Pros
All associate level employees at my location are great-- they are helpful, happy, and not afraid to be strangers. There's great cohesion among all of the lowest-level employees. The goal is to sell Nordstrom Credit Cards and there is a commission bonus of $8 ( cash). ** It is documented on your paycheck so it is not tax-free.
Cons
Management does not respect the work life balance of low-level employees. My vacation wasn't approved (even though I was told it would be); they took serious issue with me needing to change my availability--I am only part-time-- because I found additional employment. Management also negotiated with me about availability, time-off, scheduled vacations.... Customer Service is the primary objective at all times-- a few different managers have thrown me under the bus in front of customers to save face (when nothing devastating happened). Managers have told me TO LIE TO CUSTOMERS about merchandise we carry because "it's better to under-promise and over-deliver". The store is frequently understaffed even though there are plenty of people eager to work. This becomes problematic when there's a huge rush and not enough people to work the registers, sales floor, or the fitting room. No one is able to do their job properly or attend their stations, and so theft happens. Guess who gets blamed? I've worked retail for almost 3.5 years and I have never experienced this much disrespect. All in all, the expectation of this company is to be available for them 24/7 and kiss the ground that the customers walk on.