I worked at both one of the top Macy's in the country, and a small neighborhood one. I worked seasonal twice at the major Macy's, and I thought I hated it there because they treated their seasonal workers so poorly- no sense that you belonged there, a sorry excuse for training, if you could even call it that, and just a tedious job with no sense of accomplishment overall. I made minimum wage, but since it was California, that wasn't so bad- when I left, it was $11 at the time.
Then I go to work in Florida, in a small town Macy's, and I laugh at how I thought the California store I worked at was bad. Horrendous management, bare bones staffing 85% of the time that got even worse, to the point where you were never guaranteed your 15min breaks and had to call a manager to get someone to cover it for you, IF there was anyone there. You feel like a school kid asking (which was what I was treated like anyways, since I look pretty young), both for your breaks and bathroom breaks, unless there's someone in a nearby department that isn't essential that can cover for you, or if you're in one of those departments yourself (and that's basically impossible, because we usually only had one person per department, and they stopped staffing the non essential departments and would only really do it on weekends, some times). They expected us to do the work of 2 departments after we heard we were making more financial cuts, for absolutely no compensation, on 2 different sides of the store. The
Prosdiscounts, extra discount events for employees
Conslittle to no breaks, minimal hours, poor management on a store and company level
2.0
Asset Protection Associate | Vancouver, WA | Dec 23, 2019
Harassment
This will be a long read, but it is my experience working for Macy's.
I worked for Macy's as an Asset Protection Detective for about 4 months. The first month went by fairly smooth, with the only downside being that my manager, who was supposed to do the majority of my training, put if off on my partner to do, who was trained by her partner. I completed all of my training in 3 weeks but had to wait an additional week to fully be approved to make apprehensions because my manager was gone for a week of my training and needed to go over it, and then her higher up who actually authorizes us to make apprehensions was too busy. But once he had time, I got approved. Immediately after completing everything and starting floor work, the harassment began. My manager was female and so was my partner. No male in the past several years has made it past 6 months being under her, they all resign. Once I began floor observations, I did them how I was taught to and how my partner does them, my partner also got continuously praised for how she did things. Immediately I am pulled into her office on several occasions to be reprimanded for not doing things the right way, or wasting time talking to colleagues (asking them to customer service the shoplifters). My manager even pulled video of me at a register to try to get me into trouble for talking to associates, which my partner showed me later, and pointed out that I was at the register for at most 30 seconds. 3 months in and the probationary
A typical day at work would involve a lot of insane, demanding customers with few staff and other days would run smoothly with jokes and connections made between the customers and staff. What I've learned at Macy's was the basics and in and outs of customer service. I also learned how to work in a busy , fast-paced and demanding environment. When you first start at Macy's, they train you on the basics such as how to use the cash register but the first day that you start they "throw you into the lion pit". They don't train you on how to do certain things on the register and most managers just tell you what to do for the day such as clean this area and then they leave. Some managers are well prepared and offer the most of help while others are not so much. Overall store management needs work but Macy's morals and values such as "Be The Magic" can help you during your day in sales. When receiving my promotion, I received a raise of a 50 cents with no hours. My position was supposed to be switched from part-time to full-time but I was told there were no full-time positions in my department. Two months later, two full-time positions opened in my department but instead of them changing my position to full-time due to my new promotion and seniority, they hired two new people. Macy's scheduling procedure is a fail. They fail to schedule multiple personal on busy days, when we need it the most. Instead, there are multiple people scheduled in the morning when it is usually slow and o
Proscustomer service experience, making friends, helping and inspiring customers, learning management skills on your own
Conspoor management, unprofessional, low pay, few staff, scheduling is bad, always messy, return policy is bad, favoritism
1.0
Retail Sales Associate | Casper, WY | Dec 12, 2018
Find a job somewhere else.
Although I enjoyed cashiering, I never want to work again at Macy's in Casper, WY. I was placed on the fulfillment team despite applying to be a sales associate. Most my work on the sales floor was spent reorganizing items that customers left in total disarray. The remainder of my time on the sales floor involved finding items that had been ordered.
The fulfillment room completely lacked proper work conditions. Too many people were crowded into the area, which could comfortably accommodate two or three people. Employees had to stand for long hours on concrete due to floor mats not being provided. Anyone attempting to inflate bubble wrap/packs, had to kneel or sit on the floor to use the air compressor located by the door. This usually resulted in that person being stepped on or tripped over. People also frequently tripped over items in the room due to serious overcrowding of racks, boxes, and shipping materials. In addition, the room lacked counter space for making boxes needed to ship certain items. Employees either had to sit on or bend over the floor while trying to get wet paper tape from a dispenser located on a counter. Making and packing “pizza boxes” (for suits or sports coats) required repeatedly moving from sitting on the floor to standing up.
Two additional tables eventually were placed in the loading dock for several people to use for packaging. Employees frequently collided or interfered each other’s work flow due to reaching for packing supplies. Only one
ProsThe job provides pay weekly on Friday.
