entry level buyer

security officer

retail sales associate

buyer

associate manager

Buffalo Exchange

I loved my tenure with this company. Great starting pay for retail, and many perks such as new clothing daily in the inventory. A typical day consisted of merchandising the store, buying merchandise from customers, attending to customers in the fitting room as well as the sales floor, and ringing customers out. Everyday was different and you honestly never knew what to expect, which was fun, in the beginning. 

Training is essential in this company, and is overly emphasized in the employ handbook. This is great for employees who are trained thoroughly the first time. During my time with the company, in less than a year, I had over 7 different managers within 4 different management teams.This became tiresome, as most management did not train thoroughly, as they were never with the company for a long duration of time. Many left willingly, were fired, or had been demoted due to reasons that are still left unknown, which leads to my next topic, communication.

This company's policy as to how they communicate with their employs is archaic. You are served communication forums, infamously known as "comm slips" where they document every issue before bringing it to an associates attention. They basically use this as a way to build a case upon you, so that when its time for them to fire you or give you an evaluation that requires a raise in pay, they have all the resources needed to validate their decision. This proves to be poor management skills as many managers didn't bring up an issue with employs until the last minute. Many of my coworkers received communication slips months after an incident occurred, and management would force you to sign the slip pertaining to something that happened so long ago that you forgot what even happened and if you counter their claim, you are tagged as "insubordinate". Management often failed to communicate with each other and more often than not, associates suffered for this reason. 

My co-workers were all fantastic on the other hand! Some of the most eccentric and fun individuals that I have ever met.

The hardest part of the job is definitely buying merchandise from the public. Since the location I worked at was smaller, "buyers" which happen to be sales and floor assistants as well, are left with the duty to deal with customer relations in all aspects of the store. This location was in a commuter city, so people were either constantly moving in, or out, and that usually meant people bringing in clothing that was not only un-stylish, but presented health hazards as well, (menstrual cycle stains, bugs in bags of clothing, ect) and having to constantly deal with peoples bad attitudes for not taking their clothing to re-sale, or to donate if we didn't buy their stuff and the donation bin was full. Theft was also big at this location and since the company believes in the old " provide excellent customer service, and no one will steal" mantra, instead of more modern techniques of loss prevention; it was a constant struggle to stop theft as associates shouldn't have to follow suspicious characters constantly, while doing merchandise buys, as well as ringing customers out at the same time. That was the struggle that the company saw daily as it refused to pay for technology to make the day go more smoothly for its associates at all locations. Its a chain with over 40 locations, and it still runs like it is a mom and pop shop in Arizona. 

The most enjoyable part about working with the company is that they allow you to express yourself through your dress daily, and they actually embrace that through their seasonal zine. There are many opportunities to participate with this medium, especially if you are a photographer, or stylist looking to get a few publishing credits while you work with this company. Although most were rude, there were many customers that were nice and will seek advice about fashion, which makes the job worth it in many ways.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with the company and have no regrets working here. Kirsten, Spencer and Rebecca's company has become a staple in many cities. Its difficult to not commend their efforts in sustainability. This job is fun while it last, but don't get stuck!

I spent years with this company and I regret the time spent here. The people you work with and the regulars you meet are amazing. I made some of my best friends here. The clothes are cool too, until you are over a size 8, then there is nothing. The work culture and management is terrible. You couldn’t question or criticize something they did and when you did, they wouldn’t listen to you or bombarde you with their weird script about respecting Buffalo because they take care of you and pay you.
Promotions were few and far between. I only got a 50¢ raise in my years of working there. I was doing the job of a manager without proper compensation and I was just expected to continue that without any knowledge of what I needed to do to get promoted to the next position. I got an additional 25¢ when I was keyholding, but they took that raise away when I wasn’t officially on the schedule to keyhold. I still had to perform the supervision duties associated with the role without the raise. I felt taken advantage of.
This job took away my love for making outfits and fashion. You are overworked for the pay you get. You are expected to do reports and as well you have to constantly be researching outside of work without compensation. I stopped wanting to wear my fun clothes because it started to feel like work.
I was traumatized here over and over again. One specific situation was dealt with terribly. I was offered time off but I would have to use my own PTO to cover it. The general manager felt so robotic and cold when she approached me and the area manager didn’t even acknowledge what happened to me. I was forced to continue being in the part of the store where it happened even though it made me emotional and I mentioned how it made me uncomfortable and caused me to relive my trauma. It was hard to heal in a workplace that didn’t respect me.
I wish I would have left sooner, but I felt stuck because of the pay (which I didn’t realize wasn’t that great) and my love for clothing and fashion. Many other of my coworkers felt the same way. I put my two weeks in and I finally felt happy. I saw so many people leave because of the abuse they faced here. There’s no work life balance and the culture is awful. There’s so much more I would say but I can’t. They want people who won’t question their obvious wrongdoings so if you’re that person, this is a perfect job for you. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend working here to anyone.

