sales associate

retail sales associate

cashier

asset protection agent

fulfillment associate

Nordstrom Rack

I was a tailor/fiter. All you hear is Productivity,Productivity, Productivity. Points, points,points! Faster, faster. 10 min on a suit , pant fitting, 15 min for a dress. Nobody cares that customer wasn't ready - (standing in front of the mirror by the time you came) or decided to try another dress for you to see! Forget it ! And if she decided that she needs shoes ( and you definitely need them if it long gown) , sales person have to go downstairs to get the right shoe size and heel size. But for some reason it always wrong heel size even if you give them the ruler to take with them ... It looks like they are all from the same school... AND...if the customer will realize that she needs a bra... OMG!!!!!! People from lingerie department start bringing all these bras, girdles and cups... Another 20-30 min are taken.. Than you start your fitting. You take care of the customer while manager writes a note how unprofessional you are spending too much time and losing productivity not only for yourself, but for the whole shop!! If you tapered suit, hammed pants, took it in, shortened sleeves, shorten collar - it's too much - you are considered unprofessional !!!! You had to give customer suit that fits him perfectly. But what are sales people for? Aren't they trained to chose the size for a customer? How many times they fought with me that "That's the size" . If it's the only suite in stock, don't promise to the customer that we can resize it. We can't. Not because we are not able to, because it's the policy :"Fit first!".  But what if customer is broad-shouldered? Of course, we have to resize pants, because we can't "mix and match" sizes. Suite is standard size..So now you are in trouble. You can't put all these points to one alteration ticket - it's too much.
    My manager was telling lies to the store manager and customer care manager about me. Was unprofessional, asking me embarrassing questions in front of my coworkers like "what took you so long in a restroom?", treating me like a first-grader (I'm 44) and even cursing at me.I wrote a letter to HR, but nobody cared. 
  One complain of a customer is ENOUGH to fire you- no matter how good you are and how long were you with a company. They don't value your experience and how you love your job, how your customers love you. Constant discouragement and fight for POINTS! Every move, fitting, pants, dress and so on - has certain points. Nobody tells you how much. Approximately - marking and cutting pants-2 points, sewing & pressing-2 points, but somehow by the end of the month you have to reach this magical number of points. If you are lowest in a team this month and they need to fire somebody- it gonna be YOU! They don't have to explain you - why. 
   Clock-in, clock out have to be precise like in army - latenesses are also among legitimate reasons to fire you. Nobody cared if the road or a bridge was closed and you (like I) live in a different state.
  30 min break for meal and restroom are impossible to keep. EXPLAINING why:
   There in NO restroom for employees, so you have to walk long corridor to the public restroom, stand in line, then come back, stand in line for microwave, because it's only one for the whole store and then look for the place to eat, because lunch room is closed most of the time for meetings and constant trainings. So if you have, God forbid, soup, you can't go the Nordstrom cafe, you have to go down the escalator (elevator is ONLY for customers, tailors are not allowed there) and go through the store to the mall tables in front of Nordstrom, eat (Forget coffe!) and come back upstairs - no running !! Everything in 30 min. 
    Once our admin complained that i left pants unpressed in the end of the day writing a letter to the tailor shop manager . She new that presses weren't working properly and I i was the one who informed maintenance department about it. Another thing is a TEAMWORK. If somebody had fittings and didn't have time to finish their job, tailor shop  manager has to give it to those who can do it or other tailors have to take care of it themselves. Instead manager showed this letter to the store manager, telling her that my coworkers are complaining about it..!! What a team!!
    When my son was sick, he had asthma attack and I asked that day my manager for permission to pick up my phone, because my mom doesn't speak English and was afraid to mix up different inhalers that he needed on different times. She answered "WHY do you think that you're better then everybody else? Rules are the same for everybody. Take your phone to the LP (in opposite side of the store where we keep our coats and bags)." So I got in trouble for that too.
    The only thing I learned in 3 years working there - how to mark the sport jacket sleeve to shorten it faster, other things i was teaching my coworkers and manager myself (I had 30 years of experience and she had 4). Our other manager had no experience with formal gowns and when I tried to explain him something told me "Dresses don't make any sense to me". How people like that an lead tailor shop???? All they do is watching you and write reports and letters to the higher management. When we chatted among tailors, I was shocked that everybody was constantly threatened by manager to get fired , even people who opened that shop long time ago. So it wasn't just me. 
  Vacation - is another sad story. You will never get it when you need it, only when shop can let you. All people are in a range of productivity. Level 4 is barely impossible to reach - are people with priority to chose they dates first. Usually they have much more PTO than anybody else. So they chose first and so on - by the productivity level. And because Sales are often in Nordstrom, Anniversary, semi anniversary Sale, Early Access sale,half yearly sale, Christmas, Man sale, woman sale, Rack sale (don't forget that we help them with alteration if they can't keep up. And usually they can't because there is only one person there with horrible supply list -  no threads, no ironing board, no cover stitch machine, no handkerchief stitching machine and so on!!!)..
  So if you are ready for all this hassle, good luck!

