assistant buyer

sales associate

loss prevention director

cook

server

Neiman Marcus Group

I worked as an OST member at the Chicago Michigan Avenue location for several years where the percentages of Inventory stats where never good enough, Management had terrible communication, and no consideration of team suggestions to improve the system whatsoever. Employees, both stock and sales, were treated terribly and a false sense of morale was always pushed at weekly meetings to create the illusion that the management was actually being productive.

The biggest problem with management is that these people do not know the difference between being a BOSS and being a LEADER. Almost every employee in back of house, visual, and receiving was completely dissatisfied with how the bosses did nothing else but crack the whip in the name of quota or productivity, and despite obvious flaws in the logistics systems, customer service, online fulfillment, and inventory maintenance, these issues were completely looked over and the employees were blamed instead of going to the source of the problem. 

Sales floor management was a complete joke as well, every single day I would speak to associates on every floor about how all their bosses played favorites and were stuck on autopilot because of their ability to play the politics card and become complacent because of the way they passed off most of the work onto the coordinators and sales associates. This promoted a lazy and disrespectful morale and because of the culture of fear promoted by the executives, associates in the entire store were too afraid to continue to try to gain justice. The Executives were a pack of lazy and fake excuses for leadership who did nothing but perpetuate a false image of care, yet only were concerned with numbers. They never considered the fact that their systems were flawed, yet just blamed the associates and cycled in new ones after getting rid of those that ever questioned this. They obviously did not appreciate free thinkers and only wanted Yes Men for the job, those that would just follow order mindlessly and take the daily jabs of terrible attitudes. I hate to say it, but I saw many cases of sexism and racism among almost every department, but associates were too afraid to take action, that's how bad the culture of fear was perpetuated, but they hid it all nicely beneath fake smiles and official procedure, ESPECIALLY when the corporate officials came to visit. 

This in particular was the most laughable excuse for leadership that I have ever seen in 10 years of employment in various retail and inventory environments. Whenever the corporate visits happened, every attempt was made to cut corners and halt the flow of work so that these officials wouldn't see how bad the processes really were, all in the name of presentation. It was a pathetic display where the real fake attitudes were at a height. This obviously did nothing to increase employee morale, as all of these efforts resulted in needless stress and unnecessary alterations of productivity. It was a sad state of affairs.

Many of the salespeople referred to the floor as the "shark tank" or the "poacher's net" because of the backstabbing attempts of some associate's willingness to act like children and steal sales. It was disgusting to hear about it every single day. I have witnessed more than 5 associates in my own department alone come into the back just to break into tears at how terrible people are treated there, from both coworkers and management. Absolutely despicable.

OST members in particular were viewed as replaceable, and they let you know it by making underhanded and passive threats of random performance evaluations, and even a few of the workers who had become settled in after working there for over 10 years would report to management false reports about new members. There was no unified team of trustworthy workers beyond a few core members who only avoided verbal abuse by keeping their heads down and their mouths shut. It was pathetic, and all of my friends who still keep in contact with me tell me the situations have either stayed the same of gotten worse.

All in all, the Michigan Avenue store is a terrible place to work.

I joined Neiman Marcus after being personally recruited by a VP, with the expectation of career growth, mentorship, and long-term opportunity. That has not been my experience.

For most of my time here, the company has been under internal and external hiring freezes, paired with multiple rounds of layoffs. As teams were reduced, work was redistributed rather than backfilled. As a result, workload has continuously increased while headcount has decreased, leading to consistently poor work-life balance and employees being spread extremely thin.

A typical day consists primarily of managing purchase orders and handling a high volume of emails with brands related to shipping issues, payment follow-ups, order changes, and general order management. This day-to-day work has remained largely unchanged for years, aside from the steady increase in volume as responsibilities continue to grow without additional support.

There has been little to no opportunity for advancement or promotion due to the prolonged hiring freezes. Despite taking a significant pay cut to join the company, compensation growth has been negligible. Over multiple years, my total increase amounts to roughly $300 more per paycheck. Annual raises, when given, typically range from 1–2%, even as responsibilities and expectations continue to grow. Compensation does not keep pace with workload, tenure, or market standards.

