customer service representative

bridal consultant

alterations specialist

sales

stylist

David's-Bridal

My first full fiscal year that I was there I received David's "Circle of Excellence" award for good feedback from my customers and for selling over $250,000 worth of merchandise as a part-time employee. The only thing you get for this achievement is a special name tag and personalized business cards. All of my performance reviews were 5/5 in every category but when I discussed raises or promotions with my store manager, her response was that if I wanted to make more money, I should sell more dresses. All of their sales positions were only a quarter more an hour than minimum wage when I started (less when my state's min wage increased) plus commissions but you didn't receive commissions on everything you sold. In order to receive commissions, you had to meet a minimum dollar amount of sales per hour worked for the pay period. If you reached that minimum, your commission was only about 1% - 3% but rarely would any associate have a high enough average to reach that 3% tier. The store was the busiest on nights and weekends so that is when associates would make the most sales. If you worked mostly nights and weekends, you could make a little commission. If your manager scheduled you for a lot of weekday morning and afternoon shifts, it would be nearly impossible to make the average sales needed to earn any commission at all.  All of our managers were hired from outside of the company even if there was a qualified associate who'd been there for years regularly opening and closing the store with managers and who wanted the position. So there was no opportunity for advancement, yet sales associates were still expected to hold a new manager's hand through opening and closing procedures.

I honestly learned a lot about formalwear fashion, the history behind a lot of bridal traditions, fabrics, accessories, and what is/isn't appropriate for different types of formal events. The most enjoyable part was being a part of a brides special moment when she found THE dress. I was fully invested in helping my brides find their dream dress that they felt beautiful and comfortable in. This meant being able to talk to brides about their wedding's colors, theme, venue, their fiance, and their story and using that information with what you've learned about formalwear fashion and what styles will be most flattering on the bride's body type to make a handful of suggestions that combine the bride's vision in her head with the realities of budget and fit. If that doesn't sound like a lot to juggle, sales associates are also often acting as an advocate for the bride amongst the friends and family who she brought with her who may have their own ideas about what she should wear or who share negative opinions about a dress that she thought was the one. On top of the pressure to make sales, it can become very emotional work. You are a sales person but also a stylist, an advocate, a counselor, and overall a facilitator of this special experience that is wedding dress shopping. 

Honestly, the hardest part for me aside from the poor compensation was being given a 4 or 5 brides at a time when we were busy or short staffed and trying to give them the best experience possible. Management would give you as many people to work with at one time as they wanted, regardless if people had appointments or not. I could successfully handle 2 or 3 brides at once and still make sales. Once you go beyond that, the brides who had set appointments start getting irritated that they're not getting the help that they should be because their stylist is repeatedly pulled away to help walk-ins. Customer service reps and corporate's online appointment system controlled the appointments so sales associates had no control over how many appointments they accepted in a given time slot and we would often be triple booked on weekends.  The other difficult part of this job was the management. My time and health were not respected. I would be pressured to come in anyway if I tried to call out sick. I would frequently have to work 3 or more hours past when my shift was supposed to end. When closing, managers would sometimes clock you out so that they could shutting down the computer system even though I would still have 15 - 20 minutes of clean up to do. I sometimes had issues with managers talking to me like I was a child or waiting to give me breaks until the end of my shift and then keeping me late to take my break before I clocked out so that they wouldn't get in legal trouble for not giving me a break. 

Overall, all of the frustrations I had to deal with weren't worth it. Having occasional meaningful and fulfilling moments with brides wasn't worth the skipped meals and barely being able to pay my rent. 

