sales associate

planner

beauty advisor

assistant buyer

merchandising assistant

Prestige-Property-Management-&amp

I seen a hiring event on indeed in September 2019. I submitted my resume, cover letter and had an interview all on the same day. To my surprise, I was hired. I waited for 2 weeks and didn't hear back from them. They were supposed to be reviewing my background check within a couple days, so I called and they told me they forgot to push my application through. Around a month later, I was called in for onboarding. I was placed in a room full of computers and sat next to another associate who was also completing onboarding. I was told by the HR manager that these tasks on the computer had to be completed before starting work on the sales floor. Little direction was provided by management or the HR manager. They left and the lady working on onboarding next to me had to ask for instructions on what link to click next. It consisted of pages full of various links that would make you watch a video, then give you a quiz. You had to score at least a 90 in order to pass. At my previous job, we had to print our passing score but I wasn't told whether to print or not. Everything was mostly left to our own interpretation, and, as I would later find out, so was the job.

 I spent several hours on the onboarding and the computer began malfunctioning. I was also supposed to be paid for the training, which I wasn't. After asking the manager if I could come back another day, they agreed. I ended up going home to complete the remaining onboarding tasks (which I wasn't paid for). Around a week later, I started my first day. It was really exciting working around all the beautiful clothes and accessories, and my primary goal the first day was to fold clothes, clear dressing rooms and speak to customers on the sales floor. I figured this would just be for training purposes. A month goes by, and other new people that were hired AFTER me are already running registers while I'm still stuck to one task, getting clothes from fitting rooms, folding and assisting customers on the sales floor. I enjoyed talking and helping customers find things, but I wanted to learn all aspects of the job.

 One day, I was scheduled to work register for the first time. I didn't even have a special login number for the register. When I asked a manager about it, he shot the idea down of me even learning the register and I was placed back onto the sales floor. It made me feel like I was stupid, and that I'm only suitable for one thing. There were some really nice people at Belk, but there were a few unfriendly and cold associates. Often, my shift was very lonely. One day, a new associate started work complaining that they just threw her onto the sales floor without any guidance whatsoever. She said there was a 2 week span that she was off work, and didn't know what was going on.  I told her of my issues at the job, and we shared a few laughs that made our shifts more enjoyable. She also had problems getting her application through and wasn't told about the onboarding process YET she WAS ABLE TO LEARN THE REGISTER! How is that possible? I felt like some management chose favorites, not because of this particular associate's situation, but because of the overall way this location was ran. I remember shifts where not 1 manager would speak to me.

 I continued feeling isolated through my work there and would drag myself to come in, get clothes from the fitting rooms and put them back on the sales floor. I cried a few times while on the job as well. This part time seasonal job doesn't pay much, so if you think you're going to pay rent/utilities with that money, you'd be wrong. I had to reapply for food stamps while working at Belk. I brought the paperwork to the manager on duty (the same one who shot down my idea about learning the register) and he acted confused/annoyed why he had to complete this paperwork. It required a manager's details and info about my work hours/employment. He immediately said "we don't deal with social services here!" That made me feel terrible! I continued working there, and because I didn't work a guaranteed 20 hours per week, I was eventually disqualified from food stamps.

 Every day thereafter was the same as my first day, clear fitting rooms, fold clothes, help customers. Sometimes, I felt like I was in the way. Thanksgiving and Black Friday was fun because I stayed busy. The holidays were also fairly busy. I was approached by a coworker who wanted to switch shifts with me (she work my day and I take her night). I agreed. But, she was mainly always on the register and I was tending to fitting rooms. When I came in that afternoon, I was shocked by the amount of clothes piled up in the women's fitting room. It was obvious the girl I switched with didn't take on my responsibilities...and I was never trained on the register so I went about my usual duties that night.

