Maurices Employee Reviews about "manager"

Pros

I really can't think of much......the discount I guess......

Cons

100% waist of my time. The manager couldn't give me over 14 hours a week. And still continued to hire people. I found there was a lot of gossip among the girls that worked there and alot of trash talk. Now, I understand that in a store only run and operated by females this sort of thing is bound to happen. However, I would expect the managers to not participate in this behavior. I worked in back tagging clothes...and I would often hear managers also 'gossiping' and talking about other girls working....as if I wasn't there. Disrespectful. There was alot of sneaky behavior...and the general manager of the store was very passive. She seemed nice enough....but she wasnt. Simply. Also after leaving maurices....I would expect to be treated like a guest or a normal costumer when I come in to shop. That is not the case however. And they won't be seeing me back.

Pros

Great associate discount, great training, good benefits, and customer first service culture. The company's service culture does stand out against other retailers. We are empowered to do what we can to make our customers happy. The clothing is very trendy and good quality and we are encourage to keep up on trends and try on product to help in assisting our customers. The company does reward us for a job well done by holding contests and awarding us with prizes. The training programs are also great as well. I've learned a lot since I started here.

Cons

Individual sales goals, favoritism, no accountability, no communication, low pay. I have been here going on 3 years and still in the same position even after completing the maurices manager training program. I watch as other managers with lower position than me get other stores in the area without any mention of the opportunities to me. I am treated poorly by my store manager and my DM gives me very little support in dealing with her. I have shared my feedback and concerns about her more than once and nothing gets done. I have called human resources in the past with no success as well. There is no accountability in our store and our manager gets away with breaking company policy, comes and goes as she pleases, talks to us with no respect, and we see our DM about 3 times a year so she has no idea what is actually going on. It saddens me that myself and our girls are subject to a crazy and emotionally unstable manager who has full support from our DM. We have had over 20 girls quit in the past 2 years and a lot quit because of her. I don't know how much longer I will be here either, it is a shame because I love what I do and the company has a great service culture. If you are not a favorite of your DM or work in a store of a favorite you have no chance to get your own store. Part time assistant managers have been promoted to store managers over me and without completing the MBA program. They also came from stores of favorites. The other downside is the individual goals set of each person each week. If you don't produce your % of your hours in sales you are considered to be not doing your job or costing the company money. It can create a lot of stress because it does not promote teamwork which is one of the company values. Also if you don't work 'peak' shifts when it is busy it is not an accurate reflection of someone's selling abilities. You also have girls being sales hogs or stealing sales because the more money you bring the more hours you receive.

Pros

small team decent hours

Cons

girls are catty. the manager would make everyone sit down and say everything that was said to her in private.

Pros

Great company, excellent benefits. Recently all store managers were moved to hourly, resulting in more fair compensation. Now, any hours worked over 40 or on major holidays get paid time & 1/2. There are tons of incentives for meeting goals, and since getting the newest Sr vp there have been a lot of positive changes. He is very open to new ideas and has been testing a lot of new projects through different districts to make things even better. If you have quality associates, the stores run well.

Cons

The biggest disconnect seems to be between upper and mid level management. The Sr vp is awesome and cares that managers get a work life balance. But if the DM doesn't support this, it doesn't work. It doesn't help work life balance to take managers off salary if the result is them working later in the day every day and missing dinner with the family in order to be working the needs of the business. My DM never answers her phone. Ever. And if you ask for a call back, and you're lucky enough to get one, it won't be for at least a couple days. She never works past 3pm or God forbid on a weekend. Don't have any emergency situations arise outside of business hours because you're on your own. There's a confidential line you can call into but I know for a fact that my DM has been turned in on this line and was told which of her managers it was. And guess what... She's no longer with the company. So basically you get stuck with whichever DM you get and that's it. I've been in the same position for over 7 years with no options for moving up even though I know there are opportunities because they say I'm not relocatable. Which is funny since I've already relocated to a different store once. Advancement beyond store manager is very cloudy and there is no clear path to take if that's what you want. I've worked through the entire manager achievement program (DMBA) and still no opportunity for advancement. My store is in the top 3 for my district. My staff could all be promoted up. There is no reason I couldn't do more but again they don't have a connection between the mid and upper level management.

