Williams-Sonoma, Inc. reviews

Pretty much everything about this company is terrible. It all starts at the top with the President (Janet Hayes). Monday starts off super early rushing and getting ready for a series of business reviews, including a 4-hour business review led by Janet, where she and the other executives are served meals because the meeting is so long. This sets the tone for the work week. Janet micro-manages every aspect of this company, and therefore nobody has any empowerment. Everyone drags their feet on making any decision, out of fear, or waiting weeks to get some face-time with Janet to get a simple word changed on a box. There is no respect for anyones time at this company; expect lots of worthless meetings, where everyone is required to attend, many 4-6 hour meetings standing (not sitting), and many meetings run HOURS longer than scheduled. The worst part of this entire company is the culture. Mean people are everywhere. There is absolutely no reason for the way people treat each other, but it is terrible. Management lacks integrity. Personal/professional development: There is none Business Travel: You will be required to pay for this on your own, and be reimbursed. But expect to wait AT LEAST 3-4 months. I was appalled at how long this took, and after inquiring, I was told "You will get your money, so be patient". Salary - they pay about 30% less than competitors, touting their "employee discount" and other perks as something competitors do not offer. The employee discount is 40% on most items, but you will also find that the mark-up on most items is 60-70%, so you are really not getting any sort of deal; instead you realize how much they over-charge customers. Really, overall this was the worst career decision I have ever made.

Leadership is extremely short sighted, so you need to have outrageously huge patience and flexibility. The top down mentality permeates every brand and provides all of the corporate pain you can take. Most of the best talent burns out or realizes it is time to go, before ever really making a difference. Pay definitely does not match the workload.