Peaceful, positive work environment with a heap of downsides
Barnes & Noble is, without a doubt, a really upbeat, positive environment to be in whether it be as a customer or employee. It's always clean and pristine and low-volume, light music is playing in the background. The staff is usually always pleasant and very knowledgeable about its products.
A little known fact about employment at Barnes & Noble are the job titles; essentially, everyone is either a bookseller or barista, for those locations with a Starbucks cafe within. The term they use, bookseller, is a wide one; your roles can vary between the front lines or support for the cash registers, the information desk, shipping and receiving or simple floor assistance (walking around, straightening, interacting with customers.) It's hardly ever dull if you're a bookworm or just like the idea of working in a book store. There are moments of boredom and all you can really do is try and look busy or involved in something, but those periods hardly lasted long. The ultimate downside is that if you're a cashier, don't expect to be able to leave the area and help a customer locate a book. You're practically glued to your register.
Barnes & Noble is one of those employers that has a "push this" concept and that comes by way of the Barnes & Noble Membership and often around the holidays, gift cards. There is no commission or bonus compensation, but everyone, primarily when on cashier duty, has a quota for getting customers to sign up for the membership or renew any pending ones. Mana
ProsPositive work environment, wonderful co-workers, great atmosphere, fun job, employee discount
ConsNo benefits for part time, little to no job security, minimal pay and hours, frequent poor communication
This is a good job for you if you like books but just want it for a part time job to work a few hours a week and reap the benefits of working at B&N. The job is a joke if you are unlucky enough to work in a place with terrible management. The training is minimal and lacking and seems to vary depending on who is training you. When I was being trained my "trainer" (just another bookseller, they dont have official trainers) would often wander off and leave me to my own devices, hardly anything was explained to me. If you ask the MOD a question they will get irritated and treat you like youre dumb and behave like you are supposed to know everything. You will get frustrated often because policies and procedures change weekly, if not daily. One day a manager will tell you how to do something, and then the following day a different manager will get upset, tell you you're doing it wrong, and show you how to do it a different way. You will be selling books to people through a giant corporate lens and also through the lens of your General Manager. I have been told to not spend much time in the YA/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Manga/Collectibles area of the store because it didnt bring in as much money as the rest of the store and they didnt want to waste time with that area. This is in spite of the fact that we've expanded our manga section twice in the past year and we get a lot of customers who are only interested in that area of the store. You will bust your behind for impossible goals and then
Great Workplace For A Geek Who Needs Part-Time Min. Wage Work
Working in the Receiving department was great; most of the time I only interacted with my fellow employees, being given tasks by my manager and set to work, which I prefer. However, I was still required from time to time to go out onto the floor and give the cashiers or customer service reps a hand, or to cover a break. I didn't mind this, as I learned quite a bit about what we had in stock through working in Receiving, and it was nice to put that knowledge to use in helping customers.
My co-workers were the best part of the job. The culture at our branch was very geek-oriented; I worked with fellow gamers, science fiction and fantasy fans, movie fans, and of course, fellow readers, so we always had things we enjoyed talking about. I've met with many of them outside of work for group activities, and still keep in touch with them via social websites. When the company scheduled theme days (such as the summer "Get Pop-Cultured" events), my co-workers really got into the costuming, P/A announcements, and other aspects of running these events, making it fun for everyone involved.
Management was great. We had a certain degree of turnover because our branch was a "teaching branch," meaning managers would be sent to us to learn the ropes, and then go on to another branch to assume a position there. Perhaps because of this, most of my managers operated with an attitude that they were working with us, not over us. I always felt as though my concerns were heard, and was comfortabl
ProsEmployee discounts on cafe and store items; great company culture
ConsOnly full-time employment is for management positions
Love Barnes & Noble, but disappointed after 3 years of working there
The idea of being a bookseller is sadly way better than actually being one if you work at Barnes & Noble. Booksellers are expected to simultaneously greet customers, find books, put books in the customers hand, answer phones, find books to put on hold for those phone and online orders, ring people up, sell memberships, get emails, mention promotions, recommend product, listen and respond to headset questions and dialogue etc. The list never ends. And while all of this sounds like typical expectations for retail and customer service, and I would agree that it is, Barnes & Noble expects one or two people to be able to handle all these tasks while satisfying each individual customer that comes through the door. Barnes & Nobles tend to be large stores, the one I worked at in particular was two stories and in the mornings and evenings they would often have only one person running an entire level, in the middle of the day maybe two, and a manager running around like a crazy person. There aren't enough hours given to maintain organization, both on the floor and in receiving, which made it difficult to find product. This resulted in having to deal with a lot of irritated customers. Booksellers are basically given a giant list of chores that mainly focus on driving an exhausting amount of metrics and expected to be in four places at once helping four different customers which means, unfortunately, little time to really talk to people about books. This is the one thing that should sepa
I worked at the cafe, so a typical day at work could be swan diving into a rush of people then crickets. I had been a bookseller since 2013 but it was my first time working in the cafe part time, even though I have been trained in both the bookfloor and cafe previously, it had been many years since, so I had no idea what changes had been made.
