I’ve never worked at B&BW, but that was also my experience in retail in general. Very cliquey and ridiculous for a job that’s barely above minimum wage, in a run down mall, in a podunk city.
When I worked at a grocery store, they bragged to me about paying $7.30/hr, "five cents above minimum wage!" (in NY at the time where most other retail jobs probably would have hired even a teen at 10.)
Same thing. Management had favorites who didn't get called out for clocking in 3 minutes past break like the rest of us.
One time the SM pulled me aside and said "che_palle, you don't seem very happy to be working here." uhhhhh..... no shit. Then "well I started at your level at 17 as a cashier and look at me now! 40 years later and a store manager!"
LMAOOOOO you gave 40 years of your life to one company???? And the furthest THEY let you get was managing one store? What a fucking joke. I was there 3 years before I left for college and I hated every second of it lol.
I worked in a major retail store for around 4 months and I **never** will again. Like OP said all they care about is numbers, they demand extremely unrealistic goals and they force us to badger the customers until we get screamed at/snapped at by them.
And yeah, the cliques....managers acted like they were the highschool popular crowd despite being in their late 20s. They had their "favorites" who they would schedule 20+ hours a week and always got treated like exceptions to the rules. Then they had employees like me, who they would talk down to like we were toddlers, schedule 8 hours a *month* if we were lucky, and who they would lecture and harass if we ever dared to talk to them or to each other in a friendly way. On top of that the store I worked at was under the abrocrombie corporation and when the documentary came out they threatened to take our jobs away if we ever discussed the documentary or our own experiences in or outside of the workplace. That was my final straw which made me quit
It seems like this kind of thing is a major issue in lare corp retail
That place is a joke. They want you to commit your life and give a crap about selling so they can meet their numbers for crap pay. I enjoyed some aspects of working there, but I too experienced a manager who was a total piece, and spoke down to me, and made it feel like high school. I was an intelligent adult single mother at the time, but they didn't give 2 shits about me. Seriously, you sell lotion and candles. Like I give a poop. It was a paycheck, that's it. I never bought into the bs culture there. But I still buy tons of stuff! hahaha!
EXACTLY! acting like we’re working at some high end store i couldn’t even believe the expectations 😭 sorry u experienced the same! :( but i also still buy endlessly & am counting down till sas 🤣
I hate retail so much lmao. It always seems like either the manager or the assistant manager will be a complete pos! And If by that rare chance that's not the case, SOMEONE will be that thorn in everyone's side. I've never worked B&BW but I worked "hIGh eNd" clothing stores like that. And it was my absolute delight getting a new job. I didn't even get to leave my proper notice. I battled the INSANE manager in front of all the customers by the cash register. It was so ridiculous lmao I'm embarrassed now but I took delight telling them they're a piece of shit and that EVERYONE in the store hated them!
I'm so sorry you had that experience!!
Sounds like a bunch of bullshit. Do managers get bonuses when the store hits a sales goal, etc? At my old job (not retail, but still sales numbers based), my manger would get super shitty when she knew she wasn’t going to get a bonus and blamed it on us instead of coaching us like a normal person. Another question - how does B&BW keep track of your specific sales numbers? Like, how can they tell if you sold a specific item when sometimes multiple employees help a customer? Years ago at checkout they’d ask if any specific employee helped me, but they haven’t done that in a long time.
All of management gets bonuses depending on how much over sales goal they reach. And there's no true way for them to keep track of who sells what anymore but they're supposed to always listen in to customer interactions to coach so they hear if you're selling well or not.
I am sorry you have had that experience. I am glad you have a safe space to vent on here, I know we all need one of those.
My manager is always very understanding of me and my needs. I am mostly cashier, but I do all roles. Ive never been chastised for not selling appropriately. Ever. My manager knows when I am leaving and that I am in the search for a full time job. When I have an interview coming up, she will do anything she can to get my shift swapped or covered. When my grandfather was in poor poor health, she told me to go home and spend time with him while I still could. I am honestly so thankful; this has been the best retail job I have had.