Let me start off by saying the employee turn over rate at this location is extremely high.... That should already tell you something. I'm not sure if its like this at other locations, but here they (as in most of the management) don't care one bit about any employees; all they care about is making sales goals for the day. If the goals aren't made, your hours get cut. They hire way too many employees to the point where there aren't enough hours for the good employees that actually deserve it. (They mostly do that because they know half of who they hire won't last more than 2 weeks). I left in October because 1 out of the 2 GREAT assistant managers left for another place because this place is BEYOND STRESSFUL which is an understatement. If you are in need of steady money, don't bother applying here because job security is not available here. You can go from one week of 35 hours to the next week of 10 hours within one schedule period. And fair warning, YOUR SCHEDULE IS NEVER FINAL, not even the day you go in to work. There were numerous times when I would go in to work my shift and I was told when I walked through the door that I was off at 430 instead of the 8:30 time that was put on my schedule THE DAY BEFORE. And the store manager could care less. The communication from her was very poor. There were also numerous times where I would come in to work my 11-730 shift and as soon as I walk through the door, my coworker would look confused as to why I was there. I would look at the schedule they wrote last night on the planner and it was switched to 4-830. NO ONE EVER CALLED ME TO LET ME KNOW. And when I went to go ask my manager, all she would say is "sorry, can you come back at 4 because I just don't have the hours". -____- waste of gas and to the point where it happened so often that I started to refuse to leave because no one told me and she would cut other people's hours. Also, beware of being an CSR like I was; when the sales consultants don't make the daily sales goals, the CSR's hours are the 1st to get cut without hesitation and the sales consultants will continue to get their 40 hours with low sales. That makes sense, doesn't it? On top of all this, this place makes you so stressful with its environment. It's one of those jobs where you wake up hating and dreading to come here. You can be handling 3 big things at once and get thrown 3 more without any notice and any care. It literally feels like you are running around like a chicken without its head. And on top of that, you need to pick up the phone within 3 rings. And even though they see you busy with 6 different things THEY handed you, you still get nagged about picking up the phone. My favorite thing about this place is the fact that the managers, mostly the store manger than anyone else, will do and say anything to avoid having to deal with a customer. They tell you to try to answer all the customers questions as possible without getting them, even though the customer specifically asked to speak with a manager. And when you don't know how to answer one of their questions? Just call the manager over the phone and they tell you what to say. Apparently customers don't matter much to talk a few moments with them. There were a few times where I was asked to take the call when the customer specifically asked for a manager and no one else and I was yelled at by the customer because they wanted a manager for the millionth time and I had to make an excuse for them. Then when I told the manager they need to take the call, she takes and kisses the customers butt to make me seem like I'm the bad guy. And if you enjoy being talked to like an idiot when being criticized by the manager, this is your place. I have already wrote a long review about this location and there is so much more to say about this place but I think you guys get the picture by now. Good luck to anyone here(:

Bridal retail is very different from normal retail because it is very involved right from the start. A Stylist (salesperson) is assigned to a guest (customer) the moment they walk in the door. The stylist guides the guest through choosing a dress and accessories by asking open-ended questions about other aspects of the event (venue, color palette, time of year, etc.), which helps figure out aesthetics. If the guest is ordering something, she'll need to return to pick it up. If her dress needs alterations, she can make an appointment for a later date (we offer in-house alterations at an additional charge). 

Sometimes the alterations process is the most difficult part, depending on what the guest wants and her attitude toward the seamstress or the process. If she needs more than one fitting, timing can become an issue, as we work on a 4-week turnaround. Guests who wait too long to either buy/order a dress or book an appt will sometimes take it out on us and expect us to bend company rules or waive rush fees (fees are only waived if the error was on our end). Even with plenty of time, some people are very hard to please. They will point out a single loose thread or dangling bead and claim he dress is falling apart, then demand a discount for damages or their alts for free. Some will even lie to our faces about a stylist (whose name they conveniently forget) telling them alterations were free, or not being told about alts costing extra. (ALL ALTERATIONS ARE AN ADDITIONAL CHARGE. This policy is printed on all receipts directly above the customer signature line, and stylists specifically point it out before having the customer sign. "You think I read all my receipts?!" was my favorite response to pointing out this policy to a customer. She was holding her signed receipt in her hand.) 

Most guests are grateful for the convenience of in-house alterations. Some are very sweet and understanding, and are great to work with. Some balk at our prices and try to barter or con their way to a lower price. Others will have the first fitting done, then change their minds at the register, and we have to remove all the pins we just put in the dress so she can take it somewhere else. Some will get mad at the seamstress doing their fitting because what they want is literally impossible for us to do (adding/removing pieces, taking in/letting out a significant amount, etc.). And sometimes, at the risk of a poor online review from the guest, a manager will "OK" waiving a fee or reducing/removing an alts charge to make the guest happy. But guess what! The guest will still give a one- or two-star review, having found something else to complain about, or even weaving a fictitious tale about being treated poorly.

I've learned a lot about sewing and garment construction while working here, and I greatly value that knowledge and the relationships I've built with my colleagues. I've also learned a lot about people as retail customers, and how (not) to deal with them. When in doubt, get a manager!

I'll start off by saying, I love working with brides. It is a pleasure to come in to work everyday and help excited women find the most important gown they will ever wear. It's always a great feeling to know you helped make such an important decision. As a consultant, you get to know the brides on a person level and essentially make new friends while keeping in touch with them, helping them stay on track for their big day. Although the title may be great, I would recommend searching at other locations if possible.

Don't get me wrong if you are young and just starting out, David's is a great place to learn the basics. They were pretty good about training and teaching me everything I knew before working me into my own appointments. Once you get started, it is easy to catigorize where you should start off with the dresses based on your knowledge of the gown the bride is looking for and her budget. It is a business and sometimes it is hard to know when to push for a sale and to know when it is too soon.

The first few months were great but once you get started there are sometimes unrealistic sales goals. You are written up if you don't make a certain amount per week. There is a Heart Chart with a sales goal for the pay period and management divides how much you should be selling for every day, hour, etc. On average I would say a goal of around $1,400 in sales during a Saturday would be neccessary to keep you from being written up. After working with other bridal salons and designers, I have seen David's is a little more pushy about sales as opposed to truly helping the bride find her dream gown.

When I first started, it took me a while to make the same sales as the rest of the consultants but it did happen. I was told that after six months, my numbers would have been taken into consideration and that I would be eligable for a full-time position. My numbers stayed as good as all the other consultants and after a year of being there, I was told that it was most likely not possible for me to move up. The reason given because there were already too many full-time position consultants while at the time there were only 4.

I do believe overall David's does want you to help the bride find her dream gown- sales are always put first, even if it meant selling a bride a gown she would later regret purchasing. This was often a problem as well seeing as all sales are final, like at any salon. Occassionally, the managers would refund and sell the bride a gown that was the same price or higher in price through another consultant, leaving your sales affected.

So if you are an aspiring bridal consultant, I would say David's is a great place to learn and grow. A lot of the information you learn from this employer, you will be able to carry on to future opertunities. I would not recommend David's as a long time employer for a number of reasons, including high stress, high traffic (taking up to 3 brides at a time) and sometimes having to make unrealisticly high sales goals. I hope this helps for some.

No beneficial training on fitting,styling, working with brides or using the register. Learning the work environment comes from asking your new co-workers for help. They don't offer full-time hours and the part-time hours are 3-5 hr shifts for 2-3 days a week, a typical pay period could be from 10 to 23 hrs at a pay rate of $7.50 for stylist. Short 30 min. lunch break for rare 6-8hrs shifts, and because of the excessive workload you are usually denied that short 30 min. break and you end up working a full shift with no food other than what you ate before you came. And if you are lucky to get a break they say to you be back in 30 min. so you can take another bride or party. Even when it's slow there's no breathing room. You're either working with a bride or cleaning or telemarketing 20-25 brides to get them to make an appointment. The staff is usually limited and overwhelmed with tasks. During the interview they promise you that the 7.50 isn't so bad because you will easily earn a good commission, but the commission scale is rigged in such a way that it becomes impossible for you to make it, so you usually end up with just 7.50 for 25hrs or less and no commission. If it's slow managers will send people home so your pay becomes even worse.You have to watch every minute that you work and note every cent you make. Making money here is very stressful and requires strategic planning. At $7.50 hr you need to work at least 30 hrs to make at least $200 on your paycheck after taxes, but working more than 30 hrs can be bad for making commission if you didn't sell over $4,200 during your pay period. And going over your hours happens often because of the excessive tasks, you may be told you can't leave until you call 20 brides, steam some dresses or empty some stock. Stylist will clock out and continue working for free to avoid having too many hours and losing their hard earned commission. Hours must match sales goals or you lose commission. Commission isn't a special addition to your base pay, the way they have it set up is shaky and confusing. Stylists are put in a lose lose situation. For $7.50 you style brides, sometimes 2 at the same time, which is very disrespectful to a bride who thought the whole purpose of making an appointment was to have an hour with a stylist, not share her hour and be occasionally pushed to the side. You the stylist also dye shoes, hand clean dresses, slips, bras, iron dresses, vacuum, wipe mirrors, clean bathroom, stock, and do telemarketing.  Selling every bride the very day she visits the store becomes a must for financial gain. This job is way too much random grunt work for zero benefits and low pay.  In comparison to any other minimum wage retail job, this is the worst when it comes to hours, pay, and breaks. I would never recommend this place to any one who wants to make money or take a lunch break.

I thought that working at a bridal shop would be one of the most fulfilling job experiences I would have...I was wrong.  Management at this store is lacking immensely as is leadership and organization, sad to say that they are practically inept.  They single out certain individuals (stylists and jr. stylists) as to who are their favorites right off the bat making it highly impossible for any non-favorite employees to progress.  Training is non-existent, this includes "on the job training."  This store feels like reliving a much more drastic immature version of high school--probably elementary.  Overall, customer service is lacking from many employees including the managers.  Sad to say that the store managers at this store practice all of these negative traits, making it a horrible work experience.  I've noticed that I am not the only one writing a bad review for the store...there is something to be said about that.    

The only thing I enjoyed was interacting with the clients and helping them pick out dresses for such important dates in their life.  Working with stylists was enjoyable as well, but management was unbearable.  A lot of times, I and other stylists wouldn't get credit for our sales because certain managers would ring up the client and give the sale/commission to their "favorites."  Unethical and unprofessional.  I write this to warn future clients and employees of what they are to expect at this certain store.  When my seasonal position was over, I was ecstatic, as if my life started once again.  

Scheduling was sometimes overwhelming.  They would have you work full-time hours on a part-time pay, completely unfair; and expect you accept or else you would be fired.  An alterations specialist from this store was fired due to this.  Management just hangs behind the register, gossiping and chatting for long periods of time, expecting the junior stylists to clean up after them and the stylists, when they are clearly capable of doing so themselves since the store isn't busy.  They are crude when speaking to you, even in front of the clients.  It is a hostile work environment and unproductive for learning. I also found it so unfortunate that most of the managers and some stylists would gossip about clients, while assisting other clients...I found it so embarrassing to witness.  No leadership, No organization, No encouragement for employees, No training, No professionalism....nothing!      

I urge any future employee to thoroughly consider a job at David's Bridal in Murrieta.  I don't know how the other David Bridal locations may be, but this location is treacherous.

I love my job. Working with Brides and Prom girls is so much fun. The rush I get from finding that perfect dress is exhilarating! Especially when it was busy, the day just FLEW by. But outside of that, David's isn't the best place to work. 

Back when I started at the end of 2012, The jobs were separated-- Wedding consultants, who did mainly brides, and Dress Specialists (Me), who did bridal parties, prom and special occasion. It worked. Everyone got the right amount of attention. Being able to focus on one type of work-- WCs having one maybe 2 brides over the course of an hour and half vs DSPs taking 3 or more bridesmaids or prom girls, since they take less time and require less immediate attention made things easier.

Since about October 2013, David's Bridal has been shifting around, making everyone "Stylists", meaning everyone does everything now. Yeah you have "Jr Stylists" to help put stuff away for you (which doesn't really help). They are molting if you will... trying to create a whole new business hoping to create more revenue, but instead its creating chaos.

Aside from all the technical stuff that only matters if you worked there before all the mess::

The pay can be good, especially if you are the Star Stylist and sell all your brides really hard. They tend to hire a lot of part time help and work everyone 15 hours or so a week so its not a job you could truly live off of unless you're the aforementioned Star Stylist.

They also have made it a practice to have only one FT Stylist, so goodbye benefits. 

The Management varies from store to store, but they are pretty tough on you. That's not to say they aren't nice, they can be lots of fun sometimes. But they push you hard for what feels like barely above minimum wage. 

This may unique to my store, but the thing that makes it a lot better is all the people I work with. All my coworkers are fun, energetic and sweet. It's like a little family. We do happy hours, birthday parties and all sorts of other fun stuff. Its amazing the bond we have created. And when new people show up, we fold 'em right in!

The experiences I had there will be with me forever. The Brides that broke down and cried, hugged me so tight and thanked me over and over again with mascara running down her cheeks will always be something I hold dear. I wouldn't trade them for the world. The environment I had to work in, however, was stressful and chaotic, and the pay left something to be desired.

Long (long LONG) story short, If you are looking for a part time job, David's Bridal isn't an awful choice. It may be stressful, but the experiences are worth it. (Thanks for reading my novel-esque review.)

I worked for David's Bridal in a Management capacity for 12 years. It was very customer oriented, focused on building and maintaining long term relationships with our clients. A very fast paced, busy environment, each day was unique and presented different circumstances and challenges. Being a retail business, it involved long hours and flexibility in scheduling.  
   My duties included all the usual store management requirements, such as scheduling, payroll, training, recruiting and overall supervision of several different departments and staff.
    My favorite part of my job was the ability to support both my associates and my customers when issues or problems arose, and to balance the needs of my company and clients when coming to an acceptable solution to any given situation. This afforded me the opportunity to adapt and grow in a managerial as well as a personal capacity.
   All the employees at David's Bridal worked closely together as a team, utilizing the strengths and talents of different individuals to give our clients the best possible experience with our company. 
  The most difficult aspects of my career with David's Bridal were the rare occasions that I was not able to satisfy my customers' requests due to conflicts between the corporate policies and the clients' wants and needs. It could sometimes become frustrating and disappointing, but as a manager and agent for my store I was obligated to make the most reasonable and fair decision based on each circumstance, and communicate my resolution in a calm, pleasant and respectful manner. Ideally, when these situations did arise, I was able to keep these clients as our customers, and continue with our business relationship.
   I had a very satisfying tenure with David's Bridal, and felt it taught me new and useful ways to relate to others as well as develop more imaginative and resourceful approaches to problem solving and customer satisfaction. I was also fortunate enough to be able to hone my personnel and managerial skills to allow me to build comfortable, trusting and respectful relationships with my management team and all other associates within the company.

