assistant manager

store manager

assistant store manager

sales associate

retail sales associate

rue21

I managed a rue21 for several years. I worked 60-70 hour weeks on average because the workload was so intense. Store Managers drop like flies with this company because it is impossible to keep up. The payrate is not commensurate with experience or with what is expected. Payroll was not based on sales volume; rather, it was allocated solely on square footage of the store. Stores that averaged $800k/year were given 10-15% more payroll hours than stores that made $1.2 million/year. If you weren't making plan sales, you were expected to trim hours, but if you were exceeding plan (even a double digit increase), you were not given extra payroll. 

The company boasts on its desire to promote from within, but it is nearly impossible to actually make that happen. I watched really great employees in various stores get turned down for positions that they deserved and would excel in, and I also saw people get promoted who lacked the talent and commitment to lead store teams. 

The company does focus on customer service, which is definitely a plus. However, the workload and constant change within the stores to increase sales is difficult to keep up with. Stores are expected to make 4.5% of their sales from rue's exclusive fragrances, which would not be so difficult if the fragrances were actually worth the money. Within an hour or so of spraying, the scent has dissipated, making the fragrance a waste of money. Customers were fully aware of this, too, especially repeat customers. The stress that is placed on management teams to meet the 4.5% goal often led to increased turnover. Sales associates were paid minimum wage, or (if they were lucky), $7.50/hour. For this rate, they were expected to keep the store recovered (including 10+ tables of folded merchandise), process shipment to standards and merchandise on the sales floor, and customer service, all while meeting fragrance goals.  Other stores in our center offered $8.50+/hour with no experience and half the workload. 


The employee discount was 25% off regular price, which really blew. Customers had a better discout than employees by the time they purchased BOGO merchandise and paired it with a coupon. Employees were given associate appreciation discounts every month or so, which seemed great until you were pressured to achieve a certain amount of sales dollars from associates alone. For sales associates working 10-15 hours/week, it really shouldn't be expected that they spend $100+ every month. Managers were also expected to hand over a large chunk of their paychecks every month. If rue simply increased the employee discount to a higher amount or allowed the discount to be used on BOGO items, I'm sure employees would have purchased more throughout the month instead of hoarding things in the back on hold and then never purchasing the majority of it. 

I would not recommend this company if you strive for a work/home balance. I cannot express how many events that I missed out on with my family because work was made to be my priority. I cannot remember the last time that I celebrated Thanksgiving or Christmas with my own family because rue made it impossible. Thankfulky, I don't have to worry about it this year.

A typical work day consists of resetting tables, working behind the counter at a register, and cleaning and organizing the store at the end of the day on the days that I work as a sales associate. When I work as a stocker I process new shipment, which means that I take it out of the boxes, I sensor it, and organize it into the appropriate categories, for instance, the men's jeans go on this rack and the women's jeans go on that rack, Key ticket items go in a box and so they can be out on the sales floor as soon as possible. Jewelry is hung up or separated in to baskets. Other accessory items are organized by type, make-up in one and cell phone accessories in another. At the end of my shift I bag trash sweep the back room, and organize the tomorrows merchandise for processing. Over all I really enjoy two of the four members of our management team, two of them are easy to work, they ear easy to talk to and they make you feel like you are accomplished, the other  two have a tendency to forget certain rules and regulation, which have caused issues at times. The majority of my co-workers are amazing, we all get along so well are we treat each other like a family. However, there are others who do not contribute as much as other, which causes the sales team for fall short of our weekly goals, although because of this sometimes I do get to pick up extra shifts during the week which are really beneficial at this point. The hardest part of my job would have to be when we do full store signage changes. We have to go through the entire store and remove all of the old signs and replace them with new ones, which means we have to pull out the ladders, one of which is nine feet tall and really heavy. It is a very time consuming process. I love my job as a whole, helping customers find new outfits, getting to see the new trends as they arrive, helping customers create their own style, and seeing them walk out with a new wardrobe and a smile. Working behind the counter, you learn so much about the customers who walk in and out of the doors everyday, you learn how to communicate, you learn how to up-sell, which means describing to your customers different accessories or fragrances that would go great with their outfit or mention promotions that are available with their purchase.

