General Manager - General Manager Five Below Employee Review

1.0
Apr 12, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

+ The pay is slightly above average for small box retail + Literally nothing else

Cons

- Payroll is consistently kept behind minimum required to maintain company standards - Unpaid overtime is required AND expected very frequently, 60-70 hour weeks are standard to maintain bare minimum for standards -Distribution Center and shipping are on a completely different wavelength from actual stores, You will frequently be sent 4-5X what is needed to maintain a given section while others are not restocked for weeks on end. Store management has ZERO control over what enters the store -Stocking standards are absurd, company maintains it takes 3 payroll hours to finish an average pallet, realistic testing shows 6 hours to be the average. -As a store "manager" you will mostly be left to do all tasks yourself. The one associate you have will likely be left on the register trying to keep up with the line while you alone attempt to recover the entire store (think children everywhere unsupervised destroying everything) refill coolers, refill ball barrels, put back basket after basket of items left everywhere, watch the multiple trying to steal from you, running to the register to give refunds, resetting section after section every week, all while trying to give customer service to customers. (Hint its impossible to keep up with even on slow week) -DO NOT SEEK EMPLOYMENT WITH THIS COMPANY! PLEASE! IT WILL EAT YOU ALIVE! many managers have already left and many more are waiting for there chance. The ones they try to bring in to replace them mostly leave within a few months. -Upper management live in a fairy tale world and have no idea what the ground level is like. If they knew half of what was going on in EVERY one of there stores to survive I believe they would rethink there entire strategy. -Not a single person in any store on any level I have met has ever been happy to work at Five Below, everyone is miserable and ready to leave as soon as possible.

Explore other reviews about Five Below

5.0
Jun 24, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great people, staff, and people to work with

Cons

None I loved it all

3.0
Jun 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-20% discount -med, dental, vision benefits -20-ish minimum hours per week -genuinely can be a fun store to work in when run well

Cons

-store managers have little to no oversight and cross professional boundaries often - hr is ineffective, document everything yourself, report to the EEOC -growth opportunities in the store are very limited and they will lowball you no matter what you do or sacrifice -crazy turnover because the expectations are unrealistic store managers lie about pay budget to everyone -more likely to hire teens and students because they are easier to take advantage of for little pay, only needs adult for when teens and students cannot work (night shifts, school days) - nearby stores, especially if in a strip mall or shopping center, like tj maxx have higher base pay, better benefits, better security, and more hour availability

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