sales associate

sales lead

assistant manager

stylist

retail assistant manager

Ann Taylor

Opening the store as a key holder. Printing reports and goal sheet. Changing marketing. Going to the bank to make deposits and getting change. Opening resisters and greeting customers. Assisting clients in assembling outfits for daily, professional and event needs.Finding client sizes at other store locations. Taking returns and converting them to another sale. Opening store cards. Accepting shipment, processing and merchandising. Cleaning store (daily dust, vacuum and sweep). Straightening merchandise and re-folding. Counting and closing registers at the end of day. Printing and logging daily end reports. Placing intended deposits in safe at the nights end. Changing any blown out recessed ceiling lights, changing mannequins. Providing exceptional customer service in person and via phone. Coaching to associates for sales, customer service and credit application. Closing and securing store at the end of day.

Being a manager has equipped me with the wonderful art of coaching to a persons learning style and tailoring criticism into positive and rewarding coaching, I lead by example and work with my associates to produce a productive and positive environment. I collaborate with my management team to continue in finding efficient and effective methods to keep our store and our team on top. I divide the store goals out to hourly goals per associate and make it entertaining to compete for the over all goal. Our store goals are regarded by associates to be as important as they are to the management. Being a great leader to my wonderful associates and having the store;s progress show as a result is most gratifying!

I enjoy coaching to my associates and cheering with them when we succeed. Assisting a client who is frustrated and unable to find what she wants is a rewarding challenge when I provide her with a look in which she feels beautiful. I am very proud of our store and fellow management. 

Challenges I enjoy least are changing the lights and climbing ladders to retrieve boxes of materials or to set busts or heavy shelving. Vacuuming and cleaning the restroom are not as pleasant either.

It is a wonderful company to work for and I have been privy to spend my work days with some of the most amazing people I have ever met.

Lower wages and slow opportunity to advance is not satisfying and makes me long for something that with allow my growth and a comfortable wage.

Application process: This one is a bit hard, I heard a lot of people don't pass the online application. Tip do not pick neutral.

Interview: The interview is pretty quick, it's mostly tell me about a time when...I interviewed with two managers at one time. And got the job fairly quick.

Pay: Depending on where you live, minimum or a little bit above that.

Typical day: Clock-in, clean the store and wait for customers to arrive. Constantly fixing clothes and putting clothes back after customers try them on. Steaming is very important. So sometimes an associate will steam returns or look for clothes that are wrinkled to steam. Always checking on customers to start a fitting room and get their sizes. But not to the point where you feel like you have to constantly bother customers. A lot of days except weekends are very slow. So get hope you enjoy your coworkers!

You have sales goal that are not very strict. You also have credit card goals which are important  and found it very hard to achieve. Many associates opened maybe 1-2 a month. However, it depends on your location. I feel like you will have better luck in a tourist location. You get to try on all of the clothes or majority so you are able to better help customers with their choices. 

Management: I had great managers. You will work with one manager and multiple sales leads. I see sales leads as managers. They were all very nice. And didn't expect you to pounce on every customer which was very important to me. Top management like cooperate, I feel like they didn't really care about us in the store. They kind of found ways to give us the least such as pay and benefits.

Hardest part of the job was sassy elderly customers. I've never met such rude stuck up customers. I honestly think it was my location.  A lot of them were nice but you had a group of the sassy few. And they will contact cooperate! 
*Also, you need to dress within the season. They are strict with that.
So make sure you ask what clothes can be worn all year round. Dressing nice is a must!

The most enjoyable was my co workers and clothes! 
You get a really great discount and my coworkers were lovely!
Also they are very flexible with scheduling. You will not get the best hours though so this is more like a part time job. Even full time got small hours sometimes. They are kind of strict with your attendance which is expected.

Decent job if you’re a college kid or just need a part-time gig. Other than that don’t expect much. You have the ability to work more hours but just basically expect to constantly bombard your customers with the credit card offers. I’m basically encouraged to do whatever it takes to get a person to sign up for a loyalty card. They wouldn’t tell me to lie but instead “not tell the whole truth” about the card and what it means. Use sneaky trickery to get these housewives, young college kids, or old ladies who don’t need a credit card to sign up for a card that honestly isn’t much of a perk but more of a great way to ruin their credit. 

Also, basically expect that management nor the company to have your back at all if a customers make any claim about you because they didn’t get their way. You will be sent home regardless if it’s true or not. You will lose a whole day of pay because the customers can bold face lie to management and you have no way to defend yourself. It’s the worst at the Loft Outlet location especially. Sounds like a great place to work right?!

If you want to work for a company you cant trust in and stand for the same ideals. Ann Taylor/Loft isn’t for you. (They only pretend to care about women. News flash: they’re actually lowkey kind of perpetuating stereotypes of the ideal women that is borderline misogynistic). It’s a good side hustle but basically expect to never move up. Especially if you don’t fit their cookie cutter plain mold. They’ll hire you even if you’re a bit different but they will treat you like a worker bee and nothing else because you could never represent their brand truly. There is no chance to go to a sales lead or management position or get any type of bonus or acknowledgement for your achievements. You may be top credit sales or best customer service representative but you wont hear a word from any higher up. You’re more likely to hear them complaining still about how we need to do more. But for what?!? Minimum wage? Yea they want you to more work for less. Then expect when they dump on you and your trust in the company, you are to still perform to the unrealistic expectations they place on you. 



