Pros

Great discount (which I use way too much), fellow employees are fun and very nice

Cons

Work can be mundane and boring as a sales associate, management doesn't provide a lot of information to sales associates about company information and future promotions.

Advice to Senior Management

Better communication from management, I want to know more about store financials and upcoming promotions. I have seen improvement from 2 years ago, but more can be done to give employees more information.

Pros

great discounts, nice sales staff on the floor
good pay for mgr's
decent benefits

Cons

political back stabbing from corp to store level manangement.
no straight communication
major cover up when things go bad
micro manangement of dept managers
no ethics

Advice to Senior Management

Unfortunately depending on senior store manager you will be told how to run your dept or be shown the door.. They have a high turnover rate for depy mgr's for a reason.

Pros

Good associate discounts, so you can stock up on your shoes and handbags.

Cons

Catty work environment, diva bosses, and unclear direction, so oftentimes you're running around with a chicken with its head cut off. Depending on who is your boss will determine your level of satisfaction/misery, but you would think as a luxury retailer the team would be fashion savvy but that is not oftentimes the case. Sounds glamorous to be saying you work here, but it's like being in a sorority of yes women, and it's not a place to grow. Pass if you have other options.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire professional managers, and invest in recognizing people with talent and intellect. Create an environment where people can give their own opinions rather than scared of saying anything but yes, yes, yes, and trying to brownnose their way to promotion.

Pros

great discount for yourself and family, opportunity to make as much as you want with the right sales attitude, good benefits

Cons

economy has caused luxury retailers to lose a lot of business, commissions are low right now, minimal opportunity for advancement

Advice to Senior Management

Give employees an opportunity to express ideas and thoughts in order to make them feel as if they are part of a team

Pros

There are opportunites to be creative in one's job and it's great being appreciated by fellow associates. The salary is fair compared to what is paid for similar positions in other industries. Overall high quality organization and they care about their employees. They invest in developing their people and generally people are very nice there.

Cons

It's very difficult to move upward because there aren't a lot of positions available.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more open to feedback from your subordinates so that you can better understand their needs. People want to grow and develop in their jobs--help them do that.

Pros

It's a great place to work when you're trying to get a start in the fashion industry, the company is very supportive of their associates and has very high standards for them, so it's a great place for learning.

Cons

There is a lot of down time a certain time of the year, and you do have to deal with a few unbelievably demanding clients, some of which have panic attacks or literally have a nervous break down when they don't get their way, so you do have to have strong service skills.

Advice to Senior Management

Make sure all employees are properly trained on store policies and procedures.

Pros

Good entry level salary and benefits package; good teams; get to work on projects that really do impact the performance of the users; the company is committed to being the best; surveys are given in order to help the company understand what employees are happy about and what things could be better; cafeteria; discounts on cell phone service and other things; this is a good place to work if you really want to work on meaningful projects; you get the opportunity to take classes on different subjects, including subjects like Excel, Business Writing, etc.

Cons

management is horrible; lack of communication;

Advice to Senior Management

communicate before making decisions

Pros

Great discount, especially during associate double discount events throughout the year (be prepared to just give them back your paycheck, sometimes the sales are so good you just can't resist)
Beautiful merchandise; a great place to be around high fashion.
Does a lot of great work for charities locally and nationally.
One of the best places to get experience in the retail industry, because honestly, retail is retail, you're going to deal with some of the same crap wherever you go, you might as well be in one of the most high end places there is.

Cons

Horrible commission structure (Draw= you must sell enough to basically pay yourself back, or else you're in arrears and must sell even more the next week.). Needs to be reevaluated so customer returns don't count against you as much.
The commission structure also causes catty arguments over sales, not constructive competition, between coworkers.
Sometimes feels like the hard work you do isn't valued/recognized.
Different departments are treated differently/unfairly.
Not much opportunity for growth, too many managers are hired from the outside rather than giving people inside a chance and hiring from within.

Advice to Senior Management

The Golden Rule: Treat others how you would want to be treated....Would you want to work every single Saturday for 2 months straight and have no time with your friends/family? Wouldn't you want to be able to use your vacation time and personal days however you want (within reason) not how your manager sees best? Wouldn't you want to keep at least some of the commission you earned while spending a lot of time helping a client even though when she got home she changed her mind/her husband didn't like it/etc. and decided to return it? Wouldn't you want to know your upcoming schedule more than two days beforehand?

Pros

the best part of working at Saks is the employee discount although they require you to put on a saks credit card. the sales on designer clothing and working in the mall so its easy to change scenery on your break.

Cons

worst parts of working here are the last minute schedule, co-worker competition to meet sales quotas, demands to call clients at home to come in, favoratism among employees and management

Advice to Senior Management

offer more opportunities for training. regulation on ugly tactics "top performing" salespeople attempt to get the quotas.

Pros

Very people oriented company. Believes in creating a work environment that is conducive to giving excellent customer service ie treat your employees the way you expect them to treat the customer. Fabulous benenfits and on the job training.

Cons

Management salary level good, but not at the top for comparable skills. Tough to balance personal and business time off.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay employees on annual raises a higher percentage. Employees hired from outside come in at higher rates than those who have committed to stay with the company.