I tried my best to keep up with the changing times but the place just wasn't the same as it had been when I first started. I really wanted to love it but after a few months my health started failing and I became severely depressed because of personal issues, but nobody seemed to care. First of all I wasn't actually trained properly during my first week. I was just expected to know everything after my manager handed me a binder and after that we kind of hit the ground running. Then my store manager and cafe manager became emotionally abusive and my job security was shaken to the core when they told me I wasn't making the company enough money and I needed to change my habits if I wanted to keep a job there. Let me tell you something. I am a good employee. I have a good work ethic and I always showed up on time and I tried communicating with both of them to see why they were always seemingly angry at me. My cafe manager had horrible mood swings that gave me whiplash, and she definitely picked favorites. I would get yelled at, humiliated in front of other employees and customers, and belittled, and once she didn't even speak to me one w
The pay is not great, and unless you work full time, it’s not much to live on. Getting a full-time position is a challenge, but from what I understand that stems from a budgetary limitation through payroll. Promotions happen from within, and you will receive an annual performance review. These reviews can lead to pay raises, which are usually pretty small in my experience.
I love my coworkers and the management team is awesome. If you show up and work, you’ll do well. If you show up and play on your phone all day, you won’t do as well. The job itself is not hard. It involves talking to customers and figuring out what they’re looking for. As with any business, there are challenging customers, but the process of finding the books they need is not difficult. Even as a bookseller, you will find yourself on the cash register as there are busy seasons and slow seasons. So, having some familiarity with computers will benefit you.
Another large part of your shift will be straightening bookshelves and putting away inventory that comes through the warehouse. It is monotonous at times, but it is not hard to do. You may also find yourself in the warehouse conducting shipping and receiving support. Those functions require a higher level of critical thinking, but they are satisfying.
My least favorite part about working in this bookstore is straightening up the toy section. I usually work a closing shift, which means I straighten the store and prepare for the next day’s opening. The t
Fun atmosphere, but bad pay and corporate is removed from reality
I've been working for BN for over five years. I really love the people, and I feel supported by my direct management. The customers can be a little crazy sometimes, but most of them are excited to be at a bookstore during a time when everything is done online. It definitely tests my patience, especially since most customers are elderly. More enjoyably, I learned about sales psychology, what people want to buy, ordering product, and developing displays.
However, the pay is BAD. I've barely gotten $1.00 worth of a raise over five years. I'm one of few full-time employees, and my health insurance is pretty good.
I worked here during the COVID pandemic, and I do not feel supported by corporate staff. We have not been supplied cleaning supplies in months, they keep extending our hours even though cases are skyrocketing, and managers have not done a good job about limiting the occupancy to ensure social distancing. Christmas is going to be even more of a nightmare than usual. I think it's pretty disgraceful to employees that work really hard that they extend their hours to 1am around the holidays. I haven't been able to spend a holiday with my family in six Christmases. It would be a nice "thank you" to be closed Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas for the people that literally make Christmas happen. It feels like the people in the corporate offices don't care too much about us, but that's the same with every job, unfortunately.
One other thing is the stores are all so
ProsGood atmosphere, cool product, opportunity to learn
Don't get me wrong. This is not a difficult job. There are very few angry customers, no spills to clean up, or terrible rushes to suck your energy dry. If you're a cashier, all you have to do is process transactions and look up titles, right? Wrong.
Even if you're not properly trained to work the Customer Service desk, you are still required to have extensive knowledge of the sales floor and the location of every section (despite the fact that you stand in the same area every time you work and are not allowed to leave except during breaks).
You are also expected to know how to use PDTs despite hardly being exposed to them. You are also expected to sell 2 memberships per hundred customers every week of every month, despite the fact that many frequent customers already have memberships and the rest of the customers cannot afford the membership fee on top of our already pricey merchandise.
If you do not know how to execute a task perfectly after being taught briefly a handful of times, you will be reprimanded for incompetence and derided for struggling to 'learn new tasks and retain the information'. If you are away from the register helping a customer find what they need, as you have been trained to do, you will still be scrutinized for being 'inattentive' to customers.
