Used to be a good place to work. - Hair Designer JCPenney Employee Review

3.0
Jun 30, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My boss was amazing. I worked in the salon and she was awesome. Their old pay scale was very fair and encouraged growth in the salon. I had awesome coworkers who were not afraid to share their tips and we all worked as a team together. It was a great atmosphere. I was very happy working there. I'm also happy at their progressive attitude towards LGBT's.

Cons

Ever since Ron Johnson took over, morale has been dying at JC Penney. They do something positive for people to make them feel good and then in the next moment, screw over employees in cost cutting moves. They changed the pay structure in the salons to all hourly; didn't take into account that my low productivity the previous year that my new hourly rate was based on was due to me being a new hair stylist with no clientele and didn't work the entire year; and eliminated retail commission. they even lowered the salon manager's pay significantly which was also really crappy. JC Penney was one of the few profitable retail stores in 2011 when a lot of retail stores weren't doing so great. Ron Johnson came in and decided to fix what wasn't broken. I'm not a person totally against change. But I know changes aren't good when you shift from an attitude where good customer service and your employees matter to an attitude when only money matters.

Explore other reviews about JCPenney

5.0
Jun 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great place to work super chill and easy

Cons

No cons prefect for college and high school students

5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you like working early morning hours and getting off early in the afternoon (which I do) this is a great part-time job. I was a college student when I worked here so it worked perfectly with my schedule. The pay is pretty decent and the people you work with are friendly.

Cons

Only real downside is that it's retail. You're going to run into some rude customers from time to time. There's always work to do and not enough time given to do it sometimes. But as long as you work hard and managers see that you're trying your best there isn't too much pressure put on you.

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