I was an assistant manager for two years with the company:
Extremely unrealistic sales goals and they only get harder if your keep achieving your goals. It is never good enough, they are always pushing for more even when the entire company is not achieving their own numbers (keep in mind your raise is largely based off of how well you achieve your sales goal). Many good associates can work a year an not receive the slightest raise.
Long hours working alone: On slow days (M-W) managers usually work 9-5 and assistant works 12-9:30. That is it just two people all day. I have had multiple times where I could not take a lunch.
No advancement within the company: they only hire from outside. Upper management is all about recruiting.
Poor pay: everyone in the store is usually a key holder (unless they are seasonal) however they do not pay key holder wages
Unethical: Allow managers to hire friends and pay them more than employees who have been with the company for three years when both employees have "sales associate" statuses.
Hire managers that do not know what they are doing. I have been unemployed from the company for 4 months and I received calls for help from the store manager asking how to do things for 3 months after I was unemployed. I had to stop answering phone calls because it got to be very excessive!
Poor training process: new employees get thrown on the sales floor very early and they are usually left to 'fend' and work by themselves. Since everyone is a key holder managers want to 'train" you as fast as they can so you can begin closing on your own.
Managers will always open the store. Assistant managers and sales associates are left to work mid shift (if applicable) and closing shifts. Managers are suppose to close at least one day and week during a busy day (weekends) however my manager never closed the store. She scheduled herself to close (because they have to send the schedules to the district manager) then she always ended up having an associate close.
Very low hours for part time associates. Usually one assistant (depending on store volume) and one full timer hired. The rest of the team are part timers.
I could go on and on. These are just some of the main reasons why the two years I work there were unbearable. Extremely happy I have left. Only down fall is I do miss my very good clients that I had strong relationships with.