 I was called to the head manager's office 45 mins into the shift. I was told that a few coworkers had complained I wasn't adequately clearing the fitting rooms, putting things away, etc. but it was FULL! I received the blame for someone else's mistake and it was so frustrating. I was told that would be my last night, because I was curious about the seasonal position. Not only that, but I was compared to the coworker who didn't take on my responsibility, therefore that workload fell back on night shift and it made me look bad. Other coworkers talked and laughed, and the night came to an end. Me and another worker ended up getting locked inside the building while the manager and other coworkers had already left outside. The alarm was going off, and it was a terrible end to my last, stressful night at Belk.

Where do I start? I love how you're on, "Pay for performance." If you meet sales and credit goals, you'll surely get a raise! I even love how they put the carrot in front on you every month, on your stats reports. Managers will say, "you're right on track to making more money." You may get a $1, if that, and won't really go up from there! It's ridiculous how the managers uptalk the sales positions. "It's such a great career, with benefits, and awesome oppritunities for advancemet!" Yea, they expect you to advance the level of work, and pay you just a bit above minimum wage! Also, if you don't get enough people to sign up for the Belk Rewards Card, your hours will get cut! Can't afford to take less than the 25 hours per week they offer! And, the credit card is such a great card to have, at nearly 25% interest! Yes, that means you're paying $25 back, for every $100 you spend. And the rewards dollars, for every 400 points= $400 you spend/earn, you get a $10 reward!!! So, when you charge $400, with $100 dollars interest tied to it. In reality for every $500 spent, you get 1/50 th of that back! In my experience, they spot who the hard workers are, and they exploit them! Seriously, I found a much better job, and they still wanted me to stay. Heck, I was only making 5 cents more than I started! And, that was after working there for 2 years! They didn't want me to leave, cause they were getting excellent work, for cheap labor! This company is as cheap as the brands they sell! Red Camel, New Directions, Kim Rodgers, and Saddlebred; just to name a few! I swear you get better quality at K-mart. Can't tell you how many times people would return those CHEAP Saddlebred pants, because they tore apart in the washing machine! I even bought some Belk brand clothes, while working there. Needless to say, the buttons would always fall off, or the zippers would break, or get holes in the fabric! I bought some Red Camel cargo shorts one spring. Every pair had holes in the pockets by fall! Also, you'll get the lovely experience of dealing with angry customers, cause the coupons never work! There's like 50-70 exclusions for every coupon. No kidding, it's all in the fine print at the bottom. You know, just below the large, "TAKE 20% OFF!" This being above the many exclusions, you need 20/10 vision to read, with a miroscope! In conclusion, you're much better waiting tables, in opposed to taking this retail job. The company does offer medical, vision, dental, and a 401K. However, I could not possible see how you would even draw a paycheck, after paying these out!!! And now on a more positive note. This is a job, not a career. If you're in college, managers will most likely work with you. Also, you can get some key skill down like cash handling, interpersonal/sales skills, and looks good on application. Belk is a well known name in the South, and other employers like it. You also get commission for the new credit apps you open. $4 for an approved one, and $1 for a declined one. If you get good at it, you can make your gas money for the week with it. In conclusion, again, lol! It's retail, you're not gonna get rich, you're only putting money in Belk's pockets! Best part about working there, had enough time to go on interviews during the week! Those 25 hours came in handy then ha ha ha. Now I'm making $16 an hour doing loss mitigation, and can get overtime! I make more in a week, than I did a whole month at Belk! And, I don't have to work crazy weeked evening hours! Belk, thanks for the memories!!!!

The review and issues with Belk's Information Technology group will be limited to the span of control of the information security function as it existing upon my departure.

The organization is struggling to find its stride. There has been a tremendous amount of churn in personnel, many of which have been in demotions and the managing out of people. From the security perspective, if I had to characterize the culture and commitment to data protection, I would describe it as a peacock mimicking the ostrich. There is reason to believe that input is valued based on the inital, thinly-veiled "ra-ra"; however, the reality of the situation is that the organization will only do what they have to do to be compliant, and will dismiss or delay any cultural efforts to really be secure. Therefore, very specific (and the obvious) members of management will take a "head in the sand" approach until the situation can no longer be ignored.