Buffalo Exchange is a great place to work. I have learned so much in the 2 1/2 years I have been there. The training resources and contacts they provide set their employees up for success. In my position as a Store Secretary there isn't much opportunity for promotion. But for buying positions there is a lot of room for advancement within the company. I have enjoyed my time there very much. The teamwork in this company is amazing. 

A typical day of work for me involves e-mail correspondence, several Excel Workbook reports, register reconciliation, using Word and keyboarding to create posters, sign up sheets and more, checking supply orders, running errands, contacting contractors for maintenance, giving employee feedback, distributing assignments, answering phones, filing and organizing, and anything else I can do to ensure the store can run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. I am the main contact for our GA Accounting, HR, Payroll and IT departments. I set up interviews, check references, complete intake paperwork including employee files and tax paperwork, I handle Open Enrollment for employee benefits and personnel issues, I do store level payroll duties once every two weeks, such as reviewing punches, entering PTO and submitting final hours to our Payroll department. When there are equipment issues I contact IT and troubleshoot with them over the phone to get it working properly. 

I have had the pleasure of working along side 3 great Store Managers in my two years there. Each of them has taught me new things as an employee and individual. I feel lucky to have had such strong leaders.

The co worker atmosphere at Buffalo Exchange is fun and personable. The company encourages individuality and believes that all different types of people contribute to their success. They offer many benefits and incentives to their people which leads to employees who value their positions and enjoy their work.

The hardest part of the job is knowing that as a secretary I have reached the top of the chain. I have worked at two different locations, my first year there I received Employee of the year and I have gotten to know so many wonderful people. But my time has come to move forward in my career.

Most enjoyable part of the job would be the people I have gotten to work with.

During my time with this company, I cycled through 3 different Area Managers and 4 store managers. The expectations were never consistent or clear. Policies changed frequently. Area Managers and Assistants were unable to accurately answer questions regarding technical aspects of promotions and frequently when I called the Area Manager directly, I was spoken to like I should understand the ins and outs of jobs I did not have. I frequently had to find creative workarounds because the marketing team would put out a promotion that did not align with how our systems operated and I never had an avenue to communicate the issues or get recognition for my creative problem solving. I was with the company for over a year and helped the company by moving cities to fill a much needed role in a busy store and never received extra training or compensation for the significant increase in workload. When my one year passed, I was. not given even a raise. There were entry level college students on the sales floor making the same hourly wage as myself. I do not say this to diminish their work but it was clear that Buffalo did not value me or my work. I and all of my in store managers, including Associate Managers and floor employees, agreed that my role was as a business manager. The amount of work and the nature of the work was that of at least an assistant manager. In my time, I found the resignation letters of the two previous SAS' at my store and in their letters, they detailed the same complaints as myself and left after about a year. It became clear to me that Buffalo Exchanges goal, with the SAS role, is to cycle through people desperate for a job until they become so disheartened that they quit so Buffalo Exchange does not have to justify a raise. This is not the work culture I was promised. I was genuinely heartbroken as I have been a patron of Buffalo for a very long time and love, at least, the public facing business model. I have since been told that they are offering my would-be replacements even LESS than what they paid me. I handled sensitive personal employee information and they want to pay you entry level wages.

I don’t requirement this job to anyone, at all.
The benefits and perks are cool, but the pay.. $14.. And that’s after getting a raise from finishing some training (which took a year; Because the managers are HORRIBLE with time management and accountability.) 
Managers are petty and condescending when talking to certain employees and sadly, some customers. 
The store has a bad case of Favoritism.
There’s NO security guards. The store is always getting stuff stolen. Plus, sketchy customers that are under the influence harass customers in and outside of the store.
The homeless would TRASH the outside of the store all the time, and I mean desecrate it.
Store Manager is great, just lacks confrontation skills, confidence, and being authoritative with Associate managers when needed too.
Retaliation is used almost on the daily for some employees, even made me uncomfortable at times for them. They’d embarrass/ rebuke employees in public very often. Very demeaning people.
The job itself is great! Loved working and making new friends and I’m gonna miss my regulars! But overall the cons heavily outweigh the pros. If you like being treated like dirt, go for it!
Thanks Buffalo Exchange! For legitimately letting me go.. I was stuck, and see this as a blessing in disguise. But also thanks to y’all, I had to go to therapy, and get a 3-day massage pass every month, cause I was that stressed/tense/anxious all the time at work from you crazy azz women/managers! 
I get that this company takes pride in Fashion. But it’s just clothes and it’s just not worth the energy or peace of mind at all, glad I’m reclaiming it.

When I first started working at Buffalo Exchange I had a great time, great coworkers, great clothes, a laundry list of new skills to learn. On paper it sounded great! But as the weeks turned into months the cracks started to show. The company itself advertises itself as caring and accommodating but with a strict attendance code and extremely slow PTO accrual it’s hard to believe that. When the DM would come into our store they would not even talk let alone make eye contact with anyone who wasn’t management. The current management at my store is extremely tone deaf and moody, often taking it out (both directly and indirectly) on employees verbally. Professionalism with the current management is extremely lacking as well. The store culture is very “Us vs Them” as a result. The store is extremely dirty with management raising their hands up and saying “it’s because the employees don’t want to clean”. Furthermore, the “raises” they give a 25 cent increase for is laughably disproportionate for the workload increase. Especially with the high volume nature of both clothes and customers coming in on a daily basis. Management and employees would constantly are threatened by certain customers and upper management refuses to do anything about it.  I tried to stay at this job as long as I could because my coworkers kept me there but you can only go so far working under such management and conditions.