Pluses: If you are making your metrics with Nordstrom they will help you go anywhere. They are very interested in advancing people and promotions are strictly from within, They have a great Mananagement Training Program and they fully support relocation to any other store in the country if traveling interests you. If you're a good sales person they will move you up to management fairly quickly too.

Management is never brought in from outside - even the Human Resource Director and her assistant started out as a sales person on the floor. This is a plus and a minus. Yes, they understand how stressful commission-based sales can be but they have no idea how to actually fulfill the more serious tasks Human Resources should handle. This is going a little too far with the "promote from within" philosophy. HR is pretty useless overall.

Another positive however: The company offers employees working 4 days a week full benefits and they are good. Great health insurance plan with $1400 per family given to you tax free in a FSA for medical expenses, stock options, 401K matching funds, employee discount and employee holiday shop day with serious discount and vacation time, This is a rarity in retail. They are also pretty good to great with accommodating any schedule requests.

My favorite part of the job is that the mantra for all Nordstrom employees from day one is "use your best judgement". You never have to call in a manager to make any decisions on taking a return with or without receipt, resetting the floor, price adjusting for a customer because another retailer has it at a lower price or because it has gone on sale here and they bought it full price a few weeks ago or any other "management-type" decision that other large retailers would require you to get authorization for. If you ask a manager for help they will tell you flat out to use your best judgement. They take this seriously and I think it is great.

The philosophy is that your department is your own store - you own it- they simply provide the space, merchandise and support staff you need and now it is your job to do what you feel is best to make it a successful business. They also provide an incredible database system at the point of sale that allows you to track and store all of your customer's data and also allows you to email them right from your register. As a stylist you are also provided with an iphone to ensure that you are able to connect with all your customers at their convenience. You manage your business well you make a good paycheck and everyone is happy.

On the down side, and I can't stress this enough, this is commission based sales with about a million metrics to meet. You are constantly under pressure to meet your sales numbers, cross sales numbers. units per transaction, dollars per transaction and it goes on and on.... Moreover, culturally, if you do well one day everyone in the store praises you and embraces you but you can be just as easily shunned (literally) the next day if you fail.

Definitely not a warm and fuzzy environment. The people are fairly shallow, very friendly on the outside if you're doing well but no depth. Don't expect a lot of support in coaching. They are going to address how to get your numbers up and really don't care about the nuances of customer service even though Nordstrom prides itself on putting the customer first.

If you are at all sensitive to this kind of treatment this will be a tough job for you. There are lists and huge boards with stars on it to show where everyone ranks right where you come in the building. Everyone knows where everyone else stands. It's a bit dog-eat-dog on the sales floor as well.

Some sales people do steal sales and if you go to management forget it; you get no where in having it resolved. Incredibly, the sales people who steal sales often get promoted first because their numbers are so good! So don't apply unless you are willing to be a bit teritorrial and agressive in your relationships with your fellow employees. First one to put the customer in the fitting room gets the paycheck kind of thing. You have to take what you want and need-don't expect your "teammates" to help you or to share the floor- they are there to make money and keep their numbers up and go home. It's not a mean and cold environment-it's just pretty much all business all the time.

That said, I was promoted from a sales person on the floor to a Personal Stylist, within a year and a half of starting with the company. It is a prestigious promotion with a lot of added responsibility and expectations, but it is a lot of fun. I like my job a lot and I'm good at it but the emotional roller coaster of commission based sales is wearing. You never know what your paycheck will be.

Especially when you think you had a great day and then check your numbers and you have had an astronomical number of returns that put you in the negatiive...