From the technology portfolio perspective, there appears to be significant skullduggery going on between service providers. The lines of delineation are blurred between support functions. While one supplier holds to the letter of the law with their Master Service Agreement, the other is getting bled to death by providing services that are not clearly defined, articulated, yet are expected. This is resulting in low job morale and frustration.

There are a number of good people at the individual contributor level in the organization; however, many of them are simply there to collect a paycheck. Likely a by-product of getting disciplined for thinking outside of the box or professionally challenging management strategy, the opportunities to truly make a difference are not present here; therefore, be cautious if you are ambitious. Your typical day will likely consist of following task-level orders and providing status updates (and that is if you are a manager or director). If you are an individual contributor, you may quickly find yourself asking yourself why you are doing something this way, or questioning how your contributions are helping your organization and career. You may wonder why the prior people set things up the way they did. The answer is likely that they tried to make a difference and paid for it with their job or were shot down before it got off the blocks.

Finally, I think many of the problems in the organization can be tied back to a failure in the project management office. Again, expect dysfunction and many glaring gaps in the project planning process. As any good technologist will likely attest to, the importance of the PMO function in the overall improvement of the organization is critical. A wise interviewee will inquire about the PMO process and look for evidence of SDLC artifacts, process, and study the mannerisms of its people, particularly in efforts that do not have board-level visibility.

For those that see this as a post that is filled with sour grapes... this is a fair position based on a few paragraphs. I am not asking you to take my word for it. However, trace the history of the positions. Find out what happened to incumbents. Do your homework, and peel back the onion. It will not take long for you to arrive at an informed decision.

You have been warned.

I was hired for seasonal work in September and told I would work six hours a day two days a week to help unload the truck as part of the operations team and would have opportunities to help with stock and fulfillment for more hours. Was also told if I didn't like the operations team I could switch to the stock team. Benefits was employee discount and the ability to put items on hold for two days only the next day it would already be removed from hold by store security even though they saw the date and the employee on the hold tag.
For the entire holiday season I stuck it out with the operations team.
Coworkers were very petty and very competitive and cut-throat. From my second day on the truck/unload team the older women who had been there for years and should of been old enough to have sense enough to act right were acting as if I should know what category every shipping label number fell into as we categorized the stock while unloading. They would insult me by flat out calling me stupid as well as curse words when I made a mistake and when I spoke up telling them they shouldn't talk to me that way. They were always telling me to do something their way as if my way was wrong and even accused me for their mistakes and attacked me for other's mistakes. They acted like it was wrong for me to tell them it was wrong for them to treat me that way and attacked me with curse words. They also would demand I do random tasks. The operations team lead when addressed on it claimed she did not know what I was talking about though she would laugh with them when they attacked me or talked about me for making a mistake. These women even disrespected and made fun of our partially deaf manager.There was no support and no respect for the team. 
Management was also disrespectful. Repeatedly they put out official schedules only to change them by cancelling work days without notice. It was already bad enough they only hired us to work two days a week. However because they poorly managed often times we were needed for overtime or extra days. Then they would say that the store didn't make sales and cancel days in the weeks to follow. Then they would give the days back or put us on the schedule for new dates after having taken days from us--all of this without notice. Repeatedly they were confronted and talked to about  this and maintained it was best because it was best for the company sales. They only cared about sales. Not the workers driving them. Or making sure that the company culture was not toxic to workers by eliminating bullying. Another thing they did was make all employees check out on the register in the back of the store instead of at any register in the store as the other customers who don't work there can enjoy any register they please.
This place is horrible! Don't come here to work!
If I could give zero stars I would! Thank you!

