Barnes & Noble Reviews
Updated May 27, 2022
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Found 5,963 of over 6,134 reviews
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Approve of CEO
James Daunt
519 Ratings
Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Pros
- "Flexible hours and you get to be around books all the time and usually literature enthusiast." (in 220 reviews)
Cons
- "low pay and arbitrary corporate policies; lack of communication between higher ups and average employees" (in 695 reviews)
- "Managers have no qualms scheduling you until midnight and then having you return at 8 the next morning." (in 229 reviews)
- "I literally only got paid 25 cents above minimum wage and was overworked as a college student." (in 95 reviews)
- "The starting pay for a bookseller is minimum wage and pay increases are very diffucult to obtain." (in 82 reviews)
Pros & Cons are excerpts from user reviews. They are not authored by Glassdoor.
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of Barnes & Noble and is not affected by filters.
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- Current Employee★★★★★
Pros
Great management, great training, flexible hours, easy to move up
Cons
Small starting pay, short staffed
- Former Employee, more than 1 year★★★★★
Pros
-Discounted books -Great company culture -Reliance on cross-training means you will learn a lot even as a part-time employee
Cons
-Retail means lower overall wages though this may have changed since I worked there -Workload is variable enough that no two days are exactly the same which may be a positive for some people -The perils of working in any big box store apply here
Continue reading - Current Employee, less than 1 year★★★★★
Pros
As an avid book reader working at Barnes and Noble is like a dream come true. Obviously working in retail isn't the ideal, but compared to my other retail horror experiences at Home Depot and Pet Supplies Plus this has been a breeze.
Cons
It's a retail job. Working with the general public is always a nuisance.
- Former Employee, more than 3 years★★★★★
Pros
Amazing discount, nice management who is flexible and willing to work w/ you, most customers are nice and the job is quite enjoyable
Cons
Management is afraid of firing problem employees and will let homophobia and racism exist before they fire someone. Also after 3 years I only made $10.20/hr.
Continue reading - Former Employee, less than 1 year★★★★★
Pros
Really enjoyed the vibe/atmosphere. Customers were passionate about books and easy to relate to. Shared interests made working with co-workers a breeze. Employee discount was nice, too. Overall, really nice place to work if you love books and people. (This was my first retail job, fresh out of high school).
Cons
Management was a bit dodgy. There were a few issues with women being used as scapegoats, but this was one location, and I don't think it's the same across the company. Lastly, scheduling was a bit of an issue. (It was still a really good experience to work here, and I would recommend it from the perspective of a first job in retail before/during college, especially if you're passionate about books).
Continue reading - Current Employee, more than 1 year★★★★★
Pros
No drive thru in Cafe, corporate allows for the freedom to set up displays and merchandising to be reflective of your area instead of cookie cutter designs. Coworkers are great. Generally a more intellectual and respectful customer base.
Cons
Pay is lacking for entry level positions which are frequently expected to do a lot more than most other minimum wage jobs. Management pay is also roughly 25% below average compared to other companies.
Continue reading - Former Employee★★★★★
Pros
I loved rotating between the cafe and the book store, I enjoyed staying over night for certain (optional) shifts, to rearrange/restock shelves or store look. It was a great team to work with and a really fun place to be
Cons
The pay was a bit low, and business was a little slow sometimes, but overall it was enjoyable
Continue reading - Former Employee, more than 8 years★★★★★
Pros
Book loan program is fantastic, you can borrow any book you want. Employee discount is 30% and it used to be 50% in the cafe which was awesome, they took that away.
Cons
The pay sucks, if you add benefits for your family you basically break even, especially if you have to drive very far to work. No tip jar or anything in the cafe which is really odd. Like any retail job you’re going to work all weekend and every single holiday so don’t even think you’re gonna get some cushy schedule, you’ll be working nights and weekends forever. It’s really hard to push things they want you to push, especially if it’s BS. At one point they wanted us signing 10 people a shift up for a BN Mastercard, it was really pushy and awkward. They get really dramatic about the membership too so if you’re not into pushy sales, not a good place for you.
- Former Employee, more than 3 years★★★★★
Pros
I was able to work a consistent part-time schedule, working in a bookstore was a nice vibe, and I generally liked what I was doing.
Cons
Same cons as you'd have for any giant company - just over minimum wage with tiny raises and schedule wasn't always flexible.
- Former Employee, more than 1 year★★★★★
Pros
You get to make Starbucks drinks without being a Starbucks employee. Coworkers are also great (for the most part)
Cons
Management (mostly the store manager in particular) saw us as just an extra area of revenue for the store so they didn't really prioritize our needs. We were often short-staffed, busy, and didn't have access to efficient tools that could have made our work-lives easier. Because management didn't care to provide us with the extra help. Most of us at the time were also playing many different roles in the company on the cafe side, without proper pay.
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Barnes & Noble Reviews FAQs
Barnes & Noble has an overall rating of 3.8 out of 5, based on over 6,134 reviews left anonymously by employees. 69% of employees would recommend working at Barnes & Noble to a friend and 44% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.
69% of Barnes & Noble employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Barnes & Noble 3.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.8 for culture and values and 3.0 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at Barnes & Noble to be workplace, benefits, coworkers and the cons to be culture, career development, management.