Although it's great to be paid for strong sales performance, the base plus bonus model was a challenging way to earn a living once I graduated college. The hourly base is fairly low for the amount of experience and sales skills most employees have (I find this to be a problem in most retail stores). They keep the hourly rate low to encourage employees to increase sales and earn bonus, but the government taxes the bonus in half. For a $150 sale, the bonus is $1, and the employee walks home with $0.55. The required $3.00/hour bonus is not always easy to reach, and only adds about $1.50/hour to your paycheck anyway.
As far as opportunities for advancement go, Chico's tends to hire from outside the company instead of promoting from within. This generally created a rift in the team, as the sales associates and assistant managers were often more qualified than the new management. This is because the company culture is so different than any other retail location, that managers do not understand the customer service orientation of the store, are not familiar with the **very specific** merchandising methods, and cannot sell the way employees are trained to sell.
In my experience, it was a challenge to get employees to stay at the store for longer than a few months. I feel this is because the they are underpaid for the amount of work there is to be done. Chico's is a selling environment, and the employees are expected to hit individual sales numbers-they are fashion consultants, not sales clerks. When there aren't any customers to be helped, there is straightening, merchandising, dusting, training, etc to be done. It's nonstop for the duration of your shift, and it's nearly impossible to call in sick if you're genuinely not feeling well.