ConsLow pay and no benefits, poor work conditions, dysfunctional management, apathy toward employees, little or no possibility of advancement, anti-union training as part of orientation, having to deal with overstocked items that sell poorly due to demographics (e.g., rap artist t-shirts in primarily conservative, rural, country music loving Wyoming)
Ok pay,competitive work place,weird managers,hours forced on the holidays.
First off it was great working at Macy's for a short time,it gave me in sight to what customers do on a day to day and how we help people with purchases,also great on the resume! What I do not like is when people are offered the card,people tell them they have to do it to buy from this place,if you were sold that,I am terribly sorry. The commissions you get for selling brands are ok along with the cards, the benefit like the 20% is good sometimes even stacks with most coupons on items,if not the 20% will always be there for the associate. I have had customers come up to me and look around at stuff,then try to sell them the items,then they are like no thanks,I got one from ebay,or amazon,or that ebates place for less,and sometimes the website doesn't coordinate with prices in the store too and I have found that to be true at times. The good thing about this location they do mostly price match stuff off the internet. Make sure you get the best deal though if you have to research. Customers will be customers,I've worked for awhile,it comes with all jobs. The impatient,the I want it now,the bargain grabbers,the bribers,the call your manger,the I'm gonna act ugly kind,they are all out there,but just remember that your managers are your best friend. Now management can be tough,they have their favorites and are willing to call them before you. I always had a list of favorite managers to call here, some were a lil too bossy when you were in their area,very picky, I want my area this
ProsRandom ups on your paycheck for selling products, some nice people, fair lunch times, discounts!
ConsManagement, pushy commissioned sales people, not getting benefits for part time, over worked during holidays if available.
People are fine but Management can be all over the place
Macy's likes to think that taking away resources (employees, hours, positions, money, benefits) and then adding a heavier work load on to those who remain will some how let them compete with online retailers. This, as you can imagine, is not the case.
There is a vast disconnect between corporate and day to day store operations to the point where the district team members feel comfortable with reminding receiving works that they are replaceable frequently.
If you're a sales associate you can expect to be the only one on the sales floor for several departments with frequent calls to your manager to help you out with long lines because the company constantly cuts positions and people while still boasting about their hiring numbers.
As a support associate you can expect to be doing floor moves constantly as decisions are made, executed and then changed and executed again over and over again and then be reprimanded for not accomplishing the rest of your workload on top of the added moves.
There is no communication between the different layers of management and departments. Managers will discuss problems with performance with everyone BUT the employee in question leading to a constant state of uncertainty. There is massive and vague overlap between positions leading to wasted time as tasks are shifted around between various departments.
The amount of paper waste that stems from this is grotesque. Reams of printer paper and ink are wasted as their outdated systems
ConsYour empathy and human decency will be used against you.
3.0
Customer Service Representative | Yonkers, NY | Jan 14, 2015
Macy's of Cross County
A typical day of work was always different. As a seasonal sales associate, I had to be prepared to take on any responsibility given to me by my direct manager. During my training session, I realized as a Cosmetics/ Fragrances Sales Associate, I had to learn everything from Recovery, to P.O.S, to marketing fragrances and so forth. I learned how sale products to people of all races and culture using neat and clean appearance, as well as having a very sweet and positive attitude, I learned how to do loads of work in one day without getting stressed or overwhelmed, I learned how to use clean folding techniques for department floor displays, I learned how to be polite to people who are impatient, rude, and mean, and I learned that there is no need for making friends at work. The management was fair there. One african american woman in particular who works in Human Resources department did not have a good attitude. She treated everyone so badly, her reputation is clear to all of the seasonal and regular employees. My direct manager was also the same. She too had very poor communication and people skills. For an example, i came to work with my head wrap. I was in fear that no one would hire me because of my head wrap, so I played along with everyone else until I knew I had the job. She saw me with my headwrap three days prior to her acknowledging it as an issue. When she finally said something to me, it was not like she pulled me to the side in a discreet manner; she called me out
ProsClose to home, Employee Discount, long breaks, Food on Holidays for vegans and meat-eaters, Flexible work schedule, paid every Friday
ConsGossip, sloppy co-workers, limited benefits, training did not match work field, mean managers
Overall positive experience, too stressed to continue
I originally worked at the Macy’s in Flushing, Queens and was hired as a Supervisor. I had a great experience working here with upper management. They would walk the floors with you, see where you needed help, pitch in where needed, and gather other managers/supervisors to help. There was so much teamwork here. A few cons but mostly positive and I felt supported and appreciated. Unfortunately, in order to move up to manager (which I did within a year) I would have to move stores. This is where it went downhill. I had to move to the Co-Op City Bronx location. This was literally walking distance from my home which would seem more convenient, but upon coming here, I could see that it was “every manager for themself”. A little bit of throwing each other under the bus, a lot of things you were just “expected” to know, despite the fact that supervisor and manager have very similar responsibilities but as a manager, when things fall apart, it falls completely on you and there are some top level things I didn’t have to deal with before. The culture was different here. The teamwork was subpar. The clientele was also completely different here, which is why I didn’t want to come here. My selling floor was constantly a mess no matter how much we cleaned because customers would literally destroy tables, let their kids run all over the place. We had work group chats and would constantly have to call in people to replace call outs and I was in communication with my team even when I was off
ProsCompany culture -always “how can I be better?”
