sales

leader in training

training assistant

assistant store manager

assistant manager

Buckle

I have been there for three weeks and am already about done. Buckle is a company that has, somehow, against all logic and reason, figured out a way to be anti-sales while operating a business model that depends on... sales. It’s a place that is not rewarded, success is seen as a problem, and the best salespeople are treated like a threat rather than an asset. It’s an upside-down world where mediocrity is cherished, revenue is an afterthought, and “fairness” matters more than profit. Buckle is not just a bad place to work—it’s a walking case study of how a business can shoot itself in the foot, reload, and then do it again.

🚨 The Crime: Punishing Performance
Buckle does something that defies basic business sense: It penalizes its top sellers instead of rewarding them. You could sell $2,600 on a Sunday while the second-best person barely cracks $1,100, and instead of management recognizing you as the store’s MVP, they’ll nitpick something absurdly irrelevant—like your Units Per Transaction (UPT)—to avoid giving you actual credit.

Sell too much? You’re getting your hours cut.
Outperform everyone? They will “spread hours evenly” to make sure the lower sellers get their “fair” share of commission.
Consistently bring in massive revenue? Expect to be micromanaged about your sales techniques because you didn’t hit some meaningless internal metric that does not correlate with actual profit.
It’s not enough to just be a great seller. You have to be a great seller in the exact way they want—even if their way is worse for the company and worse for the customer. It’s like watching someone refuse to take the winning lottery ticket because they didn’t scratch it off in the “right” way.

The Absurdity: Overhiring to Justify Cutting Your Hours
Here’s the kicker: Buckle overhires on purpose.

Not because they need more employees. Not because business is booming. However, management has somehow convinced themselves that hiring more people (who don’t sell well) and cutting the hours of the best salespeople is a good business strategy.

The logic is so broken it deserves an academic paper:

Hire more people than necessary.
Cut the hours of top-performing employees to make room for underperformers.
Watch as revenue inevitably suffers.
Blame top performers for not following the rigid “sales process” instead of acknowledging the real problem.
It’s the equivalent of an NFL team benching their best quarterback because the backup needs playing time—even though the backup can’t throw a football.

🤡 The Outdated Sales Tactics That Make Customers Suspicious
Buckle still teaches a high-pressure, outdated, car salesman approach to selling. The kind that customers immediately recognize and resent.

They want you to aggressively push items in a way that feels unnatural.
They want you to force additional pieces into the sale, even if it doesn’t make sense for the customer.
They act like today’s consumers—who have access to online reviews, price comparisons, and instant information—aren’t smart enough to realize what’s happening.
Once customers figure out you work on commission, they immediately become skeptical of everything you say. Instead of fostering trust and letting top sellers use their actual skills to close deals organically, Buckle trains people to sound robotic, disingenuous, and desperate.

And when customers compliment you—telling managers that their best sales guy is a natural, that he’s the reason they bought, that he could sell eyeglasses to a blind man—do the managers praise you? Do they recognize your value?

No.

They see it as a threat.

Instead of learning from their top performer and making them an example for others to follow, they’ll instead say:

"Well, you still need to focus on getting your units per transaction up (your "IA"). Make sure you’re filling out the SPG form right."

This is the equivalent of an NBA player dropping 60 points in a game, only for the coach to say:

"Yeah, but your assist-to-turnover ratio wasn’t great."

At some point, you realize they don’t want salespeople. They want obedient little robots who follow their script—even if they actively lose the company money.
🛑 The Bottom Line: This Job is a Trap for Anyone Who Sells Well
Buckle is the worst kind of sales job. It’s one where:

Hard work is punished.
Mediocrity is protected.
Management actively undermines their top earners.
Success is seen as a problem instead of an asset.
If you are a real salesperson—someone who thrives on closing, who gets a rush from making the sale, who wants to contribute to a company’s success—this is not the place for you. The company hires way too many employees, not because there is an actual demand for more workers, but because management insists on ensuring "everyone gets hours." It doesn’t matter that half of them don’t deserve those hours, don’t sell well, or actively drive customers away—the hours are split regardless of merit.

Go work somewhere that values what you bring to the table. Because at Buckle, the more money you make for them, the more they’ll find ways to cut you down. You could sell glasses to a blind man, and they’d still tell you that you need to follow a useless SPG form.

