The Gap Reviews in Kansas City, MO Area

Pros

-Great people
-Holiday pay/awesome health insurance/employee rewards program
-Great ability to move up in the company-to a certain level
-Great discount

Cons

-Terrible hourly pay/not even a living wage
-A lot of back breaking work
-Never enough time given for the laundry list of things needed to be completed
-Store management likes to take advantage of the sales staff/lower management
-Raises are more than minimal
-An exceptional amount of favoritism for those that don't necessarily deserve it
-Bullying of lower levels runs rampant

Advice to Senior Management

Senior management in the company needs to keep an eye on the turnover in the stores. Many gap employees are 'lifers' or people who work there for more than five years and if a store isn't turning out any of these people, it's probably a good indicator that they are burning these people up, and possibly wasting good talent.

Pros

The employee discount is awesome-being able to use it at all 3 brands Gap Inc. owns. Gap managers are some of the most well-rounded managers in the business. They get their feet wet in all aspects of running a business-managing employees, owning/running the business aspect, HR, etc. In these economic times it is nice to work for a very stable company.

Cons

Due to the fact that it is such a large company sometimes it feels very "corporatey."

Advice to Senior Management

Try and look at it from the store's perspective more often than you sitting in your little office. Sometimes it seems like they don't make the connection.

Pros

The Gap offers a great benefit package for full time employees including medical, dental, 401K. One of the best perks is the generous employee discount. This discount can be used at Gap's sister companies, Old Navy and Banana Republic. Also, being in retail allows for flexible hours rather than the usual 9 to 5. Paid time off is available to full time employees and is accrued by hours worked. Your paid time off will also roll over into the next year. There is a limit to how much you can roll over, but I am not sure what it is. I know someone who accrued almost 6 weeks worth of PTO, so the limit is rather high.

Cons

There is very little room for upward movement. The company says that they prefer to promote from within, but I have seen several cases of very worthy employees being overlooked and someone being hired on to fill a management position. It also seems as though the company is suffering from the effects of the impending recession. They have seen a slump in sales and this results in less hours being available for those who want to work. Another downside is common to all retail jobs; working during the holidays. October through December is a very busy time and it can be difficult to get time off to spend with family.

Advice to Senior Management

Take more time to develop people that are already invested in the company and desire to move up.