Because our store drove so much business, we were able to expand into a new RueGuy prototype store. This will be the death of all Rue stores. The company is expanding too rapidly and creating too many stores to keep up with the sales.   Our RueGuy store was up to last year every single day, and usually up to our plan projected sales. During our expansion we went through one store manager that simply could not handle the traffic and left. We were not given a new store manager another two months. This should have been the first on the company’s priority list, but they did not think it was that important. 	
		All of our issues boiled down to the company being so cheap. Our store was comping LY and plan, however, we were never given enough hours to completely run our store. We stayed until midnight every night (I am not exaggerating one bit) to clean up the store. If we were given more hours to have more associates during both the day and night shifts, the store would not become so messy. Rue is a big chain now but they still have the mindset of a tiny factory store. They need to update their ways of thinking.  The greats and the big corporate chains (Kohl’s, Target, JC Penney) work because they give the time, money, and effort into their stores that it takes to be a big super company. Rue does not. Rue21 does not care one big about the little guys in the stores. The upper management simply makes decisions based on what is better for their own fiscal pockets than what makes sense for the company as a whole. If these big corporate employees spent one day actually working (not visiting our stores and criticizing our work ethics, but themselves actually working and folding and ringing up customers) they would understand the struggles we face each day. Of course they would never do that because they put themselves on such a high pedestal, but something needs to be done. Rue21 needs to start thinking like a big company or it will completely fail. The RueGuy system will be the end to all Rue stores. 
	You are given no work/life balance at Rue. If you have an important corporate visit you bet your butt you will be working day in and day out (yes, open to close shifts) that entire week to perfect that store. 
	The one benefit I can say to the store is the people you meet along your journey. Whether you stay for a month or a few years, you will see people come and go in Rue, and some of them can become friends. I have no other positive comments about the store.

Rue21 is a company that clearly does not care about it's employees. It's low pay, little hours, and high expectations of workers. Nearly everyone of my coworkers (including our store manager) had to take on a second job because they weren't making enough money to sustain themselves otherwise. When I first started out as a high school student, I was given decent hours, but the company seemed to increasingly cut them as I continued to work there. 
I didn't get a raise until nearly my third year working there and even then my store manager had to pester their boss about it. Mind you, it was only a .50 cent raise from minimum wage, which I was supposed to receive after my first year. 
Sometimes rue21 would have their stores throw special events, and my manager would ASK THE EMPLOYEES TO CONTRIBUTE MONEY TO GET SUPPLIES FOR THE EVENTS. A company-thrown event and they're asking the employees to fork up money for it. 
I was usually only given three, 3-4 hour shifts weekly. Although our manager worked with our schedules, I was still left with few shifts and at times I didn't prefer. 
When I had an accident at work and had to go to the ER the company wasn't very helpful in paying for it.  I had to fill out and submit a lot of forms to them the day after and still had to pay for an antibiotic that the hospital prescribed me. I was instructed by the hospital to have a follow-up visit at a specialist, but had a really hard time finding one near me that the company would cover. 
There was also a lot of conflict within our work team that the store manager was not able to effectively dissolve.  Many of the employees also had problems with our store manager at some point in time. A few of the mangers were very unprofessional, petty, and childish. 
We were expected to constantly push fragrance, provide customer service, keep the store clean, and finish paperwork with usually only two people working... and in a 3-4 hour shift. Mind you, although the company encourages competitive fragrance sells, we do not receive commission. Associates also worked on visuals (which I didn't mind), but they were expected to be finished during work-hours in an unreasonable amount of time. It is difficult to provide effective customer service while you're on a ladder rebuilding an entire wall set. 
ALSO, we have to work Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve without holiday pay or time and a half. At least it's the one of the few days I get decent hours!

I choose not to work here because I believe my skills and talents are not being utilized to their fullest potential. I am a dedicated and hardworking individual who thrives in an environment where I am able to contribute meaningfully and make a real impact. Unfortunately, after careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that this company is not the right fit for me.

One of the reasons I have chosen not to work here is because the company culture does not align with my values. I believe in a workplace that promotes collaboration, open communication, and respect for all employees. However, I have observed that the culture here is one of micromanagement, lack of transparency, and a high level of competition among colleagues. This is not the kind of environment where I can thrive and feel motivated to do my best work.

Furthermore, I have also found that the opportunities for growth and advancement within this company are limited. As someone who is passionate about continuously learning and developing my skills, it is important for me to work for a company that offers career advancement opportunities and invests in the professional development of its employees. Unfortunately, I do not see that happening here, and I believe that my potential for growth would be stunted if I were to continue working at this company.

In addition, I have also noticed that the values and goals of the company do not resonate with me personally. I am a firm believer in social responsibility and ethical business practices, and I want to work for a company that shares the same values. However, I have encountered instances where the company's decisions and actions have conflicted with my moral compass, and I cannot in good conscience continue to work for a company that I do not fully align with.

