sales lead

sales associate

support associate

assistant store manager

store manager

Chicos FAS

Chico's is a TRAIN WRECK. It was so sad to watch the downfall of this company almost immediately after I accepted a position and completely uprooted my life to move to Florida.
The management there is the worst I've ever seen or worked with. I have read most recently that most of the company upper management has been let go, in a desperate attempt to get back into the game financially. But unfortunately I feel it's too little too late, and the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing this company into the ground. I left Chico's a year & half ago- to move into one of the BEST jobs I've ever had. And I feel AWFUL for my friends & coworkers I left behind. They have either been furloughed, fired, or forced to take a 50% pay cut. It's such a shame. 
Chico's should have people lining up out the door trying to get in. The potential could have been amazing. But management egos, favoritism, and an absurd amount of entitlement & of lack of empathy or even the most basic common courtesy towards employees is what solidified my decision to leave. 
The only positives I have to say is that over the 2 1/2 years I worked at Chico's I met some truly amazing people who I have made life-long friends with. 
Also- Chico's had paid tens of thousands of dollars to transfer me from my hometown to Ft. Myers. And had even helped me buy my house there. So for that I am truly grateful. But of course, these benefits are no longer available with this company.
I learned a lot there- Some good, some bad. I still have to work on breaking free from the fear-based mentality I had to work in while there. My new company is the exact opposite of the company culture at Chico's.
The following quote is what their culture SHOULD be, and it will always be my motto for how I manage my team:
"Train your employees well enough so they can leave at any time.
Treat your employees well enough so that won't want to."
-Sir Richard Branson 
(I love that quote, and use it often. What a shame that it's not the "norm" for most company atmospheres).
If the Chico's stock, and shocking amount of lay-offs that have happened in the last 4 years do not terrify you, and you do end up accepting a position, please proceed with caution! I have tried to be as truthful and open about my experience. Trust no one, and have a very strong back bone. You'll need it!

Honestly, a typical day at work in the call center was praying that each call that came in to you would be a nice sales call and not someone cussing you or paperwork that you were going to have to spend 30 minutes filling out and would count against your productivity. Now some people dealt better with getting cussed out than I did however in this environment you can't say one cross word to the customer because the customer is always right and if you do, that customer will file a complaint on you.
The hardest part of the job besides coming in and being cussed out is constant changes daily. They "say" that they give you all of the necessary tools to do your job with.......Wrong!!! Forms are changed sometimes by the minute and you don't even know about this until a specialist writes you a nice little note and puts it back on your desk to redo on the correct form. This may take a couple of days to get it to your desk and then you may have a couple of days off, by then it's a week before the form gets turned in. Guess what, you have a mad customer calling you back!
The management, with the exception of a couple, were ok. There were multiple instances that I overheard them discussing and even joking and laughing at different employees. Depending on which click you were in was how much of a bonus you received. I was never in a click so I never received over $150.00, but some people received over $500.00 per month. It was like walking into middle school every day there was so much drama, whispering, looking, laughing and did you hear what happened.
The line that we called if we needed help that was supposed to have our backs when we had difficult customers, always got mouthy and irritated with us and had me more frustrated than I was when I called them in the first place so no use in calling them if they were just going to give you a hard time!
EVERYDAY AT THIS PLACE LITERALLY SUCKS THE LIFE OUT OF YOU!!!!
The most enjoyable part of the job in the few years that I was there was the couple of life long friends that I have made out of it and the few cheap clothes that I was able to find at the company store.

I've worked at Chico's for less than 6 months, and I am fairly used to the job now.  A typical day at work includes greeting and helping customers, trying to sell them as much as possible, restocking and managing the sales floor, cashiering, processing returns (of which there are many and absurdly count AGAINST the store, even if they were purchased online) cleaning the store (Yes, I said cleaning, including vacuuming and taking out the trash) and calling customers to remind of them of sales(this happens WAY too often and gets on the customers nerves).  Practically every time I work a shift during my "Chat in" I am told how badly the store is doing and that I have to do my best to sell to each customer. It is depressing to hear this practically the moment you walk into the store. The weight of the world is put on your shoulders for a 10 hour a week (if I am lucky) very part-time job.  Whatever!  No bonuses unless a sale totals $150 or more. They try to make you think that you can make big money or something if you sell, sell, sell, but with all the constant confusing coupons and sales going on, this isn't as easy to do as you would think.  Most of my co-workers are pleasant, though it's hard to get to know people you don't see much.  The manager is mostly ok but seems a little brainwashed and robotic. I think she has been in retail too long.  Performance reviews tend to focus on the negative and you are presented with all of these numbers and statistics about your performance, which seems nuts.  In fact, you can be the nicest, most helpful sales person and they will still focus on how you didn't get that one email, or that you didn't make your goal.  The hardest part of this job for me is the pushy sales style they require in this store.  It's not my personality to be this way so that is a stretch for me.  I also hate the calling campaigns. Waste of time and money.  The most enjoyable part of this job is the flexible schedule.  The majority of the customers (mostly women) who shop there are kind and a pleasure to help.  A few haven't been, but any store is like that.

