Dress Barn Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Dress Barn

Pros – 40% discount on all regular priced items
20% discount on all clearance items
The customers

Cons – The gossip among AM to the associates causing extreme prejudice

Because of the individual sales goal, the associates and managers are constantly stealing each others sales. Everyone knows this without it being said, but when the AMs are telling this to the associates, what are the associates supposed to do? Steal back? That seems to be everyone's answer.

I am the top seller in our store, but because I confronted my SM about this, my hours were significantly dropped. No more You Are A Star cards, no more thank yous for hard work done, no more recognition for an $800 Cathy sale, no mention of 9 credit cards in one week. I'm lucky even if she says hi to me now.

I've been with DB for over two years, but instead of acting like the adults they all are, I feel like I'm back in high school again! I've already put my feelers out looking for work that actually involves adults!

Advice to Senior Management – Just because a top store is being a top seller doesn't necessarily mean the DMs and RMs know what's really going on in the stores they manage. Talk to the AMs and the sales associates, privately, if you want the real truth of what's going on. A pretty smile doesn't always mean a pretty heart. People are afraid of losing their jobs if they say anything. I've already lost my hours.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dress Barn

Pros – B.E.L.I.E.V.E. philosophy (Building relationships, Earning trust, Leading by example, Igniting our Business, Elevating standards, Excelling in service)

Cons – DSM is not supporting the Dressbarn ideals.

Advice to Senior Management – Get rid of the employees that do not live and breathe the B.E.L.I.E.V.E. statement. It is TRULY the key to our success.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dress Barn

Pros – I love the discount! It makes it easier to "look" the part. I also like my co-workers, most of the time. I like the family feel of the store.

Cons – There is less focus on "Team" and more focus on "individual" goals. This can cause a lot of animosity between staff. A simple mistake can cost you big time. Just yesterday I accidentally rang up a sale under my ID and had to work my tail off to make it up to the other associate.

Advice to Senior Management – I really feel we need to put an emphasis on the sales team instead of the individual. We should work together not fight over sales and charges. But, since you do make us "enemies" on the sales floor then give us a reason for it, not just because you say so.

Former Employee – worked at Dress Barn

Pros – 40% discount- I loved this!
Some good co-workers.

Cons – This place is an absolute circus.
When I first started, I was informed that they're all about "lifting up" employees and watching them grow. But as time went on, it seems as if they only look down on you, no matter what.
Within my first few weeks of working there, I was walking in to start working and another associate locked me outside. Even better, an assistant manager watched EVERYTHING and did NOTHING. They wanted to see if I could "survive."
Management sucks. They don't take their job seriously, no matter how long they've worked there. For example: an assistant manager and another co-worker had their boyfriends come in, sat on the counter cross-legged, and ate snow cones. I don't know much about being a manager, but I know that this is not acceptable.
I got hired at the beginning of the summer, sales were pretty good. I got more people to sign up for the DBCC in my first few months of working than some of the other girls had in 1-2 years of working there. I didn't even get a pat on the back for this.
 I'm a college student, so I started afternoon classes in the fall. I was only able to work nights, literally every night of working 5 hours, maybe only 4 people came in the store. Obviously, my sales slipped A LOT. Instead of my manager looking at the records and seeing how low the over-all sales were for the night and realizing that my lack of sales were out of my control, I got in trouble for it. I told her time after time that we really didn't have any customers during my hours of working, she suggested that I pass out coupons outside of the store. I'm sorry, but after the way that I had been treated up to that point, I was going to do NOTHING for those managers.
I started working there when I was 19, the clothes are obviously targeted for women older than myself. But I didn't let that stop myself from working hard for the customers. I even had a handful of my customers tell my manager how helpful I was to them and how much they appreciated me. I figured that I would receive verbal praise for this. But no, Of course not.
I eventually had enough of the management and quit. A few months after I quit, I went back, looking for a scarf. I walked through the door and up around the counter. An assistant manager was gossiping with another associate. They never broke out of their conversation to greet me, as a customer.
I had enough at this point and I wrote a very long, nasty e-mail to the company about how poorly managed this specific store is, I even put in the stories and the events that I experienced and told them that I would NEVER be back to this store. Their reply? "We're sorry about your experience and we hope that you'll shop with us again!"

Advice to Senior Management – Give praise to your associates!! They're the reason that this company is up and running. If you give them no positive feedback and all negative feedback, you'll drive them out the door. If someone's sales are down, look at the over-all total in sales throughout the time that they were working.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dress Barn

Pros – 40 % discount on great clothes

Cons – low pay impossible to get a raise. too many hoops to jump through with no reward other than silly grade school stuff.

Advice to Senior Management – Concentrate a little more on your employees and a little less on contests and goals. People will work hard when paid well. That is the reason we work.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dress Barn

Pros – Great discount to any employees 40% off on regular priced items and 20% off on sale items. Even things that go to 50%off.

Cons – There is way too much preassure at DB. It's really not worth it. Goals are more attainable if there isn't individual goals. There is no incentives to goals only pressure. You have to make at least $128 dollars per hour worked (when you start) it goes up after a couple of months to $134 when you do so you make it to "PROS" (after 3 months) which just raises your goal to $291 per hour worked. If you do not meet your "goals" you are "let go". On top of the money you have to open credit cards and keep your "spread" (percentage of opened credit cards per transaction) under 12. And as if this were not enough you have to host "VIP" parties (think Mary kay party) through out the quarter. This also counts againts you if you do not host parties.

Customer's always feel pressured and complaining about it. Every one thinks we're on comission since it is the "pushy" sale tactics they make us do. We are not comissioned and yet we are expected to sale as if we were.
I feel that for the minimum wage most employees are being paid it is EXTREMELY unfair. Here we are working our butts off to sale over priced items for DB.
It explains why the turn-over in this company is so bad.

Advice to Senior Management – Managers need to chill. We understand that they are too getting pressure from UPPER management but when we are put under stress and pressure from that you won't get results from us. It just makes us even more stressed which ends up in employees quitting after a month or two.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dress Barn

Pros – Discount on clothes, other staff, helping customers get fabulous outfits, regular customers treating you like old friends

Cons – store & assistant managers not doing their job, not communicating, not staffing/ scheduling efficiently district and regional managers not making store and assistant mangers do job. not having a merchandising team and having to change walls every 2 weeks without enough staff.

Advice to Senior Management – lot of great ideads and concepts but not enough staff or people or equipment to actually do them all.

Current Employee – been working at Dress Barn

Pros – 1. Management and employer's are great people to work with.
2. Flexible schedule
3.Not too hard of a job.

Cons – 1. The pay sucks.
2. have to get certain amount of charge cards per week.
3. cathy shops
4. District Managers expect for you to do the impossible.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep being the best managers ever!

Current Employee – been working at Dress Barn

Pros – Working with people who can do their job

Cons – Poor Management, DSM not hirin right people

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dress Barn

Pros – Friendly staff, decent benefits, corporate pride regarding achievements in retail clothing sales. Very much oriented to clothing design and purchase.

Cons – Management has attitude that Dress barn is one of few companies (on clothing retail?) outside of New York City so there is no need to be competitive in compensation. Management is poorly trained in employee relations. Little concern for retaining employees. Very little investment or interest in employee growth outside of buyers and designers.

Advice to Senior Management – Outsource IT or take greater interest in IT operations.Managers need training in employee motivation skills, negotiation skills, Time management, IT managers need training in Project Management.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend