Nordstrom reviews

Keep in mind this is different at every store, but there were a few problems I ran into at my store. In one department especially, the company philosophy of being "Fashion Forward" was taken a bit too far. Rather than listening to what customers wanted, employees in that department were essentially berating customers into purchasing items the company had declared to be "Fashion Forward". Rather than listening to customer needs, the company had decided what it could sell most profitably (i.e. house brands), and condescended to tell the customer what was right for them, style-wise. A store manager was ousted on complaints of gross macromanagement by her subordinates to senior management. The manager was not given the opportunity to address her employees concerns. The new store manager had a disastrous affect on employee morale. She took up the reigns of the store without a formal introduction, and at one point asked a cashier to see if the department manager was available. When the cashier asked if she could tell the manager the name of who would like to speak with her, she was told it wasn't any of her business, and she needed to do as she was told. Other department managers may be promoted based on their sales alone, without paying attention to their aptitude for managing coworker relations. Several managers I noticed at being completely inept in any basic principle of management, and most managers talked down to their employees. The company seems to seek out reasons to discipline and fire employees, and the only positive feedback comes either in the form of a bigger commission check, or to employees who reach stellar sales goals. Sales seem to be rewarded, and consistently good customer service ignored - it's thought the best in customer service are also the best in sales - although in my store, the top sellers were often vocally avoided by many loyal customers. Also, a lack of a defined set of rules allows much flexibility, but also leads to constant editorializing among department managers about what is acceptable and what is not. Leads to much confusion and interdepartmental and interstore differences.

Working in a retail environment, requires working very long hours and working holidays. It seems that people with families suffer the most and single individuals flow with the routine better. There are no set schedules so it is difficult to plan other aspects of your life.