U.S. Vision Reviews

Pros

U.S. Vision, in my opinion is better than most. The pay is competitive and reasonable.
We have a great selection of frames.
Sales goals are reasonable.
Advertising is on time and wide spread.

Cons

Hired at 20 hours and now working 13. Sure, business is slow, but I could use the hours not working to clean, arrange frame boards, hand out flyers, lure in customers and keep existing customers happy by spending more quality time with their concerns.The few hours I work, I work alone so I don't have time to explain a lot of things about upkeep of their eyewear, etc. Sometimes I lose customers because they get impatient that I can't get to them as soon as they would like.It may seem that I am chatting but in reality I am listening for cues so I can raise my sales quota.Example: If a few extra words willl sell a $200.00 frame instead of a $119.00 one I am all over it!

Advice to Senior Management

I feel that as long as an employee is making the grade as far as sales there is no reason to cut her hours. If I was hired at 20-25 why not give me free reign to work at my full abilities? I feel as if the company has let me down as far as financial security. I may need to find another part-time job in order to pay my bills and I feel that is not fair, I really love sales! And working with people!

Pros

*Stable company, been in business for a long time
*Open door policy so you can take issues to anyone in the company
*Decent management team who seem to care
*Better sales promotions than competition
*No bait and switch ads

Cons

*Retail sales isn't much fun
*Hours can be inconsistent
*Commission system is confusing and difficult to understand
*District Managers can be tough to get in touch with
*Sometimes the lab loses your frames

Pros

The experience with customer service, you learn a lot about people and their ways.
15% discount from jc penney, the store which you can also apply towards sephora ( in store) and the salon.
Met a handful of co-wokers/friends..to which I still keep in contact
Home office / payroll dept. people were friendly and super helpful.

Cons

Horrible management
Freeze on salary
Medical benefits suck, never got it; it was so expensive and the plans offered didn't appeal to me.
Had a manager who was over critical ( sorry, but I worked with the company longer..I knew what I was doing)
District manager was disrespectful to employees, no regard for others. Lack of professionalism.
No HR dept for me to complain about management.
Feedback was suppose to be given once a month, which somehow extended to 3 times a year.
The company holds the store responsible for all mistakes done by the lab.
The lab

Advice to Senior Management

Have regional, district and store managers respect all of its' employees.
Less people will quit if you give a well deserved raised.
Have more than one person work the whole day, don't let them work by themselves( to save company money) and then hold them responsible for any undone tasks for the day.

Pros

They seem to have a fairly reasonable benefits package; insurance and retirement, etc. As a manager in a small, out-of-the-way office, I am generally given a certain amount of freedom to operate my store as I see fit, although I expect that is the case because I have many years experience in management, (I expect most managers aren't given this kind of freedom.) This has resulted in a significant amount of success in an otherwise poorly performing store.

Cons

The real issue is that once you are hired, they develop amnesia! You cannot assume anything. If you expect that hard work and significant achievements will be rewarded you are dead wrong. The lab owns the stores; the labs has unquestioned authority; communications is one-way and policies, procedures, and quality is based on "...what's best for the lab!" You take what they want you to have ...that includes your pay. After years of exceeding quotas and reducing costs, I requested that the performance of my office be reviewed and my pay reconsidered. Not only did I not receive a pay increase, but I was informed that the areas in which my office exceeded expectations were no longer the areas that the company was considering for salary increases. That is the way things are done at U S Vision. You are given a goal but are never told that achieving that goal earns you NOTHING! What ever you get at the start, is all you will ever get. Its a rigged game and you will loose if you choose to play.

Advice to Senior Management

Quotas and "metrics" do not pay the bills ...it all about sales; its all about money! You better get your head out of the "tech books," forget the "buzz words" and get back to the basics! Its all about sales ...its all about sales ...its all about sales.

Pros

Discount on glasses but only after a year of employment, JC Penney discount card, decent benefits if you are able to make it pass you 90 days.

Cons

It is too strict for the type of business it is. Becuase of this, it is hard for them to keep new employees since they are too quick to fire for any mistakes. If you manage to stay longer, you are mistreated. This also depends on which shift you work on.

Quality tends to be bad due to having to rush to meet quotas. It seems quantity is more important then quality so to not go over budget.

Advice to Senior Management

The company will continue to loose new employees and grow a bad name if they continue to be too strict on new and current employees. Also the mistreatment of current employees should be looked into. In other words instead of talking with the supervisors, talk to your employees with an unbiased ear. A lot can be fixed by doing so.

Also worry less about how muh goes out and more about the quality of your work.

Pros

The people I worked with in the stores and most of the home office were wonderful.

Cons

The company uses very underhanded business practices and treats the employees terribly. They do not give raises to anyone for any reason. They do not support their people with training. The regional managers are unmotivating and berating. They feel the employees are all 100% replaceable so they will fire you for no reason and leave you on the side of the road before offering to help you in any way. Newsflash: When your only motivation is "do this or you will be fired" is not motivational at all. In this current economy that attitude is that the managers have no where else to go to find employment so they aren't leaving so just treat them poorly as they have no choice but to stay.

Advice to Senior Management

You need to take a long hard look at how you treat people. People are not dispensable. Loyalty should mean something and it doesn't with this company in any way. I have quite honestly never been treated more poorly at a job in all my life. The people out there who get up and go to work for you every day and give it their all every time should not be treated the way that they are treated.

Pros

Terrific company to work for they encourage you to do your best & be yourself.

Cons

Not alot of downsides. Just need to give managers more power in corrective action.

Advice to Senior Management

Concentrate on bettering the host relationships accross the board so that there is a understanding of what advertising is allowed.

Pros

Get a discount on eyewear but not a very good one.
Get a JC Penney discount (if your store is in a JCP)

Cons

Horrible starting pay.
No reviews or raises. I worked there 6 years and only got a .15 per hour raise and I had to beg for it.
Sales commission plan really stinks, you earn very little that way.
Does "secret shops" to make sure you are being pushy to customers.

Advice to Senior Management

Get out there and work on the sales floor once in a while.

Pros

Good pay if you negotiate up front, don't expect raises even when goals are reached. Good working hours if you have a family. Benefits are decent.

Cons

The lab quality is terrible! The lab is run by the CEO's daughter. Need I say more...? Nepotism is never a good thing. The company lays ALL responsibility of dealing with angry customers, because of lab foul ups, on the retail staff.

Advice to Senior Management

Allow stores that get the end product to give negative feedback on lab practices. Be willing to to think outside the box to retain longtime customers who have a serious problem. Don't adhere to rigid rules that make those longtime customers want to leave. If there is a production problem, acknowledge it! Don't pretend it's not there. Make the "1st Thursday" calls mean something. Right now everyone is afraid to speak up about major problems, because they afraid they will get fired if they say something negative.

Pros

The CEO of the company Bill schwartz is awesome, my regional and district managers are great people. They really try to work with you to get the best results from you.

Cons

Customer service can be challenging it is not for everyone. With some of our prices being so low we can sometimes get a rougher crowd, who expect more.

Advice to Senior Management

Specific management training on how to handle difficult customer service issues