Going Down Hill Fast - Assistant Manager Crate and Barrel Employee Review

2.0
10 Jan 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Co-workers, discount and store management were all wonderful

Cons

There was a ton of changes among the C Suite that resulted in a lot of uncertainty and pain points at the store. From the start of Janet Hayes reign it was clear that she wanted to do a hostile takeover of all upper management positions. Many of the upper managers that were the heart and soul of the company were forced out and then replaced by Janet's cronies from W&Sonoma. It didn't seem to matter to those in charge if the store was meeting sales goals - it only mattered that the store opened credit cards. Constant nagging and pushing employees to both open them themselves and force it upon customers. District managers would lie to you about room for growth. There was a huge dip in furniture quality and upper management would tell store management try and placate customers with the least amount of $ but then promise the world to the same customers and make the store seem like the villain. Furniture Sales people used to make commission. Executives gutted that program but increased sales goals and how many design projects needed to be completed per month - the result was less than stellar designs and lower customer conversion. Corporate couldn't understand why sales were dropping and continued to push Furniture Sellers to the point of quitting. Huge amount of turnover - I know that at least 8 West Coast Store Managers resigned and many of the Assistant Store Managers left as well during my time at C&B.

Explore other reviews about Crate and Barrel

1.0
29 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The only saving grace is the people I've worked with . Other than that I'd leave a negative star if I could.

Cons

The CEO Janet Hayes has taken away additional employee discounts . At a certain time of the year we used to get an additional 15% off on top of our regular discounts. GONE! If an in store customer would like to have an item that ships directly from the vendor we offer free shipping . If an employee would like to do the same not only do we have to pay for shipping but our discounts can no longer be applied . How low can you go? What a great way to motivate the employees and show us all that we are just numbers and you could care less about us . This company doesn't care about it's workers and I wouldn't tell someone I don't like to work there. Every location is experiencing high turnover as management is typically incompetent and focuses on all the wrong things. Training is laughable and most designers are thrown to the wolves with high expectations after a few videos . You can not make as much as advertised so don't waste your time. Most don't stick around more than 3-6 months . You have to have open availability and they don't care if you go to church or need family time . There will be no work life balance . Constant updates are always required . What are you selling ? What are your future sales ? How many cards have you opened or how many emails can you capture? How many in home visits have you made ? Speaking of which did you know they send women to in home visits by themselves without vetting clients in the store first ? Another huge potential lawsuit on the horizon.

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