Nordstrom Reviews

Pros

-commission based -amazing managers -got a good amount of hours per week

Cons

-store was always freezing cold even in the summer

Pros

Kind people, amenable to hours.

Cons

Lazy coworkers are not kept in line.

Pros

One of the things that makes Nordstrom an enjoyable place to work is the concentrated effort behind company culture. Sure, working on commission creates a slightly competitive work environment but it really isn't the cutthroat atmosphere some people warned me it might be. We have rallies in the shoe department almost every morning before the store opens with music and occasional prizes. Our store manager really does his best to start each day with enthusiasm which is not always easy. I can't speak for every employee but in TBD (women's denim) I really do feel like my managers have my best interest in mind and come to my defense when it comes to the occasional fussy customer. Nordstrom has some of the nicest oversight I've had compared to my other customer service jobs. Almost all of my time-off requests are honored and you are allowed an entire hour for lunch.

Cons

The only real con that comes to mind is the fact that it is difficult to make commission and this gets glossed over during the interview process. At my previous retail position I earned commission on every item I sold. At Nordstrom the formula is as follows: S = pay period sales, Commission = 5% for example (S x .05) --> if this number is still greater than your total hourly pay, then you can tack on the difference to your paycheck. Let's say your total hourly pay will be $800. If you sold 17k within the pay period, and 17k multiplied by .05 is 850, then because 850 is more than 800 you can add the difference ($50) to your paycheck as "commission". If you only sold 16K in the pay period you would not get any commission.

Pros

Nothing really stand out here.

Cons

I had a solid background from the A to Z company up the street. Nordstrom liked and wanted that. Then when I got there, I found out that no one would even say that company's name let alone admit that it was a competitor. Further, I presented an outside the box marketing suggestion to management throughout the company. New ideas were encouraged and welcome at my old company. At Nordstrom, the comments were, "we've done things the same way for 100 years" and "who asked you to think up a new idea?" I also presented a way to save hundred of thousands for international customers and reduce delivery times for customers. I brought in senior mgt from a bank as further evidence. Nordstrom just said the approach was too good to be true and turned it down. Anyway, worst job of my career. Couldn't wait to leave. Stock price has done nothing in 5 years. I could have told you that.

Pros

Pays well for retail. Not very physically intensive. Coworkers are friendly for the most part. Decent discount but they make it tedious for you to use it.

Cons

Gossip and distrust among certain coworkers, few people mind their own business. New hires are pressured to pick up more slack than hires who have been there for a while. Employees are made to feel guilty by fellow coworkers and managers for taking breaks, even if you show that you work hard. Management turns a blind eye to the toxic work environment and dead weight, pretends to care about you but really doesn't. They care more about customer satisfaction than employee satisfaction. Management asks employees invasive questions about their personal lives, and retaliates when you submit your two week's notice. Overall, they are very passive aggressive and lack professionalism. They leave it to employees to train new hires. They pick favorites and are inflexible with your hours if you aren't one of them. Somehow they still manage to ignore talent and they will not support you in your career growth in the event that there are promotions within the company.

Pros

Been with the company for 9 years. The pay is great for now. Coworkers are amazing. Not much opportunity for growth when you hit a certain level though.

Cons

Used to be guaranteed a raise every 1000 hours worked. But now they do Pay for Performance which puts you against your peers performance wise. If you're a bottom performer compared to your peers you're lucky if you get a 10 cent raise. Whereas top performers get bigger raises but not much. There are people who have been working less than me getting paid the same amount as me, and people who have been there longer making less than me. It's all up in the air. They recently closed all stores in Canada and a bunch more on California. So things don't seem to be going too well. Constant policy and procedure and management changes make the day to day job very tedious.

Pros

The Employee Discount is an attractive benefit.

Cons

I found the environment toxic. Leadership states they are inclusive of marginalized individuals but 1 look at career progression and tenure demonstrate otherwise. Additionally, the culture of working your way up from the stores is a well engrained aspect of the culture that allows a select group of individuals to remain in key positions gate keep talent. The folks that are focused on DE&I in mid level roles do not last despite the efforts of a few inclusive executive people leaders. Spoiler: 1 person cannot fight a whole culture from the seat of power they are in.

Pros

The discount is nice, and they do give small incentives from time to time.

Cons

While there are definitely perks to working at Nordstrom, the way management is set up is disappointing to say the least. The turnover is higher than ever due to lack of training when new hires come in, resulting in a confusing transition and the lack of communication from management does not help. The upper management is useless to help with issues with department managers, and overall the environment is very stressful and anxiety inducing

Pros

Great benefits, including PTO, 401k, and etc. At the very least, Nordstrom has the benefits most job seekers want to seek out from employment.

Cons

Having worked in two locations in different states, Nordstrom has issues with workplace cliques and it's handling of workplace harassment has gotten worse since I last worked there around 5 years ago. The work culture is very yuppie and image based, meaning that a lot of your co-workers look put together but are fundamentally unstable, and or outright sociopathic. I do not look forward to seeing my coworkers and hearing "my trauma" get dropped every 5 minutes by people who gossip amongst each other over disagreements as someone who goes to counseling for CPTSD. Some of my rudest tables are the employees themselves.

Pros

1. Good entry level for technology 2. Discount if you are a shopper

Cons

1. Upper management - Most, if not all, are from a single online travel company and they have detroyed the culture. Its too late to turn this around now I fear. 2. Upper management does not follow the basic cultural process that made the place amazing. For example, the inverted pyramid. Great concept and Nordstrom use too actually follow this. Titles meant nothing, only the Customer meant something and no matter your title, you were empowered to take care of them in whatever manner needed. Now all I hear is this VP or that Sr. Dir wants this, that or the other. I hear too much, "They are important" so other work needs to wait. I'm sorry but, no they are not. The employee in the store is important. The engineer making sure the website is functional, is important. 3. Reorgs - Be prepared for these ALL THE TIME! They are never properally prepared for as most the time Nordstrom lays off the SMEs and wonder why the broken thing can't be fixed. 4. ESG and DEI over profitability. Virtual signaling is the business they are in now it seems. They just hired a white man as the new CTO. Not good or bad. I don't care but supposedly they do. All we hear in all hands in about diversity. Guess that only matters in the rank and file. 5. Cliques - This is all over the place in technology and if your not in and accepted, your done. Really helps to have previously worked at a specific online travel company or be involved in the hobby of the month. 6. Trust - Many employees at the Corp level, and mostly in technology, simply no longer trust management. This last set of lay offs made this a lot worse. Its pretty clear now we can not openly talk with our managers because we may end up on the next lay off list. I don't see this changing. 4 or 5 years ago I never felt like an "employee" but a partner. That is long gone. 7. Chances are most your other team mates will be contractors in a diffrent country. No issues with the work they are doing but its pretty obvious this is a cost saving method. Also, the vast majority of them are from white european countires. DEI at its best.