ConsOverly stressed over things we could not control, understaffed constantly
One of the biggest issues with Macy's - the pay doesn't match the work. A typical day (if you start at 9) , was this-
1- open the register
2- go find a list of orders customers have placed online, before the store opens (Majority of the items are located in a massive, disorganized, dark room where I somehow managed to not be injured)
3- The store is opening and you're the only one in your entire department, so you have to pause your search and open the fitting room now.
4- People are here and checking out, so now you're tending to the cash register and also monitering the fitting room , (but you still have these orders you haven't found, so close those off when you can)
5- If no customer is immediately in front of you for 2 minutes, you can't stand there and wait for the next, so you go back and check (and sign) the fitting room again
6- You pull out a heap of clothes from the fitting room to be rehung, (but you're still watching the register). While you're tending to the mess, a customer appears -so you drop everything.
7- You ring up customers back to back for the next hour before your supervisor comes back and asks if you've checked the fitting room recently. (You haven't because it's physically impossible to do so while simultaneously operating the register) . She reminds you to check on it and that you need to get people to open credit cards.
8- A customer asks for help on the floor, (even though you've got a line of people waiting to check out
avoid as first job experience or retail experience, you'll learn all the worst habits as a potential future employee somewhere else
Macy's is a company that lacks supervision. For the time I have been employed i have observed all the worst behaviors employees can have yet they still get away with it. Macy's sole concern as an employer is that you open credit card accounts more than if you outsell your goal, or are actually a hardworking person. They are extremely lenient on arriving late or missing work as they work with a point system, where points are deducted every time you do either one. They dont verify reasons for missing work, they simply deduct points, once you reach 0 you are supposed to be fired but i have met many people who were not. Managers do no like to be called onto the floor so you have to try to solve and please customers most of the time by surrendering to their wildest requests particularly when it comes to discounts, as if and when you call management, they end up doing themselves, therefore you just save yourself a step. Macy's is not a traditional store in the sense that it allows people to return clothing which has obviously been worn, with tags unattached or missing, and even smelly because their statistics rely on loyalty, so they fear turning a customer away with strict rules, reason why people can return clothes up to 6 months later. If you are not a shark when it comes to sales, you will find Macys system is very unfair as older employees have no problem staying at the cash register owning up to sales which are not theirs, and not helping out with go-backs and floor recovery
Proslenient absent/late system
Conshourly rate, poor training, pressure to open credit card accounts 4 per 40hours of work, uninspiring behavior from management
Questions And Answers about Macy's
What is the interview process like at Macy's?
Asked Feb 25, 2016
I applied 9/24/2021, had a phone interview 9/25 and hired on the spot. Completed onboarding 9/28.
Answered Sep 28, 2021
I applied 4/16/21 received an email for phone interview on 4/16/21 had phone interview 4/20.. 4/26 was invited for a face to face interview & received an offer on 5/7.
Answered May 8, 2021
What is the best part of working at Macy's?
Asked Nov 23, 2019
The employees discount,meeting lots of people/friendly coworkers, and being able to shop the brands you like. That's it for me.
Answered Oct 24, 2021
Great products, and employees discount. Meeting a variety of people, building relationships, and great trainings, from sales representatives.
Answered Jan 7, 2021
How did you get your first interview at Macy's?
Asked Feb 25, 2016
I applied through the company website someone reached out the same day we set up a virtual interview due to COVID about 1-2 week later I was invited for a face to face interview & received an offer 2-3 later
Answered May 8, 2021
I applied online then I received an email regarding my application. I was given a link to schedule my interview as to what day which is convenient for me. You'll just have to choose the date and time.
Answered Feb 14, 2020
What benefits does Macy's offer?
Asked Feb 25, 2016
They give benefits only if you are hired on as a permanent employee. More hours you would you get more benefits.
Answered Jul 14, 2019
Med, dental, vision 401k, etc, the medical you will have to pay out of pocket before they even pay.take the lowest deductable
Answered Mar 23, 2019
What is a typical day like for you at Macy's?
Asked Mar 18, 2020
Keep counters clean, and straighten. Make your counter eye catching. Demonstrate products, do makeovers, and mini facials. Do follow up calls with customers. Greet and meet people as they enter your area.
Answered Jan 7, 2021
It's been 2 years since I worked there. When opening, if the closer was able to clean out the fitting rooms and straighten up their assigned area, things are easy. You open the cash register, organize your area, and check to make sure everything is okay. You don't do much until customers arrive. When closing, things are more difficult. We were understaffed so keeping your area clean, ringing up customers, helping them shop, and clearing out the fitting rooms was all left up to me. Plus, being by yourself for hours and get SUPER boring.
