What it was really like to be a Hollister Impact

There used to be two types of people who worked at Hollister: models and impacts (the people made to work out the back). While being a model was the ultimate status symbol, impacts would have to put up with everyone telling them they’re not as fit. What those people don’t realise though was that  impacts had way more fun. This is what it was really like to work at one of the vainest companies in the world.

Yes, apparently the back room was for the ‘less attractive’ people

It was a well known joke that if you were hired as an impact, it was because they thought you didn’t have enough of the ‘Hollister vibe’ to stand in the entrance and greet everyone. The job required me to spend my time in the back of the store in order to complete stock checks, fold and take clothes to the shop floor. When they were growing desperate during busy times and didn’t care about how the impacts looked, sometimes we would get asked to help maintain one of the back rooms but that was it.

However, working in the back of the store was arguably the best job

As we weren’t with the managers most of the time, we did things at our own pace. Of course some people went overboard and abused their privileges. I knew someone that fell asleep in the bays for the whole shift once and they didn’t even get fired. The impacts definitely had the better job, but even then a lot of the time I had to get in at eight in the morning to vacuum the whole shop and clean the bathrooms, which definitely wasn’t glamorous. It was pointless anyway because no one could see the dust and dirt in the dark cave that was Hollister.

I’m pretty sure every employee took a photo of themselves in the staff toilets

The models took their job title very seriously

They were essentially sales assistants with inflated egos, but they didn’t have it easy. Remember those people who said “Hey, how’s it going” every time you stepped foot into the store? That was usually their job for the whole day and they weren’t allowed to leave the room.The managers would watch them like hawks, so tag-lining was pretty much compulsory. You can imagine how silly they felt saying it again to a customer who walked into the store more than once because they forgot something.

Models had to put up with wearing the most ridiculous (and awkward) outfits

They also had to deal with looking like a right idiot wearing flip flops and a jumper in the middle of winter. One time, the girls were even asked to wear shorts with a bikini top during their shift, which made most of the staff feel uncomfortable.

Taking our jobs really seriously

Managers would send you home if you didn’t fit with the Hollister ‘vibe’ that day

Hollister were really strict on their looks policy when I worked there. Once, a manager sent a friend of mine home because she dyed the tips of her hair a slightly darker colour. Another thing was that because it was a zero hour contract, they would just stop scheduling you if they grew tired of you or didn’t like you anymore. One time, I had to have a shift covered and they wouldn’t let another guy do it because he was “too talkative”.

The staff turnover is really high as a lot of people don’t stick around for long

Every week there would be new recruits in the store and managers changed quicker than the seasons. I guess they had to refill the number of staff as many realised working at Hollister wasn’t all it was built up to be.The amount of times new models would greet me at the front like I was a customer when I was coming back from my break was just annoying.

Again, taking our jobs really seriously

Working in a place without windows all-day isn’t fun

Every time I finished a shift and stepped outside, I felt like a vampire that has never seen light before.

Managers would give preferential treatment when scheduling shifts

Managers would often choose to give more shifts to people they liked. You could either receive a regular or a call-in shift. A call-in basically meant they may need you so you had to be on stand-by. These were irritating because you couldn’t make any plans for that day. This job could honestly give a person trust issues.

Setting up shop for the day

I was asked to buy a new uniform every couple of months –– and it cost over £100

Even with the 50 per cent discount, I still spent over £100 buying new uniform every few months and would have to work three or four shifts to earn all of that back. One time I had a really awkward encounter when I was trying on jeans: my manager kept handing me size 1s (UK size 6) when I was clearly a size 5 (UK size small 10), which just made me feel really awful about myself.

Despite the negatives, the people you work with often became close friends

All in all, I’ve had many jobs since and the one thing that stood out about Hollister was the friends I made there. Apart from a couple of intimidating managers, everyone was so sweet. We must have all bonded over the fact we all felt the company treated us poorly.