Though universally thankless, the Assistant Buyer experiences vary wildly depending on your “office” (a.k.a. buyer) assignment. This can be problematic as you may not have a say in this once you complete the Executive Development Program. I was not able to find another assignment despite raising my concern that I was point blank asked my age in an interview. While it was acknowledged that the line of questioning was “unprofessional” – try illegal - this was a “good fit” for me and arrangements were finalized despite another candidate coming forward for this position. I gave it an honest chance despite my reservations.
Unfortunately those deemed “untouchable” openly create a toxic and hostile work environment. There are too many incidents to relay, so I’ll share a few particularly memorable and egregious instances.
1.) A model was not selected because there was “already a colored model in the show”
2.) One of my peers wasn’t selected for a role “because their gender would affect the team dynamic”
3.) Overheard a remark that an ad in The Book with two females holding hands was “gross”
As you may suspect based on what I’ve shared, there is no accountability for “untouchables" even if it's as serious as age, race, gender, and sexual preference discrimination. I suspect these red flags aren’t addressed because certain positions are viewed as more expendable than others. Bad actors operate on the precedent that there will be no consequences for actions whether it’s treating staff poorly, taking advantage of the expense policy, or refusing to adopt technology.
There is demonstrable favoritism. Some birthdays are celebrated every year while others were completely ignored. This was not based on employee preference either. Similarly, celebratory events ranged from getting a cake and booking a conference room to a lavish catered spread for a shower with cakes totaling around $300 on the company dime. To say that some company expenditures are excessive and celebrations are inconsistent is a gross understatement. It all seems to depend on who is swiping their company card.
Matters that should have been confidential were not treated as such. I was apprised if a peer was put on a performance plan. There was zero justification for sharing this information with someone at my level especially since it was completely unsolicited. Respect and protection were not afforded to everyone. Insults were tossed around regularly whether it was referring to a vendor as “stupid” or deeming someone “worthless”.
The permissive culture wasn’t limited to internal matters. Some vendors were not held accountable for meeting standards either. Valid chargebacks were voided once again setting the precedent that rules are made to be broken ultimately costing the company $ in terms of the time/labor it took to resolve unnecessary violations that could have been nipped in the bud.
In terms of the day to day issues aside from culture, there isn’t clear direction so you may spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out where to turn for help. The systems will be inoperable for days if not weeks at a time so you will be unable to do your job and faced with unrelenting pressure from vendors.
The AB role is burn and churn at this organization. As other reviewers have shared, workloads are unevenly distributed and very little if anything will be done to address these inequities let alone take measures to reduce it and set expectations for what is considered reasonable and sustainable. If your experience is anything like mine, you can expect to have work piled on without reward. The benchmarks for promotion are inconsistently applied and seemingly arbitrary considering seniority and performance aren’t always prioritized.
All in all, I do not feel that I was set up for success in this role due to insufficient resources and support. Leaving this job felt like extracting myself from an abusive relationship. Accept at your own risk.
