Williams-Sonoma Reviews

Pros

Company has good customer base. Great margins. Good brand name. Competitive base salary.

Cons

Peak season management work long hours. No training and development for management. Distribution network not progressive to industry standards. Advancement not merit based. Lack of Diversity in Senior Management in Logistics/Transportation/Distribution. No stock options.

Advice to Senior Management

More training and development. Improve distribution network practices (systems, technology, etc.) More diversity in senior management.

Pros

people first philosophy, culture of the brands

Cons

senior managemnt doesnt live by the people first philosophy

Pros

Great people and product and service

Cons

Payroll cuts are difficult to run efficient stores

Pros

William-Sonoma has great products and everyone there is pretty nice to work with; however, only 4 employees are able to receive benefits and the is no room for growth. It's a great part time job for someone who loves their products and would love the discounts.

Cons

The have a thing they call "On Call" which means you are scheduled to call an hour before a specific time to see if your working in a hour. So you can't plan anything nor go beyond a certain distance from the store. Plus if it takes you more than 1/2 hr to get ready, you need to put yourself together before you even call to insure you make it to work on time IF they call you in. Plus even if your on the schedule I have been called 40 min. before my shift not to come in and don't be surprised if they send you home if the store's not making their numbers. Basically they have no respect for your personal time.

Advice to Senior Management

Get it together!!!! You should respect your associates' private life and time and schedule according. I think it is poor to have someone invest in the time to get ready and drive there to be sent home in 2 hrs.

Pros

Decent compensation benefits and resources, excellent product

Cons

Terrible work environment, unsupportive, uninspiring

Pros

If one is interested in learning more about speciality retail with high standards of sales & service delivery this is definitely the place to be.

Cons

One size does not fit all stores; there should be some leeway for stores to market to ones local guests in a more customized way.

Advice to Senior Management

Stay in touch with those in the field including sales associates who hear directly from the guests.

Pros

Clientele
Great merchandise
Enjoyed the people I worked with on the East Coast
Discount

Cons

Management in the Midwest lacked people skills and allowed other employees to talk down to people.

Advice to Senior Management

Talk to your employees and ensure they understand confidential mean confidential. This may open the lines of communication so you can get honest feedback and develop the manager's that need it.

Pros

Great employee discount of 40percent and you can use your discount at Pottery Barn, Potterybarn Kids, hold everytjing and Williams-Sonoma home. Olus you can use your discount in all of their catalogs!!!

Cons

Pay is disgraceful. Management is terrible.

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to respect people who have worked at this comany for years!!!

Pros

The discount is the only real reason to work for WS, the products are the best offered, the general sales staff strong and reliable. Outward appearances are great to the public.

Cons

The company's "People First" mantra in only that. The company does not embrace or empower any part of this idea on any obvious level to the customer or to the stores employees. The only people placed "First" are at corporate level and the stockholders.

Little or not honesty in the treatment of upper store management. Total disregard for the human factor of management and treatment is wholly unfair and unjust. Upper management of the district/regional business is permitted to operate without consequence or scrutiny. HR supports only the district/regional and corporate areas of work and provides no support to the store level employees. The continual efforts of district/regional management to refuse any pay increases or any promotional advancement is disgraceful.

The overall treatment of dedicated employees is reprehensible. There is a constant effort of district/regional management company wide to solicit employees to sabotage employees upper management would like to "get rid of". Upper management works to convince exiting management to leave rather than being fired in an effort to not pay unemployment. This practice of "leaving" the company has persisted for decades.

Hiring practices this year took a new low with our being directed to "not hire anyone over 30 years old". "We need young, highly energetic, fun employees", "that William Sonoma needed to bring youth to the stores and replace the older employees".

Sadly I sought out this company for it's outward appearance and product. Inside it is one if not the ugliest companies around.

If you can get a job anywhere else the great discount is not worth the abuse you will certainly suffer.

Advice to Senior Management

Replace the District/Regional management divisional power. Find a new more effective way to manage the business at store level. It is widely agreed that District/Regional Management is omnipotent and therefore permitted to treat and act without consequence or retribution from Corporate. The store level treatment by District and Regional Management is disgraceful and should be seriously altered.

Pros

Given that it's 3,000 miles away from the main WSI HQ, the Brooklyn office (for West Elm) has a very entrepreneurial feel. The company really values new ideas and just about everyone has a 'voice' and can help make change

Relatively small office of just over 100 people. Everyone knows everyone.

You work with some really smart, really great people - the teamwork is amazing. And everyone is given full responsibility to really 'own' their area with little micromanaging on the managers' parts. You celebrate your successes but you also have to talk responsibilities for failure.

Offices are really cool - lots of windows and natural light - converted loft spaces in a great part of Brooklyn

Employee discount is amazing (and good at all WSI brands: williams-sonoma, pottery barn, west elm) and we have sample sales! Other benefits are pretty much standard with the industry

Cons

Senior Management demonstrates little respect for the people actually doing the work - they say they respect us and couldn't accomplish what we've accomplished without us...but they don't even bother to make eye contact or say hello when walking past you in the lobby. At all of the meetings, they segregate themselves and only talk to each other - not very motivating.

Systems in place for doing the day-to-day work could use an upgrade. They're not necessarily bad, but they don't really speak to each other, which translates into a lot of double work (and creates likelihood of making mistakes)

Management is really good about letting you take time off, but the overall amount of vacation time allotted seriously needs a revisit (just 2 weeks - every other employer I've worked for has given 4).

Ironically enough, the HR team is the most uninvolved, passionless group of the bunch. They have no personality, don't know anyone's name - definitely does not feel like an environment where you can just go talk to them.