Simon Property Group Reviews

Pros

Nice company to work for and great benefits. Promoting from within is strongly encouraged and with the right manager, a person can go far within the organization.

Cons

Often managers are promoted who are not experienced. Generally, its best if you work in the regional office or home office.

Pros

Very comfortable with type of work asked to do, compared to other retail management positions the work schedule is VERY flexible with most weekends off, fun events and kids shows which we staffed, opportunity to network with other companies via solicitation of corporate giftcard orders.

Cons

Both of my bosses seemed to be completely incapable of doing their jobs. Over and over they would do the same thing expecting to get a different result, then be confused when our sales continued to tank. Any ideas thrown around the office were ignored simply because someone other than them had thought of it. On top of that my direct supervisor had a nasty habit of talking down to everyone else in the office AND changing her mind like the wind when planning events. It made for a rather painful work environment with near zero office moral. In the end our sales were so poor that they closed the Guest Services department and I was laid off along with all of my employees. And they did this one week after Christmas.

Advice to Senior Management

With a company this large it's hard to get a true picture of what is happen at each property. But somehow that is exactly what needs to be looked at. Poor management on property is not uncommon according to not only myself, but also the majority of my contacts at other properties.

Pros

Convenient for shopping; able to participate in cool events; no shortage of responsibility given to each employee; good for networking with outside agencies;

Cons

The amount of stress and work in comparison to the pay is awful. They will work you to the bone with no regard for a personal life. I did most of my supervisors work in addition to my own while she took credit for all of it. They love their policies! Most of which are ridiculous, misunderstood, and improperly implemented. The policies are strictly enforced regardless of functionality and no accommodations are ever allowed regardless of situation. Employees live in constant fear and are never given any praise. The moral amongst mall employees is nonexistent.

Advice to Senior Management

#1 most important thing Upper Level Indy Management could do is pay attention to what the management in the malls is doing. Many of them are corrupt, many are doing nothing at all, and all of them I've encountered are just shooting from the hip.

Pros

Flexible scheduling for this part-time position

Cons

Pay was well below average for the job duties. Lack of respect from middle/upper management. Lack of communication in the office, unless it involved backstabbing someone for not doing their job (which many positions overlapped and there were no true "jobs" assigned at times). Could only work 39.99 hours since I was only "part time". No benefits. Management had time to goof off, but would not answer calls that came in. Never heard the words "good job" from my supervisor.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat Guest Services with respect. They are the first contact with people outside the mall office.

Pros

Decent benefits, good recognition in the business world.

Cons

Poor pay structure, poor communication, antiquated computer programs - none of which communicate with each other, mind numbing amount of procedures and paperwork - many of which are extremely outdated, does not promote independent thinking.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat lower level employees as part of the team, offer a bonus structure for all employees - not just senior level employees, senior mgmt needs to have more contact with all levels of field employees.

Pros

When it was great it was great. Mall management at some malls were great with superb team support and great morale.

Cons

Upper management never at the mall

Lower management in malls were never at the mall

Tend to break up a great team at put in new GM that never wants to be on property.

Pros

Great health insurance! I paid very little for my prescriptions. Sometimes as little as fifty cents. They have a database that is easy to use for finding out information about running the property and lots of step by step instructions.

Cons

The pay was not as much as the typical rate in the area.
Many of the procedures were inflexible without consideration to adapt for specific situations where flexibility is required.

Advice to Senior Management

Encourage necessary training for upward mobility by initiating a program employees can enroll in.

Pros

Good balance between work and life. Some opportunities for growth. Good place to learn sales techniques you can transfer to other professions.

Cons

Communicating with upper management can sometime be difficult. Pay is satisfactory. Position involves working weekends and longer hours during the holiday season.

Advice to Senior Management

Monthly meetings should include all staff of all levels so that everyone can be on the same page. Host team building events.

Pros

It is a very flexible environment to work in. There is always new and different things to do every day.

Cons

The pay is low compared to the high stresses of the job. They do not want to pay you over time but to get everything done you must work over time.

Advice to Senior Management

There is a huge gap in levels of work. There is entry level positions and then there are very experienced level.s

Pros

Good benefits package. Good work schedule. Flexible time off. Office environment friendly. Nice place to be during the holidays. Generous employee bonus at Christmas.

Cons

Many of the important decisions that affect the field are made by those who do not understand and apparently don't care what happens at the local level.

Advice to Senior Management

Work to keep good lines of communication open with the field. Work with local properties to do what is best for individual properties whether they are mega malls or small local malls.