Barneys Reviews

Pros

Great staff, great opportunities, great fashion. I think it's one of he most innovative retail concepts in the country. Unfortunately, retail has been hit hard. Barneys is making some weird decisions.

Cons

The opportunities are wonderful, but it seems difficult to get there. I loved working with the staff. But, there is a culture of competition and backstabbing that I didn't like

Advice to Senior Management

Keep it fresh. Get a better merchandising team and store design team. The stores are looking too chain-y. They could be better.

Pros

Best retailer in the industry
Gorgeous merchandise
Get to learn first hand about all designers/ product
In store events are cool
Good benefits
Mostly a nice group of people

Cons

Terrible management!
I was undercut and Terribly mistreated by my manager. He terrorized me and my coworkers. I was not supported when I brought this to his boss' attention... instead of investigating the situation, My reputation/integrity/talent was called into question!! Ridiculous! So I quit. I'm not going to be undervalued where I put in 110% every day. Unconscionable.
My loyalty was not rewarded. My manager spent more time playing head games than actually working. He worked at his other jobs while at work! He took credit for people's ideas and blamed our team for his mistakes- passing the buck. The other managers supported him. He fabricated history to support his claims. Vindictive and sadistic- psychopathic behavior. The job is demanding and stressful without having a constant battle. This guy battled with everyone- not just me. He yelled at us almost daily.. it was like working for a crazy person; which personality were we going to get today? was the daily question.
He was abusive to us and menacing, and dishonest about it- but the GM supported him and took his word, possibly because they are friends (?). His behavior is entirely unprofessional and unacceptable. I would warn people not to work for him.
But the mayhem wasn't limited to my department/ my experience:
Many of the other managers were disrespectful to their staff- I witnessed actual screaming matches on the sales floor (not my former department), sometimes to the detriment of the customer experience. Management also neglected to actually "manage" the staff- who also took their personality conflicts out at work, rather than cooperate or get things done. Drama central; like an overrun high school. Sometimes it was more like a personality contest than a business, or that's what it looked like from the outside. I got along with nearly everyone except for my crazy boss. There's no need for drama at work- let's be professional adults here, we should all be on the same team- there's work to do.
I think the bad economy and slow business made everyone turn on each other-so ugly to watch.
Managers utilized fear as a motivator- and would put competent and reliable employees on "Final Warning"- I saw this happen to several of my former peers, for the slightest (or perceived) infraction.
Morale is terrible in the store- people are not valued but things are.
Maybe this location is Still (?) experiencing growing pains? I don't know- it is like an experiment gone terribly wrong.

Advice to Senior Management

Take into consideration what the employees have to say- don't just blindly back the managers- they can be in the wrong!!
Also, if people feel valued and morale is good, the business will be more successful.

Pros

- Easy work for folks hoping to finance their job search on a part time basis
- Generous employee discount
- The dead-end nature of the job means less inter-employee competition, more clement mingling

Cons

- Opportunities for advancement are absolutely paltry
- The outlet classification means we receive the dregs, and the lower customer demand that ensues is a nice recipe for constant disappointment
- No commission. Instead we receive a fixed wage that hardly changes no matter how long the employees have worked

Advice to Senior Management

Be more attentive to the positive qualities of the workers, the ways they are contributing to growth despite the overall sour consumer climate.

Pros

In terms of selection, Barneys is an industry leader. The environment is usually supportive and at times when there is a lack of support, it's only because everyone is extremely busy. The work force is tiny in comparison to the amount of business the company does.

Cons

You're expected to meet deadlines and work long hours to do so, but that's consistent with any company. Upper management is full of eccentric personalities, there are very few "normal" people. There is no CEO (right now), no one making concrete decisions.

Advice to Senior Management

Barneys is THE ideal for most people in the US who adore fashion, be kind to every single staffer, because they probably expect this to be the best experience of their lives.

Pros

Barneys was the employer that really taught me everything I know about how to sell in a retail environment. Product training was very important and if you wanted to learn, there was no stopping you. Hourly compensation rates were fair, but commission percentages and a really generous employee discount couldn't be beat. I would recommend Barneys for anyone who really has a passion for selling.

Cons

Hours were at times horrendous, not many mind you, so you might not be able to earn what you needed to support yourself, but also late nights followed by early mornings which could really be taxing. Also a problem was the unfair way that vacations were scheduled although vacation time was very liberal. At two subsequent employers scheduling was done according to sales merit. At Barneys it was a matter of seniority no matter what your sales were. I was recruited away from Barneys by another high end retailer for an hourly rate that was considerably higher.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees.

Pros

The products and the discounts. And the social atmosphere.

Cons

Management is a joke. Most of the managers have poor business acumen, as well as minimal product knowledge. Loss prevention is more attuned to watching for internal theft that they miss external theft.

Advice to Senior Management

Shape up or ship out. Your time is coming.