In a typical day at Buckle, I would clock in, check out new merchandise either in the freight area or on the sales floor, and then set up the goals for the day. We would take a look at our sales goals for the day broken down by departments, including Denim, Tops, Shoes, and, Services such as credit cards or loyalty sign up sheets. 
If I was the opening leader that day, I would be responsible for setting goals based on the numbers from the previous year. If I was the closing leader for the day, the opening leader would let me know what our successes and holdbacks had been so far that day so that I could influence certain areas on the sales floor by showing more product to the guest, or teaching a sales teammate how to have better showmanship. This is where the competitive nature of sales comes into play. I find that to be successful, sometimes all it takes is to challenge someone to try and beat you. For example if we need to sell more jeans, I will set up teams of 2 and the team that sells the most jeans will get a prize. 
Occasionally, I will be taken away from the sales floor to do interviews, or reviews with our teammates. One of my main responsibilities as the Floor Manager was to do laterals on the sales floor and make sure all guests are being helped by our team. I was also responsible for recognizing if there are recruiting opportunities in our store at that time. We are constantly looking for talented people to add to the team. 
I have learned a lot through the Buckle. Not only do I understand business plans and the importance of forecasting and scheduling, but I also know how to lead a team by having a vision for what I need our team to perform to hit our sales goals. I have also completed the management training program for Buckle which covers all aspects of becoming a talented manager. 
One of my favorite parts of working at Buckle is the people I get to work with. In any job, the people you work with, can ensure your happiness or dislike for your job. My team includes my manager, myself, the assistant manager, about 4 leaders and then about another 20 part time teammates. Our team is a eclectic mix of personalities that is fun to be around and learn from each other. 
The hardest part of my job is constant turn around of people. This is very common in retail, but it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the team to continue to invite people to work at our store and find the right fits for the store needs. This could include teammates that are full time, part time, freight, or even a seamstress.
I find my job is the hardest when we don't have people in all of those positions, or if we don't have the right people in those positions. You may have an assistant manager, but if they don't have a drive and vision for the store you won't be hitting your sales goals. I had the opportunity to travel to other Buckle stores who were in need of more training, recruiting or just needed a manager for a week. This is when I would see the struggle of other stores needing more people, or more ambitious people in their stores. As a manager it becomes a challenge of do you need to train your people better, or get better people in that spot.
Overall, Buckle is a great company to work for with excellent health benefits and job security. I just feel as though, after 6 years, I have reached my full potential in the position I am in and I am ready to find new ventures related to my degree. For me, retail hours and work in retail is not the career path I want for the rest of my life, and I know that with my education and ambition I can do much more.

Buckle was a fantastic place of employment. The managers at my location were empathetic and flexible. They hired people for their passions and helped them grow in the areas they were interested in. My managers really knew how to speak to the strengths of each of their employees. They were understanding when it came to work life balance and made every effort to accommodate time off requests. The pay is extremely competitive for retail, and the opportunity to make commission means that you have the opportunity to make far more than expected. The culture of  Buckle is clearly defined and every new initiative, all training material, and feedback are all brought back to the Buckle Mission Statement and culture. The very first shift you work at Buckle is called the "Culture" shift where you literally learn everything about what the company believes in, stands for, and how those things translate to their employees and guests. Employees should have no question what Buckle stands for and what their mission is after only being with the brand a week. 

The hardest part of the job is honestly getting past your "old" mindset and your own personal setbacks. Buckle has the customer service and selling model that all companies should follow. It's certainly not the easiest, and it makes you step out of your comfort zone on a daily basis. Buckle has a formula that works, but you have to own it and believe in it, to be successful. Some of the ways they expect you to approach and talk to customers is uncomfortable at first, Once you get used to it, your sales will skyrocket. You have to trust the process though.  

With all of that being said about the "hard part" of the job, Buckle provides you with training on a daily basis. There are role playing worksheets, fun quizzes, and tons and tons of videos that will absolutely help you succeed. Your managers will do everything they can to help you as well. If they still see you struggling, they will even reach out to other managers, and area leaders to help. 

I learned so much about how to be a great leader, and a great sales person. I had been in sales and management for about seven years before I moved to Buckle. In my first three weeks there I learned more than I did in the last three years at my previous sales job. I THOUGHT my previous job gave great training and I certainly learned a lot, but BUCKLE is on another level. 

On a personal note, when I was struggling emotionally and mentally I was ready to resign from this job. I needed to get my mental health in check. My bosses were extremely understanding and instead of accepting a resignation as the only option, they offered me a position that was off the sales floor, still in management, and still had benefits. I'm not certain this could happen in every single case, but my managers made sure I was taken care of. It was the most human thing I've ever had a brand and a manager do for me. It made me feel like I was not just another employee to them, but I was a person and I was deeply cared for.  I would go work for them again in a heartbeat.

When I first started at the Buckle, everything was great. I enjoyed coming to work, while it was still work, I got along with everybody and people felt like they belonged to a family. 