I'm very torn about leaving Nordstrom. They give employees a lot of benefits and a lot of freedom in how they handle the day to day situations that come up. Overall I do think Nordstrom is a great company if you have the personality for commission-based sales.The sky is the limit. There is a million dollar seller in our store who makes about $100,000 a year as a stylist! You also can have weeks when you are starting out where you get a $90 paycheck for a weeks work.

The bottom line for me is the culture of commission based sales. I'm really good at it for the most part, but I'm kind of getting burnt out and would like to switch to something that provides a more steady, cooperative and team-oriented environment.

You might think that if one must work in retail, that high-end (meaning over-priced and over-marketed) retail would treat their employees a little bit better and start your pay at a little bit more decent a wage than traditional or typical retail outlets.

Partially true. Nordstrom started out being non-traditional but quickly became such a political and depressing environment that I was actually relieved when their massive after-Christmas cuts came.

Let me explain: Here I am, a former English teacher with a degree in English and years of retail experience under my belt (I mean, who hasn’t worked in retail at some point in their lives), suffering from teacher burnout. I had quit teaching and needed some form of income. Yes, I knew retail would not even approach what I’d made as a teacher unless I was in management, and even then, it would still not really approach 30 grand a year.

At any rate, I applied for positions with Nordstrom and stated the truth, no more, no less; and was subsequently hired.

Their “orientation” was a huge build-up to a new store opening. We were constantly told to be enthusiastic and see everyone else, co-workers, as a sort of extended family.

Once I was hired and began working, however, the illusion quickly faded. The department supervisor was never in our department, yet she criticized us whenever she appeared from out of her dimly-lit office. She never listened, just criticized, smiling as she spoke – like all the other managers.

It also became apparent that you had to become a “member” of the Nordstrom “family.” Meaning, that the more you socialized with managers, ran errands for them, “schmoozed” with them and attended to them, the more time you’d get with them and be seen as “family.” One co-employee was driving the supervisor to and from work, running errands for her, shopping for her, doing her work for her and working well beyond her scheduled hours -raking in more overtime pay than anyone else and getting preferential treatment that was glaringly obvious – such as lunches out with the supervisor, other managers, discounts that were unspoken, etcetera.

We’d all been hired at the same date, but it was obvious how the “pecking order” had been established within less than 90 days. When I clocked out and went home to my wife, other employees socialized with other employees, taking them out to meals, or sat and talked with the supervisor, running errands for her – if and when she showed up.

If the supervisor didn’t like you, as was the case with me; since I didn’t feel right socializing with other employees, she’d say that she had gotten complaints about you from others. She could never tell you who was complaining about you, or exactly what they’d said. She also didn’t want to hear any comments from you, as to whether or not these complaints were true or not. (I just wanted to work and go home but still was pleasant and occasionally joking with others.)

Appearance was everything at Nordstrom and you were still perceived as human trash, to be discarded at a whim, just like any other retail outlet. The difference was that at Nordstrom, they smile in your face and say “thank you,” as they establish their biases and preferences and cut backs after every sales quarter. The Human Resource office exists only to add the facade legitamacy to decisions that were made for completely political reasons.

A typical mens dress shirt at Nordstrom is from fifty to a hundred dollars, but you pay for the overhead of the piano player and arrogant aristocracy there. Sales are always slow at a Nordstrom, but the prices are so inflated that they reap huge profits off of the poorly made Chinese goods. But, if you work there, you had better kiss up to your manager and other management and take them out to eat and bring them treats as often as possible if you want to keep your job.

Am I bitter? No. Am I a little resentful? For now. They present a facade of wanting to be fair and balanced and open, which they are…to hiring minorities. When it comes to treating employees any better than any other retail chain, they’re worse because they smile as they stab you in the back and say “thank you” as they cut competent and efficient employees simply because they over-hired to meet their Christmas needs.

My “evaluation” lasted all of one minute. I had done a great job for Nordstrom, but had to be removed from the schedule so they could cut from every department. Nice.

I told the supervisor that I wasn’t angry and didn’t take her decision personally, because she’d never taken the time to get to know me personally unless I fed her or ran errands for her or drove her to and from the store.

Good riddance and I hope I never have to work in the demeaning field of retail again.

And why shop at Nordstrom when you can buy anything they sell at less than half the price at virtually any other retail chain? And if you want to feel fussed-over by underpaid and under-valued retail employees, get a carwash or get a dog to slobber over you.