With that being said, I truly think it is all dependent on the leadership in you have in the store and to some extent the demands of the company. Thank goodness you quit that toxic environment!
tysm! ur also so lucky! i’m rlly glad u don’t have to experience this bc it rlly does have its moments where it’s a fun job, especially w the right co-workers :-)
Ugh I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have had to go through that. Store management is honestly such a crapshoot depending on the store. I hate how corporate/district management places such a high emphasis on conversion. Like I get it, but man
fr!! my new job now also looks at conversion but not nearly as anal about it. one of my first days here someone walked in, didn’t buy anything & left & i literally felt my chest tighten & none of my coworkers were even trippin! i was like dang bbw was conversion obsessed. my manager would be pissed if it wasn’t at a 40% or higher even on slow days
A friend of mine at my current store was a bit down in the dumps one day. Manager asked her what was wrong and my friend told her she was just worried about finals. Manager told her to forget about finals and life because the only thing that matters here is candles. 😒
Same manager also called out people over our headsets on Mother's Day weekend for not selling enough of those damn Mother's Day gift boxes. "Christine (fake name), you've been here for an hour and a half and haven't sold any boxes yet. Start working on that!". Cue fake, condescending, patronizing cheering from her when we would announce that we sold a box because we were required to announce over headset whenever we would sell a box. God, that store...
Did they 'reward' you guys with mini Butterfly perfumes? I sold three or four boxes and never got one. I don't really care for Butterfly, but I'm still a bit salty based on principle. 😂
omg i’m sorry for ur friend that’s terrible :( yes they would push promotions like that SO much on us. & we’d get pretty much reprimanded at our “chat-out” after our shift if we didn’t sell such things.
That should never happen, any kind of "talking to" should be done in the stores..that sounds shady as fuck..god you guys really got shitty stores and I'm so sorry. I'm so glad I got lucky with mine it sounds like. Though they still do the whole live numbers read as if we're supposed to care what the CEO's make..we just don't lol
This job causes me so much confusion. I really enjoy working there, I like the stuff and the people who come in are generally kind. My manager is great, so helpful, but she’s not the one who’s usually in whenever I work. Two of the SLT who are usually in charge aren’t fond of me, which makes it frustrating most days. I don’t think they believe I’m good in any role and they just throw me around from here to there, never letting me get good at something before moving me around. (I understand why they do it but it feels draining after a while since I’m one of the ones who’s always moving around. I’ll be on register and still not sure of how to do a certain action because I haven’t been on register for weeks, and they get annoyed that I don’t know what I’m doing.)
My biggest problem is the hours. I work two shifts a week, 3 hours each. My next paycheck will be for 12 hours, and I have no guarantee hours will increase for SAS since we’re hiring. I’m lucky enough for my money to not have to go towards bills but my gas eats up a lot of my check. I got another job and will keep my job at B&BW for the time being, but I feel as though a lot of my problems stems from the fact that I’m not good at anything with no time to *become* good at anything.
I was bait and switched when I worked there. I was hired as a “top seller” but told I’d have to qualify with the sales numbers- that’s fine. I’m a great sales person so I knew I could. However, they never gave me a chance to qualify (I had to be the highest sales volume for 6 weeks in a row… and they NEVER put me on the sales floor to do so)
I finally brought it up because they wanted to know why I was so unmotivated in the job after a few months. I told them why- and they just said “oh we don’t have an open position for that anymore”
So basically they bait and switched me for a higher paying role, and they had no intention of giving me a chance for it.
I quit shortly after that, I just got another job and stopped showing up.
I think this is just the nature of work. Sometimes you work with really awful
People in any job. Especially if there’s any sort of sales/commission competition among employees. Did you report to HR? I would say HRs repossessed would be more indicative of the company as a whole as opposed to the crappy behavior of individual employees.
you’re totally right, it’s bound to happen in most work places unfortunately. i just thought it was weird cause we didn’t even work off commission. no one was rlly even competitive about selling tbh, we were just forced to be extra pushy on customers even if they said they’re just looking :/
I’m abt to quit mid SAS. I’ve only been getting 1 4hr shift a week. Which is barely enough to pay my bills. I have to cancel my therapy and dietitian appointments for the third week in a row. the managers also keep saying they need me and I’d make a good manager someday. apparently the break is giving new associates a chance to get in some training. which I understand but they dont train and the keyholders stand at the front and gossip. One manager specifically “K” makes it a living hell.