There has also been little to no meaningful learning or skill development in this role. After several years, the responsibilities remain largely the same, and the position does not evolve in a way that builds new skills or supports career progression.

Job security feels uncertain, and the culture lacks transparency, clear leadership direction, and structured development or career planning. Career paths are unclear, and high performance does not reliably translate into progression or meaningful financial growth.

The most enjoyable part of the job is the employee discount; however, compensation is low enough that it is difficult to meaningfully take advantage of it.

This role was a dream job for me, and it is disappointing that the reality of the position and company does not reflect what you hope it would. Anyone considering this role should be fully aware of the limited growth, minimal compensation increases, heavy workload, and poor work-life balance before accepting an offer if they ever decide to start hiring people again.

I have worked for Neiman Marcus for five years, and I can honestly say that what got me through my work day was my team in set-department, as well as some of the clients I have come to know on a personal level over the years. A typical day consists of opening the registers, stocking appliances like the shopping bags, filtering in the new merchandise onto the sales floor that arrive from the vendors, contacting and selling to clients with use of the given I-phones, lots of Starbucks, and let's not forget about those returns! There are plenty of those. Associates are told to take returns graciously, though I don't believe anyone on commission would feel "gracious" about hundreds of dollars being taken away from their daily sales or paycheck. But I digress... The most enjoyable part of my day was honestly seeing my team to talk about life, in and out of the workplace. The culture at Neiman Marcus is what you would expect at any other department store, but for the collective of different beautiful designer merchandise and accessories. You will have your regular shoppers; you have the sale shoppers; and you will have new shoppers also. The hardest part of the job is what goes with the territory. It's retail. Short-staffing. No taking major holidays off to spend time with loved ones. Long hours. Management sometimes does not make it any easier either. Fighting for a weekend off, and by weekend, meaning two days off that are just back-to-back, is always a struggle. And if you happen to get a weekend, be prepared to work nine days straight afterwards, as punishment for wanting an attempt at a personal life. There is also a lot of passive and childish behavior from some management to reinforce company rules, such as locking morning scheduled employees out of the building until the store opens to ensure that they arrive before the allotted grace-period. Or, occasions where L.P. will be so focused on timing associate meal breaks and reporting "violations" to set department managers, that they will miss blatant thievery as the culprit(s) walk right out of the store. These are just a few examples as anyone who has worked Retail/Customer Service can relate to. All in all, I take my time there with a grain of salt. It's takes a strong will to be in retail, I was fortunate to take a chance to experience the Neiman Marcus brand, but I am very happy in looking towards my new chapter.

There's good and bad, as with anywhere.

In my experience, you're only in trouble if you're not meeting your goals, not selling enough. As long as you meet your numbers, you can get away with a lot of BS. They claim to be a zero tolerance work place, on paper, but they don't practice what they preach. However, I have a family member who worked at a different location, and that person had a much better experience than me. It really depends on the store, and the department!! I would say the busiest departments in most stores are ladies shoes, handbags, couture, and men's suits. The beauty department is also usually pretty busy, but not that lucrative due to low dollar amount of merchandise (selling $50 mascara instead of $5000 handbags). If you're not in a good department, sales can be few and far between. Neiman's doesn't have a lot of foot traffic.

Nasty coworkers who are greedy and sharky, you have to really watch your books and stay on top of your leads because if you've been working with a client on something and they happen to come in when you aren't there, you can bet a coworker will take the sale. Lot's of drama.

My situation was particularly unpleasant, and I was being bullied pretty bad by my immediate coworkers. I got along with everyone else in the store, except my department coworkers and manager. I was constantly up in HR with the handbook, showing them exactly which rules my coworkers were violating on a daily basis, and disciplinary action was never taken. I was selling double what everyone else in my department was selling COMBINED, and still they did nothing to facilitate staff cooperation & peace. Neiman's is in survival mode I think, they only care about how much money you're making them.