Nordstrom is a company that is built, and carried by it's name's legacy. Unfortunately it is really nothing like how you expect. You learn quickly that management is incompetent, the training is a joke, and no one actually cares about you. They stress things like customer service, and building relationships. Unfortunately for you our customers are entitled, spoiled, and half the time horrible to deal with. 
The actual reality is that they only care about your numbers, and how much you are bringing in. If you don't meet they're expectations they will kick you out the door in a couple months. They also like to impose arbitrary goals like online sales, email capture, opening credit cards, and making appointments. None of those things matter, unless they feel like having a cop out to get rid of you. It's a company where the more you sell, the more you make. Unfortunately if you are located at a store that's not in a good location you are probably screwed. How it works is you get an hourly rate (barely above minimum wage), if your commission exceeds your hourly rate you will get paid that, if not you still get your hourly. Hours are given depending how good of a sales person you are, so if you are one of their top people you'll be looking at 35-38 hours a week depending on your department. If you don't sell well, you will probably be getting 18-22 hours a week, maybe less. 
Since this is a commission environment you are expected to follow basic courtesy, like not poaching someone else's sales, but most people just say oops, and get away with a slap on the wrist. Management does not care about you, they care about brown nosing to get to a higher position or a better store. They have an "open door policy", but that can bite you in the butt as sometimes they don't want to deal with it, and look for an excuse to get rid of you. Chances are you are going to have to do extra stock or other work to make up for poor management, and half your coworkers will probably call out whenever it is convenient for them. Career advancement in this company is slim to none, and mostly dependent on brown nosing. I have met people who worked for a decade or more who hadn't been promoted despite being number one in their specialty for the company. I've met others who don't actually even know how to do basic tasks, be promoted. 
If you are a woman please be careful, there is always a few people in management that will be known for making passes at women who work under them, and be angry after they are rebuffed. When that happens please go straight to your store manager, and let them know otherwise the complaints always seem to go unchecked. It's so horrible that many people don't speak up, as they are afraid to lose a position or deal with the drama of it. 
Nordstrom does offer good benefits, I will admit that. They include medical, dental, life insurance, and 401k options. 
It is a job where you do have a chance to make decent commission, but you really have to be in the right department. I'd recommend Handbags/Accessories, Shoes, Men's clothing (depending on the location, and Designer. You do have the possibility to make a decent amount of money, but like I said it is hard to achieve. I was personally with the company about 4 years, and a Gold Pacesetter. That pretty much means I exceeded my selling expectations by a very large margin, it puts you at least in the top 10% of the company, probably closer to the top 5% really. 
It's a solid job if you are looking for something while in school, but you need to make clear to management you are a hard no on certain days to attend classes. Looks good on your resume also if you achieve a recognition like Pacesetter, Gold Pacesetter, or All Star. 
Keep in mind people work here for literal decades, and all they get in recognition is maybe a fruit basket, and coffee card for the Nordstrom coffeeshop, and if you annoy them or get even an untrue customer complaint from the wrong guest they will fire you in a heartbeat and not even give you a heads up to look for employment elsewhere.

I worked at nordstrom three months before leaving, the atmosphere was very negative overall. When first hired on, the manager who interviewed me made it sound like a decent job, flexible hours, good team, and stable work. interestingly enough, it seems as if the entire store was either brand new or relatively new associates with the vast majority either quitting or transferring midway through July. training was decent, but it was downhill after that. the first month was quite doable and a good environment and i felt like i would stay at the company long term. when the big sale hit, they hired on a bunch more people from a staffing agency and paid them $5 more per hour that they hired me at, because they couldn't find enough people to hire on site, which irritated me quite a bit.  the workload went from 10 to 100 pretty much overnight.  way more orders than the team would be able to fill in a given day, which led to constant pressure and stress. The sales team here, while mostly friendly, gave off an air of superiority towards all support/ fulfillment team members, like they were more important. I can't count how many times our tiny team of 2 or 3 people had to find over 200 items in a few hours while dozens of salespeople were watching youtube videos, gossiping with eachother about dates, or staring at us from empty cash wraps while the store was completely empty. most of the time they are receptive if you ask for help, other times they will insist on finding it themselves or they simply wont know or dont want to help you, and will say "oh ive been off three days i have no idea".  my managers were all nice, which i count as a blessing. they were very supportive of our team and always willing to help out when things got tough  in terms of heavy pick days. the store manager gave off an holier than thou vibe and never spoke to our team, and would frequently praise cashiers for all their hard work and never give our team the time of day.  ultimately, i decided to leave the company because i could see that it was not a viable long term option. they started me off at under minimum wage but because they provided full time hours i was ok with that. the scheduled hours were all over the map, some days i came in at 4am, other days 10am, and other days 4pm to midnight. some days it seemed like most everything on the fill list was just simply not able to be found, and other fillers would leave these items behind in the queue and pick up the easy to find stuff to improve their number for the day. my coworkers were mostly amicable towards me, with the exception of a few who simply ignored me.  i should've known something was up when the pickers who were on the fulfillment team prior to the anniversary sale transferred to different departments before anniversary orders started coming in, as well as some quitting. all in all, of the fifteen or so people they hired, three people total ended up staying on past the seasonal duration, which really illustrates the revolving door here.  It seems like every couple weeks they are hiring new people and they dont usually stick around longer than a month or so, and this goes from fillers, to cashiers, to even the maintenance workers on site. it was an interesting experience, but its taught me that if i end up ever having to get another retail job in the future to avoid back of house/fulfillment  positions because they work probably twice as hard as people on the selling floor and we get no glory or praise whatsoever from the store manager, any sales managers, or anyone aside from an occasional thanks from our filling manager. 

