Favoritism and Politics ruin the experience. - Stock/Inventory Associate Nordstrom Employee Review

3.0
Jan 28, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company overall is a great place. Opportunities are good and promotion is easy as long as you have good people working in management. The pay is also better than the average retail wages at other companies. You get to work around good and quality merchandise so it's also easy to take pride in your work and how the store is doing.

Cons

One HUGE down part is the people (management). I'm noticing that this is a location thing because in larger cities it's easier to do well, but in smaller areas the favoritism and borderline discrimination is rampant. In the specific area I work for the people are very snobby and play favoritism continuously. They look down on people who aren't from a certain area or wealthy families. You have to kiss a LOT of butt to make anything happen for yourself here. I feel that the work I do is not appreciated at all. I am chewed out for even the smallest mistakes I make while other team members who have been there longer receive more hours regardless of how much they waste time doing nothing. I have been made to work 7 days straight sometimes receiving zero overtime (they'll fix your schedule so that you still make the same amount as if you worked 5 days). Some managers are allowed to have their kids come and work for them while taking hours from other co-workers. It's PURE favoritism. Nothing is done about it because the favorites either bring in sales or their lives revolve around the store. I am seeing that this is not the company but some of the people in it that are causing the negative experiences. Some managers outside of sales will make you put in the extra work to produce perfect results so they can get a bonus, when the employee can barely get PTO. It can be brutal.

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5.0
May 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

flexible hours and dress code

Cons

the customers can be stuck up

2.0
Jul 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Good commission (for my department it was 10%), great coworkers—made amazing friends from my time here!! Opportunity for lots of commission $ during busy times.

Cons

Management is awful.. Plays favorites to an INSANE degree. For whatever reason I got onto the bad side of my department manager. Literally would call me into the office (taking away time on the floor to sell) to YELL at me until I cried for things that my coworkers got away with and didn’t even get so much as a talking to. Btw, what got me this treatment? Would be something pretty awful right? Coming in 5 min late. Big whoop. Also, management would promote people who quite literally had to take leaves of absence after having sexual harassment claims made against them… but then not only were they allowed to come back BUT also become floor managers. And what happened when he made it to that position? Literally got a sexual harassment claim again. I wonder how that could have been mitigated? The favoritism is so severe and unprofessional that when I was asking to get my job back for the holiday season I was told that there was nothing in the schedule available for me when in fact they were short staffed. And my coworker? The manager literally responded with “yes PLEASE 😍” yes. With the emoji. Grown man btw! Also, during that period the store was very shortstaffed with people quitting left and right. So, a lie.

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