Barneys Reviews

Pros

Many talented individuals with eyes on the future.

Cons

Communication from the corporate offices to the stores needed improvement.

Pros

the only good thing about working here is the employee discount, which can really get you some good deals at certain times of the year

Cons

Recognition and praise are two words management does not know
sub par salary
you are treated badly if you point out faults in the company
human resources in invisiable, no help at all, they only come around to fire people
company is not clear with its benefits, so the employees won't use them
your expected to take on more responsabilties without any compensation

Advice to Senior Management

you really have to change the mind set of the managers the its not going to be busniess as usually and try make this a company people would love to work for and not one that people see as a stepping stone.

Pros

Great environment, can be stressful but encouraging for the most part. Good learning experience.

Cons

There can be long hours

Pros

Discount comparable to other retailers.
Don't have to wear their clothes.
Not really much I can say that is positive. Company seems to not know, or maybe don't care about daily outlet operations

Cons

Pay is very low in comparison to other companies.
When I thought of Barneys I thought of a great hip place to work...NOT
Upper management constantly changing mind on every issue
Loss prevention a joke. No corporate support.
Inventory not at all what people are expecting at an outlet...basically left over crap from other stores.
Who does the hiring? HR people in charge of hiring need to learn how to read resumes and not hire undesirables to "give them a chance". I'm sure this is done so they don't have to pay.
Corporate bullying in regards to customer name capture. Hello...customers do not.want to give their personal information out. Deal with it.
sales associates are given ridiculous sales goals...no commission ...plus low hourly wage.

Advice to Senior Management

Get your act together. The Barneys name used the mean something. Corporate people live in their own closed little world with no conception of how a store actually runs. ...seems like each is on their own power trip. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

Pros

An amazing place to work among the worlds greatest designers, most friendly coworkers, and great clientele. Almost everyone instantly becomes your new best friend.

Cons

While most of the associates at Barneys are phenomenal, there are a handful (more than typical) that make it a terrible place to work. Many associates can't function in everyday life, have no social skills, or are just downright rude. Management doesn't seem to care, even when it's a chronic issue.

Advice to Senior Management

Be picky about who you hire. It's one of the worlds leading department stores, I'm sure you can do better than many of the people you hired in the past. Be less hypocritical about your policies. Don't write off your employees concerns, they'll usually help your business out.

Pros

Get hands on experience. Gain a lot of knowledge about the company and how things run. Get to work with wonderful people. Great employee discounts.

Cons

Some times depending on your supervisor, your experiences will be different. At times, you may not have a lot of work to do.

Pros

Barneys will always look good on your resume and the discount is great!

Cons

There is a limited amount of growth opportunity and their pay is not at all competitive. If you want to be a career salesperson get a job at one of their flagship stores, otherwise it may not be worth it. There are people who have worked for the company for years waiting for an opportunity in the corporate offices, but the chances that it will ever happen are slim to none.

Advice to Senior Management

Be open to hearing realities of the business from store sales staff and management. Promote from within, this is where you're going to find those most invested in the success of the compnay.

Pros

Commissioned-based sales experience, great schedule, increased my knowledge of fashion and culture.

Cons

It can be tough if you are sensitive. Everyone is there to make money not friends.

Advice to Senior Management

Thanks for being professional and giving me the opportunity to grow.

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.