J. C. Penney Reviews

Pros

I was fortunate to get along with most of my coworkers and always looked forward to coming in to work. Management was competent, but not really outstanding. Not sure how other companies relay employees their schedules, but JCPenney does it online and I really enjoyed being able to check my schedule from home. Employee discount can be used in combination with other discounts/coupons which really shows appreciation to the employee.

Cons

-Hard work is not recognized AT ALL by any higher management unless you get your name mentioned by customer in the customer surveys or get a lot of credit applications completed. And management only uses both of these as a measuring stick to see how well employees are performing.
-Scheduling can be a bit hectic. I can recall some days on Christmas week when I was scheduled to work until 2am some days and then scheduled to come in at 6:30am other days.

Advice to Senior Management

Management needs a better method to see how well employees work. Some of my coworkers (that were seasonal employees as well) would never really help clean up our department, yet they were praised by management because they got customers to mention their names in surveys.

Pros

The hours are flexible. The managers and supervisors are very helpful. Also, the company has a great legacy of keeping their customers loyal to the stores.

Cons

As with most retail jobs, the hourly pay is around minimum wage.
The new strategy of eliminating most of the coupons could result in fewer customers.

Advice to Senior Management

There should be some coupons offered at least a couple times a month so JCPenney does not risk losing customers to its competitors, such as Kohls or Gordmans.

Pros

Oppurtunities for education and advancement.

Cons

Challenges of time, dealing with multiple personalities and high levels of stress at times.

Advice to Senior Management

Consider having a mentoring program for associates.

Pros

They offer benefits to the part time associates. The flexibility in your work schedule, and the customers and associates.

Cons

The only issue I had was having to work every single weekend. Or as least it seemed that way.

Advice to Senior Management

Perhaps you could rotate weekends off for the associates.

Pros

Relationships between management and associates are good.
Understanding when It comes to time off.
Advancement to grow

Cons

Pay wasn't too good.
Hours weren't great. But retail hours aren't always that good.

Pros

The people I worked with were all very friendly with the exception of a few. I got good hours and good pay.

Cons

The training was horrible. I basically taught myself everything I knew on the register. The management sucks as there was a lack of communication.

Advice to Senior Management

You need to keep on top of your employees and make sure they get their schedules on time. Also train us better!

Pros

Generous Discounts
My Management seems to care about me professionally and personally
My management schedules enough people to work so you are not alone
Customers are respectful
Management offers free lunch during the holidays and they're always having some kind of associate appreciate event/party

Cons

I work in shoes, so we get a commission, but everyone else only makes $7.75! I think J.C. Penney can do better than that.

Advice to Senior Management

Make pay fair. If a commissioned shoe sales associate works in another department for a day, they should be able to make the same $7.75 that their counterparts make instead of minimum wage. When we had to take time off of the sales floor to roll out the new tags, we showed up at 5 am. and did the same BACK-BREAKING work everyone else did, but at a rate of $7.25/hour. That's not fair.

Pros

Pay structure is one of the best in the industry

Cons

Even though JCP is 100+ years old company, it is not the most technologically advanced companies in the retail industry. Long way to go before new management can clean the not-so-strategic thinking mid-managers and bring someone who can lead them to next generations.

Pros

Nice people and a happy, helpful environment. Decent, competitive pay. Management is very appreciative of what you do for them. Time off requests are given fairly.

Cons

Retail hours, often nights and weekends. Schedule doesn't come out far enough ahead of time to allow for good personal planning. Not a lot of opportunity for consistent weekly scheduling.

Advice to Senior Management

It would be helpful to put out schedules more than 7-10 days in advance. A consistent schedule would make a personal life much easier to plan.

Pros

As an employee, you truly get many opportunities to work in various departments and positions if you seek them.

Cons

Your hours vary on a weekly basis however, this is very very similar to any other retailer as well.