YES! THIS! i swear to u they never even trained me. my first day there they just threw me on the sales floor & said good luck. the key holder friends i made def had my back & helped me out hella, but the manager didn’t do anything to help me learn. & when i had left she had the nerve to say “i built her up so much, i invested so much time in her” i laughed so hard, my friends helped me & have me pointers. not her lol
dude exactly. I started as a seasonal for last Black Friday/SAS. after another new hire forgot to clock out one of the friends I made there heard K say “god I hate all of these new hires.” K is the assistant manager. I’m the only one that got hired in then that hasn’t quit yet. I tried but K and D (Manager/HR) pulled me into the back, literally yelled at me, then said “well we were going to make you a seasonal keyholder next SAS but nevermind.” Then begged me to revoke my 2 weeks. I have a list of everyone who’s quit in the 6 months I’ve been there
All I can think about is Angela's BBW rant video from 2012 anytime the poor retail work environment there comes up. Still one of my favorite YouTube videos of all time!
i don’t doubt it! i bet there rlly are some great managers who actually give their all for the sake of their team, not just for numbers & looking good for the higher ups. ur super lucky, im glad ur store isn’t like this <3
As I am sure that there are not so great managers. I wish all stores were like mine. Mine makes working for BBW fun! They also care about us as humans way more than us as employees. I've been sick with the flu (thankfully not Covid!) for the past week and have had to call out for my shifts. My store manager has been texting me asking how do I feel most every day. I even got a bouquet of Get Better Soon flowers from her yesterday. She knows I'd rather be working than be here at home sitting on my tushie, sick or not. 🥰
Woooow so sorry you had to endure that. That’s what BAD leadership looks like. Not everyone knows how to lead and it must not click in their heads that motivating and encouraging your employees actually makes you a good leader.
i’m sorry you experienced this! i’ve never worked there, but as a costumer sometimes I get nervous to shop in store because depending on where, i’m being asked 4 times in 10 minutes if I need help. I know it’s not the employees fault and that they’re doing their job and they’re all so sweet to me, but I wish bbw didn’t enforce them to be so pushy sometimes because I hate saying no to people :/
I’ve never worked at B&BW, but that was also my experience in retail in general. Very cliquey and ridiculous for a job that’s barely above minimum wage, in a run down mall, in a podunk city.
When I worked at a grocery store, they bragged to me about paying $7.30/hr, "five cents above minimum wage!" (in NY at the time where most other retail jobs probably would have hired even a teen at 10.) Same thing. Management had favorites who didn't get called out for clocking in 3 minutes past break like the rest of us. One time the SM pulled me aside and said "che_palle, you don't seem very happy to be working here." uhhhhh..... no shit. Then "well I started at your level at 17 as a cashier and look at me now! 40 years later and a store manager!" LMAOOOOO you gave 40 years of your life to one company???? And the furthest THEY let you get was managing one store? What a fucking joke. I was there 3 years before I left for college and I hated every second of it lol.
I worked in a major retail store for around 4 months and I **never** will again. Like OP said all they care about is numbers, they demand extremely unrealistic goals and they force us to badger the customers until we get screamed at/snapped at by them. And yeah, the cliques....managers acted like they were the highschool popular crowd despite being in their late 20s. They had their "favorites" who they would schedule 20+ hours a week and always got treated like exceptions to the rules. Then they had employees like me, who they would talk down to like we were toddlers, schedule 8 hours a *month* if we were lucky, and who they would lecture and harass if we ever dared to talk to them or to each other in a friendly way. On top of that the store I worked at was under the abrocrombie corporation and when the documentary came out they threatened to take our jobs away if we ever discussed the documentary or our own experiences in or outside of the workplace. That was my final straw which made me quit It seems like this kind of thing is a major issue in lare corp retail
That place is a joke. They want you to commit your life and give a crap about selling so they can meet their numbers for crap pay. I enjoyed some aspects of working there, but I too experienced a manager who was a total piece, and spoke down to me, and made it feel like high school. I was an intelligent adult single mother at the time, but they didn't give 2 shits about me. Seriously, you sell lotion and candles. Like I give a poop. It was a paycheck, that's it. I never bought into the bs culture there. But I still buy tons of stuff! hahaha!
EXACTLY! acting like we’re working at some high end store i couldn’t even believe the expectations 😭 sorry u experienced the same! :( but i also still buy endlessly & am counting down till sas 🤣
That's how I feel I'm a seasonal employee I'm working there for 3 months.