I've been with the company since 2007 and I can't seem to let it go. I get 50% off full priced items, the company has tried many initiatives to get employees to shop by giving 75% off certain items, at certain times of the year, or even employee gift cards in previous years that was as good as cash. But at the end of the day, if your pay check amounts to less than a single item or two combined with your dicsount, employees will just not be shopping. Clothing is a bigger issue than just sales at Ann. Dress code is constantly being re-enforced, re-iterated and re-vamped because all employees just cannot afford the clothes. Turn over is crazy, I work there very infrequently throughout the month and am always meeting new people who aren't customers. The management team hasn't been strong at the Lenox location for a few years now, but I get the feeling it's on a rise. The biggest management issue is that retail, as demanding as it is, is not as serious of a job to them as it is to our newest Store manager. I wont mention her name because I like her, but professionally, she doesn't work well with many people. But she is a retail goddess, she knows ann taylor like the back of her hand and i think she has been with the company a year or so longer than myself. She works hard and she can be a bit overzealous about the job, but I believe that is what it takes for one to be successful in the retail industry, or at least with ann. It doesn't pay well at all though. and most people who have been hear as long as i have don't do it for the money (not just for the money) we do it because we get to service women in a way unique to how she shops everywhere else, you get to play dress up with clients, you get to make them feel great and sometimes you get rewarded for it. But the daily stresses that retail provides, you would hope to get paid more than 9 odd dollars an hour for.I won't ever forget what the store manager said to me one day as she vented about not having a co manager yet and i replied that it would be great if you could pay them more, she said, "Some people will do it regardless how much it pays." And to that I say, it's not about that, it's about paying them what they deserve, anyway.

Let me say I work for this company simply so I have something to fill my time since I took a very early retirement.  My husband covers our financial needs so I am able to be picky about where I work and am happy working for the store.  

The store manager is one of the most ethical people I have worked with, she works hard and is a great role model for the  employees.  I don’t think corporate does enough to recognize the talent they have but that is their loss.

I think the sales goals are fair.  Some days the daily goal is just way off but, it is usually due to shifting holidays and by the end of the week it will balance out.  The managers have a good idea where we need to be each day and control the floor accordingly.   I think it is odd they don’t talk about increasing sales numbers as much as they do about credit.  I get it, branded credit drives sales but overall we are a retailer selling clothing, not a credit finance company. 

Speaking of credit... It is painfully obvious the corporate office puts in ZERO effort in setting credit goals but expects MAXIMUM effort on our part.   They initially set a reasonable store goal and added X% the following year to give the store a stretch goal.  Where they miss the mark is by also adding to your store’s credit goal the number of applications your store fell short the previous year.  So be prepared to work very hard on a goal your store will never achieve. 

They only offer full time positions to the store manager and the co-managers.  You cannot work full time as a key holder or below because they do not want to have to pay any employee benefits. It would be nice if they offered benefits (healthcare) to part time employees even if you had to fully fund the plan because I’d still rather pay a group plan than purchase it on the open market.  However, that is not a concern for me at the moment. 

Be prepared to deal with sloppy customers. I very rarely (if ever) encounter a rude customer but I do see customer’s leaving brand new nice clothing rolled up in a ball, inside out on the floor.  Who does that, I didn’t even know people did that kind of thing.

LOFT is overall a great company to work for. They have a lot of philanthropy opportunities and have an organization to help associates in disaster areas (Dimes from the Heart). They offer great discounts for employees and I’ve always experienced a good workplace culture. The other store managers have been very vocal with support and accommodation. We email each other all the time for advice/help and to keep everyone updated. Unfortunately there are a lot of issues working here as well. Corporate seems to have a lot of trouble doing their job efficiently and correctly, and the help desk is close to useless as they often don’t even know our store policies. We’re expected to balance multiple tasks at once (DOMs, markdowns, replenishment, shipment, recovering, go backs, paperwork, operational assessments, floor set, promo changes, mannequin changes, sign changes, etc.) and still keep sales and conversion up. Even if we make our goals, if we don’t do better than last year we get reprimanded. Customers are mostly nice, but the rude ones are especially nasty. We must do promo changes up to three times a week, and must hear customers complain about it all the time. Because of these constant changes, customers will be hesitant to buy full price items if they suspect we’ll have a better sale soon. We’re also in charge of reaching credit card goals which seem almost impossible some days, even across the district. They give us opportunities for recognition and prizes which helps, but only to a certain extent. The last job I worked at, I received an hour break for working 8 hours, but here it’s only 30 minutes. For a job where you’re on your feet all day, this can get really rough. On top of all of this you don’t get paid well at all (I get $11/hour) and only 2-3 employees get benefits out of 10-20 that work for the store.

