Borders Reviews

Pros

Flexible hours, pretty fun coworkers, being around books, discount.

Cons

poor communication among staff store level and in upper management, employees have been slowly stripped of their rights for the last several years, no raises in years, push for a rewards program that is really just a hassle, no employee rewards or bonuses--oh we did get cookies, poor in store management of staff

Advice to Senior Management

Actually do your job and maybe this company would have had a shelf life longer than your bonus. Respect your employees who work amazingly hard because they love being in a bookstore so much.

Pros

Fun to work around books, music, and movies. Laid back bookstore atmosphere. Competetive wages. Free auto-enrollment in Borders Plus Rewards Program. Awesome discount (33%), especially when coupled with the Plus program (additional 10%). Provide medical/dental and vision. 401k option. Other resources for employees needs (scholarship program, relief fund program, etc). Management at my particular store is very approachable and understanding. Able to work with you and provide positive feedback and acknowledge when improvement is needed.

Cons

As with most retail positions, customers can go either way. So occasionally you have to deal with some unruly and demanding ones. The benefits listed above could be better. No vacation, sick days, or paid holidays for part-time. Hours can fluctuate wildly for part time workers as well. Since it is a large company there is a definite disconnect between high end management and how things run on a store level, and this is evident through decisions and policies laid out by corporate. They no longer match on 401k. Some lacking in job security as the company is going through a rough time and also the move toward e-books makes brick and mortar bookstore's outlook murky.

Advice to Senior Management

Consider feedback from those working on day to day in-store operations before implementing sales, inventory, marketing, and merchandising changes or policies. Sometimes it may seem like it is simplifying or improving things as far as sales and customer service, but a lot of times it is not. I would reccomend listening to store GMs more as there seems to be some kind of disconnect happening on any level higher.

Pros

- Great co-workers
- Highly competent management
- Respectful of work/life balance
- Excellent performance feedback
- Employee discount

Cons

- Little advancement opportunity
- Unrealistic sales goals implemented by out of touch corporate employees
- Excessive add-on sales push requirements (you're required to ask each customer you come in contact with at LEAST 5+ questions)
- Frequent long/late-night schedules
- Frequent schedule/payroll cuts

Advice to Senior Management

There's not much that I could suggest to management now that the company is going under. Most of the problems I experienced towards the end of my tenure at Borders were absolutely the result of the company beginning to fail. For example, when I started I was supposed to just be generally helpful when interacting with customers. By the time I left, the corporate office has insisted that so many last-ditch sales schemes be implemented, I was supposed to be asking each customer so many questions that people frequently just got frustrated and insisted that I stop talking to them entirely. I felt like I was harassing everyone.

Pros

Flexible dress code and schedule

Team becomes your second family

Opportunity to be creative with merchandising

Relaxed atmosphere with customers

Cons

Poor upper management decisions leading to bankruptcy

Nepotism and unfair advantages given to others to preclude your own chances for advancement

Little to no follow up with execution of policies and initiatives

Advice to Senior Management

Be more supportive of the employees in the field and understand they are the one's in the firing lines and representing the company's image. Also, don't be afraid to promote more from within. Many of the problems that led to bankruptcy may have been avoided if people from the field were in more of the responsible positions.

Pros

Pay is more then most book places, great discount on books and cds small teams make it feel like a family all the time

Cons

customers, dvds are cheaper at target and walmart, slow ordering system, not customer friendly website which is what we had to use instore to order products as well. Poor sales made growth nearly impossible

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to budget and invest better!

Pros

amazing and smart coworkers, free coffee, evening hours, allowed to borrow books, good discount, cool merchandise, understanding managers, great training. I miss it

Cons

Store closings due to mismanagement and late getting into ereader game and online shopping. Expanding too much too soon. We were told we were closing the same day as the public. Hours drastically reduced during slow tims of the year.

Advice to Senior Management

too late for advice. company is shot and owe more than they are worth. very sad. they should have leased lower rent locations and decreased selection.

Pros

The books! And the customers were fantastic. I love being around people who enjoy reading as much as myself. I loved the atmosphere as well. The music was pretty alright. I thoroughly enjoyed hours! I still had time for a social life. I felt a strong sense of community as well. People looked out for each other. I had wanted to work for this company for quite some time. and when I was able to call myself a Borders employee I was really proud!

Cons

The pay. The lack of vacation. The instability. The inability to grow in company. The lack of training for managers. The list goes on. As awesome as it was to do work for the company, it was impossible to make any suggestions for change. And there is no checks and balance system for GM's. They can place anyone they wish in line for promotion with no regard for seniority or performance. The lack of recognition was a downer as well. You sweat blood for a company and they will ignore that and give you a review of things to improve.

Its was like finding out that my superhero was just a dude in a suit. That didn't like me that much.

Advice to Senior Management

Maybe listen to feedback? As a floor employee, we see how your great ideas play out on a regional and local basis. What works well in California doesn't necessarily apply to Idaho consumers.

Pros

Got to be around books all day
Good discount, 33%
Employee appriciation weekends, 40% off discount
Great conversations with other book lovers

Cons

Very poor management in our store
Manager was very unethical
In the 9 months I was there we changed district managers 5 times

Advice to Senior Management

Look into who you are hiring to be managers because mine should never have been hired into the position. He was unfair and unethical. Looks very bad on the company.

Pros

Great Staff
Great Discounts
Interacting With Customers
Great Product

Cons

High expectations to deliver impossible results with loyalty programs etc.
Frequent Executive Changes resulting in overall company goals/mindset
Store Staff structure changes every 6 months
District Managers/Zone VP's communicate very little about company operations/changes
District Managers/Executives hired in with little or no experience with product base/customer base but still expect same-result
No severance for ANY of the employees at the stores closed as a result of Chapter 11

Advice to Senior Management

Look back to when Borders was thriving as a company, get a jump AHEAD with the technology instead of being 5 steps behind everybody else, and value your employee's input as much as your customers. Maybe then Borders will be able to climb out of the deep coffin that has been created within the last 10 years...

Pros

The people are world class. The employees at this company love books, music and media and are passionate about what they do. They truly make this place special. The CEO, Mike Edwards is fantastic and it's ashame that he wasn't here years ago to really help make Borders thrive. He is doing great job turning the company around.

Cons

Managment decisions have been questionable. They make decisions and then quickly change their mind so there is constant scrambling within the company to execute mediocre plans. They stopped providing merit increases 3 years ago and do not match 401k.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to the employees that have been with the company for 10, 20 and even close to 30 years! They are a wealth of information and should be utilized as such.