What can I say? I work here now, have worked here or in a previous version of the store (under a different company's name) for over a decade. There is a lot to like about the job; flexible hours, I have earned multiple weeks paid vacation a year, I have gotten raises, I do enjoy getting off days on weekdays in order to accomplish errands and visit the doctor and dentist. I have had the pleasure of working with many  great managers and coworkers over the years, some of whom have become lifelong friends. I have even gotten to know some customers on a first name basis, something perhaps unusual in a "big box" type of retail establishment. The work is often interesting and can be full of surprises. 

I won't lie about the hardest parts of the job. I do have to work nights, weekends, and holidays. Sometimes I actually enjoy that...more opportunities to accomplish weekday errands for instance, or in nice weather go hiking during the morning and then go to work in the afternoon. Other times...yes, I don't think it is any secret that I want the occasional Saturday off or would rather not work on Thanksgiving. 

The other hard part about the job is the continuing evolution of a retail sales and sales support job; companies and their employees continually have to do more and more with less and less. My job requirements have grown tremendously since I first hired on. Sure, my salary has grown too, but there are times the amount of extra work is a bit challenging, given overall lower staff levels in the changing world of retail. I don't think this predicament is by any means unique to this company but is an overall symptom of changes in the retail industry as a whole, of brick and mortar stores not only competing with other brick and mortar stores but with the ever growing world of online sales. Jobs that were once separate - sales support and sales associates - have increasingly over the years merged into one overall retail job. Sometimes wearing those two hats can be empowering - I don't have to rely on others to either make certain decisions or accomplish certain tasks - but at other times it can be conflicting roles. If one puts all his or her effort into a sales support task then waiting on customers - and as a consequence, sales - can suffer. The reverse is also true; if the sales support tasks are not attended to, not only do those tasks suffer but ultimately sales suffer as well. Customers can't shop in stores that aren't properly stocked, maintained, signed, and merchandised. It is an interesting and daily challenge to balance the two.

The retail aspects of the job are simple; nothing new there. However many of Belk's policies and tactics are out of touch to what most people experience on the sales floor.

The quotas for email and phone number capture, credit card applications, and item orders are a bit ridiculous. There seem to be a few people doing extremely well while the majority of the store struggles with it. Sales goals were mostly reasonable. Even though I was hired to manage a specific cosmetics line, I and other beauty associates were often called to clean other areas of the store, leaving our areas unattended and not making sales. They did not offer "non-productive" hours for this time, insisting that you could make up the sales later. (The reason for sending us elsewhere is because the majority of the store is severely understaffed, sometimes with only one or two people working a closing shift in the entire huge ladies' clothing section.)

The myriad coupons and store deals and events for which they ask you to call, text, or email clients is far, far too many. Customers will complain to you about it, and you'll still have to reach out to them in two weeks about the next thing. It's tiresome.

As a counter manager for one of the smaller cosmetic brands, I didn't feel supported very often. I was quite excited at first as this was my first role as a CM, but once ideas started getting shot down and after spending my own money on decorations for a couple of weekend features, that excitement faded.

Each day the store manager would end the morning meeting with "Are we going to laugh with one another and our customers?!" And then proceed to dissuade any employee conversation she could. Her tone was rarely encouraging and when it was, it was uncomfortably forced. The management team below her seemed like decent people that tried their best. There were a few times I raised concerns I was having with another employee with HR and was told to re-evaluate how I approached her; she wasn't pulled to speak on the matter at all. So don't expect your concerns to be taken seriously.

I very much think they can all improve on raising issues with employees as they arise rather than once the problem is too far gone. I understand employee accountability is important, but seeing people leave for administrative behaviors that could have been course-corrected with a warning conversation, while others remain that receive customer complaints or have stolen products, it's disheartening.

Overall, it's big-box retail. Understaffed, low morale, and out of touch. The compensation is decent, and if you enjoy a retail environment, then you could do worse, I guess.

