JCPenney reviews

3.3

53% would recommend to a friend

(13,526 total reviews)
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Marc Rosen

63% approve of CEO

36% positive business outlook

JCPenney has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 13,526 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The JCPenney employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

14K reviews
2.0
Jul 7, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Covered parking, associate discount, cake recipes.

Cons

In my department, poor middle management and rampant favoritism.

1.0
Aug 22, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Hours aren’t bad for retail.

Cons

Lack of honesty when you are interviewed about the condition of low staffing, bonuses, advancement, trainings. There are NO bonuses. No pay increases. Lack of training. The current store mgr is clueless on how to manage a store, much less people. Very impersonable. You will not receive any help in the cosmetic dept. They will watch you sink! There’s little to no hours, dated video training, low budget, no upper management support… not within the store. The pay is so low you will only have inexperienced students working in cosmetics. Not a good place to start if you’re trying to compete with Sephora/Ulta. There is NO comparison. The “Beauty Dept” is a joke. As the mgr or department leaders, you will be worked to death! First, cleaning up the mess from the neglect over the past year & a half. Visible filth, mold, mildew, rancid testers, expired products on shelves. Unknowledgeable cosmetic sales people are hired & the mgr has no time to spend training anyone with all the paperwork & physical demands. Not to mention the weekly, if not daily, store drama that manipulates a lot of your time. The store mgr has no backbone & will dance around issues & want you to do her “dirty work”. Constant “meetings” that get nothing resolved. This store is mildewed in so many areas. Air conditioning works in half the store if your lucky., The electricity is likely to shut off during a storm. In the mall also. The salon has been open with active clients, when they lose hot water!! More than once! But once is damage enough! There is no positive reinforcement here. No team building exercises. Zero store morale. Very good people work here but are not appreciated in the least.

Viewing 364 - 366 of 13,526 Reviews

Glassdoor has 13,867 JCPenney reviews submitted anonymously by JCPenney employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if JCPenney is right for you.