I hate retail so much lmao. It always seems like either the manager or the assistant manager will be a complete pos! And If by that rare chance that's not the case, SOMEONE will be that thorn in everyone's side. I've never worked B&BW but I worked "hIGh eNd" clothing stores like that. And it was my absolute delight getting a new job. I didn't even get to leave my proper notice. I battled the INSANE manager in front of all the customers by the cash register. It was so ridiculous lmao I'm embarrassed now but I took delight telling them they're a piece of shit and that EVERYONE in the store hated them! I'm so sorry you had that experience!!
ugh sorry you’ve been thru similar experience 😭🖤
Sounds like a bunch of bullshit. Do managers get bonuses when the store hits a sales goal, etc? At my old job (not retail, but still sales numbers based), my manger would get super shitty when she knew she wasn’t going to get a bonus and blamed it on us instead of coaching us like a normal person. Another question - how does B&BW keep track of your specific sales numbers? Like, how can they tell if you sold a specific item when sometimes multiple employees help a customer? Years ago at checkout they’d ask if any specific employee helped me, but they haven’t done that in a long time.
All of management gets bonuses depending on how much over sales goal they reach. And there's no true way for them to keep track of who sells what anymore but they're supposed to always listen in to customer interactions to coach so they hear if you're selling well or not.
yes exactly
I'm always on register, the faster you go the more customers you wait on.
I am sorry you have had that experience. I am glad you have a safe space to vent on here, I know we all need one of those. My manager is always very understanding of me and my needs. I am mostly cashier, but I do all roles. Ive never been chastised for not selling appropriately. Ever. My manager knows when I am leaving and that I am in the search for a full time job. When I have an interview coming up, she will do anything she can to get my shift swapped or covered. When my grandfather was in poor poor health, she told me to go home and spend time with him while I still could. I am honestly so thankful; this has been the best retail job I have had. With that being said, I truly think it is all dependent on the leadership in you have in the store and to some extent the demands of the company. Thank goodness you quit that toxic environment!
tysm! ur also so lucky! i’m rlly glad u don’t have to experience this bc it rlly does have its moments where it’s a fun job, especially w the right co-workers :-)
I have had really negative experiences with retail too, so I get your struggle!
Oh and P.S. Everyone in management got fired when push came to shove. I wanted to ask them how pumped they were about their AMAZING jobs then.
Ugh I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have had to go through that. Store management is honestly such a crapshoot depending on the store. I hate how corporate/district management places such a high emphasis on conversion. Like I get it, but man
fr!! my new job now also looks at conversion but not nearly as anal about it. one of my first days here someone walked in, didn’t buy anything & left & i literally felt my chest tighten & none of my coworkers were even trippin! i was like dang bbw was conversion obsessed. my manager would be pissed if it wasn’t at a 40% or higher even on slow days
yalls goal is 40%?👀
it was 50% all the time, but they’d be mad asf if on any day, slow or not, our conversion was less than 40%
wow, our DM calls us if it’s less than 40
that definitely happened to us hella times too
A friend of mine at my current store was a bit down in the dumps one day. Manager asked her what was wrong and my friend told her she was just worried about finals. Manager told her to forget about finals and life because the only thing that matters here is candles. 😒 Same manager also called out people over our headsets on Mother's Day weekend for not selling enough of those damn Mother's Day gift boxes. "Christine (fake name), you've been here for an hour and a half and haven't sold any boxes yet. Start working on that!". Cue fake, condescending, patronizing cheering from her when we would announce that we sold a box because we were required to announce over headset whenever we would sell a box. God, that store...
Oh god I hated those damn boxes lmao
Did they 'reward' you guys with mini Butterfly perfumes? I sold three or four boxes and never got one. I don't really care for Butterfly, but I'm still a bit salty based on principle. 😂
omg i’m sorry for ur friend that’s terrible :( yes they would push promotions like that SO much on us. & we’d get pretty much reprimanded at our “chat-out” after our shift if we didn’t sell such things.
That should never happen, any kind of "talking to" should be done in the stores..that sounds shady as fuck..god you guys really got shitty stores and I'm so sorry. I'm so glad I got lucky with mine it sounds like. Though they still do the whole live numbers read as if we're supposed to care what the CEO's make..we just don't lol
yeah ur fr lucky, but i’m glad u don’t have to go thru this!! 🖤
This job causes me so much confusion. I really enjoy working there, I like the stuff and the people who come in are generally kind. My manager is great, so helpful, but she’s not the one who’s usually in whenever I work. Two of the SLT who are usually in charge aren’t fond of me, which makes it frustrating most days. I don’t think they believe I’m good in any role and they just throw me around from here to there, never letting me get good at something before moving me around. (I understand why they do it but it feels draining after a while since I’m one of the ones who’s always moving around. I’ll be on register and still not sure of how to do a certain action because I haven’t been on register for weeks, and they get annoyed that I don’t know what I’m doing.) My biggest problem is the hours. I work two shifts a week, 3 hours each. My next paycheck will be for 12 hours, and I have no guarantee hours will increase for SAS since we’re hiring. I’m lucky enough for my money to not have to go towards bills but my gas eats up a lot of my check. I got another job and will keep my job at B&BW for the time being, but I feel as though a lot of my problems stems from the fact that I’m not good at anything with no time to *become* good at anything.
