Working at See's Candies has been the best professional experience of my life. I've been in the work force for 9 years, but my favorite place has been See's Candies. I worked there as a seasonal employee for the winter holidays and can't wait to do it again because I had such a positive experience. My coworkers and management were all lovely to be around, the culture was collaborative and set a real example of teamwork, the job duties taught me important life skills like how to properly gift wrap things and I acquired the skills of using product knowledge to make recommendations. Time goes by fast especially when it's busy, but there's a special kind of satisfaction that comes with hand assembling custom chocolate boxes for customers and the privilege of making someone's holiday gift to loved ones and the rushes didn't faze me. My coworkers were patient and quick to help me learn my way around the store until I could work independently with confidence and efficiency, showing me how to do things and giving me positive feedback that really boosted my self confidence as an employee. I quickly learned what it means to go above and beyond to please customers, make their holiday season with supreme customer service and seeing that little smile on their faces when offering samples gave me a personal sense of happiness knowing I helped someone. Staff is helpful and supportive, the pay is substantial and ideal even for part time and I looked forward to going in for my shifts. I know w
ProsSampling the chocolate, learning valuable life skills, making connections with customers, great team, good management, you're really valued and cared about as an employee
For seasonal employment, absolutely yes!! See’s is a wonderful, fun, fast paced environment with recently increased starting pay in San Diego area. Plus free samples all shift long. For a seasonal job, See’s is perfect! Pay increases during the past 5 years for new hires have increased at much higher ratio than any pay increases given to current employees and management, so any low wage marks apply to permanent and management positions only.
For a management job however, it is years of promises and performing above and beyond job title, with very little opportunity for advancement. Upper management tasks store managers with additional responsibilities and even additional temporary holiday locations to staff, schedule and manage, for no additional pay over other managers without the extra work. Just on the hope of advancement at some “future time” that is always “coming soon.” The ability to advance beyond a shop manager position (speaking for the greater SD area) is minimal at best and those positions are filled quickly without even application or interview opportunities outside of upper management’s pre-selected candidate.
Local district management is luck of the draw and changes often. I had both ends of management luck in my time at See’s. I worked for a district manager who was a wonderful mentor and teacher, and then one who was often condescending, unpredictable and happy to take advantage of their management employees’ ambition. Adding extra tasks not asked of
Unprofestional staff, waste of time I could have spent pursuing a better managed job.
As far as seasonal jobs go, this one was abysmal. The majority of the staff members were very unprofessional, often prodding me about personal matters and topics I would rather not engage in, especially in a work enviornment. They would carry on conversations with each other that were completely unrelated to work even in the presence of customers. They never seemed to realize when it was time to end a conversation and get back to work.
The managment would often set rules and guidelines for the new hires, however the rest of the staff put little to no effort in following them. Additionally, I would be instructed by one supervisor to do a task a certain way only to be told by another that I need to do it differently, each acting as if they were the highest athority on the matter. At times it seemed as if there was an internal power struggle.
This may not be the case at other See's locations, but it was my single experience at the loction I worked at.
If you do choose to work there, prepare for your lower back to ache as you will be bent over at an angle for the majority of your shift. The only positive aspect of the job was getting to sample the candies in the back room when there's ever a free moment so that you can better familiarize yourself with the products. Addtionally, seeing the customers' reactions when they tried something new was a nice experience for me, but that's my subjective feeling.
Over all, I didn't mind the job itself, it was the peo
ProsEncouraged to eat candy (in back room only), a very small discount.
ConsThe staff, the uniform, bent over most of shift resulting in aching lower back.
5.0
Retail Assistant Manager | Northbrook, IL | Jan 31, 2013
Customer Service based position
A typical day at See's Candies starts with greeting the customer and offering them a delicious sample of our candy. We then qualify the customer's needs by asking what brought them to the store today. We show them new items that have arrived, or are soon to arrive, as well as items that they might be interested in. After taking care of the customer's needs (putting together a box of chocolates, getting a box of lollypops, etc.), we ask if there is anything else we can show the customer and offer our gift cards as wonderful option for the holidays or birthdays. We then ring the customer up, offer new coupons or promotions to them, and thank them for coming to See's. We always add that we hope to see them soon for our new, delicious items arriving in the coming weeks.