Their pay is under national average and in the direct area by 17%.  So your pay is not compensated for your work load.  Unreal numbers on each associate to make on a daily basis, along with required tasking is unreal.  The store is insufficient in hours for associates to cover every person who walks the door.  In retail for some reason people seem to think because they are having a bad day and the they didn't get their expired coupon they can berate you and call you very name in the book is ok.  Then call into corporate and complain and you then get your butt chewed out!  There is little and no support from above.  They have created customer monsters there that think its ok to act the way they do and if not they call in a complaint.  The majority of associates are college educated and past store owners themselves, they are wives mothers and grandmothers, as to say, human just like everyone else.  As we are being screamed at and fingers pointed with a diamond ring that could pay off a home mortgage, we are being berated over a 10,00 coupon!
Not unusual to work 8 days straight because of the sat going into a sun starts a new week and is approved by the dm, I doubt they work those kind of days. You have no life at all!   This is a major burn out job and the higher management has a high turn over and the stress level from 1 to 10 is a 10! Your pay is low and to achieve bonus is very hard, due to commission based it is very cut throat.  There is a lot of drama because your working with women and you have to deal with many personalities.  Clothing retail is at an all time low and this store does not retail to the masses and is specialized, therefore the stock market is at an all time low. Internet sales hurt retailers immensely and its a matter of time before it all goes that way and there will be no more brick and mortar stores.

I love the environment  management staff & my co-workers but unfortunately the company itself does not realize the value of its employees.My typical day at work consists of being hands-on with all of our customers. I make sure they are greeted at the door & feel welcomed & at ease so that they can shop comfortably.I do the same with customers who call looking for an item or those who are just calling to hear about our great sales. I have learned how to improve my appointment making skills by calling clients & personally inviting them to come in & shop with me as their personal shopper. My management staff is awesome. They are all very easy to talk to about  everything from the work environment & beyond which makes it a joy to come into work. My co-workers & I all vary in age & nationalities which makes it an interesting place to work, learn & grow with one another.At 25, I am the youngest employee & the only bi-lingual  employee at this time. The hardest part of the job would have to be dealing directly with Corporate. As I stated before, they truly do not realize the value of their employees,& it is usually always hard to actually reach someone when they are needed making it difficult to please our customers which can result in losing a sale. They also do not get back to employees when  we reach out to them for personal reasons such as information on disability claims & maternity leave. I recently had a child  & have had an extremely difficult time while on leave.The most enjoyable part of my job is seeing how pleased the customers are after i have given them 100 percent amazing customer service. I love that they come back to our store & ask for me by name & bring friends & family to shop with them!  In closing, my store is great to work for but sadly the company itself  does not do my store justice.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The people are some of the nicest I’ve ever met.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The Company has a lot of lip service for work life balance and taking care of its Associates, but the reality is that they remain chronically understaffed, resulting in high turnover from burnout.  Because of the constant churning of resources, projects get started and stopped, over and over and over each time new leadership comes in and wants their own vendors to take over.  24-month projects have turned into 5-7 year projects with no end in sight. So wasteful and shortsighted. The Company really sets you up for failure. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Great for inclusion and diversity, poor for any sort of work life balance and poor when it comes to respecting each other’s time. If everything is urgent, then nothing can be, but everything is always urgent, so you end up being damned if you do and damned if you don’t if you can’t keep up with it all.  The location in SWFL is also geographically undesirable, so its difficult to find good talent that is willing to relocate, which is a requirement for some departments; inexplicably, long-distance remote is still either prohibited or discouraged for most Associates.   While the Company offers a lot of on-campus enticements designed to make office live easier, they aren’t enough to overcome the efficiency of being able to work from home free from interruption.  But man, the people are really nice. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Long and high-pressure days are needed to accomplish all that needs to be done each day.  3 years of 12-18 hour days without a break.  It’s just too much.

