rue21 Reviews

2.7

31% would recommend to a friend

(2,547 total reviews)

Bill Brand

33% approve of CEO

26% positive business outlook

rue21 has an employee rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars, based on 2,547 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The rue21 employee rating is 24% below average for employers within the Retail and wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews
1.0
22 Aug 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Job experience for my resume, met a few helpful people, learned about retail which I've never been a part of.

Cons

My first month here should have been a big enough red flag to anyone in their right mind, but I wanted to give this my all. I saw power struggles, tons of petty arguments, a lot of heads hung low, and 3 people leave all within my first 30 days. Several of my co-workers warned me how things are run here, and I didn't want to necessarily be negative, but now I can see they were just trying to help. I saw a lot of negative reviews on this site specifically about IT, but I figured maybe they were just over-exaggerations - I was wrong. I did my best to stay positive during my time here, but it was tough. My direct manager was a pretty good person, but the top IT leaders were horrible. Any good idea you could offer, was typically scoffed at or went on deaf ears. Anything positive you would do was never recognized, but even the simplest mistake was taken like you brought the infrastructure down. You were truly made to feel like the lost voice, and a lower being. I lost count of the number of people that left in my short time here, it was beyond depressing. The worst part, is I really didn't learn anything. I was promised training (both internally / externally), shadowing other IT teams & leaders, and the possibility of growth in my career - none of which I received. It's absolutely terrible that was sold to me and probably many others when interviewing yet all became empty promises. The only thing I really learned here is how NOT to treat your employees.

1.0
15 July 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Imagine a middle school group project in which you’re tasked with starting your own company that sells clothes. Think about what the strategy and corporate culture would be like at this fictitious retailer run by seventh graders. Now imagine that the quasi-psychotic gym teacher who gave the assignment acts as the CEO of the store. Open your eyes, you’ve arrived at rue21. And if this sounds like your dream company, you’re in luck because you’ll get to work there 55+ hours a week! And every two weeks you get to pick out your paycheck from the trinket box in the supply closet. This isn’t to say that everyone at rue21 is a terrible person. There were at least a few kids with souls in your seventh grade class right? Nevertheless, the place operates at a surreal level of incompetence. The in-fighting is too much to stomach and nearly every meaningful decision comes down to politics. The job description you interview for will not be the job you end up executing. Honestly, you have to see it to believe it, but hopefully you won’t take the chance.

Cons

Politics and subjective decision-making rule the day. Zero chance of meaningful advancement. Below average salary.

2.0
5 Dec 2023

Buckle up

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people you work with in store

Cons

It’s crazy to sit and read some of these reviews and see that other people have been feeling the same way. But rue21 used to be a people first culture, but now that mindset has been left behind. Years prior I remember feeling appreciated and supported by home office, but currently I rarely see any communication come through from them - especially the ceo. While I completely support giving back to the community - it’s hard to hear for years that the company can’t afford raises for 7 years and then turn around to see them doing multiple give away of thousands of dollars. Example : there’s been atleast 20k given away in stores in front of teams during the holiday that haven’t received pay raises in years. And they are currently running a giveaway to entice people to download the new app for 100,000$ - really feels like a slap in the face to all store level and even DMs. The ceo (Josh - for some reason they have bill brand listed here still) is nasty toward teams calling people losers, stupid and has fired and overturned home office by pushing out or letting people go with what he considers “old values” of rue21. By old values , I mean talking to people nicely, supporting, informing, etc. Imagine having a CEO whose job is to lead a company and show strong values bullying people on conference calls. Not only the ceo, but I’ve seen people ripped apart on conference calls by upper management to the point they are sobbing on camera. I understand pushing performance, but embarrassing managers and having them cry in front of peers is unreal. The task load itself for SM is heavy and payroll has been tight - I’ve seen multiple SM overworked since any hours past 40 for them don’t count toward payroll since we’re salary. Very rarely do you get to take your pto- due to you having to fill in for other stores, other people, etc.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 2,547 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,579 rue21 reviews submitted anonymously by rue21 employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if rue21 is right for you.