I do not recommend to any searching for employment to apply to this company. Run though incredibly antiquated operating systems. Little to no support from corporate regarding the allocation of provided payroll to run a business sufficiently. 

Inefficient with operating procedures and expectations. There are many situations involving time restrictions without sufficient time provided to accomplish tasks.  

A general lack of acknowledgment of the retail environment in 2015. The company as a whole is persistent in its lack of realization of  current day retail needs. 

Management set ups are perfunctory. Areas of the business are assigned to separate managers. When assigned tasks are not completed to 100% corporate standards, due to lack of staff support (speaking to properly trained associates and sufficient time allowed for tasks) threats of, "write-ups" that would lead to termination are threatened.

Co-Managers and Sales Lead positions taken advantage of. Expected to fulfill store manager responsibilities without sufficient pay. Forced schedule changes due to store managers inclinations for the week.

Incentive to move up in the company is present but more so for the company to save money as opposed to general interest in development for the associate. Many associates have stayed on in order to move up to management only to discover that the pay raise was so shockingly minimal that it would cause for an immediate, "no" from the associate attempting to move up. There is an extremely high turn-over rate. In general when this is seen, it is a true sign that a company does not factor the well-being of an associate into it's business. 

Massive cover-ups whenever visits are to occur. I.e. a District manager coming to visit a location.


I would not recommend employment with Ann Taylor. In all sincerity there are many retail companies that will provide a proper environment that is worthy of your time.

I worked at Ann Taylor when they was struggling to find a price at which consumers were willing to purchase their clothes, as a result I found that as the prices went down so did quality as well unfortunately. As a stylist I received lots of negative feedback in regards to this change. However the work environment is quit nice for a part time position. The store decor was always intriguing and I was glad that I was apart of the visual team.

That being said It was unfortunate that there was not much opportunity for growth. It was clear that If you are a sales associate in a small store you are going to be just an associate for a long time! This situation can be frustrating and does not work to motivate employees. Expectations are high at Ann Taylor regarding sales so it would have been nice to have more acknowledgment, especially since promotion was not an option, and funds were clearly not there to provide for raises.... I got an 11 cent raise in a year (this was very insulting).

So after a year and a half I left. I miss the girls I worked with however it was the right choice, since the opportunity for a supervisor position was available and management was very outspoken about the fact that they did not want to hire from within... it was time to leave! I can't align with management that does this, unfortunately it happens a lot. It was Ironic though because I had the highest level of education even above all the managers and the quantitative proof that sales goals had been met and exceeded, I found out later that they had made the choice to bring in someone new because they felt that the store needed a "mature" associate (age) as most of the staff was under the age of 30.

Typical day in Management 

If you are the opening manager, your day begins checking emails for promotional changes and updates. This could include whole store changes or just a few:
 If items are to be marked down and taken to sale
Whole store discount, if so signage must be found and changed to corresponding promos
New product to be put out on the floor in correct homes
Ensure the store is full and impactful
If a payroll day, process employee time sheets
Lastly responding to important emails

Next step is opening registers and checking if there is enough change, if not than go to the bank to get change.

Open the store at correct time. Greet customers, balance your time between efficiently helping both customers and associates. Some days it would be minimal associates working and a busy sale. Such days would involve a LOT of running around and multitasking. Knowing who you are working with and both of your strengths and giving direction from there. You can have a line of customers at the desk and just yourself ringing them up while simultaneously answering phones. These days would test even the most elite of employees but strong customer service and common sense prevail.

I always found the woman that I worked with to be amazing and this to me was the best part of the Job. I have never worked anywhere else with such amazing woman. I was part of management and rarely had to reprimand anyone. I lead by example and had both respect and gave it. 
The hardest part of the job to me was the cut in payroll. We were given more to do and less people and time to accomplish it. Whilst trying to follow company standards of giving each customer the attention they needed. Very hard to do some days!

My time at LOFT has been very educational and rewarding. I have learned so much about customer service, and creating lasting connections with clients. The best part about this job is the smile on the client's face when I am able to help them. Clothing is something we put on everyday, and you never really think that it could make someone happy, but finding the right outfit can make someone feel absolutely amazing about themselves. Seeing my clients smile puts a smile on my face. What's even more rewarding is when clients hug you, because they appreciate you that much.

I also learned that there's a lot more to running a store than just selling the product. I learned about all of the operational, computer, and paper work that comes with running a store. By the time I became a manager, I knew the ins and outs of the store, and how to do pretty much everything that goes on "behind the scenes." 

A typical day at LOFT for me includes preforming basic transactions, filling internet orders, filing paperwork, making phone calls, entering Loss Prevention Data, and closing down the store and preparing the deposit.

My co-managers and associates are some of the most wonderful and kind hearted women I have ever met in my entire life. Over the year I have come to know them as a second family, They are very close to my heart.

The hardest part about working at LOFT would have to be prioritizing and organizing for each day. Every day at LOFT is different. Each new day brings a different goal and different projects. Especially when the company decides to throw a last minute sale. "Sifting through the chaos" is difficult, but I always find a way to do it in a calm and professional manner.

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