typical day your in meetings hardly any desk time. everything is urgent or an emergency. They have the "most amazing place" to work idea which should be "most awful place". Leaders don't listen they think they're always right and your their little assistant. worst management place. leaders don't know how to lead. Dammn if you try to show you can do the job and more because you get told not to do that. And lets talk about deadlines; always a crunch and always behind. the calendar makes no sense. food in the cafes suck. I think the only decent place is the gym. oh yea and they cut the sick days to 3 days when there was no limit only use when necessary. raised insurance and added a cost in the visit the nurse practitioner office after enrollment of  benefits deadline was up. 
constant change in in another wrong past. 
NO WORK LIFE BALANCE. they expect you to stay late and make sure the deadline is done. If you finish with your work you have to help other's instead of going home. "teamwork" they say oh yes skeleton crew because they are in a hiring freeze - im excuse me hiring pause. people are leaving left to right no one is being replaced. The higher leaders are promoting within themselves but the promotions dont allow in the budget for the ones below them. working there for years interviewed several times with more than 6 people each interview only for them to bring someone from outside the company with less skill or shift they shift workload between each other.  
CEO says one point for talking 9 points for doing, still waiting on her 9 points to fix that hot mess of a place.

started with chicos in Nov. 2011 through a temp agency on a 3-11:45pm shift-became permanent part time employee in March 2012, then sent to a 5pm-3:15am shift in a different building to become full time.
management changed hands many times
worked throughout covid19 crisis in DC2
returned to DC1 and was sent to receiving where I was informed I was now required to carry 50 pound boxes from a line to various pallets repeatedly - which I NEVER agreed to. I'm a 59 year old woman-with arthritis and I am supposed to be a 'picker' but chicos fas has adopted the policy that all employees do all jobs-without any extra compensation whatsoever- and there were unsafe conditions which I pointed out to the supervisor in receiving who stated that they are safety violations but did nothing to change/correct - so I finally just had no choice but to quit
(I do think they wanted me to quit so that a temp could take my place as temps do not get benefits, paid time off, holiday pay etc and they can save money that way)
They say you can advance but the ones who get promoted are either related to or close friends with those already in management positions
I worked alongside some awesome, honest, good hardworking people. Some management tried to be fair but ALWAYS showed favoritism.
If you go there to work you should keep your resume updated and handy because it simply never gets better. And sometimes you don't get your hours and yet shortly after are told you must work all these weekends in a row. When you question this 20 hour week followed by a 50+ hour week you are told  'for business needs'......

Lovely women's clothing and accessory boutique where customers expected more personalized service than they received in other larger department stores.  Chico's customers are VERY loyal.  Though we were not always staffed appropriately to provide the "Most Amazing Personal Service", we would bend over backwards to do what we could.  We were encouraged to build a clientele and to set up appointments in order to give the customer more attention. If you enjoy sales and it comes naturally to you, this job is for you! There are daily sales quotas which are a high priority especially toward the end of the month.   You have an hourly wage and then your sales are commission based after reaching a certain $ amount PER sale.  Retail has changed so much over the last year.  It seems that Chico's stores have evolved into return and fulfillment centers because of the ease of online purchasing. Quite a bit of your day involves processing returns, phone orders, online orders and also restocking. You can not depend on consistent days or hours, and you need to have a very flexible schedule to get good hours and also be willing to work some nights and weekends. Schedules are made 2 weeks in advance, no further. There is no extra staff to fill in for you if you get sick. The other employees, who are stretched to the max, are expected to fill in. On a positive note, I really did enjoy working with my coworkers, the store manager always treated me fairly, but I was disappointed in the overall management style of the store and especially the company.  After almost 3 years, I decided this was not for me, though I learned a lot!!

The customers, for the most part, are great, That's the main reason why I actually want to show up to work. My biggest complaint at WHBM is management and HR. I've called HR several times and I still have yet to get a call back, which was weeks ago. I feel like HR and management doesn't seem to care about your personal needs or anything about you. The place is like a high school event. There is always trash talk and, the manager is very rude and disrespectful to all the employees, which sometimes happens in front of customers, making you feel belittled. Also, don't bother calling HR to complain about management because as many employees told me, they won't do a thing about it because this specific store does well with sales and apparently that is all HR is concerned about, rather than their employees and making sure they are taking care of! It's a very uncomfortable and competitive environment. You don't make commission but yet they push you to hit a sales goal every day which is very stressful without getting any positive result from it, The hourly rate is garbage and when you start, they tell you there's room for advancement in the company and raises, which isn't true from what I've seen. I have witnessed people come and go so quickly there, which says a lot in itself. I'm only sticking it out till I finish paying off financial issues and then I'm gone. This place is a joke, honestly. It's hands down the worst job I've ever had. I don't recommend this location to anyone!

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