At See's, my customer service skills have most definitely improved. I have learned techniques such as asking for the sale as well as suggestive selling. I have also taken on new responsibilities such as opening and closing the store, and acting as the responsible party when the manager or assistant manager is not in the store.
The hardest part about working for See's is keeping a level head when the holiday season rolls around. Retail is a stressful environment around the holidays for not only the employee but the customer, as well. There can be long lines, and crowds. At See's, we manage this stress by making sure that everyone is greeted when they arrive and that they have a sample while they wait, so that the
Prosfree chocolate
Consstressful holiday season
5.0
Retail Sales Associate | Torrance, CA | Jul 21, 2017
Fun, friendly environment, but job security is scarce.
I absolutely loved working for See's Candies. I worked at a quantity discount store in Torrance, California. The management was very helpful and friendly bunch, had absolutely no issues with ANYONE working there. Very kind, helpful environment with a willingness to make sure you learn and aren't stuck not knowing what to do. The training was more than adequate, you knew exactly what to do and weren't just thrown out to the wolves. I worked as a part-time seasonal employee and I absolutely loved life working at See's, I had time to spend quality time with family and friends while working there, as well they work around your school schedule! The management made sure you always took your legally required breaks and lunch (if you worked more than 5 hours) so you never had to worry about mistreatment by way of not getting proper break times or not getting breaks at all. Woking at See's I guarantee friends will be made along the way which made the lay off process even harder.
Everything is pretty much superb about working at See's and the company in general. The only thing that turned me off was the fact that the company kept me, a seasonal employee, for just over 6 months and then abruptly one day just let me go with no warning or any sort of closure. That was it, I was just gone. I understand I'm a seasonal employee and should expect that, however as fellow seasonal coworkers were being let go after 1-2 months and I was remaining it really got my hopes up. The management trai
ProsFree Candy, adequate lunch/break area, designated smoking area, locker to store your things, friendly environment, adequate training
ConsVery low possibility of moving up in the company
3.0
Retail Sales Associate | Los Altos, CA | Nov 1, 2021
Pretty good place to work at, yet very strict
See’s Candies is a good company to work for if you’re looking for a job that is secure, fairly accommodating, and has a good work/life balance. I think it largely depends on which location you work at and who is your direct supervisor. I got lucky and had a great manager who really understood me. See’s is very flexible with hours and they’ll assign you however many hours you wish to work. The job is also really secure. It’s hard to get fired there if you aren’t outright trying to screw things up. They also provide ample training.
That being said, it’s pretty old fashioned - literally. The theme is based off the retro kitchen of the founder of See’s candies, so you’re expected to dress in this awful uniform that reflects the 1920’s or something. I would actually gladly go back to See’s if it weren’t for the uniform. No dyed hair, no large tattoos or piercings, no flashy jewelry, keep your hair up or cut short at all times. It’s strict for a minimum wage job. Not to mention, the longer you work there, the more responsibilities you’re expected to take on without pay raise. You end up taking on a lot of managerial jobs without actually being a manager.
See’s Candies is great if you’re older and looking for a job. They do not discriminate based on age, so I was working with both teenagers and people in their 70’s-80’s. The boomer work culture dominates, though. It’s very “Keep quiet and work hard, no excuses.” My district manager was pretty mean in that regard. I was once feel
ProsFlexible hours, accommodating, good pay, nice colleagues, work for all ages
ConsStrict dress code, work culture, outdated computer system
Positive work environment with an unfortunate twist
I started working at See’s as a seasonal employee and was working around 30 hours per week. They asked me to stay on and be an employee year round and I was ecstatic! But when they did that, they fully started taking advantage of me. I had loved working at See’s prior and I enjoy the work, but quickly realized they give ALL of the hours to the managers and leads and leave the rest of us scrambling. On top of that, we are often under-staffed so they will call me at any given point of any day to see if I can come in, instead of just assigning me to those hours to begin with. Super frustrating! I love who I work with and have few complaints there. But I don’t like how the business is run.
Also, when they trained me to open and close, I had one training day with them, and the rest were entirely on my own. Often, I’m crunched for time to get all the closing stuff done on my own and have made mistakes due to that and not being trained properly. I’m not sure what kind of company lets only one person close a business every night, but it is super difficult to do. And they don’t ensure I make it out safely at all, and my job is in a sketchier side of town. So getting to my car as a young girl in the dark is often really scary, and all of this would be so much better if they just had two people close the store!
