Yankee Candle Reviews

Pros

Management really cares about the balance between your work and personal lives. Training is thorough and continual so customer service is always top notch. It was a pleasure to work for this company.

Cons

The system by which the retail stores stocks are replenished is too top down. Often, retail locations will receive goods that are not in short supply or will not receive goods that are needed.

Pros

The benefits were great. They had great rates for health insurance. I really enjoyed the people I worked with.

Cons

I transfered to another store. The store manager wasn't always pleasant to work with. She would let you know if you didn't do a good job. I was with the company for 12 yrs, and had an argument with the manager. I left the store to avoid conflict with the manager, and I called HR rep. Well of course they let me go, even though everyone else had a problem with her also. I was very disappointed with the company with their decision.

Advice to Senior Management

Look more into a situation that wasn't really my fault for leaving the store. I was a dedicated employee!! I still feel I wasn't treated fairly.

Pros

Nice product that is easy to sell. There is a good employee discount. There is a nice bonus program for management.

Cons

Store manager and district manager do not have respect for assistant store managers or part time sales associates. Scheduling not done well. In this case it is a narcissistic store manager.

Advice to Senior Management

They should look more at the big picture. Spend more time with store management. Daily paper work should be streamlined, very redundant and time consuming.

Pros

*great quality candles
*the store team (though this is dependant on the store manager and what kind of atmosphere they create)
*customers

Cons

*a payroll budget that is impossible to work with most times of the year. When it came time for huge resets, new hire training, inventory, store meetings etc... the SM has to just figure it all out on their own and manage to stay within the ridiculous labor budget
*because of not having a decent amount of payroll, the Mgr is expected to work around the clock and ends up taking care of huge amounts of projects on their own
*the SM's are completely micro-managed and don't have a true say in much of anything. Schedules are looked at by the DM and "approved" before they can be posted in each store. The guidlines for Mgr schedules are laughable, for instance - it is dictated when SM's should work an open/close/or mid-shift (we're smart, we can figure out what's best for our store), SM's must work 2 closes a week and 3 opens (and don't even think about including Sunday as your close shift). Also, with floor changes you are given plano's and maps and guidlines...yet you still have to have your individual floor map approved before you can make any moves.

Pros

great place to work at and grow

Cons

lack of hours that is present to you

Advice to Senior Management

try to give more hours and cut the prices back

Pros

The discount was fair, the customers were the best but management needs alot of people communication skills and to stand up for their best employees

Cons

Low pay and no advancement even after 4 years, unfair treatment by management and they dont stand up for their asociates. Very judgemental unfair resolutions to problem issues

Advice to Senior Management

Play by the rules, everyone should have to follow the same, and not managers that are always gone during business hours

Pros

It's a job that pays average and average benefits for retail. If you like their product, you get a discount of some items.

Cons

Poor management, constantly lie to employees. Managers are punished for poor decisions from corporate office that cost sales. Managers are set up to fail and replaced routinely. Company uses unrealistic goals to keep employees from bonusing and getting raises. Absolutely no job security...you will be threatened routinely and treated with no respect. Mid-level management makes employee decisions based on personal feelings rather than professional merit.

Advice to Senior Management

Fire some district and regional managers, Get feedback from store managers about superiors so you know how poorly they are handling their jobs. Listen to store managers imput because they are the ones who deal daily with the customers and they can make you aware of the issues that are hurting business.

Pros

Excellent product. Great enviroment for selling. Pretty store. I

Cons

Not a company to work for if your looking for growth. In my 11 years with company I only remember 2 management people being promoted within to district managers. I was discharged for lack of focus and poor sales in a tough economy. No notice, no warnings.

Advice to Senior Management

Grow a heart. Be more communicative with your managers about expectations.

Pros

Discount is good. The benefits package is very competitive for retail.

Cons

No development of employees. Senior management seems far more interested in hiring from the outside instead of developing internally. Management is very unprofessional and turnover at the store level is very high. Management avoids discussing issues and instead hopes they just "go away" on their own. Senior leadership is out of touch of what is going on at the store level.

Pros

Good discounts if you make enough hours to spend on merchandise there. Manager tells you when you've done a good job.

Cons

Ridiculous mystery shop requirements. You have to add-on and sell like crazy. Be on the customers back the whole time or you'll be in trouble. ADS is sometimes hard to achieve.

Advice to Senior Management

Cut back on the requirements for mystery shops. If there is a whole store of customers, there is no way that we can do everything that needs to be done with each individual, it's just not reasonable.