Pros

Excellent benefits for full time. Good work/life balance for management. Store managers are now hourly. Great discount. Customer-focused.

Cons

Very little verbal communication from upper management. Almost all communication and training is in writing. If you are a visual/hands on learning this will be a difficult company to work for. Store managers moving to hourly instead of salary is both good and bad. The expectation to do everything that was done as salary is going to be a challenge. Very different environment from most retailers makes it hard to adjust for a new manager coming from outside the company. If you have aspirations of moving up to corporate quickly rethink this company. You still have to operate a store effectively to move into any position beyond the store level.

Pros

Great associate discount at 40%, good at Maurices and several other retail stores. Very good employee development programs, designed to cultivate leaders Loads of product training, fashion training, etc. Fun incentives for meeting goals, such as free clothes, gift cards, treat boxes for the team Company is progressive, always looking to make things better for both customers and associates Overal culture cultivated from the top down is very upbeat and positive, employee and customer friendly Monthly sales bonus for managers Good Work/Life Balance Good, competitive benefits package, insurance, vacation, 401K, etc. Part-time assistant manager positions provide terrific introductory opportunities for young adults looking toward a career in retail management. Company supports a customer friendly environment, expects excellence in customer service and provides the training to help associates succeed at customer service. Store support (From home office) is good, problems are resolved in a timely manner and reps from home office are friendly and eager to help.

Cons

Some DMs/RMs are out of touch with what is going on in the stores, while others are great. Inconsistency across the brand. Districts are large, so some DMs don't get around to visiting all of their stores very often. Computerized application/hiring process was extremely difficult to use, frustrating for both applicants and managers. This may have been updated since I left, I know the company was looking toward solutions. The Maurices credit card is a HUGE focus, and the pressure to get card signups is very intense, and the company takes away 1/2 of your monthly bonus if you don't meet or exceed your credit card signup goal. Customers are resistant to signing up, and still the company requires the associates to push it. Pay for assistant mgrs is on the low side, but higher than some retailers. Bonuses are rather small, and is reduced by 1/2 if credit card signup goal is not made. Promotions and reviews are based almost entirely on paper data. If a manager is making the "numbers," she/he is considered a great manager, if not, she/he is not a good manager. Associates are reviewed based on a system called "Net Producer," which divides an associate's personal sales volume by the percent of the total store's hours the associate worked in a given time frame. So, for instance, if an associate works 10% of the store's hours, but only sells 9% of the store's total sales, she is considered a negative Net Producer, and will receive a "Does Not Meet Standards" on her annual review. This system can pit associates on a team against each other, because no one wants to be a negative producer. It's a good idea in theory, to see if associates are "pulling their weight," but doesn't look at the whole picture of an associate's performance. Opportunity for promotion is not as good as with some retailers. There are occasional opportunities, but if you're looking to get on the fast track, you may get stalled with Maurices. Company is not always dilligent about making sure store maintenance issues, like carpet cleaning, etc, are resolved.

Pros

Being full time, great benefits, also company rewards with incentives monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Flexible. I loved my job, but if it wasn’t for the new leadership I would have stayed. Not everyone is deserves to be a leader.

Cons

Company treats employees like students, expect employees to go into in depth details on how to approach customers, how to dress, certain hairstyles and hair colors for each season. Being a full time student at the time was challenging trying to study for my job and study for school. New district manager in 2019 was completely all over the place and not very friendly. She wanted things done her way and her way only. Store manager hired at the time in 2019 and currently still there was very lazy, unprofessional, and brought her problems into the work environment. Was the total opposite of what maurices expected of their employees. I’ve always respected this company for hiring from within, but sometimes a person does not deserve to move up or be transferred to a higher position just because of a “in company promotion”. I would recommend all District Leaders to work with their new store leaders for at least a few months. Because that’s when store leaders really show you who they are.

Pros

Loved the product and got discounts.

Cons

The atmosphere in the store when the leading manager was there brought everyone else down. Made multiple people cry and had many people quit because of a certain person. We were always having to hire new people.

Pros

The assistant manager has been very helpful through the application process and remembers my name when I check in.

Cons

The process has taken about a month and a half to get an interview, other than that the application process was easy.