American Apparel Reviews

Former Employee – worked at American Apparel full-time for more than a year

Pros – There were lots of discounts and promotions for employees, For lower level employees there was a lot of flexibility with scheduling and they will work around school schedules.

Cons – Very disorganized. Communication between corporate in LA and the mangers was terrible, it was really hard to get ahold of corporate and they would not listen to the needs of the store. Mangers are underpaid and it was more like babysitting than managing. Too much drama nd not as much focus on runnning a profitable business.

Advice to Senior Management – You need more higher management in each district. Pay your management teams more so you will get more qualified and experienced employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at American Apparel full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Work is pretty easy but unchallenging.
Listen to your headphones while you work.
Slight less workload during graveyard shift.
Subsidized lunch tickets and monthly bus passes.

Cons – Not compensated properly.
Fluctuating hours. (One month you might work over 40 hours while the next, you may work only 25).
Disorganization structure within management and leads.
Warehouse location not very ideal, especially for delicate clothes.
Friction and miscommunication between supervisors/leads and employees.
No cohesiveness.
Management set rules, which are enforced temporarily before laxing or implementing new rules.
Favoritism is rampant company-wide.
The CEO is very unprofessional and very colorful.
Human Resources are rarely present during critical situations.
The turnover rate is very high.
No vacation benefits and the health benefits are costly.
The company is in poor financial health.
Very superficial environment within the entire company.
Very easy to get terminate.
If interested in the company, apply at your risk.

Advice to Senior Management – Hire competent employees with motivation and the will and promote people from within as much as possible and train your employees with efficiency and pay your employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at American Apparel part-time for less than a year

Pros – 50% discount and a $190 allowence every 6 months

Cons – I applied for the Sales Associate position and they put me in back stock. Afterwards, I researched many articles on the company and there are so many negative reviews about the CEO, Dov. American Apparel is racist company. Mostly, all the people who work in back stock are black. Maybe one or two black people work on the sales floor and if there is any white people in back stock; it is because there isn’t any room on the sales floor.

The people that work in back stock are the hardest working people at the store. Yes, I am a part-time employee and I work harder than the full time employees on the sales floor. I work in the hot basement of the store. Back stock people can't take a full hour break like sales associates can. We have to wear all American Apparel clothing which doesn’t make any sense because we are in the basement. It is so unorganized. No one explained anything to me when I started working there. I would have to ask for my employee numbers, my email account, and my allowance. The work schedule is emailed to us through the American Apparel email accounts they give us. I have yet to receive it so every week I have to get it from someone else.

I would not recommend this job to anyone!!!!

Advice to Senior Management – Reevaluate your how you run your business. What happened to code of ethics?

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at American Apparel full-time for more than a year

Pros – 50% discount off of AA merch + specials
30% off multi-brand
free glasses frames + $50 rebate on lenses
amazing health insurance for FT
fun styles

Cons – hard to get FT
company hates giving out raises
extremely cliquey
intense favoritism for promotions
most styles do not fit girls over a size M or L
most styles do not fit guys over a size L
blatant sexism
sales associates start at $9 regardless of experience
some stores are generally picky about which of their styles you wear
only $180 clothing allowance (discount does not apply) per 6 months
contests tend to pick similar winners and no reward for innovation
you will hear lots of stories about how disgusting Dov Charney can be
little to no training on how to make sales/customer service
LOTS of petty high school drama
Cashiers paid more than sales associates

Advice to Senior Management – Stop being so concerned with with just image. Treat your employees with respect and encourage great customer service...your sales will go up and you won't have as high of a turnover rate

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at American Apparel part-time for less than a year

Pros – Free clothes, and great discount, competitive pay, creative work environment, easy to move up and beautiful people.

Cons – Overworked in the summertime and understaffed, Boxes will be the end of your life if not finished before the end of your shift, also corporate people when they come try to be too cool for school when they are just mildy attractive people who make 40 grand or less a year.

Advice to Senior Management – Increase the amount of workers, and lower some of the expectations.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at American Apparel full-time for less than a year

Pros – nice coworkers, subsidized lunch, free during night shift

Cons – compensation is way too low, no paid vacation

Advice to Senior Management – If no raise exist, then please provide paid vacation for hard working employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at American Apparel full-time for less than a year

Pros – - Great coworkers
- Gain experience using Microsoft Excel
- Medical and Dental benefits for workers
- Clothing allowances are given out when sales goals are met

Cons – - Heavy amounts of favoritism
- Little oversight of supervisors/managers
- Uncomfortable work environment
- Inventory employees never leave on time
- Are expected to respond to emails at all times (even from home)

Advice to Senior Management – Upper management should observe lower management more often. I worked under 3 different store managers, who would all spend over 2 hours per day browsing gossip websites or reading tabloid magazines.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at American Apparel full-time

Pros – Fast paced experience that I would not get anywhere else, I love it.

Cons – Long hours but rewarding in the end when you're ahead of the curve in this industry.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at American Apparel part-time for less than a year

Pros – not minimum wage, flexible with schedule

Cons – they are extremely focused on your appearance

Advice to Senior Management – give us more money

– I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at American Apparel full-time for more than a year

Pros – 50% off discount
Flexible hours
Chill work environment
Good music in stores

Cons – Very poor job training with extremely low pay. Been there for over a year, I requested a salary and pay review and have yet to receive any HR response a month later. Complete disorganization from a managerial level with inconsistent information, false promises about pay rate and position. If you just want a simple short term sales job with a great 50% off discount (you are required to wear AA from head to toe) its not bad but do not attempt to enter their ridiculous visual merchandising or management.

Advice to Senior Management – Set up a system for 6 month to a year for a scheduled salary review, review.managers more closely and offer pay incentive to merchandisers

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company