First and foremost, this job has alot more responsibilities than one would think (without the extra pay.) If you don't keep up or care about fashion in your personal life PLEASE steer clear of this place. 

On top of the frustrations of a retail job, you are EXPECTED to be updated on fashion brands OUTSIDE OF WORK - how much their products are, who's buying them, whats trending etc. and oh yeah, you will be tested/graded on it so your managers can belittle and embarrass you in front of your other coworkers. It depends on the store but many locations have an extremely biased and catty work environment. 

Introverts beware: digging through clothes all day may seem fun, especially if you enjoy thrifting on your free time, but I promise you its one of the most socially draining parts of the job. Some days are fun - there's alot of awesome regulars who will sometimes come more than once a week. However, for one pleasant regular, there's over a dozen people bringing their stained, stinky, or even stolen stuff to your counter and you have to deal with the responsibility of telling them that we cant take their stuff and why. During my time there, I've seen many very "mysterious" stains on clothing, extremely hazardous stuff like sharp objects left in pockets, certain paraphernalia that got lost in bags, etc. and YOU have to tell them why, to their face. 

If you want a fun little job at a thrift shop, please work elsewhere. The only Pros that are worth to note are there's no dress code, 30 percent off clothing, and insurance for part timers

Working as a buyer at Buffalo Exchange is hard work but is so rewarding. A typical day is hectic because as a buyer I am responsible for buying in clothing, being knowledgable of brands, performing register transactions, working the floor, making sure customers are having a great time, checking people in and out at the dressing rooms and doing all of this with a positive attitude. Anyone who has ever worked in customer service knows this can be very exhausting. This job has made me grow a back bone for sure. I used to be afraid of telling people no and I cared too much about what people would say or think but now I know i'm just doing my job and following policy. I was trained very well and I am constantly learning new ways to handle many of the scenarios that can happen in a retail environment. One thing I do enjoy is the constant feedback I get from managers and co-workers because it's nice to see that people are looking out for me and want me to excel at what I do. That being said I absolutely adore my co-workers and my boss, they dress well, love talking about fashion, and they always know what to say when i'm not having the best day. The hardest part about my job is telling people no but it's my job to know what items will sell and what items won't sell in my store. The most enjoyable part of my job is being able to interact with customers because the most interesting characters come in. They're stories inspire me.

The circumstances surrounding my end of employment with Buffalo left me a bit upset but I am going to leave personal feelings out to remain as objective as possible. 

Management within the department was good for most of my employment and you can tell they do care about upward mobility as every single one on one I had, promotion was spoken about. They were so leinent on the time off I needed and were always willing to work with me. Going on trips and setting equipment up is also an added plus (for those who like to travel). If you are looking to break into IT this is a good place to start. 

There are, however, negatives I will add. The biggest one being pay. It is entry level but in the IT world for similar entry level jobs, it is quite low. Promotions also bring little to no extra pay and are below industry standards. The experience is, without a doubt, valuable. But be willing to take below average pay for it.  Another would be: vacation time. There is essentially no vacation time as it is accured on a biweekly basis and even then for newbies it's at a very slow pace. There is also no option to bank vacation time which is hard to adjust to. Management was alway willing to work with me regarding this but it's just an annoying quirk. 

Overall the work environment is typical office with above average coworkers that I would recommend Buffalo for anyone starting out, but no more than that. 

The work itself can be very fun and engaging, especially if you love clothes and fashion! However, depending on what store you work at there is a really good chance you will be managed horribly.. It doesn't matter if you work extremely hard for the store the minute you make a mistake or show a shred of being human, they will make you feel like you are in trouble, even going as far as to treat you coldy and flippantly.  Everything is a corporate over-the- top procedure ridden process that is a far cry from the grass roots local buisness front the company masks themselves as. The store is ran like its a corporation, and it is not a laid back peaceful environment becuase of it. They allow young people who do not have the life experience necessary to become managers and then you must work under them and let them do and say whatever they want. You are expected to allow customers to do and say whatever they want also because in this business "the customer is always right" making sales is the utmost importance. Employee comfort/happiness falls to the wayside. There is alot of conflict of interest, if the area manager is a "friend" of your store manager, good luck getting your voice heard.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Entry level buyer 52 salaries reported	$17.37 per hour
Security officer 12 salaries reported	$19.04 per hour
Retail sales associate 17 salaries reported	$18.25 per hour
Buyer 3 salaries reported	$16.00 per hour
Associate manager 7 salaries reported	$22.93 per hour

Working at Buffalo Exchange: Company Overview and Reviews

Buffalo Exchange

Buffalo Exchange Ratings

Popular jobs at Buffalo Exchange

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected