retail sales associate

sales lead

seasonal associate

assistant store manager

store manager

Famous Footwear

When I was hired, we went through 3 DSM's in just as many months. I was training. I was fairly new to store management, so it was difficult for me to really learn enough to be effective in that time. By the time we actually got a permanent DSM and I was able to get real training, I found out she was was just lucky with her advancement and had no real skill outside of the basics. She happened to of gotten a brand new store in a great upper-class location and grew with the store itself. I understand that location isn't everything, but it sure helps when you're admittedly 20 years old when you become a SSM. She was extremely sexist. She gave my male counterparts an unfair advantage and MUCH higher pay. I found out after I was in my position for 6 months that I was the lowest paid SSM in the district by about $10k/yr! I was fairly young (24) and new so I was hoping that would increase with time in service and improvement on my store, but it never did! The pressure just got worse, hours got longer, goals got higher, but pay never got better even though my performance was exceptionally improved on what the previous years numbers were. No wonder my store couldn't keep a SSM for the 5 years before I started. When I finally had enough and quit, they offered my position to an existing SSM in the district with a lower preforming store and gave him a $10k/yr raise just to take my store in a remote location. He bragged about this to the customers every time I went in to the store after I left employment. That put him at around $20k more a year than I was making to do the same exact job. He only had a few more years of experience on me and worse productivity. Before I quit, I told my supervisor that I could not stand working 75-80 hour weeks any more without a raise. I told her I knew I was making quite a bit less than my peers and for the hours I was putting in, I needed more to stay. She refused to budge. The longer this went on, the more tensions grew between my DSM and I. I became miserable.
The culture of the company in the store manager position is very difficult. I was given 120 hours a week to staff my store 9am-10pm Mon-Sat and 11am-7pm Sundays. Only 10 additional hours for events like Black Friday or Tax Free Weekend. Every week, my salary accounted for 40 of the hours but because I was salary I worked easily double that. That left me with 80 hours to staff my store with. It was do-able with only 4 team members, 2 being assistant managers and 2 sales associates - with only 1 full time assistant manager at 30 hours a week. This left no room for store coverage when it was busy and often left one person in the store at a time throughout the day. Thieves picked up on this and would take advantage of that. Switching the schedule around was the ONLY way to fix the problem, but that was only a temporary fix as they would just come back the next day and try again. HORRIBLE. Of course I would get in trouble for this.
Before I started, my store had very high turn over. After I started, I had the same staff for the majority of my time there. Having a reliable assistant manager team was my saving grace! Sadly, they were great friends and when one left, so did the other. I was stuck hiring two new ASM's and training them both at the same time. I was working around the clock as they couldn't be at the store by themselves before their training was completed. I asked for help training, but the DSM refused to send someone because it would "hurt the districts budget". I was in a remote location, so she would have paid an hour travel time per way and hotel stay for me to get help. For $10k less a year than my peers, I just couldn't do it anymore. Knowing that she gave my replacement who was already making AT LEAST $10k more than I was an ADDITIONAL $10k raise to take my store after I begged for help training, for a raise to cover my 80-100 hour weeks, for any reason to stay... that killed me. I left and have not regretted it a day since.

Working at famous is a great gig when you are actually given hours and have more than just a manager and associate to run the store. It is not possible to get out shipment, move around the product, run register, process and package online/mobile orders, do breaks, help people find shoes/get sized, clean the store, take out each trash 2x a day, logging stolen shoes, etc. with one sales associate in the front of store and the manager working in the back room.
 
We are expected to have multiple credit card applications a day, get everyone signed up for rewards. They will schedule less and less people so they can stay within the “budget” for hours but we will not sell anything if we do not have people working in the store. Our store is in an outlet mall and we have extremely busy weekends there’s no reason we should have 135 in the budget hours for an entire team for the whole week. All of our managers are taking PTO just so the sales associates can get 4-10 hours a week. That is AFTER a different location had all of its staff quit and we have to help staff the other location. Corporate greed is getting out of hand. They don’t pay their workers a living wage and refuse to give them hours. I got hired with the hours being 15-25 a week and i’m not even getting the minimum.

The lack of hours is causing problems with internal relationships as well. People are getting mad they don’t get more hours or that the store isn’t completely clean after close, when it’s impossible to clean up everything with just one person cleaning and another counting the drawer, along with the managers never helping up front until right at close.

Management has also been giving more and more responsibilities to sales associates such as doing returns/exchanges when that was not allowed before. IF YOU WORK HERE, CHECK HOW MANY BREAKS YOU GET! You can find it and print it. I found out i’ve been getting cheated out of breaks for months.

I was an assistant manager, but regardless of what position you are, the company requires you to profile the customers based on their behavioral patterns, clothing, and others in order to prevent theft. The company stresses shrink onto their associates way too much and they don't want to spend money on theft preventive techniques. Not only that but the way that they trained me really sucked. My coworkers would either tell me to just figure it out on my own or tell me that they had already explained it to me (keep in mind my hours were about 10hrs a week every weekend and I was taking 17 college credit hours) so I would forget a lot. I had a lot of questions because I like to do things right the first time but after a while they would get frustrated with me. It took me six months to get my keys because my manager did not think I was prepared but once I got my keys she said that I was doing great. From the very begining, they were doubtful of me and it sucked. Also, the company does not give the store enough hours for multiple employees to work, for ex, I was the only employee working open shift from 9 am to 2 pm (we aren't allowed to leave the store but you have to take bathroom breaks so I would sneak to the back when no one was around). You have to multi-task BIG TIME and they don't pay enough for that. I would also have to close on my own at times and it was awful because I was expected to clean the entire store, close the registers, count safe money, sometimes put up signs, sometimes change the prices. As a part-time employee, I did not receive any benefits other than a 30% off discount. You cant even use their promotions like BOGOS+employee discount. I truly think that Famous does not treat their employees right. My manager was awesome at times, but sometimes she would be moody. You make a bond with the girls but at the beginning, it's hard to get along because they all have their own way of doing things. 
In the end, I did learn management skills and my most enjoyable part of the job was when the store would get busy and I and my coworkers would make a lot of sales, even though there is no bonus if you makeover your sales...

The people at Famous are a reliable and pleasant bunch. Hours are flexible and are decent. The work is quick-paced and fairly competitive but over all a great place to work. Not overly stressful.

For a Sales Associate the daily work load would entail working with the customers, making sure the store is cleaned and visually pleasing. We are expected to put out new product and make sure people have an easy time understanding the layout of the store. We ring out the customers and have a generally pleasant experience in our store so they have a reason to come back. 

Everyday I learn something knew. Before I came to Famous, I didn't know anything about sales or shoes. Now I can give people advice about which running shoe is the best for the treadmill or pavement. Now I can view people and learn a little bit about them by just looking at their shoes and show them what exactly they are looking for without having been asked. I know that is a bit presumptuous but it works all the same. I've learned about inserts and what excellent enhancements the give to your back, feet and neck. 

The management is great. They are like family to me. We are all respectful to each other while still having fun. They take the initiative when a stressful situation is taking place. The follow protocol and make sure, that when a stressful situation arises, the customers are still taken care of. 

The hardest part of the job is maybe some of the customers. Some of them are rowdy and impatient and think they know about shoes more than the people who work in a shoe store. When this happens you have to keep a cool head and make sure you stay calm when faced with a rowdy customer. 

The best thing about working at Famous is also the customers. Most of the customers that come into my store are some of the best and brightest people I have ever met. They keep us on our toes and make working at Famous a pleasant experience. 

All in all, I HIGHLY recommend working for Famous Footwear. I can honestly say that you would enjoy it. Because I definitely do.

A typical day at work depends on the season - if it's the busy Summer Season, the day involves a large focus on customer service and keeping the store straight and tidy. In the Winter, there are far fewer customers, so days are filled mostly by tasking (straightening boxes, filling accessories, racking/filling shipment). 
I have been lucky as far as coworkers and management, as they have, for the most part, been very friendly and easy to get along with. It is relatively easy to communicate with them if there is a problem, a scheduling conflict, or I need tips on how to improve my performance. I've had some amazing managers that have taught me a lot, both as a worker and a growing person. I know some of these people will remain good friends despite the different roads we may take and I am grateful to have met them. 
I would have to say the hardest part and the most enjoyable part of this job are the same thing - interaction with the customers. It can be difficult to assess just what a customer is looking for, and with the occasional language barrier, it can be a little frustrating for all parties involved. However, there have been some customers who have brightened my day with a joke or engaged me in a conversation as I helped them find what they needed. Those are the people I look forward to encountering each day. 
The biggest thing that this job has taught me is how to come out of my shell. When I first started, I was terrified of approaching a customer and my voice was way too soft for calling out a greeting. Now I am very open and friendly to all who enter the store and can call out a greeting from the back section when necessary. 
Overall, this job has treated me fairly well, and it got me through while I was in college. It's not a job you could live off of unless you're of management status, but it's good for a side job to school or extra income as a second job.

If you are lucky enough to work under a functioning management system, then the experience with Famous is extremely rewarding. I had worked under several managers and helped out at several stores. I was able to learn that each store ran differently depending on the manager. Some stores were so horrible you had to wonder why that manager still had a job. Others were so magnificent you had to wonder why they were in such a low-volume store.

I had one boss who would give you the benefit of the doubt and would communicate to you when you weren't on the straight and narrow. This boss would clearly tell you that they couldn't tell you NOT to do something, but they wouldn't recommend it. While the other boss that I had was more of a snake in the grass. Boss #2 was very by the book and you have no clue just how much trouble you were in until after this boss had had full discussions with HR. Not saying that Boss #2 is a horrible person or boss, just that for all the talk of personality, Boss #2 certainly wasn't willing to use that knowledge to better communicate with you on your strengths and weaknesses. Boss #1 almost had too much faith in people. Boss #2 had very little.

The company as a whole can be contradictory. One week they cut your payroll to barely having coverage, then the next week you find that they spent some of their savings on bag stuffers that 85% of the customers wouldn't care about. And the technology is inferior. Mobile equipment would have issues every day (in several stores I worked) and during rushes, the system would constantly crash. However, they had money to open new concept stores called MBS which were housed with iPads and treadmills.

If you want a decent job where you are challenged but not very challenged, this job is for you. And keep your fingers crossed that you get a boss that matches your communication style or you are definitely in for a rough ride.

work was fast paced also it was more like a labor job  which i perfer  as far as the induction line  i learned how to work all basic warehouse skills with different machines and tools  managemant was awesome they were very proffesional but at the same time understanding and thourough about how to do the job  induction was my favorite job cuz i like to move alot when i work  my body was constantly in motion which made my work shift go by faster   everyone i came in contact with were very nice people  there was no inappropriate conversations or moods from people  it seemed like everyone was a team player for the most part. overall id give a 10 out of 10 i liked working for the company very much. i wish the temp agency i who placed me there let me stay there or at least kept me there longer. i was only there for 3 months  just getting comfortable then the agency moved me to another assignment. the other assignment was terrible and i did not like it at all compared to famous. please hire me again i think i will be a great and valuble employee as well as bring in more money to the company. hardest part was the lunches were only 30 min. as opposed to an hour. i found my self often rushing back to work without finishing my food. but that was only when i left to the fast food down the street.  i usually brought my own lunch  so it wasnt to much of an ordeal for me. i was only late 1 or twice in my 3 months there. and only a few minutes. other than that lucnch was cool too. please consider me as an potential employee once again. i feel i will bring nothing but positive things to the company and try my hardest to improve induction numbers or at the very least meet the expected numbers needed as far as the mandotory quota

A typical day at Famous Footwear would depend on the volume of work for the day, if it was busier I would allocate cases of shoes into the warehouse using a handheld scanner. If it was a slow day they would send me to whichever department had the most work to do which would consist of replenishing product for the pickers, picking pairs of shoes, packing cases of shoes to be shipped and loading or unloading trailers of cases of shoes.

I got along with most of the co-workers in my department as well as the other departments. There were a few workers that didn't carry their own weight which frustrated me a little but I didn't let it get to me too bad. As far as my supervisor goes I thought that he could've given more positive encouragement to the employees that actually worked and did their jobs well because I would always surpass the quota and get stuff done quickly and efficiently and there was only a handful of times when I was told I was doing a good job. And lastly the department leads would rarely do any work and would just sit at their desks and there were a few instances where they would be asleep at their desks

I would say the hardest part of the job was in the summer when it would get very, very warm and uncomfortable inside the warehouse to the point where they would have to move us downstairs and give us a third brake to cool down. Another aspect that I didn't like was that my supervisor was way too number driven, like no matter how hard you were working he wanted more and more out of you to the point where he never appeared to be satisfied with anybody's results.

The part that I loved about the job was the constant lifting and moving of heavy cases, it was like getting paid to work out. Overall I say that the positives outweighed the negatives most days.

A normal day would involve following around customers, picking up after them, and scouring the aisles for something to do. During the day, business would have its highs and lows. With only two or three people on a shift at a time, when the store would get busy, it would be like a Walmart on Black Friday. On the other hand, when business was slow, the store became mind-numbingly boring. My manager's selfish tendencies of taking two-hour lunch breaks or sitting in the back to "check his email" didn't help either. Also, he would only tell you what to do and tell you that you did it wrong, he would seldom do a task himself, and when he did it would be of sub-par quality. I distinctly remember being scolded by a more experienced co-worker for what he thought was my doing, but rather it was the manager's doing. My co-workers were nice people, they were not the type of people that I would necessarily hang out with outside of work, but they made putting up with the manager more tolerable due to the shared dislike for his mannerisms. The job itself was not hard, rather, it was boring. The thing that would have made this job more worth it would have been having more than 12 hours a week. Going to college during the year, I wanted to work over the summer in the hopes of having ample spending money during my next year at school, but I never got above 20 hours a week, and at one point, I considered quitting due to the lack of hours. There weren't many enjoyable parts, other than the day that I started when I hoped I would get more hours, and when I left.

I assume that not all managers of Famous Footwear are like the one that I had, but my experience definitely left a bad taste in my mouth for that corporation.

Working at a shoe store is different than I imaged it would be.  While you are in the apparel and fashion business, you are also dealing with an issue of people's comfort and health.  There are times people will confide in with you at a level that makes you feel like a health care provider and you can really feel you have made a difference in someone's day-to-day life.  Or, if they are getting shoes for an event, like a wedding or a funeral, you may feel a great connection with the person on some level that is different, I think, than in a job where you are just selling something like jeans.  For these reasons, I have really enjoyed working at Famous Footwear and consider it one of the best jobs I've had.

During a typical shift, you will be very busy.  You will either be engaging with the customers, or else you will be straightening the store, or putting out merchandise.  There is always something to do!

The two downsides I really see in the work day are these:  there is a whole lot more theft than I would have thought, so you will have to be ever vigilant to LP.  And the second is that Famous challenges its employees to make sales goals each day, including accessories and insoles goals.  Depending on how your manager is, you can have a lot more stress and pressure about meeting those goals than you would have thought!

Overall, I think it can be a very positive place to work, but you will definitely have to enjoy working with people.

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