3cd edition will be 29.99 in store."
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by Mustard »

i had a quick look today and thought they were discontinued but I did get distracted before I had checked them all.

If they have it online then buy it there as it should be cheaper - online sales through channel islands and therefore VAT free.
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by Dreamweapon »

On the occasions I've been into HMV, I'm staggered by the lack of knowledge by the staff - even the ones who look as if they might have an indication of musical knowledge about them. No one seems to have heard of Spiritualized at all in my store and I had to explain to them about the different formats to get an idea of availability for the LAGWAFIS reissue. They couldn't understand what I was talking about re the Spectrum/Captain Memphis CD or War Sucks EP. The icing on the cake came when I enquired about the Steve Reich 'Works' CD box and was told - 'Don't you mean Steve Wright - Sunday Morning Love Songs?'
Now, fair enough, I don't expect them to have a deep set knowledge of every artist and every release, but if the combined knowledge of every member of staff is still less than a customer, then surely there's something wrong! HMV has so little to do with music now anyway, it's ridiculous. More of the store is given over to games, DVDs, consoles etc than it is to music! The fact that as Mustard pointed out HMV plays what the management want, rather than giving the store and their staff some identity just shows how commercial they are.
Rant over, and I will genuinely apologise to anyone if I've offended them, but felt I needed a vent.....
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by bunnyben »

Dreamweapon wrote:On the occasions I've been into HMV, I'm staggered by the lack of knowledge by the staff - even the ones who look as if they might have an indication of musical knowledge about them. No one seems to have heard of Spiritualized at all in my store and I had to explain to them about the different formats to get an idea of availability for the LAGWAFIS reissue. They couldn't understand what I was talking about re the Spectrum/Captain Memphis CD or War Sucks EP. The icing on the cake came when I enquired about the Steve Reich 'Works' CD box and was told - 'Don't you mean Steve Wright - Sunday Morning Love Songs?'
Now, fair enough, I don't expect them to have a deep set knowledge of every artist and every release, but if the combined knowledge of every member of staff is still less than a customer, then surely there's something wrong! HMV has so little to do with music now anyway, it's ridiculous. More of the store is given over to games, DVDs, consoles etc than it is to music! The fact that as Mustard pointed out HMV plays what the management want, rather than giving the store and their staff some identity just shows how commercial they are.
Rant over, and I will genuinely apologise to anyone if I've offended them, but felt I needed a vent.....
that's how i feel in libraries and bookshops. i think it is for most things that people have a slight more than average interest in.
'raging and weeping are left on the early road
now each in his holy hill
the glittering and hurting days are alomst done
then let us compare mythologies
i have learned my elaborate lie
of soaring crosses and poisened thorns'
spzretent
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by spzretent »

maybe in this horrible financial climate you can get some intelligent, enlightened people to work in record shops and bookshops for at , or close to, minimum wage. or am I dreaming?
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toomilk
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by toomilk »

You guys should come by my shop in San Diego! I can't find any other job!
James T
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by James T »

Hello, I don't have a computer at the moment and the laptop I am using most of the time is dogshit. I am fine and well and hmv is fine. We can defo order in the S3 reissues.

Got my 3CD LAGWAFIS today, what a great little package. Can't afford that collectors edition, gutttttttttted!

Anyone going to the Manchester show in a couple of weeks?

Also, I'll be at the Bob Mould show in London next week with the boys from Low/RGC because they're supporting, if you see me say hi (if anyone's going).

Hopefully I will be back soon. Before the next Spz album anyway...
Mustard
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by Mustard »

sorry i thought you were asking of spiritualized vinyl - haven't looked for S3.

Our shop's entire vinyl collection amounts to about 8 lp's, 10 7" and nothing remotely interesting.

We've got a couple of members of staff who know their stuff but for the most part they know more of x-factor than anything else. Seems to me DVD's and games are selling as much as the music. And it is shocking just how much Susan Boyle or JLS are selling!

I saw SPZ releases yesterday but couldnt bring myself to look at it as I'm struggling even to afford the 3cd release at the moment :?

No surprise that the better more interesting music is played when the shop is closed.

And on the quality of staff - I applied for both shops in the city where I live and was told by one that even after managing in retail and auditing for aboout 10 years i didnt have enough experience. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As far as I can see a manager of hmv only really has to concern themselves with keeping the shop looking tidy and full. Stock ordered for them, prices set by others, campaigns chosen by head office.
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by Stuart X.Hunter »

I think that on the whole HMV is pretty rank rotten but in saying that; I find more and more shops, both independents and larger chains (like the Virgin on the Champs Elysees) have relatively no decent back recordings of the music I like. I also have a problem with some of there genre styles/storing etc as well.

I sadly do not really enjoy having to buy music from amazon or similar as it takes the whole experience out of buying that album.

My local independent store seems to have given up on re-ordering back catalogues and is happy just selling stock and new releases which is really not disimilar too the larger chains.

Thankfully now I've gotten into the habit of carrying a little A6 weatherproof notebook filled with albums and artists to explore. This results in me not being too dissapointed or forgetting what I like when met with a barrage of racks.

Best,

Stuart
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olan
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by olan »

An Old Bastard complaint:

On my last visit to the UK I was very surprised at how shitty the average HMV/Borders/Record Store/Book store chain had become, especially in terms of anything outside the mainstream or current catalogue. More worrying though was the fact that at least half of the second hand bookshops and record stores I rely on on my vists to the UK had dissappeared. In conversation with staff at Sister Ray in London I was really surprised to hear that they were pretty much broke too.

I love a good browse through dusty shelves full of vinyl/paperbacks, but this seems to be an increasingly scarce pleasure nowadays.....
Stuart X.Hunter
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Re: The 'I just got hired by HMV' thread

Post by Stuart X.Hunter »

olan wrote:An Old Bastard complaint:

On my last visit to the UK I was very surprised at how shitty the average HMV/Borders/Record Store/Book store chain had become, especially in terms of anything outside the mainstream or current catalogue. More worrying though was the fact that at least half of the second hand bookshops and record stores I rely on on my vists to the UK had dissappeared. In conversation with staff at Sister Ray in London I was really surprised to hear that they were pretty much broke too.

I love a good browse through dusty shelves full of vinyl/paperbacks, but this seems to be an increasingly scarce pleasure nowadays.....
Yes olan, this confuses me slightly...with the more obscure/import music more widely available why is it not filtering it's way back to the second hand record shops. I think they are just not interested in shelling out the 25-50% of what they might make, eventually. TBH I used to be quite a fervent buyer and "seller on" of music but now I just can't be arsed selling it on. It's too time consuming...the ebay route and I doubt any second hand shops are interested. I find most high-street chain have little or no music that I'm interested in...with the exception of maybe one copy of a new release.

I'm off out tonight; little black book in tow to search for a few nuggets...we'll see

Best,

Stuart
Shoulders back, smash it
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