After the company furloughed us because of the COVID-19 pandemic, things had changed and it was not because of the pandemic. The woman in charge of the department I was in(who was and still is very unqualified for the position, had only got her job was because she knew another woman higher up) and a VP decided that things needed to change, without reason or cause. The VP shrunk an entire department to just two people, which resulted in an entire department quitting the Buckle within a month, just before the holiday season.

The work environment now is sad. There is no morale in the warehouses, people are told that "If they aren't part of the solution, they're part of the problem." People are wanting to leave and will talk about what companies they're applying to, outside of the Buckle.

The pay is the worst out of all the warehouse jobs in the Kearney area. Despite what another review has stated, the Buckle DOES NOT give raises more often than other companies, unless another company gives raises less than once a year. Now to be fair, they did give two cost-of-living raises in the time I was there. But that was only after other people had left and they found out how much they were making at another job.

The management doesn't know how to lead anybody, but they act like they can mange the world. One of the Distribution managers personally told me "I don't know what the supervisors on the floor do, that's their business." But part of his job is to teach new supervisors on how to do their job. Another manager, sits in her office all day, unless the VP is in the building, and then the manager will leave her office, so she appears that she does something. The last one will actually drive a forklift once in awhile, but when he's not doing that, he sits in his office and either watches the security cameras or will check the scores on what ever sport or team happens to be playing at the time.

The warehouse employees aren't treated well. The Buckle will spend tens-of-thousands of dollars for a week long meeting for the Store Managers. But can't even put a Christmas party for their warehouse teammates. The yearly bonus is only 75 dollars, before taxes are taken out.

Overall, do not work for the Buckle. The people who work there now aren't happy because of the management and the pay.

Begin at the store preparing, looking at your numbers vs. goals for the week and month then have meeting over departments. Get store ready for opening and each employee is assigned specific duties to take care of before opening. Then 10-15 minutes before opening we went over specific goals for the day and products each employee woud sponsor and go over price points along with different uses and why someone should buy the product. I learned a lot about how to run a business through my management position and work well with others while delegating duties while relaying what duties I will be doing to show we are working as a team. I learned scheduling, teaching in the moment properly, and ensuring many customers (10-50) are all happily recognized and taken care of at one time, as well as all of the other employees helping them constantly provide the best customer service for each customer. The culture was fun being able to interact with so many customers, but had a lot of difficult culture issues with the gossip and immaturity of leading so many employees. That was probably the most difficult part, staying in my element while so many others at times would lose focus and ignore customers which had me running 300%. The most enjoyable part was enjoying the presence of the people as well helping them get the things they want or need. All enjoyed the ability to influence them on certain items while always making them happy while doing so.

A typical day at work is incredibly fast paced at The Buckle. I am constantly interacting with customers, managing the register, attending to various areas of the store, transporting freight and inventory, tracking all progress on my Sales Performance Guide, updating with teammates and managements, and reviewing training material to further my product and sales knowledge.
I have thus far learned about many aspects of retail business including customer interface, store maintenance, employee motivation, customer loyalty, and consumer behavior. I am currently learning many of these thing in college as well and applying lessons from both in order to increase my effectiveness in all areas.
Overall, I believe the management is excellent. My sales efforts are overseen by my manager, assistant manager, and a few team leaders. They are all very knowledgeable as well as personable. I enjoy working with them very much. I believe they have an excellent balance of customer focus and hustle to finish all tasks at hand.
The hardest part of the job is definitely constantly having to deal with several customers at a time, tracking your progress with each customer, managing the register, and completing cleaning, freight, go-backs, and projects simultaneously in an efficient manner. It does get much easier with time however; I believe I have already developed my multi-tasking skills tremendously.
The most enjoyable part of the job is interacting with the customers and providing them an unforgettable shopping experience that they actually enjoy. I take pride in introducing new products to guests that they may not have previously considered. I want they to look back on their experience in the store as pleasant so they become repeat customers.

Typical work day for me is to come in and count the money that is in the safe to make sure that it is all there. I then touch base with my manager to figure out what needs to be done on my shift. I then start to work on the list in a timely fashion in order to get it all done so that we don't have stuff left over to do the next day. I oversee a cashier and make sure that they stay on task and do what they are supposed to be doing. Dealing with angry or unhappy customers either in the store or over the phone, trying to make sure that they leave with a happy experience of how I took care of things. My main goal is to make sure that when a customer leaves they know that I did my best to make sure they were happy. I've learned many things working for CVS for three years. It's really shown me both sides of the counter. When you go somewhere you can truly see someone's true colors. My co-workers at CVS are unreliable. If you are sick you better still show up because no one will be able to come in for you. The one and only time that I had the flu and truly couldn't be at work I had to go in because there was nobody else that was going to come in for me, but yet I come in for everyone else when they need someone. Management at CVS is hit or miss, if there is something that you need to discuss with him about someone else he says he is going to take care of it or talk to them but he never does. People show up really late or wont show up at all and he will do nothing about it, it just shows that he really doesn't care. The most enjoyable part of my job is getting to interact with people, which I love to do!! Making sure that every customer walks out the door with a smile on there face and a wonderful experience! The hardest part of my job is trying to take care of everyone on the team and make sure that people are held accountable. I don't like to be the bad guy but someone has to make sure that the store runs smoothly.

