Talbots Reviews

Pros

-nice pay for retail
-benefits for full time
-flexible schedule
-nice work environment
-most coworkers very nice and easy to get along with.

Cons

- a lot of gossip (especially from management)
- unreasonable sales goals
- co-workers acting pushy with sales - stealing customers
- company pushing employees to buy their expensive clothes
- no room for advancement
- long shifts without breaks

Advice to Senior Management

- Give employees at least a 15 minute break on a 4 or more hour shift
- Stop with the gossiping
- Treat your employees with respect - let them know what you expect.
- Promote within.

Pros

The company is on the verge of change. It's a good time to join. New recruits are held in the highest esteem.

Cons

Longevity is frowned upon. There is no synergy. The direction is unclear. Time is wasted on beauractatic non-sense.

Advice to Senior Management

Decide who your customer is! Be practical in the pursuit of her. Stop confusing her. Treat your employee's with respect.

Pros

The pay was decent for an hourly position. The women I worked with were great people. 40% off discount, and generally once every couple of weeks they'd offer 50% off. The work is fairly simple. A great job if you love sales, since its all based on the clients and your client book.

Cons

Not a good place if you're looking to advance in the company. Always brought in new managers from outside company. I only ever saw one person actually receive a promotion in my 3+ years there. Hours get cut often. One week I would work 29 hours, the next 16, and so forth. Not good if you need a stable job.

Advice to Senior Management

Employees are the front lines of your company. Without them, you have no one selling your product. Streamline the business better or all of the hard work that has gone into transforming the company will be in vain.

Pros

*50% Associate Merchandise discount with special 60% discount promotions on new merchandise
*Flexible schedule
*Decent hourly pay
*Appealing store environment
*Ability to interact with people (the customers), lightly physical work, not sitting at a desk

Cons

*Little to no opportunity for advancement or promotion
*Senior management has the "what have you done for me lately" attitude
*Outside candidates favored over promoting from within
*Long-time customers dissatisfied with changes to product assortment and sales policy
*Company has forgotten what makes Talbots "Talbots"
*Employees are stressed at all levels due to increase pressure from above

Advice to Senior Management

*Recognize talent and loyalty in the associates you already have
*More formal career development programs and opportunities
*Return to the true roots of Talbots, according to the example set by past-CEO Arnold Zetcher
*Treat your employees like customers, after all, they are the people who deal face-to-face with the customers effectively providing the paychecks of everyone else in the company
*If stores are open for business, corporate support should be available to support the stores
*Technology is stuck in the 1990s and is insufficient to do business in 2012.
*POS interface needs a redesign to improve efficiency and reduce mistakes

Pros

Great discount and opportunities to earn company money towards wardrobe for all employees. Benefits (for full time employees only) were decent. Time off was not difficult to obtain. Style of merchandise is much improved, however quality needs to follow.

Cons

Many changes to the company and upper management over the last few years resulted in much turnover, which was not all good. Communication on all levels needed improvement.

Advice to Senior Management

Bring back some quality Talbots was known for, style is great but a classic should last too. Some stores should not be representing the new Talbots, they are outdated and should be renovated or closed.

Pros

Working at Talbots provided me with relevant experience in a well-known brand. The company is incredible and I wish them the best of luck!

Cons

Current environment of Talbots is incredibly turbulent as leadership and staff layoffs are changing the organization.

Pros

Great discounts
Good people to work with
Customers can be the best to work with
Learn about fashion in an upscale store.

Cons

Supplies - where are they? Light bulbs? Bathroom Cleaners?
Water - bottles only for the customers? Our water fountains don't work!
Leadership is not stepping up to take care of problems.
Sales Goals - if the customer is not coming in, how can they be met? And why would the hour before opening and the hour after closing count towards these goals?
If the customer is not coming in, what is going on up the ladder to help?
The sales promotions - too many - too often.
Managers are expected to kill themselves over the Brand Moment - if it wouldn't count towards productivity, sales associates would probably stay and help!
District Managers - expecting the unattainable!

Advice to Senior Management

Management - take care of the problem when it happens. Don't let it get ahead of you. Make sure everyone is a team player.
District Managers - Don't breeze in the store and point out all the wrong. Point out good things too!

Pros

-Co workers for the most part are down to earth, genuine people
-Good employee discount program

Cons

-Benefits package continued to decline
-Zero communication on all levels
-Hired executives /managers who had been fired from other companies

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on getting some of the SVP's, VP's and Directors out of the picture, good employees would stay.

Pros

Salary, monthly discount, days off when requested far enough in advance.

Cons

Plan to work when everyone else is off.

Advice to Senior Management

Have managers do the same activities that they ask staff to perform.

Pros

Excellent employee discount
Great experiences with customers
Ability to learn what is fashion trends consumers really enjoy
...Great employee discount (I know that I said this already).

Cons

Management = Gossip Crew (think back to high school or the movie "Mean Girls.")
Associates are not respected as people, but as mere work mules.
Leadership abilities of management team questionable.

Advice to Senior Management

Instead of riding the gossip train at work each day, focus on training all of the associates on the brand. Focus on materials, outfit concepts, and customer satisfaction.

Associates can easily pick up on the sneaky nature of management (I did the 1st day)...it needs to stop to decrease associate turnover. Respect your employees...don't look at them like they are worthless....and don't assume that they are without knowledge. This will result in a happier team, one that will stick with you for a while.