I’m now getting very very few hours per week since I transitioned to part time, yet they call me in nearly every day to cover shifts. It’s impossible to plan my life around t
ProsGood pay, fun work environment, fast paced, long breaks and lunches
ConsBad hours, poor training, bad work/life balance, easily taken advantage of
● Work-life balance
The mentality at the See’s HQ is that you’re always on call for whatever urgent project is blowing up that day. And it’s always something. There’s no consistency, planning, or strategy, so it’s very hard to de-stress after work knowing that you have to constantly check your inbox to put out fires that were completely avoidable.
● Pay & benefits
The benefits are okay. There’s an annual review for everyone to get a raise based on performance.
● Job security and advancement
Growth is great at this company if you’re a “yes” man/woman like others have said. If you try to improve things or bring in new ideas, you’ll have a hard time staying on everyone’s good side.
● Management
Fear-based management and pressure to perform makes for a very toxic work environment, where there is no clear training or guidance, just people who bully their employees into pleasing the right people.
● Culture
The San Francisco HQ (near Daly City) is an old, weird building in a dangerous area. There are some nice people but everyone is too busy and stressed to have a real office culture... people stick to their desks.
● Overall
Lots of positive reviews for the shops... but working at the See’s HQ is not a good experience. Free candy in the kitchen seems great, but not when you’re overeating it from the stress of working with no clear strategy, no organization, no real communication between departments, and territorial department heads who don’t want any of those problems to impro
I took this job thinking it would be better than my last job, especially since it was closer to home and paid more. The training was virtually nonexistent (even as someone hired straight into management), and I was left to manage one of their busiest stores the week of Easter on my 11th day on the job. I had absolutely zero support from any upper management and wasn’t given the tools I needed to do my job to the best of my ability. I was told I would be working 30-32 hours a week, which worked for my personal life, and have been at close to 40 since I started. Not a “bad” thing, but not what I was expecting nor what I wanted. The shops are chronically understaffed, they do much of their administrative work as if technology doesn’t exist, and the upper management is inconsistent and often lazy. The customers are also some of the rudest, most entitled people I’ve dealt with in my 15 years in retail. This might be a good choice for part time (though hours are not guaranteed) or seasonal work. Holiday seasons can be incredibly exhausting though, as you never have enough help. You’d think they’d figure out better ways to do things in their 100 years of doing business.
ProsFree candy throughout your shift, product discount, flexible scheduling for non-management
ConsAwful customers, unhelpful absentee management, only get discount at store you work at, not allowed to have an availability if you’re in management (I.e. see’s has to be your entire life)
I am a seasonal employee, but I really love the job! It’s really hard for me to find a job I enjoy and want to stick with, but see’s is a really great job. The pay is pretty good, considering the job is so easy! That said… I was hired on seasonal, so I obviously only get good hours during holidays. So be aware of what you apply for! The employees at my location were mostly great, everyone got along for the most part. The management situation was weird at the time, so the lead in charge wasn’t the best but we got through it. The job is too easy to complain too much. It’s a lot of fun! Most of the customers are WONDERFUL as well. The only cons would be that there is no benefits. I would love to see this company offer some type of benefits to their hard working employees, especially for how busy we get during holidays. We do accrue sick time in my state quickly though so that is nice. The CEO also gives appreciation gifts to all employees after certain periods. It’s pretty neat! CHRISTMAS and VALENTINES are the busiest seasons here! So be aware. It’s stressful but still a good time if you have good employees! The huge pro is the candy is all so delicious and you get a discount on almost all items! At my location, the manager took care of us and she is a lovely individual. The best job I’ve had!
ProsFree candy during your shift, discounts, fun work environment.
ConsNo benefits
Questions And Answers about See's Candies
What is the best part of working at See's Candies?
Asked Mar 5, 2020
Discounts on chocolate
Answered Jun 19, 2022
Selling a product that you know and can verify for yourself is worth every penny
Answered Jun 17, 2022
What is the promotion process like at See's Candies?
Asked Jan 29, 2022
Hardly any
Answered Mar 12, 2023
I was seasonal so they treat you not to great
Answered Mar 12, 2023
How often do you get a raise at See's Candies?
Asked Dec 26, 2020
Every year
Answered Mar 10, 2023
1800 hours
Answered Feb 6, 2023
What is a typical day like for you at See's Candies?