The Kitsap Mall is usually empty, but even when it was busy, Buckle still remained a barren wasteland. Nobody ever came in and those who did immediately left either after finding out how ridiculously priced everything is or because of the hostility and uncomfortableness of being stormed by several employees pretending to be your friend and “personal shopper”.. Most people want to be left alone while shopping, but at Buckle, you’re basically forced to harass these poor people into buying something by suggest articles of clothing you think suits them with “reason, purpose, and feeling”.. 90% of the time, they’re young high schoolers who can barley keep a conversation and make it awkward for all parties (plus, all they can afford is a cheap/sale shirt or some jewelry). The other 10% are moms coming to splurge and completely deplete their bank accounts because they think overly bedazzled jeans and cowboy boots are “in”.. What’s even worse is when a customer leads you on, making you think they’re going to buy the 10 pairs of jeans, 15 shirts, 5 pairs of shoes, and whatever the heck else you brought them only to skip out when you run to the back to grab something. If you don’t want any help, just say no for goodness sake. I’d rather fold clothes then pretend to care about how ridiculous you’re going to look in those awful bedazzled jeans and a shirt that says “Am I into fitness? Yeah, fitness taco in my mouth” or some other lame quote. The cherry on top is the $9/hr and 3% comission. Paying lower than minimum wage and then trying to compensate by offering 3% comission on each purchase? Absolutely foolish. Nobody ever goes to the Buckle in Kitsap Mall and nobody would ever spend nearly enough for that 3% comission to be worth it. If all of this isn’t enough to keep you from working there, then god speed if you get hired.

On an average day, I spend the morning cleaning up the back room like taking out trash, cleaning bathrooms, organizing my materials. Shipments show up at an inconsistent time which is very frustrating. Anywhere between 10 and 40 packages arrive from UPS and it takes most of the day to unpack, apply a security tag, and fold the clothes. 

The management is okay at best. The store manager is very dedicated and hard working, but is very passive-aggressive. She is a poor trainer, as new teammates are ONLY taught sales and nothing about maintaining the store's cleanliness, specifically the back room. The assistant managers have very poor leadership skills, only high sales ability. The key holders are the worst excuses of leaders I've ever seen. They look down on staff like children. They are very bossy people and have a negative affect on staff morale. Teammate turnover is high because employees are expected to get high sales if they want any hours. Most teammates get let go because they can't sell enough. 

The hardest part of the job is dealing with the teammates. The freight coordinator job is very tedious and there isn't much time for distractions. Teammates open up boxes and remove items without checking them into the system, they leave food and drinks everywhere, don't put back stock product back where it belongs, and have absolutely no regard for the pressure it puts on the freight coordinator. Management doesn't seem to be on board with correcting the issue. 

The best part of the job is the freedoms of being in a back room. No dress code, can listen to music, work alone, set pace, and take a lunch without asking permission first.

I was so excited to start here after working in non-commissioned sales jobs my whole life. The store manager got replaced my second week in. I quickly got moved into leadership, then up to assistant manager. The store manager was new to leadership in general and gave in to petty drama that affected the whole team. I was often the scapegoat, and as such began to hate my job that I once loved. Upper management had a "You don't like something? Leave!" mentality and therefore we had a HUGE turnover rate of both teammates and leaders. Guests would often comment that I was the only familiar face they ever saw when they came in. Store AND upper management would criticize employee's choices, like going to college or having kids. The constant criticisms really began to have an affect on me and my coworkers after a while. I even found out that 6 months after I had quit, the store manager was talking to current employees about the fact that I've gained weight since leaving. The former district manager (he was asked to step down eventually) once told me in regards to hiring that Buckle doesn't hire ugly people because "no one wants to go to a five star hotel and be helped by Shrek." Incredibly unprofessional and inappropriate. I adored my guests and the money was nice but by the time I left I felt like I was leaving the most toxic relationship I've ever had. It could be a wonderful company and a fantastic career, but not with a leadership team that doesn't care about their teammates.

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