The Buckle Reviews

Here is an actual fair look at the Buckle. Selling: You will work harder here than any where else you could work, you'll be required to approach every person that walks in the store, and try to sell them items. And you are required to keep trying until they leave. Regardless of what they say. That's where the "pushy" aspect comes from. We're taught to try to talk and relate the things were showing, however more times than not it comes across as pushy and awkward. You do this because you are suppose to hit a sales goal. Management breaks this goal down into items. Example selling 9 jeans, 3 shoes, 20 tops.. Ect. So your not focused on dollars rather your focused on items you can show. If you can not hit your goals you will be reviewed on it. If it continues you will be "worked off" the schedule/team. You also do this because your paid on a base + commission. More you sell the more you make. Pay: Sales employees make a base + commission. Commission is 3% of whatever you sell. For example- say you sell $100 in an hour. A normal base pay is $6. (In states with higher min wage would be $7) so 3% of 100 is $3. Add that to your base (6) and your getting paid 9$ an hour. 2 problems with this. First the av that you'll sell is $130 an hour. Most managers when they explain pay will focus on "peak seasons" (holidays, back to school) where you can make more. But normally $130 is your av if your pretty good at selling. Second problem is other teammates will steal your sales. It's going to happen and when you tell your leader about it they usually say they'll fix it, but don't. I know first hand that they do not get paid in an accurate way. Track your sales, track your hours, minus your returns and you'll see. Those adjustments never show up. Or they forget to be done. At will employee: Who's will? Your managers. Your future lies on the whims of your manager. How many hours you get, your shifts, your pay. What this looks like: Say you don't hit your sales goals or are on the lower side, your hours usually will be lowered. And you'll start to be talked to about "is this right for you?" Or "how are you liking your job?" In an attempt to try and talk you off the team. If you hear these questions or other forms of them, good luck. Your manager will also be reviewed on new hires. They should be hiring 1-2 a month. Problem with that is they don't add hours to the schedule to accommodate for this. So the hours for those new teammates come from your hours. Now if your the top sellers usually your hours won't be lowered. But if your av or on the low side yes your hours will be lowered to make room for the new employees. The manager also is trying to turn the team over almost every year or 2. Buckle doesn't want employees to stay at the store for to long. Their belief is they want the good ones to go out and manage. (Of which they don't open up many stores often so their is a long wait) or if they believe you to not be good to move you on. Staying a leader or an assistant for years is unacceptable in their view. So your job is in constant question. Now theirs exceptions to this, I know assistants with years of experience. But it is very few, and difficult. Manager: It is extremely difficult to be a successful manager at buckle. You will work a lot of hours. You will not have much of a life outside of buckle. You'll work Thanksgiving day, and weekend. You'll work holidays. During August and December your expected to work over 60 hours a week. Other times of the year your expected to work 45+ hours a week which isn't bad. But upper management will always question a manager who only works 45 hours. Although they say that's all you have to work, your pressured to work more around 50. As a manager you will constantly have to come up with reasons to fire employees. You will have to find reasons that are mediocre at best to question employees, and based on what they say find things to pressure them to move on. It's a horrible way to treat employees. But managers are treated the same way by area and district managers. So its a culture of finding a reason to move people on. You will also be reviewed by your district manager on the things they feel you aren't doing. Normally this would be fine district managers do that. But for me my experience my district manager visited my store about 3 times a year. Talked on the phone maybe once every 2 months. That's it. Theirs never any communication, or support from them. So they would just review you on what they were focusing on at that time. No matter what you were doing right, their will be something your not good at. And they will always focus on what your not doing. An example I remember one time my store was up 40% for that week, four week sales trend was up 9%, my av transaction was $108. Compared to the district Was down 3%, with a transaction Av of $93. When my district did call me theirs no mention of how well my performance was. They instead focused on how many buckle card applications we opened because it was lower than last month. (Although still higher than my goal). Like I said its a tough job, you will never feel good about your successes because you won't be perfect at everything. And your district will constantly find what your not doing well at and focus solely on that. When you do get to talk to them. If you are debating on working here, don't. Their are so many other jobs that you will enjoy more, last longer and will get paid more at.