I applied online and was called next day for an interview. This was a really positive interview experience. I just want to start off by saying the manager who interviewed me was very friendly and easy going. Was told to get there 15mins early. I checked in at the front and was sent up the escalators into the HR office. We greet each other then go into another room which was kinda noisy and two other employees were in the room on the computer. She then asks me all the questions and we did small talk in between questions and laughed a bit. I like how she was professional but how she also humanized the interview and made it feel like you are just having a normal conversation and not being grilled. She then asks for my salary requirements at the very end and I told her that I was told in the pre screening what the starting wage was ($13.32) but that I am looking for $15.50(the guy in the pre screening phone literally told me this was negotiable and was the only reason I came to interview). So, I throw out my number of $15.50. She told me that they don't really give people a higher wage with no previous experience in Loss Prevention (I did have experience but it wasn't retail and it wasn't my main duty) and she said the best they could do was ¢0.20 more at $13.52... lol. Idk why the guy on phone said it was negotiable because ¢0.20 is just sad. I told her I can't do that, it's too low for me. She then said how if it were up to her she would do it but she has to go through her upper management and she said she knows they won't go higher because no loss prevention experience. She wrote my phone number down and said she will let me know but that she was being realistic and that it probably won't happen.
I stuck to my guns and told her why I feel I was worth it (highlighted my previous work experience and my degree) and she said she definitely agrees but has to talk to them. She then asked if I would be interested in other positions with the wage that I requested and I told her yes. They said they will get back to me but haven't. My advice to anyone is to always try to negotiate. If I would have had the experience, they would have given me the wage I wanted.
It's a shame they are losing out on great candidates by not offering a better wage. I understand if the person is fresh out of high school or if the person has 0 general work experience, then yes give them the starting wage. But for someone who has many years of general work experience, has minor *daily* loss prevention experience, and a degree, you need to give them a better starting wage. Just my 2 cents. Oh and in case anyone was wondering if this is a "Hands On" policy for Loss Prevention, it's not. They said you can put your hand on their shoulder and can handcuff but if they resist or run away, you are not allowed to pursue or tackle and stuff like all these crazy YouTube loss prevention videos. I really am glad because that's just too dangerous for low pay. Good luck all!