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Ocean State Job Lot overview

Industry
Department Stores
Revenue
Headquarters
Employees
5,003
Founded in
Website
Organization type
Private
Social media

Ocean State Job Lot is a retail company focusing on discount merchandise, home goods, and consumer products. Established in 1977, the company has built a strong presence throughout the East Coast in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York, and New Jersey. It is known for offering a wide range of products at affordable prices, catering to budget-conscious shoppers.

As an American discount retailer with 5,003 employees and an annual revenue of $700 million, Ocean State Job Lot has its headquarters in Rhode Island. The company takes pride in hiring graduates from various institutions, most notably the University of Rhode Island. Despite the competitive nature of the retail industry, Ocean State Job Lot has managed to maintain its position as a leading discount retailer by offering high-quality products and superior customer service.

Ocean State Job Lot's mission statement

To provide exceptional value to our customers through opportunistic buying and selling of quality brand name merchandise, and to share the resulting profits with stockholders, associates, and the communities in which we live and work.

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3.1/5

Ocean State Job Lot employee reviews

Based on 11 ratings

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Ocean State Job Lot employee reviews

Ocean State Job Lot employee reviews
3.1/5

Based on 11 ratings

Work at Ocean State Job Lot? Share your experience.
Employee reviews
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1.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2025
Ocean State Job Lot Benefits

30% discount

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4.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2024
Pros of working at Ocean State Job Lot

The employee discount, low prices and working with a good team.

Cons of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Low pay for all sectors especially FES's and Department Heads. Constant screwups by corporate on product pricing, registers breaking down or freezing up, Crazy Deal products not producing Crazy Deal cards and Eat for Free table not scanning in properly so customers become irate with cashiers.

Ocean State Job Lot Benefits

Employee discount.

What do you like best about Ocean State Job Lot's CEO and the leadership team?

has a true heart for charities.

How would you improve Ocean State Job Lot's culture?

Raising salaries to meet or possibly in some cases exceed the national retail average because right now we are below that. Also, the company has placed an unfair burden on it's cashiers for promoting the Insider Cards. Not all employees are cut out to be sales people. I'm good at it but not everyone has the personality to push these cards. Another concern is that it seems the company is placing too much emphasis on the Insider Cards. I wonder if this is the best business approach? It seems that the card has become the underpinning of all sales in the company. I think it is a shaky concept to use the cards as the foundation of our sales.

How did you prepare for the Ocean State Job Lot interview?

I had never worked retail before so I was up front about that and everything else fell into place.

How does your compensation at Ocean State Job Lot compare to the industry average?

As stated by me previously it is below the national average.

What's the diversity at Ocean State Job Lot like?

I think we are fairly well represented.

What brings you the most joy at Ocean State Job Lot?

Training. I love training. In fact, just recently I asked my DM to consider me for cashier and FES training in our district.

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1.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2023
Pros of working at Ocean State Job Lot

The employee discount.

Cons of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Lack of management although everyone thinks that they are one of that makes sense. Scattered, unorganized chaos when it comes to just about every aspect of store functions. Way too much to mention, I'd be typing my thumbs off.

Is this useful?1 people found this review helpful
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1.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2023
Pros of working at Ocean State Job Lot

30 percent off for employees .....

Cons of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Horrible music and atmosphere the stench from the garden department is horrible in the summer because we have no ventilation

Ocean State Job Lot Benefits

None

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4.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2023
Pros of working at Ocean State Job Lot

30% discount, team feel.

Cons of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Registers break down constantly, corporate forgetting to scan items for sale prices, wrong prices and sku's.

Ocean State Job Lot Benefits

Consistent hours, recognized by mgmt for good effort, discount, team playing.

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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2023
Pros of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Flexibility and the people

Cons of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Immature Organizational Structure and processes

Ocean State Job Lot Benefits

The employee discount

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3.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2023
Cons of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Cashiers have to market the store by getting people to sign up for insider cards. And if you dont get enough insider cards its reflected in your yearly pay raise. It causes lots of tension and good people quit. Also corporate seems to forget that its expensive to get internet service which is required to have an email which is required to get an insider card. Lots of people do not have internet.

Ocean State Job Lot Benefits

30% off

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2.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020
Pros of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Co-workers, and helping to solve problems and offer customers a great service.

Cons of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Pay, Bare minimum for every available job. Depressing work environment after Christmas when hours get cut in store to one 5hr shift per week which goes on for 4-6 weeks and most good coworkers quit because they can’t pay bills. Top to bottom terrible experience.

Ocean State Job Lot Benefits

Discount

Is this useful?1 people found this review helpful
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4.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019
Pros of working at Ocean State Job Lot

I really enjoy the culture at Job Lot. I believe in the mission and share values with this company. My workday is almost entirely autonomous, no feelings of being micro managed which I believe drives success in most of my colleagues as well. While I am not overly managed, I do not fee isolated whatsoever. I have many business partners and feel comfortable taking partnerships with all levels of coworkers. I can approach and talk to the C level leaders as well as administrative team members. Ideas are encouraged and often embraced. It’s really a wonderful place to be. Additionally the company is heavily invested in charitable causes in each state they operate stores (RI,MA,CT,NH,ME,NY,NJ,PA,VT). Often corporate office associates are able to participate in community events and the company takes on charities that are important to individuals employed there.

Cons of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Hourly pay is 40% lower for office staff than market median. Annual evaluation increases maximum of 3%, and obviously that is once per year. it’s impossible to feel adequately appreciated when you work for a company with almost a billion dollars in yearly revenue and you can’t make your paycheck stretch past the beginning of the next week. It’s not possible to support a family on the wages, at least for an hourly associate and it’s next to impossible to be offered a competitive rate if you get promoted internally. The company gives store gift cards (low amount $10-50) at Christmas time, no holiday bonus. Vacation time is low, 40 hours after 6 months, another week for year 1 and year 2, then 2 weeks per year from year 3 until your tenth year of service. No 401k match, if you can afford to put anything in at all. As I stated earlier in this review I love working for Job Lot, and wish to continue my journey there but have been seeking out alternative employment due to the financial burdens caused by low pay.

Ocean State Job Lot Benefits

Profit share ($400/year), employee discount 20%, Involvement with community service at a large scale

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4.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019
Pros of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Culture, autonomy and growth potential.

Cons of working at Ocean State Job Lot

Salary is substantially less than market. Hard to choose between working at a company you love and make ends meet. They need to pay hourly office staff more.

Ocean State Job Lot Benefits

Profit sharing

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    Ocean State Job Lot Rankings

    Ocean State Job Lot is ranked #14 on the Best companies to work for in Rhode Island list. Zippia's Best Places to Work lists provide unbiased, data-based evaluations of companies. Rankings are based on government and proprietary data on salaries, company financial health, and employee diversity.

    Read more about how we rank companies.

    Ocean State Job Lot salaries

    Average Ocean State Job Lot Salary
    $13.67
    hourly
    $28,434 yearly
    Updated March 14, 2024

    Rate the Ocean State Job Lot's inclusivity.

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    Ocean State Job Lot diversity

    9.1
    Diversity score
    We calculated Ocean State Job Lot’s diversity score by measuring multiple factors, including the ethnic background, gender identity, and language skills of Ocean State Job Lot’s workforce.
    Ocean State Job Lot diversity summary. Zippia estimates Ocean State Job Lot's demographics and statistics using a database of 30 million profiles. Zippia verifies estimates with BLS, Census, and current job openings data for accuracy. We calculated Ocean State Job Lot's diversity score by measuring multiple factors, including the ethnic background, gender identity, and language skills of Ocean State Job Lot's workforce.
    • Ocean State Job Lot has 5,003 employees.
    • 57% of Ocean State Job Lot employees are women, while 43% are men.
    • The most common ethnicity at Ocean State Job Lot is White (69%).
    • 17% of Ocean State Job Lot employees are Hispanic or Latino.
    • 6% of Ocean State Job Lot employees are Black or African American.
    • The average employee at Ocean State Job Lot makes $28,434 per year.
    • Employees at Ocean State Job Lot stay with the company for 2.8 years on average.

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    Ocean State Job Lot financial performance

    9.7
    Performance score

    Highest paying Ocean State Job Lot competitors

    Compare Ocean State Job Lot salaries to competitors, including Hobby Lobby, Price Chopper Supermarkets-Market 32, and Nouria Energy. Employees at Hobby Lobby earn the highest average yearly salary of $33,862. The salaries at Price Chopper Supermarkets-Market 32 average $33,154 per year, and the salaries at Nouria Energy come in at $32,247 per year.
    RankCompanyAverage salaryJobs
    1$33,8620
    2$33,1540
    3$32,2470
    4$30,9570
    5$30,6060
    6$30,4140
    7$29,8490
    8$29,8250
    9$29,6460
    10$29,5190

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    Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Ocean State Job Lot, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Ocean State Job Lot. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Ocean State Job Lot. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Ocean State Job Lot. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Ocean State Job Lot and its employees or that of Zippia.

    Ocean State Job Lot may also be known as or be related to OCEAN STATE JOBBERS INC., Ocean State Job Lot, Ocean State Jobbers Inc, Ocean State Jobbers, Inc and Ocean State Jobbers, Inc.