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Vroman's Bookstore Reviews
Updated Nov 25, 2023
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Found 33 of over 34 reviews
48% Recommend to a Friend
69% Approve of CEO
Found 33 of over 34 reviews
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Recommend to a Friend
Approve of CEO
Allison Hill
16 Ratings
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
Pros
- "Worked in Children's Department, people were friendly and they trained the seasonal staff well." (in 3 reviews)
Cons
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of Vroman's Bookstore and is not affected by filters.
- 5.0Oct 11, 2023Returns CoordinatorCurrent Employee, less than 1 yearPasadena, CA
Pros
Professional, Supportive , Flexible, and Book benefits!
Cons
Work flow pipeline can get backed up, physically demanding
1 - 1.0Nov 25, 2023Book Department SupervisorFormer Employee, more than 3 yearsPasadena, CA
Pros
If you're a straight white man with a penchant for being inappropriate you'll get a promotion in the first six months.
Cons
everything ranging from harassment, to legally mandated minimum wage bumps used as your raise, to ordering from Amazon all while vilifying them. This place will suck you dry and ask why you're complaining.
- 5.0Sep 15, 2023ClerkCurrent Employee, more than 1 year
Pros
Nice being surrounded by books and awesome gifts. Discount is pretty decent. Coworkers a great. Always opportunities to move into a different department or a non sales department. It really isn't a hard job...
Cons
Low wages for sales floor staff, not surprising for an independent bookstore though. Could benefit and be more efficient if modernized. Policies somewhat outdated.
1 - 4.0Sep 9, 2023BooksellerCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearPasadena, CA
Pros
For a retail job, Vroman's is pretty great. People are friendly, and
Cons
Doesn't offer raises based on performance.
1 - 5.0May 31, 2023Sales AssociateFormer Employee, more than 1 yearPasadena, CA
Pros
I love reading and being around books so this was a fun job for me! You get a lot of perks like free books and access to unreleased books.
Cons
The only con is that it's an entry level job that pays minimum wage, which is expected.
1 - 2.0Jan 20, 2023CashierFormer Employee, more than 1 yearPasadena, CA
Pros
Vroman's is a beautiful store, considered by countless to be a pillar of its community. I had a lot of wonderful, positive experiences there and I made what I hope to be lifelong connections with other people.
Cons
With that being said, the management at this store is absolutely abhorrent. Upper management at Vroman's consistently chooses to cultivate a hostile and oppressive working environment. Employees are worked to the absolute brink for what is only Barely above minimum wage (although they have no problem talking about that as if it's some kind of brag) and then are punished for trivial "infractions" like calling out sick more than 3 times in 3 months (as if that's realistic for anyone ever, especially during a goddamn pandemic), "getting caught" reading at a bookstore, and not explicitly asking a manager's permission to do the job you were trained and expected to do. It became very clear very quickly that management prefers to work people to the bone until they quit from exhaustion or are fired for made-up reasons rather than respond to and resolve the very real problems that actual employees on the sales floor understand hinder their ability to do their jobs successfully.
3 - 2.0Jul 20, 2023Store AssociateCurrent Employee, more than 1 year
Pros
I loved being around books all the time. We also get a great discount.
Cons
Feels like we don’t matter. Pay is minimum wage. Very bureaucratic.
1 - 5.0Jan 10, 2023Sales AssociateCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearPasadena, CA
Pros
Always a ton of events, very fast paced, a book lovers paradise
Cons
pay is not too competitive
1 - 1.0May 6, 2023Anonymous EmployeeFormer EmployeePasadena, CA
Pros
Information, Fast Paced, Knowledge based
Cons
Company Structure, Pay, Communication, Leadership
2 - 2.0Oct 11, 2021Part Time CashierFormer Employee, less than 1 yearPasadena, CA
Pros
30% off Employee Discount Great Co-Workers
Cons
You have sick ours, but they will penalize you if you use them. If you're absent 3 or more days in a 60 day period (for any reason) you WILL be written up. Supervisors and Managers get just about the same pay as cashiers. Maybe 10 cents to a quarter more. Moving up or moving to different departments is easy because there's a high turnover rate. Non-flexible schedule, they don't like when you're not fully available, even if you're part-time. Always short staffed in all departments They always want you doing something work-related on your down time, even if there's nothing to do. You will get a lot of memos telling you not to talk much to your cashiering partner and a bunch of other things the department needs to "work on". Cashiers only handle the register, and nothing else. They are not trained in any other department, even if they a seriously short staffed. You're not allowed to read at the register on your downtime. There is no employee parking, very little street parking.
5
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Vroman's Bookstore Reviews FAQs
Vroman's Bookstore has an overall rating of 3.4 out of 5, based on over 34 reviews left anonymously by employees. 48% of employees would recommend working at Vroman's Bookstore to a friend and 43% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has improved by 2% over the last 12 months.
48% of Vroman's Bookstore employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Vroman's Bookstore 3.3 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.4 for culture and values and 3.0 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at Vroman's Bookstore to be diversity and inclusion, career development, benefits and the cons to be culture, senior leadership, compensation.
