Tiffany & Co. Reviews

Pros

Good benefits and amount of vacation days.

Cons

Seniority and length of employment take over actual ability.

Advice to Senior Management

Recognize and value real talent, even if they are newcomers.

Pros

Used to impress friends and family by saying this was my place of employment. I had come here bright-eyed and young to a company that was intimidating, but not condescending. Discount was fairly nice. I had seen the beginning of my working life here at that time.
I can pick two managers I've had here that have been wonderful. One had a lateral move to a different store, and the other had moved on.
Some of the co-workers I have become actual friends with even after we stopped working at the company. I guess we bonded due to the complexities of working here.
Seeing the surprised looks on some faces as they received a gift in the blue box.
Witnessing the guy in his early 20's saving up money working at a car wash so he could afford a silver pendant for his girlfriend. This was a stand-alone situation, as you will see me explain below.
Nothing beats the NYC store on 57th & 5th. I hope it's maintained it's feeling of 'awe' as you merge from that revolving door, unlike the West Coast.

Cons

A large majority of the store management is incompetent; how bad depends on your location. Just because you do a lot of editorial modeling or were a manager at another high-end retail company doesn't make you worthy of the job. Then again, it's Los Angeles, so don't expect much when it comes to dealing with 'class'.
The name has become over-saturated by being accessible to lower-middle class and abused by the girls who wear their first piece prior to age 13 (or younger, in some cases). I am not contradicting myself with the positive comment above of those who save their money for something here and still honor this name, however, when it's the same under $200 transaction sale daily, management simply cannot expect us to make our sales plans. Returns after 30 days? Sure! Worn? Why not? Even if the receipt says differently, people can't read here. The name has lost its value. Items that we considered to be knock-offs a few years back are now being MADE by the designers up in corporate. We are copying ebay and Canal Street. Great!
Competent CEO's such as William R. Chaney left just in time; perhaps he had foreseen what this name has now become?

Advice to Senior Management

Leave.

Pros

Beautiful work environment. Management is very well trained and knows how to bring out the best in their employees. When you start working for Tiffany, you go into a proven system of business that is easy to learn and follow. During holiday rush week, food is provided for employees.

Cons

Parking is not provided, and in luxury malls the monthly parking fee can be quite high. As a Seasonal Operations Assistant a big part of your job is to charge customers and finalize the transaction, but you cannot sell or show them merchandise. When the store gets very busy, customers get very annoyed when they ask for your help and you have to explain that you are there just to process transactions. Schedules are typical retail schedules, which is to be expected. You need to invest in high end work clothing since their dress code is very strict.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay parking fees for seasonals. The high parking fees make it less attractive to go for a seasonal position. Have Seasonal Operations Assistants dress differently from sales people, maybe in black shirts or something of the sort. Your customers will be happier is they can visually differentiate assistants from sales people

Pros

The company and brand are recognized on a global level, and senior-level employees appear to enjoy generous compensation and work conditions.
NYC headquarters are beautiful and well-located.

Cons

The organizational structure is extremely vertical, with most tasks requiring levels and levels of corporate approval.
There are many misclassified workers/permalancers who have worked there for years and are expected to perform as staff, although they are denied benefits and recently even overtime pay.
Race appears to inform personnel decisions in the predominantly Asian interactive media department, with most employees of other races holding freelance and not staff positions.
Innovation is discouraged even in the creative department. Management prefers to repeat previous efforts than to experiment or break new ground.
Seniority and favoritism heavily influence both decisions and staff interactions.

Advice to Senior Management

Review VPs' qualifications.
Improve compliance with labor laws, particularly as pertaining to the misclassification of workers and discriminatory hiring practices.

Pros

Good training for management
Rapid growth

Cons

Pay could be better, less red tape

Pros

-Excellent brand name
-Employee discounts
-Very polite work environment (almost overly polite)
-Cash flush (at the moment) so budget limitations are not usually an issue
-Employee retention - many people have been there for 20+ years
-Beautiful new HQ office in NYC

Cons

-Corporate office run like a military dictatorship - seniority rules, no questions / discussion allowed, often times to the detriment of the company
-Not a meritocracy - hard work and ambition is feared, not rewarded
-Zero transparency into strategic decisions that affect junior employees
-EXTREMELY political work environment
-Change and innovation are tedious, if not impossible
-Lack of motivation by employees - work is done "on Tiffany time," meaning really slow
-Technology is atrocious - nearly impossible to work remotely
-Way behind the times in adopting modern workplace practices (e.g., hoteling, collaboration tools, mentor programs, 360 degree reviews)
-The NJ offices are impossible to get to on public transport
-You have to pay for coffee - really???

Overall, a decent place to work if you are ok at your job and plan to keep your head down and work 9 to 5 for 20+ years. If you are lower than a VP-level, talented, ambitious, and willing to work hard to move up the corporate ladder, this is not the company for you.

Advice to Senior Management

-Reward hardworking, talented people, not the ones who do mediocre jobs and just clock in and out
-Spend some serious money updating the IT
-Let employees work remotely whenever possible (though improve IT issue above first)
-Encourage (or at least allow) innovation
-Don't be scared of change
-Make some serious improvements in transparency around decision making

Pros

Sounds good to your family and friends.

Cons

You have to show up so on time to the minute because the door only opens at 9:10am. If you are late, you have to wait till the store opens at 10. .. and you gets marks. If you are too early you freeze in the winter. If there is a bully in your store who sells, you are stuck working with them.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire people with better attitudes and who know how to smile.

Pros

Great product and company history, many opportunities to learn via educational programs.

Cons

Since the economy fell in 2008, morale became extremely poor as mass layoffs from entry level to the top occurred. Leadership from management up espouse high levels of political correctness, and workers became afraid to express themselves as the individuals they are. Leadership has failed in recent years to hold to the vision of the founder of the company, moving away from the prime focus of creating the greatest works of jewelry in the world to profit--at the expense of the company's stellar reputation.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on the vision the founder of Tiffany & Company had, to create the finest jewelry in the world and put the customer first. Also, create a positive environment in the workplace where workers can reasonably be the unique individuals they are without the political correctness that has ruled in recent years. Do this and the profits will come naturally.

Pros

The employee discount, client interactions, exposure to wealthy international people, a great resource to learn about quality jewelry are all perks of being an employee. Its also a great way conversation topic whenever you mention where you work to others.

Cons

Too polite, that you rarely are given the facts of what the reality of a situation is. Politics are more important than performance. New ideas that are out of line with what has already been established is not encouraged. Management, has taken innovative ideas that DO work from their employees and present them as if they were there own, Rarely is credit or recognition given to employees that are not favorites of management. HR and Management are too close and do not handle information professionally. Be cautious of disclosing anything to HR in confidence, its virtually illegal the way things are handled.

Advice to Senior Management

In your higher traffic areas, take personal feelings out of your decision making and make sound management decisions. The overall moral of your department will improve, your employees will have much more respect for you, and will be more willing to do more for you. The Executive Management team is more than capable, very approachable, and well respected throughout the company, Middle Management rarely in high regard by the employees.

Pros

Prestigious world renowned brand opens doors at other companies
Generous discount
Open to hiring candidates from variety of backgrounds
Opportunities to move globally with the company

Cons

Hierarchical culture largely based on length of service rather than actual abilities
Entrepreneurial ideas and thinking outside the box not encouraged.

Advice to Senior Management

Have the courage to remove under performers - it is very bad for morale keeping them in the business and not taking action