Typical day at work was doing everything in my power to prepare the store to be open to the public.  Huge variety of repairs, disarming parts of the building, cleaning floors (dust mop and floor machine), prepping sanitation/mask stations, changing bulbs/ballasts, daily PM's before store open, and unlocking doors, 

Learned that people seem to stage situations there asking questions and being judgmental about others to you in a confrontational way  while that person waited around the corner to hear what you say about them almost baiting to get you to be rude or ugly about them and then have to face that person.  Seemed very deceptive and tactical.  Seemed almost too fake and the odds too crazy for people to be that confrontational, and then the odds of the other person to just "be right there" right afterwards.  So that part of the culture wasn't something I was a fan of either way, true or not.  Some very rude and ugly about others, but in a tactical way.  Found it better to say nothing and just do my job other than get pulled into their drama.

Hardest part to do was complete the work and your job before open and have time to take your breaks, especially when the schedules were changed to complete all of those things to only 1 hour before open, instead of 4-5 hours before open as it  was for over a year and a half. 
 
Pressure to do more with less time before store hours was very difficult but they appreciate flexibility and the effort I think.  Guessing employee cuts due to Covid-19 was the reason for these changes. Also if you are seeking employment there from outside of the Mall and Nordstrom, when working there you may feel like a bit of an outsider but try to find someone there you can trust and get along with and I think you would be fine just not someone in your inner working circle, someone completely out of it.

Some parts and things broken there since I started but getting parts ordered or repairs made especially in the Cafe and eBar wasn't a priority with a new store being built.  Did all I could do in my power but felt like I was failing when things beyond my power weren't getting repaired, or not having time to complete the tasks before open, or when reporting issues and wanting someone else to step in who could do more or make a difference.  Guessing those were issues above the store level or power of those above me.

Hardest part was the schedule changes and working holidays, greatly affected time missed spending that time with family, perhaps part of the intention to give people who have worked there longer more time to spend at home and with family for holidays or more stable and beneficial shifts.

Most enjoyable part of the job was getting to take a break, or go home.  A lot was expected and being on your feet non-stop and doing what you could to contribute in their "all in" mentality was hard in itself but to make time to take a break and step away for a breather wasn't easy.

Also nice to see friendly faces, smiles, and appreciation from co-workers when other things going on there were difficult, or struggling in my personal life outside of work.  Some very good people there and loved that it was a very diverse environment.