It doesn't matter how nice you are, or how many people appreciate your positive attitude and instinctual customer skills. If you don't sell memberships (a skill that is almost entirely self-taught)
ProsNice bosses & coworkers, relaxed environment
ConsNo benefits, dry & technical tasks, pressure to perform
• Configuration of Business process in SAP FI/CO (ECC 6.0) to enable integration between various functionalities in a cross functional team
• Worked in all phases of the project from blue print development to the end user training and post implementation support on ECC 6.0
• As a team member, involved in Project Management, configuration, testing, support of various functionalities in FI/CO modules
• Configured settings for controlling areas, maintained versions
• In cost element accounting created standard hierarchy, primary and secondary cost elopements, created cost element groups, and maintained cost element attributes
• In internal orders, maintained order types, allocation and settlement profiles overhead costing sheets, screen layouts
• Worked in supporting Finance, Controlling and Project Systems modules
• Met the critical turnaround time expectation on support calls and established key user comfort within a short period of one month
• Involved in the workshops for the new company code creation and gather the business needs
• In Profit center accounting, maintained standard hierarchy. Assigned cost centers to profit centers. Planned allocation for profit center accounting
• Implementation of the solution using ASAP methodology to implement core modules (FI/CO) in SAP version ECC 6.0. Identified requirements and documented them accordingly
• Conducted Fit-Gap analysis to find the gaps in the system
• The role involved in meeting with business representativ
Pay & benefits
Though the employee discount is good, the pay is very poor. Especially considering that those who have worked for the company for over three years are making about what they started at. Paid time off for part time employees is a joke and is basically non existent, and the time that I accrued was so insignificant that it might as well have not even existed.
Job security and advancement
There is little to no room for professional advancement and job security is very concerning. Though COVID is a disruption from the normal that we're accustomed to, the CEO chose to lay off the majority of his employees and furlough the rest. Full time employees only got two weeks of paid time during furlough while part time employees got nothing. Those who wanted to remain on furlough due to COVID were let go, despite being encouraged to stay home if they felt they were unsafe at work.
Management
In general, the managers at Barnes & Noble are very disorganized and display obvious favoritism to certain employees. None but a few are excluded from beratement in front of customers and other employees. The management frequently group together and talk to one another while on the clock. Often disappearing from the floor, leaving the booksellers alone, even when relatively busy. Booksellers hate running the register due to the unrealistic membership sale goals that management forces onto them, and the disapproving and belittling treatment they recieve if goals are not met. Though sched
Questions And Answers about Barnes & Noble
What is the best part of working at Barnes & Noble?
Asked Nov 25, 2019
my coworkers and discount
Answered Jun 29, 2022
The people are so friendly!
Answered Jun 27, 2022
If you were to leave Barnes & Noble, what would be the reason?
Asked Mar 24, 2017
I would suggest leaving Barnes & Noble if you like to eat, wear clothes, and have a roof (of any sort other than a piece of cardboard) over your head.
Answered Sep 25, 2020
Management. Favoritism. Toxic environment. Good employees work hard and are underappreciated. Low hours. If you are in with the management team, rules don't apply to you and you get more hours and promotions. But if you're not a favorite, you are treated differently and get pushed out.
Answered Feb 29, 2020
What is the interview process like at Barnes & Noble?
Asked Feb 8, 2018
You do have to apply online but honestly I don't think they hire everyone who applies unless you call them directly to ask for an application status. I did the exact same thing and called a manager, they interviewed me on the phone and set up a group interview with the manager I spoke with, the head store manager, and myself the same day I called.
Answered Apr 8, 2022
I applied a week ago and the manager was very prompt about calling me back. I had an interview in the store today which went okay. I was asked about my availability, if i was comfortable selling memberships, etc. However, I could tell that the manager either wasn't interested in me or didn't want to do the interview because they were not responsive at all. A bit rude in fact. It only lasted five maybe ten minutes. Although the manager said I would be receiving a call tomorrow, I won't be taking any offers. Management with bad attitude is a nightmare waiting to happen.
Answered Nov 19, 2020
Why did you leave your job at Barnes & Noble?
Asked Mar 15, 2017
If you are a person comfortable living in your parents' basement forever or perhaps getting 10 plus roomates to split a below market rent then Barnes & Noble is the place for you. I'm unaware of ANY company that pays a lower wage.
Answered Sep 7, 2020
I had a lot of fun here at first, but the scheduling was horrendous. I would get scheduled maybe once or twice a week and if I worked in cafe, I would work completely alone, with only booksellers with little-to-no cafe experience as my backup. Then I randomly got thrown on the sales floor with hardly any training and I stopped getting scheduled in the cafe even though that was job I signed up for in the first place. The managers also put a huge amount of pressure on you to sell $25 membership cards to people who either already have a membership or people who come in to shop once or twice a year at most. It was overall just way too much stress for a job that paid and scheduled me so little.
Answered Jun 25, 2020
What is the best way to get an interview?
Asked Apr 18, 2016
They don't accept paper resumes at the store anymore, due to privacy issues (i.e. not letting your personal info lay around the break room LOL).
But do apply online, then go to your store and ask for the hiring manager. Meet, talk briefly, tell them you've applied and indicate your enthusiasm. It paid off for me. There is NO substitution for putting a face behind an online application!
Answered Nov 9, 2018
Answer honestly. I was so nervous and shaky and I still got the jobs. It just depends on your personality and if they think you'll work good there.