Working at Neiman Marcus offers a unique blend of high standards, fast-paced service, and a strong focus on customer experience. The workplace culture is typically very polished and professional, with an emphasis on teamwork, presentation, and delivering exceptional service. Employees are expected to represent the brand well, which often means maintaining a sophisticated appearance and developing strong product knowledge. Management usually encourages collaboration and attention to detail, as every interaction with a client reflects the store’s reputation.
A typical workday consists of engaging walk-in clients to build sales and loyal clients, reaching out to clients by email, texts or phone calls to drive additional business, follow through on all sales and maintaining work space standards.
The hardest part of the job is maintaining the consistently high level of service that luxury customers expect. Clients often look for personalized attention, deep knowledge about products, and a seamless shopping experience. During busy periods or peak seasons, balancing multiple clients while still providing individualized service can be challenging. Additionally, the pressure to meet sales goals while maintaining a premium client experience can require strong time management and communication skills.
The most enjoyable part of the job is the opportunity to connect with clients and help them find pieces that make them feel confident and special. Building relationships with repeat customers can be very rewarding, as many luxury shoppers value trust and familiarity with sales associates. It’s also exciting to work with beautifully crafted products and stay up to date with new collections and trends. Overall, the role can be both demanding and fulfilling for someone who enjoys fashion, client service, and working in a refined retail environment.



I was sought out by this organization for my background in leadership, finance, and compliance.  I didn't apply for my role, I was recruited.  

They were in the process of trying to weed out the "coasting" associates and management staff.  I was a part of the "dream" team assigned to shake up the stagnation of results in production from fellow leaders.  I should have paused right there and thought twice.  

Day one:  The racial comments were thrown out full force.  The insults on the intelligence of others were frequent - and these were with senior-level people I reported to.   

As a whole, the Credit Services department was filled with really hardworking people, but the management team was akin to a dysfunctional family that was vying to outdo each other in petty tasks.  

I was consistently attacked for having a degree by a fellow manager who seemed to think every time I helped them, I was belittling them specifically.  They went as far as trying to set me up for disciplinary action, but when I provided proof of the fabrication, it was "dropped" and Human Resource nor the fellow manager remotely apologized or acknowledge the situation.  

Regardless of that fact, I was always ranked effective or higher in my performance.  Then, one month I was ranked below effective out of the blue - after 14 months of no issues with performance.   

I asked for the logic in this assessment and got nothing but a fomenting lie of how the CEO had raised the bar on management and it was my superiors opinion I wasn't pushing.  Note - I was not in a sales-based position, I was in an audit and compliance role as a manager.  In the end, when I contested this outcome in the most professional way possible, they on the same day, separated employment.

This organization is simply, from a leadership perspective, the rock bottom.  Oh, and they are not treating their customer's information with care.  They violate PCI compliance and basic common sense of security.   I wouldn't have a credit card with them.

The weekend packer was a 12 hr shift role @ 13 hr w/benefits. Most of the time they would skip out an hour early even when work was there, so you wouldn't get all your hours.  There was constant amt of work on weekends when I worked there.  Your legs and feet would hurt really badly if you were not used to warehouse work. 
They had a very high turnover rate.  Four or five ppl in my group did not return.  
The job was standing by a conveyor and pulling totes off the line.  You had to pack what was in the totes.  Some of the totes were heavy.  You had to figure out which box to use.  If you got sequined dresses, leather jackets, purses, coats, evening gowns, etc all of those would need to be packaged special.  
The packer role was physically demanding.  It got to the point where you were so tired that some started plucking small totes from the lines and leaving the heavier stuff for someone else. The trainer was impatient and talked down to you, when she wasn't doing that, she was flipping thru her cellphone.  The weekend supervisor was nice.  I could sense lack of communication and respect between the trainer and supervisor.  I liked the supervisor better than the trainer.  
The trainer gossiped and talked about workers behind their backs.  
Otherwise, high volume high end products.  I packaged some really interesting clothes/purses, heavenly perfumes, and cute shoes there. You would get unique things come thru such as a small pink speaker shaped like a suitcase, or small girls shoes scented like cinnamon, extra long spaghetti in a unique container, red bottom shoes, etc 
If you didn't package them right or had issues such as scuffed shoes that you didn't notice or chips on purses, some of them would be brought back to you.  I would work there again, just in another capacity.  

