Kmart Reviews

Pros

-There are benefits.
-If you stay for a long time you may move up in the future.
-You get an employee discount for Kmart and Sears.
-Coworkers and managers at the one I work at are very easy to work with and get along with.
-You get breaks depending on how many hours you work.
-They train you well.
-The managers are good to help me whenever I have a problem.
-Most customers I've dealt with have been nice.
-The dress code is not very strict.
-The number of hours you work is reasonable.
-The pay rate is reasonable.
-The working conditions are good.
-There is a fair work/life/school balance.
-Overall, a good place to work if you really need a job.

Cons

-You can't use the discount on sale items, and it is only enough to take the sales tax off (10 percent where I am at).
-They tend to stay on your case about getting people to sign up for Shop Your Way Rewards.
-Don't count on making enough money to cover your bills, rent, etc. if you plan on moving out.
-If you work during the holidays it can be very stressful (long hours, coming in really early or staying really late).
-After the holidays they dramatically decrease your hours.

Advice to Senior Management

Though it is good for the company, please stop pressuring employees to ask for S.Y.W.R. sign-ups and credit cards and just let the customers be. Other than that, this is a great place to work. The management from the one I work at deserves lot of praise.

Pros

Often able to work on projects at your own pace without management breathing down your neck.
Management is very friendly and respectful toward staff.
Flexible schedule can be tailored to your own needs.
Opportunity to pick up extra hours is always available.
20% employee discount on clothing, 10% discount on all other merchandise.
Discount also applies at Sears and Land's End.

Cons

Pay could be much better.
No benefits package for part time employees.
Not much opportunity for advancement.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer better pay and benefits to part timers. Kmart is a good place to work, but not to support a family.

Pros

I have to say that the best part about working at Kmart is the discount program, which extends to Sears. That's the best.
Other than that, certain members of management are wonderful. Certain coworkers and employees are passionate about their work, and will go above and beyond to make sure that policies are followed to the letter, yet leave the customer satisfied and happy.

Cons

One word - scheduling. There are times when hardlines will have 8 people in the morning but only 2 in the evening (and there is scarcely anyone in softlines, resulting in piles of reshops in front of the fitting rooms - which I'm sure looks absolutely wonderful to the customer). There are times when there is no one scheduled as a mid-shift customer service supervisor, meaning that the opener and closer need to scramble for coverage on lunches and breaks, because if we don't take them, we get written up. Some members of management are downright hostile to the customers, after we call them for help with an issue, thereby making the service desk staff look both vengeful and incompetent. Staff can be cranky and snarky with customers at times, as well as with some of their coworkers, resulting in a sometimes tense work environment.
The computer system is in DIRE need of updating, and ARMS needs to get their act together and actually head out to a location when a service call is put in - my location has had a register out of service since just after Thanksgiving, and no one has shown up to repair it yet, despite repeated calls.
Dead weight is almost never eliminated, while great employees consistently seem to find their way to the wrong side of the revolving door.
Pay is virtually non-existent, and is in no way competitive with other big box retailers.
Advancement is next to impossible, unless you have the ear of someone on the management team or kiss their asses on a daily basis.
The daily on-call sheet is more or less useless, as it seldom if ever matches the posted schedule downstairs, leaving us to guess who's coming in to what department and at what time.
Any dealings with HR are horrific at best.

Advice to Senior Management

Instead of bitching about the apathy of your cashiers, associates, and leads, consider compensating them a little better for their hard work. It's hard to want to provide great customer service when your paycheck won't even pay for groceries for the week.
Make sure your Store Coaches, ASMs, and leads are well-trained. It's more than a little off-putting to have to teach your SUPERIOR how to do a simple override on a register, and makes me wonder why exactly they're getting paid more than I am.

Pros

Everyone who works here gets a long great for the most part. Although, some people tend to think that once they reach the service desk, that they run the store.

Cons

You get very short breaks, most of the shifts are only 4-6 hours, you never get 40 hours a week unless you are managment, and you have to deal with rude customers constantly, and you can tell them you would like to try a different department, but they never follow up on your request.

Advice to Senior Management

Take a close look at your employees, and be realistic about their work. A fantastic cashier at Kmart cannot get 10 credit card approvals in one 4 hour shift. Please praise your staff for effort, and allow advancement.

Pros

Kmart gives you good (but long) hours.
Good for seasonal employment.
Almost always hires seasonal employees after season is finished.

Cons

Supervisors show blatant favoritism and bully cashiers.
It is never the supervisors' fault when something goes wrong.
The discount isn't very useful.
Break-times aren't always given/coordinated.
Supervisors put extra emphasis on SWYR and the cards don't really even do anything.
Management isn't very good (or nice) about letting people request off.

Advice to Senior Management

Why don't you try quality over quantity?
Stop forcing cashiers to ask customers for SWYR card sign-up.
Less "terms and conditions/fine print" on coupons.

Pros

It's okay for part-time work
The customer service jobs are easy
The hours were reasonable enough
Some managers and coworkers are cool

Cons

No opportunity for advancement
Some managers and coworkers are terrible
Don't expect to parlay your part-time retail work into anything meaningful

Advice to Senior Management

Be more willing to promote from within the company. Treat your hourly wage employees with respect and they will work harder for you.

Pros

After 6 years everyone feels like family. Got promoted within a short period of time.

Cons

Pay raises and compensation is horrible. They push you so much to get Shop Your Way Rewards. Wouldn't recommend this job to anyone.

Advice to Senior Management

Management needs to work in the store longer before taking over

Pros

Kmart is a great place to work because they care about your life outside of work, there are many advancement opportunities, and the management is easily accessible. They are extremely flexible, especially for working with students and their school schedules.

Cons

Store level management is not consistent in enforcing and applying company policy. One manager will enforce policy A and other manager won't. Employees who threaten to quit are given pay raises while other everyone else doesn't. Many long-term employees (the ones who worked through the bankrupcty) are fearful of management/job security and will throw co-workers under the bus. Training could be better.

Advice to Senior Management

Corporate needs to reinvest in their store and training for hourly associates. Better standards for store management. Better bonus programs for employees.

Pros

store discounts
friendly people to work with

Cons

non-flexible schedule
long, ridiculous hours
some rude customers

Pros

its a great working environment. people are friendly and nice to work with. it has a great schedule. the location is great and close to my home.

Cons

the customers can be rude. it takes alot of patience to deal with people who can be demanding. and it has a long hours

Advice to Senior Management

It would be nice if they can improve our pay and give us better hous and let us have some holidays off.