I have been with the Vacaville Rack since it opened 2 years ago (October 2017).  It was a great learning experience to help get the store set up and ready to open to the public.  During my 2 years with the company I have been responsible for markdowns (merchandise price changes) on a monthly basis for each department (some of the larger departments occur twice per month).  I have also assisted with stock support (getting freight ready for the sales floor), sizing merchandise (making sure merchandise is in the correct location and presentable to customers), assisting customers in the fitting rooms, filling merchandise on the sales floor, and assisting with physical inventory (at the Vacaville Rack, as well as the Rack in Sacramento and Concord).  As a merchandise support associate, I typically work 5 days per week with a typical shift 6AM-10AM (before the store opens to the public).  During store markdowns the shifts can be as early as 4AM for larger departments.  The hardest part of the job is the same as most retail with employees leaving the company (or transferring to another store) and new employees coming into the store throughout the year.  The merchandise support team generally consists of 10 part-time associates, though we have gone through a period of months with only 5 team members (currently we have a team of 9 associates).  The most enjoyable part of the job is that there is flexibility in our schedules, in regards to work/life balance.  I have always been granted the time off that I need, whether I have requested the time off in advance or due to an unforeseen rare circumstance (illness, car trouble).  I enjoy getting to participate in company annual and semi-annual meetings (whether at the Vacaville Rack store or at the Sacramento full-line Nordstrom) as well as daily morning "rallies."  Compared to a previous retailer that I worked for over 10 years, Nordstrom does an amazing job of making sure that we are recognized for our accomplishments, through employee of the month, various contests (with various prizes), employee parties (seasonal and monthly celebrations), and verbal acknowledgements.  The benefits as a part-time employee are also better than my last retail employer, including paid time off, life insurance, retirement fund, and charitable contributions (including pay for volunteer work).  The current management (including 3 who helped open the Vacaville Rack, along with 3 assistant managers that were promoted from within and helped open the Vacaville Rack) have been very supportive with open communication and assisting our team in any way possible.  Although I began as a "temp" employee, I became a regular associate in only 6 months, which led to a more consistent weekly schedule (averaging 20 hours per week, usually more).  My hourly pay rate has already increased twice in less than 2 years (I am currently making more working part-time with Nordstrom than I did after 10 years with my previous employer, which was also part-time!).  If you are interested in working in the fashion industry or you are just looking for supplemental seasonal work (some of our associates are college students or have additional jobs outside of Nordstrom), I would highly recommend Nordstrom.  And if you are like me and the pressure of commission-based sales is too daunting (working in a full-line store), the laid-back (though fast-paced) vibe at the Rack is definitely worth your consideration!

The worst part of working at NPG is the hypocrisy and lack of action.  The pace of change and innovation is near zero.  This is a company and department that supposedly champions "continuous improvement" and a set of ideals and beliefs that all should live by.  The reality is that true improvement rarely happens, but consultants and leadership are constantly parading around the offices celebrating "quick wins" while real problems continue to fester and teams fall apart.  The core beliefs are rarely put into practice and frequently ignored or violated.  

Managers and leadership are unaware, in denial, or just ignore the many problems and concerns of employees.  There is zero support for career growth and no clear direction on how to get promoted.  People seeking growth and promotions are told to "explore other areas" to "expand your skill set" by taking lateral moves or even positions that pay less.  The compensation and career growth is not competitive with the industry at large.  Nothing is done to retain talented, high performing employees.  If you're ambitious, career oriented, and want to grow your skills, the only option is to leave the company, which happens frequently.  

The scope of individual work experience is frequently very narrow and people are kept in their silos.  Key meetings, facetime with cross functional partners, and important decision making is all left to mid level managers and senior leaders.  There’s little visibility or understanding for the average employee on why decisions are made or what the feedback on their work is.  This provides little in the way of developing skills, building personal relationships, understanding the big picture, or learning how to advance in the organization.

Managers are often condescending, disrespectful, or unsympathetic to the concerns of their direct reports.  Favoritism, cliques, and toxic work environments flourish.  Complaints to senior leadership and HR are ignored, covered up, or worse.  In a company with a “no retaliation” policy, people are routinely retaliated against or forced out for speaking up.  Nordstrom lifers hold all the key roles, are very complacent, and all protect each other.  They have little experience with how other companies operate, nor any desire to either leave or make things better.  

The state of the work environment and technology is dismal.  The offices haven’t been updated in over 20 years.  The technology is ancient and employees waste countless hours on computer and software issues while leadership refuses to address the problem effectively.

It's unfortunate to say, but NPG is the worst place I've worked in my career.  I expect a lot more from Nordstrom.  

Nordstrom is a great company and NPG could be a great place to work, but it's bad and getting worse.  And it's getting a reputation in our (very small) industry for how bad it has become.  Wake up, listen to your employees, and take real, meaningful, immediate action on the big problems:   Employee satisfaction, career growth, technology, work environment.  Focus on retaining the talent you have or you'll continue to lose all your good people to competitors.  Stop enabling and protecting bad managers and toxic work environments.