I worked as an ALPM for over 5 years and I’ll say that I absolutely loved it.  However, that was only because I loved my team that I had.  It’s hard to find a great fit to a close niche team, but once it is found, everyday work life is amazing. 
Now on to job duties....  Nah, don’t worry about what you’re supposed to do because the store has policies written in their books stating they can over ride a policy if they wish (and they do).  
The LP team is supposed to hold accountability for associates to correct action.  The problem with luxury retail is long term associates hold big books.  Big books = big money and the last thing a manager wants is a selling associate to become disgruntled and leave to a competitor taking their clients with them in turn.  This makes getting support, whether it be for implementing policies or for corrective action very hard, scratch that..... It makes it impossible & the long term associates know this. 
So for this reason we primarily focused on external theft and we were VERY good at it.  Number one in the company as a matter of fact.   

I never had any write ups with this company and guess what.  We acquired a new manager whom knew nothing about our department.  Long story short, I was terminated for holding accountability on an associate.  The same accountability in which I have openly done in the past with support. 

BOTTOM LINE
If this company was not 5 BILLION with a “B” in debt, I would say to proceed with caution as the job itself can be very fun & rewarding. However, we all know where retail is heading thanks to the internet and the HUGE company whom’s name derived from a rainforest in Brazil.  So if you proceed, just bear that in mind.  

I tried to keep this relatively short as I could go on and on.  Everything stated here by me is based solely from my opinion.

When I started I first really enjoyed it. Great breaks, good pay, generally enjoyed the atmosphere. However changing of management has really lowered my rating of this job. Beauty has cycled through so many managers, the general manager and upper management is never on the floor so they are out of touch with what's going on outside their offices. 
The store expects you to ALWAYS be available to answer your work phone. To constantly text, email, call clients practically begging for them to come back in and spend money but they disguise it by saying "you need to recommend them this bag" and "it's our job to show them new things". I'm now so overstimulated by cellphones I can barely text people back on my personal. They also expect you to sell everywhere in the store. Yes you may work in shoes and were interviewed about working shoes, but they leave out expecting you to sell everything throughout the store. People in certain departments are very cliquey, they won't talk to you for no reason at all and/or take sales from you and get mad when you step into their department. It is a low traffic store, so they will get upset when your sales are low and won't get it when they give you a large sales goal and no matter what you do you just can't meet it. LP barely does their job, you basically have to do it for them. They sit in front of screens all day but can't catch a thief without you telling them, then they'll get annoyed when you notice too late. You basically have to train your coworkers as well as management teaches basic functions on the register. You will also get a "sales report card" like you're back in school. I do not recommend this job unless you have no social life and have been in sales all your life.

With Neiman Marcus on the brink of bankruptcy and the recent Saks acquisition, it’s clear the company is facing serious instability. Management appears disconnected from reality,  incompetent leadership. The store is severely understaffed, with the same small group of employees working the same shifts each week without rotation or relief. 

Management shows little understanding of work-life balance, particularly for employees juggling school or personal well-being outside of work. Management frequently micromanages staff and assigns unnecessary busy work task during slow periods. Management shows clear favoritism toward high-spending customers, often offering them special treatment that goes beyond standard service expectations that interferes with store safety. HR adds to the disorganization — often failing to align the paper schedule with the scheduling app, which causes confusion and missed shifts. Overall, the structure was chaotic and poorly managed while shortly working here.

Remember what you were hired for. Management frequently assigns tasks outside your role or "teaches you" and eventually treats them as ongoing expectations. There’s no commission, so despite selling $2000 handbags, it’s essentially a standard retail job, no different to JCPenney or Marshalls despite being a luxury retail store. 

You’re expected to work weekends, and while they now require professional attire, they provide no free outfit or compensation for required workwear. Discount allowed for employees is 30% only.

If you’re in urgent need of a job, it might be worth considering — but otherwise, it’s best to look elsewhere, especially at other stores in the outlets with paid outfits, better treatment towards staff, and paid commission. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assistant buyer 12 salaries reported	$57,000 per year
Sales associate 3 salaries reported	$23.76 per hour
Loss prevention director 2 salaries reported	$20.25 per hour
Cook 29 salaries reported	$22.61 per hour
Server 31 salaries reported	$19.99 per hour

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