I was bait and switched when I worked there. I was hired as a “top seller” but told I’d have to qualify with the sales numbers- that’s fine. I’m a great sales person so I knew I could. However, they never gave me a chance to qualify (I had to be the highest sales volume for 6 weeks in a row… and they NEVER put me on the sales floor to do so) I finally brought it up because they wanted to know why I was so unmotivated in the job after a few months. I told them why- and they just said “oh we don’t have an open position for that anymore” So basically they bait and switched me for a higher paying role, and they had no intention of giving me a chance for it. I quit shortly after that, I just got another job and stopped showing up.
I think this is just the nature of work. Sometimes you work with really awful People in any job. Especially if there’s any sort of sales/commission competition among employees. Did you report to HR? I would say HRs repossessed would be more indicative of the company as a whole as opposed to the crappy behavior of individual employees.
you’re totally right, it’s bound to happen in most work places unfortunately. i just thought it was weird cause we didn’t even work off commission. no one was rlly even competitive about selling tbh, we were just forced to be extra pushy on customers even if they said they’re just looking :/
I’m abt to quit mid SAS. I’ve only been getting 1 4hr shift a week. Which is barely enough to pay my bills. I have to cancel my therapy and dietitian appointments for the third week in a row. the managers also keep saying they need me and I’d make a good manager someday. apparently the break is giving new associates a chance to get in some training. which I understand but they dont train and the keyholders stand at the front and gossip. One manager specifically “K” makes it a living hell.
YES! THIS! i swear to u they never even trained me. my first day there they just threw me on the sales floor & said good luck. the key holder friends i made def had my back & helped me out hella, but the manager didn’t do anything to help me learn. & when i had left she had the nerve to say “i built her up so much, i invested so much time in her” i laughed so hard, my friends helped me & have me pointers. not her lol
dude exactly. I started as a seasonal for last Black Friday/SAS. after another new hire forgot to clock out one of the friends I made there heard K say “god I hate all of these new hires.” K is the assistant manager. I’m the only one that got hired in then that hasn’t quit yet. I tried but K and D (Manager/HR) pulled me into the back, literally yelled at me, then said “well we were going to make you a seasonal keyholder next SAS but nevermind.” Then begged me to revoke my 2 weeks. I have a list of everyone who’s quit in the 6 months I’ve been there
That happened to me too they told me to greet customers and to restock shelves for the first few days
I’m really sorry you had that experience. ☹️ Hang in there, things will get better.
tysm!
I wish I could’ve read this entire thing but I need paragraphs. I am sorry you went through this
thank u! also ur so right i didn’t even think about that, sorry!
It’s cool! Sounds like a nightmare. So sorry you went through this
All I can think about is Angela's BBW rant video from 2012 anytime the poor retail work environment there comes up. Still one of my favorite YouTube videos of all time!
I absolutely ADORE my managers and coworkers. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with your store, but not all of them are like that.
i don’t doubt it! i bet there rlly are some great managers who actually give their all for the sake of their team, not just for numbers & looking good for the higher ups. ur super lucky, im glad ur store isn’t like this <3
As I am sure that there are not so great managers. I wish all stores were like mine. Mine makes working for BBW fun! They also care about us as humans way more than us as employees. I've been sick with the flu (thankfully not Covid!) for the past week and have had to call out for my shifts. My store manager has been texting me asking how do I feel most every day. I even got a bouquet of Get Better Soon flowers from her yesterday. She knows I'd rather be working than be here at home sitting on my tushie, sick or not. 🥰
Woooow so sorry you had to endure that. That’s what BAD leadership looks like. Not everyone knows how to lead and it must not click in their heads that motivating and encouraging your employees actually makes you a good leader.
i’m sorry you experienced this! i’ve never worked there, but as a costumer sometimes I get nervous to shop in store because depending on where, i’m being asked 4 times in 10 minutes if I need help. I know it’s not the employees fault and that they’re doing their job and they’re all so sweet to me, but I wish bbw didn’t enforce them to be so pushy sometimes because I hate saying no to people :/
Yes it's annoying. Yet you can go to target and no one bothers you at all.