A typical day at work would include me greeting brides, bridesmaids, mother's, grandmothers, etc. and taking the bridal party around the store for a brief tour.  I explain where everything is, what accessories we'll play around with, and then I'll explain the different designer gowns we have.  I'll explain whether the designer gown is vintage, american royalty; glamorous, sexy; modern, creative; tradition; fun, hip, savvy.  I'll then explain how the dresses and sizes are organized in each row and where the discontinued gowns are.  At this point, I ask the bride some questions about how she wants her gown to look and what her budget is.  I then take the bride aside for her measurements.  While she and her party start looking, I go and get her undergarments.  Once we have 3 dresses picked out, I'll bring the bride and her party to where we'll be set up. I help her get in and out of the dresses all the while making conversation with her, getting to know about her and her fiance and about her life.  I build rapport and get her to trust me.  Once I get her in a dress and she comes out of the dressing room, usually I can tell right away if she has on the dress of her dreams.  It's all about the party's reaction and most importantly, her reaction.  If she smiles big and starts petting the dress, it's the one!

I learn how to deliver great customer service.  I establish rapport with bride and bridal party throughout the appointment so that we build trusting relationships.  I've actually become close friends with some of my brides and we hang out now.  

The management at my David's Bridal store is phenomenal.  I love all three of my bosses.  They are the best!  My store manager is a hard worker, wonderful at delivering quality customer service, a great saleswoman, and an excellent boss.  I trust her and go to her with questions, concerns, problems, etc.

My co-workers are wonderful as well.  I hang out with the girls outside of work.

The hardest part of my job is balancing multiple bridal and bridesmaid parties.  I could be working with two brides and a bridesmaid party of 4-5 girls on a busy day.  It really helps my sales but I work extremely hard to balance it all.  I love it though!  The adrenaline rush I get makes me work hard.

The most enjoyable part of my job is helping my bride(s) find the dress(es) of their dreams!  I feel like I help them check a huge thing off of their to do lists and we have fun doing it!  It's very rewarding knowing that I helped her look amazing on her special day and that her husband to be will be blown away at how beautiful she looks!

"Job work/life balance": Scheduling seemed to be based on the favorites. If they wanted to work certain shifts that the company doesn't recommend they'd get it. If someone with low numbers needed an afternoon off they would never get it.

"Compensation/Benefits": The pay is the only think worth being at Davids. The money was nice and the commission was even better if you made your numbers. It is retail, though, so don't expect to earn vacation time or anything like that. 

"Job Security/Advancement": I never saw any form of advancement in our region even on the managerial level. It was always outsiders no matter what the level.

Management and job culture I believe differ from store to store since I know all the ones in my area are very different.

Sales at David's is certainly interesting. The product is nice, the atmosphere is fun, and the brides/customers are usually happy to be there. I have enjoyed my time there greatly. Being a commission based job favorites were picked. If your numbers were up the managers loved you. When my numbers went down during the slow season the managers wanted nothing to do with me. 

Be prepared to have managers ask you to basically force people into buying no matter their finances. I can't even count how many times they'd go force financing options on my brides and their families after I told them that the bride couldn't or was not interesting in buying. They would even go as far as trying to force more expensive options on them when they were interested in getting what they had on.

Weekdays are very slow and weekends get extremely busy. If you did get a pop during the week be prepared to not take a break because you're most likely the only one there. I did learn a lot about sales, alterations, and wedding dresses on the company level. From my brides and their families I learned a lot about different cultures wedding traditions and people in general. 

The hardest part of the job has to be watching brides leave upset after managers showed them something they couldn't afford or make them feel bad for not being able to buy. The best has to be building relationships with my brides and their families. To me it didn't matter if they bought that day, they would always come back for something and they'd always ask for me.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Customer service representative 22 salaries reported	$13.73 per hour
Bridal consultant 2 salaries reported	$14.66 per hour
Alterations specialist 30 salaries reported	$17.05 per hour
Sales 20 salaries reported	$16.17 per hour
Stylist 2 salaries reported	$13.72 per hour

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