Overall, I have made the difficult decision not to work here because I believe that it is in my best interest to seek out opportunities that will allow me to grow, thrive, and make a positive impact. While it is never easy to walk away from a job, I am confident that there are better opportunities out there for me where I can contribute meaningfully and be part of a company culture that aligns with my values. I am grateful for the experiences and lessons I have gained from working here, but I believe it is time for me to move on and seek out a workplace where I can truly flourish.

It was really the same thing every day. You come in and you're either recovering (fixing and tidying up) the clothes, folding clothes and stocking them, or being on cashier (but still recover when it's slow).
It was really simple but it got boring because that's all you really did. I guess you can't expect much because it is a clothing store but it was hard for me as a person who likes more fast paced things.
We also had to sell perfume because it's the store's push item. We had a target number to sell as a store that we usually reached I think but it can be tricky to sell them when you're new or you don't like approaching people. Some say hours are based on perfume sales as in the people that sell the most get more hours so they can sell more perfume, and those who don't sell as many get less because they aren't as good at selling them.
I worked two days a week usually. This was during the school year so I got the evening shift, which is 5pm to 10pm. During the week was pretty slow. Weekends picked up slightly but it was never overwhelming.
I didn't really like everyone on the management team because I felt like it was almost too laid back and there weren't enough boundaries or rules enforced all the time. That being said, it was laid back and there wasn't a uniform or anything, so it wasn't stressful besides trying to sell perfumes.
Everyone was pretty nice and easy to talk to but the gossip was really annoying and unprofessional. Mostly women worked there, high school to adult, so word of anything got around fast and that annoyed me because I don't come to work to gossip.
Room for advancement was there but would take time. To get a raise, you would have to be at the company for a year, so you would have to put in the time to try and start getting somewhere.
Closing was the worst for me because we had to refold and/or reorganize everything every night, which is fair because you want the store to look good and have things be easy to find, but it was just so tedious for me. Some managers got you out before or closer to 10, others closer to 11, so time management is different from manager to manager.
Overall, it's a really easy job. Very simple. It was my first job and it was a fine one. I learned how to use the register, which is good experience to have, as well as gaining experience in customer service. However, if you like to change things up every now and again and you aren't for gossip and a little bit of drama, I would maybe look somewhere else.

The hiring process was quick. I interviewed and started work shortly after. I wasn't planning to work at rue for the rest of my life, but since I have some management experience at a previous retailer, I decided to give rue a try for that time being. The first red flag I received was when the store manager tells me about the training process. Oh my goodness. They have ten pound binder books for you to read over (some material are not updated) and take quizzes. I understand that yes to be an assistant manager or any kind of manger, you have to go through training, but come on, what is this? Get a computer at least! Have a training program on a computer! No one is going to sift through hundreds of pages for 2-6 hours everyday for a week! Well I lied, I did, but I will never do that again. At the end of all that, you take a "test" over the phone with a store manager or whatever at another store. They ask you several questions which are expected and common sense. If you pass, you have just stepped into a sort of living hel... I was excited because I loved clothes and fashion, but I realized even my love for that was not enough to motivate me to keep on. I carried my end of the bargain, I tried to finish the million tasks, which I was hopeful of because I always like to challenge myself. I must mention the morning routine if anything. You have to print off about 3-4 sheets from emails, shipment log and daily sales goal. You have to figure out the sales goals yourself, for each hour, each 2-3 hours, and fragrance has it's own sales goals. Literally, on a calculator punching in those digits when they could have that figured out for you already, wasting your time which you could be starting on the markdowns or promo signs. You have to fax in your weekly payroll... get a computer that managers can actually use to communicate those type of things! I feel like rue is far behind in efficiency. They want managers to take the long route for everything, but expect everything to be done in the most minimal amount of time. The store manager thinks I should close every weekend while he is away probably enjoying his single life. I left after I became fed up with my personal life not having any balance with work. I think if you really want to see how well you can multitask, then work for rue. If you want balance, do not. Maybe if you get a good team, you'll be fine, but I would say that's hard to find because the good ones don't stay for too long.

