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Part-Time Staff Wanted! It’s not just customer service! Revealing the real day of the AKIBA-HOBBY staff who support the store!
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At AKIBA-HOBBY, we are currently recruiting part-time workers at the Akihabara and Ikebukuro stores.
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Hello everyone!
This is AKIBA-HOBBY Public Relations!
Suddenly, have you ever wondered, "What do AKIBA-HOBBY staff usually do besides working the register?"
To answer that question, this time...
"A Day in the Life of an AKIBA-HOBBY Staff Member"
We would like to introduce
What does it mean to "run a store"? We will show you exactly how it is! Brace yourself and take a close look!
■10:00-11:00 Before Opening
1. Coming to Work
Naturally, the store is a space of silence because the lights are off and the in-store BGM is not playing. For all of you, it is an unfamiliar and rare sight!
Put on the apron and switch into work mode! We start preparing for opening!
2. Register Inspection (Opening the Register)
We thoroughly check whether the amount in the register is accurate down to the last yen, and whether peripheral devices such as printers, scanners, and cashless payment terminals work smoothly!
If, after opening, something like "The register won't work!" were to happen, it would take away our customers' valuable time...
3. Handing Over Information and Confirming Duties
For us, who run the store on a shift system, information sharing is 'life'. Are there any unfinished tasks? What are today's highlight products arriving? ...We read through the messages from the staff the day before and picture the flow of the day in our heads.
By the way, if it has been a while since your last shift, this is a bit of 'training' (lol). You read through logs that have piled up and piled up, and update your brain all at once with several days' worth of information! Once you have a perfect grasp of the latest AKIBA-HOBBY information, you are finally ready!
4. Morning Meeting
Here, staff from the Akihabara store, the Ikebukuro store, and the Gunma headquarters all gather online!
We coordinate real-time information across distant locations, such as "Akihabara looks likely to be crowded with events today," "We will ship this item from the warehouse," and "There was a register trouble yesterday, so make sure to double-check the item count."
Our work changes completely every day. That is exactly why it is no exaggeration to say that this morning meeting determines how our day will go! At the end, everyone greets together cheerfully through the screen and heads to their own posts. It is the moment when the switch flips and we think, "All right, let's do this today too!"
5. Store Opening Preparations
Now it is time for the final touch to welcome our customers!
When the lights suddenly come on in the dark store and the familiar BGM starts playing, the atmosphere of the shop instantly changes to “AKIBA-HOBBY”!
6. Opening
The moment the time changes to 11:00, we open the entrance door and start business! Let’s do our best today too~! Welcome~!
■Open from 11:00 to 20:00
1. Register handling
In customer service, register handling, which puts you closest to the customer, is an extremely important task that cannot be separated from the job! It is also a path that new part-time staff must always take as their first step!
At our shop, we handle not only cash but also credit cards, various e-money options, and QR code payments. It is a little difficult until you learn the operations, but once you get the hang of it, you may feel like you have become a “payment pro” (lol).
AKIBA-HOBBY is not a supermarket-style register where everything is a “speed race”. Our style is to carefully handle each customer who comes to pick up important goods, and to take time with every checkout!
2. In-store patrol
As we walk around the store, we check whether any stock is running low or whether the arrangement has become disordered! Because it is a small shop, the staff can keep a close eye on everything, which is our strength! While feeling the movement of the floor, like “Ah, someone just picked up this figure,” we tidy the shelves with care for the next customer!
3. Shelf cleaning
Supporting attractive displays depends on daily, steady cleaning!
Actually, this is quite a demanding job that takes real determination, since we temporarily take all the displayed products down from the shelves and polish them up (lol)
The sight of the products being lined up neatly again on the cleaned shelves is truly impressive! Physically, it is quite intense, but being able to show customers the sparkling-clean sales floor gives us a sense of accomplishment that is hard to replace with anything else!
4. SNS posts
Have you ever seen AKIBA-HOBBY posts on X (formerly Twitter) and the like?
Actually, that……there is no dedicated PR person; the staff on the floor run it in real time every day!
The biggest appeal is that the choice of products introduced and the style of writing are completely different depending on the staff member in charge! Being able to introduce products chosen by one’s own intuition, like “Haniyasushin Keiki is divine!” or “I absolutely want everyone to know about this new Oni-Kiketsu medley release!” is honestly one of the most enjoyable parts!
5. Product inspection
The moment we open the packages that arrive at the shop, our work as “discerning eyes” begins!
We do not simply count the items; we carefully check whether the box has any dents and whether the package is dirty!
Only products that pass inspection are given the right to be placed on AKIBA-HOBBY's shelves! By thoroughly carrying out this process every day, we quietly protect the shop's quality so that everyone can enjoy shopping with peace of mind!
6. Packing and stocking products
To put it simply, newly inspected items are in a "bare" state. They can't be put on the shelf as they are!
We apply price tags one by one in the correct positions, carefully protect the packaging with OPP bags, and then... only after that can we place them on the shelf as "products"! We call this process "productization"!
Especially during busy periods, the register area becomes a mountain of cardboard boxes! There are even times when we think, "Maybe I've been packing all day..." (laughs)
7. Sales promotion work
After 18:00, when the sun goes down, the "creative time" of the AKIBA-HOBBY staff begins here!
The individually distinctive POP displays that brighten up the sales floor are, in fact, all handmade by the staff!
We shape the overflowing enthusiasm of lines like "I want people to see this part of this item!" and "This is what makes this character so appealing!" into words and designs!
8. Closing preparation
When the clock shows one hour before closing, it is finally time for the day's final wrap-up! In particular, store cleaning means carefully cleaning every corner, from the gaps between shelves to the corners of the floor! At the same time, we also collect the gacha sales and continue the final organization inside the register!
9. Handover entry
At the end of the day, the final big task is filling out the "handover".
We carefully put in writing things like "the progress of work that did not finish today" and "small events that happened during customer service"! Accurate sharing among staff is the lifeline that supports the quality of the store!
■20:00～20:30 After closing
1. Closing
At 20:00, the store closes! Thank you for visiting today too~! We look forward to serving you again~! The work continues, but we're almost there!
2. Register closeout
We calculate today's sales! Since the money count is done by hand, double-checking is essential~!
3. Final check
With all tasks finished, it is finally time for the last push! We check whether the store lights are off and whether the demo stations and BGM power are shut down!
After one final lap through the store, which has returned to the same "silence" as in the morning, FINISH!!
4. Clocking out
We lock up and head out! Thanks for all your hard work today, everyone!!
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[About AKIBA-HOBBY]
A store with big speakers in Akihabara and Ikebukuro! We mainly carry Touhou Project, Girls' Frontline, overseas game goods, and other items, as well as figures, music CDs, games, books, and more. We also carry goods featuring characters from old Touhou games.
・AKIBA-HOBBY Online Sales Division
https://shop.akbh.jp/
・AKIBA-HOBBY Akihabara Store
〒101-0021 Tokyo-to Chiyoda-ku Sotokanda 3-14-6 Senju Building 7 6F
https://shop.akbh.jp/pages/shop-akihabara-info
・AKIBA-HOBBY Ikebukuro Store
〒170-0013 Tokyo-to Toshima-ku Higashiikebukuro 1-15-1 Mashita Building 2F
https://shop.akbh.jp/pages/shop-ikebukuro-info
・AKIBA-HOBBY Taipei Syntrend Store
Taipei City Zhongzheng District, Section 3, Civic Boulevard, No. 2, 6F
https://shop.akbh.jp/pages/shop-taipei-info
