Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Employee Reviews about "employee discount"

Cons

The pay is not competitive, and raises are nonexistent. You are better to leave for a couple months and be rehired at a higher salary. Also, you will be scheduled for 39.5 hours a week so that everyone is "part-time" and they do not owe you benefits.

Cons

- You'll have to start off as a contractor first through a recruiting agency (Tek Systems), conversion to full time can range from a few months to 1+ years. Negotiate your pay with them as high as possible. Starting pay for WS employees is $25/hr. -Work/Life balance is non-existent, only leads get weekends off leaving only junior technicians to fend for themselves on the weekend. This leads to issues when high priority problems come up and there is no one to reach out to. Office is open 24/7 including Thanksgiving. Only Christmas day is given off. - Shifts rotate every 3 months, though favoritism in team can guarantee individuals keep their desired shifts over others indefinitely. -No Bonuses. - There is a heavy workload which is normal for Help Desk in general however, constantly shifting goals and expectations make it difficult to keep up with business needs and reach individual goals. -Not a lot of chance for upward mobility. -Too many people packed into such a small space, company NEEDED to invest in bigger office space over a year ago and the problem continues to grow.

Cons

I don't know where to start. I worked for WS for 9 years about 5 years ago. I returned as a part-time seasonal employee this year and can NOT get over how much has changed...all for the worse. Chuck's "customer first" philosophy is completely gone. Everything revolves around pushing their marketing (email capture, rewards enrollment, WS Visa, WS credit card, etc.) and online sales (even though the store doesn't get credit for it). The utter lack of funds for payroll and basic necessities (bags, toilet paper, paper towels, alcohol wipes for earpieces) has led me to the conclusion that WS needs to close its brick and mortar stores, and just become an online-only store. We had days the final weeks of Christmas that were running on a crew of 4 or 5 employees...RIDICULOUS! Theft is rampant because of this, but the stores are blamed. There is little good to say about this company any more. When I first joined Glassdoor, WS had a rating of over 4.5. The fact that it now sits at a 2.6 and is steadily declining is very telling.

Cons

Long hours required at management level.

Cons

Super corporate, terrible pay, limited employee coverage, dated technology and hardware, ridiculous sales demands from the higher ups, difficult system processes.

Cons

Little to no training. Lack of communication between several aspects of the business.

Cons

Retail hours - nights & weekends

Cons

The training was not for me. I am someone who is more of a slow learner and I have to take notes to remember everything. I had to rush through the modules just so that I could make the goal that was set everyday. There were several tests that I took several times because you only pass if you get 100%. I do not feel that I was well prepared when I got on the floor. Some of the customers are very rude and getting a lead to help you is time consuming. You could get a one star rating if the customer does not like your work and that could affect your stats. The company does not offer any discount codes that a employee could give a customer. I have to say no to customers that want discount codes. Sometimes you are sitting at your desk for four hours without a break.

Cons

General Manager is consistently rude and disrespectful to employees and customers alike. Ex: Customer approached GM and kindly asked, '...Can I ask you a question?'. His comment, 'No, you MAY ask me a question'. Unbelievable...

Cons

The floor can feel hectic and disorganized