LUFKIN STORE...At first, I really enjoyed working at rue. I was very good at selling fragrances  and i loved making sells (that was the best part)  my co workers say i was a very good worker! and I really had hoped I would get to move further up in the company because I loved working and making sells!  The pay wasn't that good for the amount of hours that i was getting, but it was a job. I didn't really like the fact that i was hired as part time but worked almost 40 hours every week, they should've just hired me as full time so I would get the benefits. However, I never once complained about the hours, i was just happy to have a job that gave me good hours!!. I had a total of 5 managers!!!!!!!! All of the managers except  the main general manager liked me. Why she didn't like me, im not sure. At first I just thought it was in my head. But one night i was sick throwing up all night and i accidentally overslept the next morning, it was only 16 minutes late so i let her know what happened and that i was still sick, and so she decided to fire me!!!!!!!! I had only called in once before this. I had worked there for almost 3 months and there were employees who had only worked there for a month and called in more than me, one girl didnt even call in and she didn't get fired!! I was treated unfairly and to top it off, the manager tried to accuse me of stealing $10 out of the register even though multiple people had used the register that day & the most my register had ever been short was like 10 cents and i used the register almost everyday! I honestly feel like I was used and fired for an unfair reason. There were times when I only had  like one  or two days off and would go in for my manager because someone wouldn't show up for their shift, I went out of my way to try and be a good employee and im' pretty sure I was the associate that made the most sells in fragrances. If I could get my job back I would because I loved working there, but the lufkin store honestly needs a new general manager who won't be biased and who will be more flexible with peoples home life. Things happen, people get sick. I could understand if I had called in all of the time, but I had only called in once before! I've tried finding corporates number for employees to contact them but I can't find it online.

My first few months with rue21 were awesome. We had a great team, and communication with our DM was transparent and straightforward. Fast forward to rue's current situation- the new CEO is really in over his head and the cracks in the foundation are showing.

A typical day at rue for any manager revolves around making selling goals and keeping the store looking nice. Be prepared to explain your KPIs, upper management will come down hard on you if conversion, credit, sales, or fragrance goals aren't met.

The workplace culture is pretty toxic for management, and again, that comes from the top down. There is blatant favoritism, and if you happen to be on the wrong side of it, it can cost you your job. Even if you are making your numbers, your job is expendable. Customers will be put off by the amount of fragrance tester strips you shove in their face while you are chasing a $13 fragrance sale, which for some reason is more important to this company than other KPIs.

The hardest part of the job involves keeping a brave face for your employees. You don't want to upset them and have the staff walk out (which has happened in my store 3 times in the past 3 years!) because, as a manager, you will be expected to pick up all the slack. Don't expect a whole lot of support from this company when it comes to staffing- they will NOT be flexible with payroll even if you are fully staffed and hitting your goals, and they really don't have any sympathy if you are understaffed and not able to hit your goals.

The most enjoyable part of the job is interacting with customers and the youthful environment that the brand is known for. Do these qualities make up for the hard parts of the job? Absolutely not. You can find these qualities at many other retail fashion brands, except you will probably find them with higher pay working elsewhere.

Overall, whole company is a mess from the top down. Brick and mortar retail has been struggling for the past decade, and while some brands are able to maintain customer loyalty, I highly doubt this company is one of them. If you're looking for a career in retail, keep looking, Rue21 is not where you want to be.

I like rue21 as a company! They are very fast paced, so you have to be ready for it. There is constantly something to do, which I personally like, but Rue is NOT for everyone. If you want to stand around for a decent amount of time just waiting for customers do not expect it to be fun. But for people who like fast paced environments with something to do all the time it is perfect 

A typical day consists of table updates, visual updates, or the like. Then always an emphasis on customer service. Depending on the location you work at, you must be able to multi task. The company expects things to be done on time while providing amazing customer service. 

Management is great. My District Manager is phenomenal, the best I have had. He not only tries to help you succeed, but understands from a human standpoint. He does not expect too much, and this in itself motivates us to make him proud and meet his expectations. 

Co-Workers are fantastic

Hardest part: Fragrance is an important KPI at Rue. We need to maintain between a 4 and 5 percent fragrance (dollars of sales) and it is difficult in the area I am in because everyone is more inclined to buy clearance items. 
Because Rue is so customer focused they expect you to make the customer happy. Sometimes this is difficult because NO MATTER WHAT they must leave happy. So you must bite your tongue and just smile and give them whatever they want. Because the people you deal with WILL report you to corporate and corporate WILL call you and ask why you didn't just give them what they wanted. Corporate cares about the customer more than the employee. This can be good and bad at the same time. Because in this industry people will walk all over you because your "just work retail"

Enjoyable: I love the fast paced environment and I like that they matched my pay from my previous company. They could've easily offered me less. I also love that the company is very customer focused. They follow company structures like Nordstrom's where they replace damaged products and always ensure the customer leaves happy and returns. They honor expired Ruebucks if necessary to make the customer happy as well

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assistant manager 5 salaries reported	$15.35 per hour
Store manager 2 salaries reported	$47,267 per year
Assistant store manager 2 salaries reported	$17.75 per hour
Sales associate 2 salaries reported	$7.25 per hour
Retail sales associate 1 salary reported	$7.50 per hour

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