Must produce sales even when given schedules with no traffic in store-75% of customers already have credit card with Belks, so getting one to apply is HARD work!  As a FT associate you are expected to get 5 apps a week-hard to do unless you are in Mens Wear!  Sales goals are given ONCE and you are expected to remember THAT and keep up with that, no matter how unrealistic.  People are constantly being hired for PT and seasonal, but rarely do their share or care if they skip a day, a week, or are late, since they are not invested in staying!  Listened to SM give a shoe boy (stocks boxes and empties boots of paper stuffing) an hour and half of all the details of Belks and their CHARM system, getting brownie points and so on, while leaving the sales staff in the dark and untrained.  Store does not give BREAKS AT ALL, since there is no law stating they must, you get NOTHING-You get a lunch/dinner break (unpaid) and that is it, no matter how long you work!  Customers are upscale and expect good service, tend to come in for deep discounts and have been weaned on coupons, Belks Bucks, and Credit Cards.  Fun atmosphere, pleasant work environment, lots of contests (credit cards-SPIFS-Belks.com-CHARM), pleasant co-workers, pay is low, its RETAIL, hard standing on feet ALL DAY! You will work all holidays except XMAS day, weekends, and go from closing to opening the next day-Hours are inconsistent, this is no nine to five!  Pay and advancement is minimal even for qualified employees, but if you are alternate, you have a good chance of moving up the food chain-otherwise, no chance!  Management prefers to make any problem you have your own fault and most of them are not trustworthy!  Never worked a place I didn't get a break during an 8 hour shift, but at Belk, that is the RULE!  When it comes to raises, don't expect much and PRAY that they do not reduce your pay for missing ONE of a 100 metrics!  RIDICULOUS!  Expect to lose any PTO you have not used by the holidays, as management gets a cut of whatever you haven't used, making it to THEIR advantage to keep you in the dark about what you are entitled to!  Unless you are unemployable, look elsewhere!  This is not the place to advance or grow old with!  Perfect for part timers and young people who do not need to earn a decent living or worry about family obligations, as there is no way to be solvent or enjoy your family with any consistency!  I am looking for another place to land!

I said should because I have worked at another department store and I loved my time there.  Belk started out great - I was thrilled to get a job in walking distance to my home and so happy they offered me full-time work.  I was hired the day of my interview which is always a great mood-booster.  At the time, I needed an easy, flexible job and was almost happy to be back in a department store because of my pleasant experience at another store.  I'd say the first 6 months were great - I enjoyed the variety of work and my employer respected my availability.
But things fell apart soon after.  I can honestly say when I was hired, we had plenty of co-workers and it was no problem finding coverage on floor or for an unwanted shift.  I guess budget cuts kicked in (as they always do at some point in a job) because soon we were short staffed.  I remember certain shifts I would have no help on floor and wind up overwhelmed, just hoping someone would float by and give me the chance for a bathroom break.  Near the end of my time there, I wound up calling in sick several days just because the prospect of being alone on the floor all day, unsure if my lunch break would come at a decent time, was too overwhelming.  One of the perks of working in a department store is the flexibility of tasks: sometimes you are at the cash register, sometimes you are out helping people, sometimes you are cleaning up the floor (and this is important to give you a break from the busyness of the register).  
As I said, I was fine with starting out as a full-time sales associate, but I came in with 6 years experience in a department store and I would have thrived in several other positions at this store.  I would have been happy to stay at the store for several years with the right opportunity, but when a person is stuck in an entry-level position and quite unhappy there, she's likely to leave even if she doesn't really want to.
To end on a somewhat positive note, I'd say it's a great company overall.  A department store should be a great place to work.  The people are, for the most part, usually great.  I met so many wonderful people at both stores I've worked for, but guess what?  All of those people wind up moving on.  These are good people who have been loyal to the store.  There seems to be these phases these stores go through, because I have great memories at work, until the end when things go south.

As with any big name retailer, there are expectations. 