I actually hated working here almost every day that I went in to work. On paper, the company sounds good. Commission! Product knowledge classes! Formal training! Organized events! Staff functions!
The true culture and reality of Nordstrom is nothing like it is on paper. As a 21 year old female college student, I applied to work in women’s shoes. I was hired. On my first day, they moved me to work in Men’s Sales. I learned this was because I was a “young female” who would likely have high sales from these wealthy Naples men. Of course I had nice and memorable clients. But I also had outrageous situations where customers make inappropriate comments in the fitting room or opened their fitting room doors before they were completely dressed. I had a customer request that I deliver his pieces after they were tailored. My manager approved the delivery and I went into his work to bring it to him. He made such inappropriate comments to me about how he wanted me to come into his back office and buy jewelry for me. I brought up all of these situations up to my manager who laughed and shrugged her shoulders. She told me that I need to play the “game” and that she has to too, even commenting on the “creepy” situations that she had been it. 
I was highly pressured by the same manager to “donate” a portion of my paycheck to charity for one month. I initially said no thank you, and was asked to “rethink” and let her know. I finally said that I would do a small amount ($20 for one check) and she asked me to confirm the number 3 more times before she finally accepted it. It was humiliating. I wonder what kind of pressure is coming from above her for this.
My co-workers were cut throat in terms of making a sale and would literally elbow me out of the way to get to a customer first. I felt like I was in high school with the mean girls looking down on me for not wearing Prada Shoes, except the “mean girls” were 60-something trophy wives that didn’t need this job anyway. I would avoid the break room because I couldn’t stand another moment of people faking being nice to your face. They work the women in the tailor-shop like a sweat shop. They don’t get the same treatment for breaks and hours. They leave when the work is finished and we’re pressured to tell all clients “yes” for tailoring. Those poor ladies were overworked and I always felt terrible having to call them down to measure some stupid pants for a guy that didn’t need them anyway.
The week between Christmas and New Year’s was supposed to be the busiest week of the year. We had a big men’s sale and everyone prepared me for a week of high commission. When I received my paycheck it totally out to $15/hr which included hourly and commission! Are you kidding me? I worked so hard for a week, even slaving away on Christmas Eve to prep for the sale. It was ABSOLUTELY not worth it. That was my last straw, and I quit the following week.
Maybe at another Nordstrom or in another department it would be better. But I had a terrible experience here. I would not even return as a customer.

Working for Nordstrom for the last year and a half has been overall a good experience. Working on the sales floor and in a support role I had the opportunity to see both sides of the coin. The customer service that Nordstrom teaches and emphasizes is a great tool. The level of professionalism working in the customer service department was something i really enjoyed as well as dealing with the daily problem solving and responsibilities  I was given. It was also a nice steady pay which was great. Working on the sales floor was a different beast entirely. The nice part is your have the ability to control what you make and your pay check by how hard you work but the other side of that is that your pay is a roller coaster. Working on the floor your have to factor in returns on a daily basis, competition with other associates, your ranking on the schedule which determines your hours, and the time of year it is which has a direct effect on how high sales are. They say that if your have personals and appointments you can increase your sales even in slow times or when you don't have any hours but realistically its very difficult to create your own business unless you've been there quite some time. One pay check you can make 600 dollars and work 30 hours total and the next work 70 hours and make 2,000 dollars. So the stability of the sales floor is not something I would recommend to most. The management is promoted from with in so sometimes you have a manger who has been doing it for years and others who've never managed join their life which creates challenges. Also nordstrom doesn't have a set standard as far as rules or guidelines that are always followed. The term they use is"use your best judgement" which doesn't always work if your have 4 different managers on the same floor because the standards vary from person to person. Also advancing with company or applying for roles elsewhere is completely determined by your manager and if they think you have the ability to do that position. However politics sometimes comes into play here so some people who have become managers don't necessarily have the best skills for the position. And you do need your managers support to apply for any other position in the company so if they don't think you are qualified for something you can end up stuck. The customers and the people that work at Nordstrom definitely make the experience worth while. Working there I've met some of the most amazing people and had some of the best experiences with customers I have ever had. Its not like any other retail experience because you have a lot of freedom as far as what you can do to take care of your customers and give them a great experience. Ive former made some lifelong friends working there and even with my customers that I've helped and I've really loved the interaction I get to have everyday.

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