Hallmark Reviews

Pros

The large creative community is wonderful and benefits are great. Great size company with many different departments to gain experience.

Cons

Need to be aware of company politics and network regularly to be seen in best light. Management can have favorites, and overlook others.

Advice to Senior Management

Management needs to be more open to critical feedback and respond to suggestions given.
Be very realistic about current market conditions and changing technology.

Pros

The staff at my particular store is wonderful, which is a huge reason why I have enjoyed my time with the company, but I believe that is more of a reflection on my manager than the company as a whole as some of our other stores are quite the opposite. Our customers are generally wonderful people and very loyal. There is always something to do and something new to learn. Some of the product is really great and fun, such as the ornaments.

Cons

-Compensation: I have been with the company for 4 years and have been promoted 3 times (from Seasonal SA to SA to Key Holder to Sales Lead). I am third in command at my store, and I acted as ASM for 6 months of this past year due to our ASM's early maternity leave. I only make $0.30 more than a non-experienced, newly hired cashier at Best Buy. The average receptionist makes more than our ASM, who has been with the company for over a decade. Our job is a lot of hard work, but we are definitely not rewarded for it. Perhaps this is selfish, but I do feel that a sales lead who steps into a management role for months at a time should receive some kind of extra compensation.

-Benefits and Advancement: As a part-time employee, I am not entitled to receive benefits. My manager is not allowed to make me full-time because the corporate office refuses to allow non-management to have full-time status right now. I cannot be promoted any farther without moving over 200 miles away, which is difficult to do with a family.

-Respect: The corporate office has very little regard for us underlings here at the store level. For example, coupons have become an issue for us. All coupons have fine-print, which exclude certain items, and online coupons will generally have a one-per-customer limit. We are required to follow these rules, or we will get in serious trouble, but we always politely and calmly explain to a customer why we can't use a coupon. However, if a customer makes a fuss and calls the corporate hotline whining about how we wouldn't take their coupon, corporate will apologize to the customer for "the unfortunate way our retail team treated [them]," and then issue them a $50 gift card. The customer then comes back in, all smug, waving their gift card around, and now that they know the secret, they will continually repeat the process. Another customer called corporate to ask if retail stores still had a certain ornament. Instead of recommending the customer contact the store directly, she was told that all retail stores still had the ornament. It was an ornament that had been on the corporate "permanently out of stock list" for a month, and we had none. Of course, the customer thought we were lying because CORPORATE told her that we had one, so we had to listen to her yell at us for something out of our control. It's things like this and many other things that just show the kind of disregard the corporate office has for us. They never have our backs on ANYTHING, and always make US out to be the bad guys for following THEIR rules.

-Appreciation: This is a smaller thing, but it's always bothered me nevertheless. Corporate runs several contests throughout the year. The manager and assistant manager receive drastically larger prizes than sales associates. I understand that to a degree, but associates are the ones out there doing the selling. On one occasion, our assistant manager wasn't even there for the weekend the contest ran. We won. She received a $200 item. We got bags of candy.

-Product: Almost every single item carried in the store is made in another country, which angers a lot of our customers, even the regulars. A lot of the ornaments, toys, jewelry and seasonal items are also very poorly made. Even the cards often come in damaged or are so poorly put together that they fall apart. We do more returns for damaged items than for any other reason by a very significant amount.

Advice to Senior Management

This isn't really to management, but to the folks at corporate. I think it's time for this company to refocus. When JC Hall founded the company, he recognized that employees were an essential part of a successful business, and he made employee relations a priority. His other main priority was product quality, and I honestly think he'd be disgusted by the quality of products currently offered in our stores. It's really sad how far the company has come from that. I also feel that anyone making rules and standards about customer service or the way the store is run needs to spend more time in the retail environment. Our current VP especially seems to come up with really strange ideas for us to incorporate that just don't make sense. I think she has forgotten what the retail environment is like and can no longer adequately lead us in that sense.

Pros

Great job by management of sharing knowledge. They provide all neccesary information to prepare MAA's for store visits, which benefits the retailers. Creating consistency within the Gold Crown stores makes a reliable shopping experience for the customers.

Cons

The hours are part time and can be very minimal if there are not enough stores in the geographical area that are supported by this position.

Pros

Wonderful store, fine tradition, beautiful merchandise and great customers. Employees are some of the best around. Proud to be associated with Halls and its parent company Hallmark Cards.

Cons

Senior management trying to change the entire tone of the store, and move it from a top-class elegant store into something trendy and mainstream. Watch out if you are not one of the favored people, life will be difficult. Micromanagement at its worst.

Advice to Senior Management

Trust the employees to do their job without constant monitoring. Don't treat them like immature, irresponsible children. The direction of the store is heading the wrong way, quit trying to make it into a store for the masses. Halls is all about luxury, elegance, taste, and refinement. Quit trying to destroy that.

Pros

Nice work enviornment
Small staff so its easy to get to know everyone
Great discount

Good starter job for anyone new to working

Cons

The associates pretty much run the store
You build everything that is in there
Holiday is crazy and overwhelming
Not much moving up
Pay is not good if you are supporting youself

Hallmark is more of an on the side job more than it is an actual career. If you need extra cash than maybe its right for you. You gotta really love cards and be prepared to pretty build the store from the ground up

Pros

The employee discount is very generous.

Cons

Management believes that Hallmark should be your life, you cannot maintain a personal life while employed here.

Pros

Autonomy with direction, flexibility, wealth of info available.

Cons

Only p.t. positions for field associates.

Advice to Senior Management

From my small part of the Hallmark world, it seems that changes are well planned and feedback is always welcomed.

Pros

I personally love working for Hallmark. They care about their employees and customers and stad behind their product. They provide substantial Product Knowledge to employees which I think is key to success in sales. I hate nothing more than going into a store where the employee does not know about the product or does not care about their job. You wont find that at Hallmark.

Cons

Well they cater to holidays so availability is vital during the season. There are a lot of phase changes and store changes that go on after hours of operation and you need to know the product.

Advice to Senior Management

All of my managers have been wonderful and continue to be wonderful. The company truly cares about it's employees and understands that we are the face, voice and heart of Hallmark to the customers. I am lucky to say that I have met all of my managers and Don Hall Jr. the CEO of Hallmark.

Pros

Good benefits, flexible hours, great place for people with family and not looking for professional growth

Cons

minimal employee empowerment, limited vertical growth opportunities

Pros

I'd have to say that the best reason to work at a Hallmark retail store is that it truly skills you in the retail and sales environment. Fast paced sale seasons, especially Christmas time, made me a strong retail employee there.

Cons

Truly, a large downside to working at a Hallmark retail location is that there is not much room for growth in the environment. I truly felt like I would not be able to advance to a higher position, which is truly in the end why I left when something better came along.

Advice to Senior Management

The only advice I would give to Hallmark leadership is to concentrate on and appreciate the average, every-day worker who keeps their stores operating effectively.