Retail Associate At The Curious Bear Toy & Book Shop

About Us

The Curious Bear Toy & Book Shop is a local, independently owned toy store located in the Fircrest neighborhood of Tacoma, WA. The shop is known for selling high quality, modern and fun toys, books, games, puzzles and more for kids of all ages.

The Curious Bear is one of several stores under The Kindship umbrella. The Kindship is a local, family-owned company founded in 2012. Our other local stores include Paper Luxe, Little Luxe, The Kindship Studio, and Kindship Cards.

Our mission at The Kindship is to help our customers find and choose the perfect gift or card in a thoughtful, kind, and personal environment with the absolute best customer service. Our four core values at The Kindship are kindness, quality, passion, and customer service and they are the guiding principles behind everything we do.

Position Overview & Responsibilities

Your job as a Retail Associate/team member is to ensure every single customer who walks into one of our stores has an exceptional experience from the moment they step in. You will welcome customers, provide product knowledge and recommendations if needed, check out customers using our POS system, wrap gifts, assist in merchandising the store, and help keep the stores clean.

We look for team members who are motivated self-starters, honest and self-aware, empathetic and understanding, with excellent communication skills. You must be able to engage and happily interact with customers regularly as part of your job.

The Ideal Candidate

• Will love toys, games, puzzles and helping customers find the perfect gifts for their loved ones
• Will be highly detailed (the little things matter to us!)
• Be able to multitask and problem solve in real time
• Will have previous retail experience
• Have a working knowledge of e-commerce systems (while not required, Shopify experience is a plus)
• Be proficient with Google Workspace apps (Docs, Sheets, Forms, Drive)
• Will have strong verbal and written communication skills
• Will have the tools, knowledge, and experience to effectively be part of a team

Qualifications

• Weekend availability. We are as flexible as possible with scheduling to help you achieve a great work-life balance, but you must be willing and able to work at least 3 weekends per month. Additional weekday hours available for those interested!
• Able and willing to lift 40 lbs. Ability to stand for extended periods of time.

Hours & Availability

We are currently looking for part-time weekend and afternoon help . Our open hours are generally 10am-6pm, Monday through Saturday, 12pm-4pm Sundays. Lots of flexibility and room for growth in this position! Must be able to work multiple weekend shifts per month.

Pay and Benefits

• Beginning pay range is $17-$19 per hour, depending on experience
• Employer matched 401k plan
• Sick time provided
• A generous employee discount to all Kindship shops (Little Luxe, Paper Luxe, and The Curious Bear)
• The chance to work in a creative, positive, collaborative environment
• On-the-job training to support your learning, development, and growth
• The ability to become a leader at a quickly expanding local business with the opportunity to grow along side it

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: $17.00 - $19.00 per hour

Expected hours: 8 – 24 per week

Benefits:

• 401(k) matching
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Paid time off

Shift:

• Day shift

Weekly day range:

• Every weekend
• Rotating weekends

Education:

• High school or equivalent (Preferred)

Work Location: In person