It isn't a desk-job, so working the hours that are busiest is expected: full-time employees work on average 2 nights each week (1 of those being Fri or Sat) and every other Sunday off. Availability to work most holidays is required...and in most recent years that includes working Thanksgiving Day (store opens at 4pm so sales staff are scheduled to arrive at 3:30pm). 

Other expectations and metrics that employees are expected to meet are:
* 1 Belk credit card application for every 18 hours worked.
* phone number capture (most transactions request the customer's phone number at the end)
* email capture (in this digital age, email marketing has become increasingly important to grow future business)
* hourly sales goal (depends on your hourly pay rate, department and - if on commission - the agreed commission %)
* presales (promoting future events where customers are allowed to reserve their merchandise choices for an upcoming event without risk of their merchandise being sold)

Each of these expectations and metrics are easy to meet. It simply comes down to consistency, engaging the customer, and being an honest, knowledgeable, and genuine salesperson. If you are anti-debt/credit cards and have an issue promoting new Belk accounts, then you either need to overcome that or look elsewhere - because this is a *huge* focus.

The biggest challenges most employees face are opening Belk charge accounts and presales. Both are super easy. Customers receive a discount on what they're buying if they agree to open a Belk charge account - and preselling is as easy as "hey, if you can wait 5 days, I can reserve these for you for a discount and you can pick up next Thu or I'll ship them to you for free". Unless they needed the items sooner, it's a no-brainer.

Management is probably feeling the pressures of this emerging era. Their responsibilities seem to be growing and along with it the frustration of being able to get the job done in an average work-week. I'm not on that side of the business so I can't give you a better perspective.

I love my job. I love my customers. My biggest reason for leaving when that day comes is working on Thanksgiving Day. I truly wish Belk wouldn't jump on the retailer greed bandwagon and place a higher priority on their employees' families.

The Belk experience left me with mixed emotions.

Sales and customer services are more often than not enjoyable and the work day is even more enjoyable with an excellent team. Sadly, over time our team (that started off with nearly 200 associates) dwindled down to a meager 50 or so employees. Our excellent coverage store-wide and customer reviews plummeted severely. Unfortunately, even though corporate was responsible for lay-offs and hirings, store associates received the criticism for poor coverage. It's hard hearing about how bad floor coverage is from every costumer you encounter. Scornful looks and finger-wagging, and tantrums of overwhelming frustrations were the norm - and who could blame them? 

With fewer associates, there were also fewer sales because naturally, one person cannot sell in multiple departments at once, or at least one would naturally assume that. Not so to the Belk company. Associates were required to cover departments as necessary. Cleaning fitting rooms became a near impossible feat to accomplish within one sales day. We were often forced to stay past closing as long as it took to complete the task when many of us had already spent most of our day cleaning the fitting rooms in our primary departments. 

Most importantly, with all the staff cuts and added responsibility to remaining associates one would think that associates would receive pay adjustments as incentive to stay. Not so. Not only are you required to come to work as needed (no set schedules) you only receive a yearly raise of anything between a dime to perhaps 50 cents. Requested off days are often ignored, holidays are work days, and "holiday pay" would be laughable if you weren't so angry that you're receiving minor ducats to work on a holiday. 

What hurts the most is hearing how well the store is doing via the daily morning meeting, but only being harangued about never meeting personal sales and credit goals when trying to do at least ten different jobs at once. 

The job isn't thankless. There are kind customers and plenty of wonderful people to meet through sales alone. The vast majority of my coworkers are people I recognize as friends. If Belk gave their associates the same outstanding service they require of their associates I believe that it could be a much better work environment.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sales associate 1 salary reported	$10.00 per hour
Planner 10 salaries reported	$64,200 per year
Beauty advisor 14 salaries reported	$16.03 per hour
Assistant buyer 8 salaries reported	$52,688 per year
Merchandising assistant 4 salaries reported	$18.25 per hour

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