Kohl's Store #725 A horrible place to work. Chicago Illinois

I hate Kohl's with a passion. I've been stuck at this piece of crap retailer as a sales associate since March of this year. The store is so horribly understaffed in order for the company to cut costs. Not that it matters much anyway, since the pay is horrid. If I close, I might be scheduled to work from 5 to midnight, but end up staying until well after 2 a.m. to clean about after the pigs we call customers. Maybe.. perhaps.. if we weren't understaffed, the store wouldn't look so trashy. I can hardly wait to start being forced to stay until 4 a.m. this week with the holiday season approaching. Should be tons of fun.

It's hard to give a damn when we are understaffed and one person is expected to be in three places at once. Seriously, why should I run to the registers to help customers check out when I have to fold the piles and piles clothing those very customers just threw on the floor near the dressing rooms? It is no wonder Kohl's employees always look so miserable. Oh wait, we ARE miserable.

I am, under no circumstances, looking forward to working for this piece of **** store over the holiday season. Thank goodness I've chosen to visit my family in PA over Christmas. I wouldn't want Kohl's to ruin that too.

The managers treat us horribly. If I close and the store itself closes at 10, I might be scheduled to stay until midnight. We never make out by midnight unless payroll finances are low. I'm lucky now if I get out before 2 a.m. This next week with the holiday season approaching, we are expecting to stay until 4 a.m. or later. In all of this, I am getting paid below min. wage.

Customers come to Kohl's because they believe they are getting fantastic deals. To the contrary, most of the clothing is very poorly made. Sure, the store carries SOME pretty cute and even decently made pieces, but buyer beware. That sweater you find for cheap will very likely either a. shrink or b. fall apart.. or both.

Kohl's marks up their merchandise so that they can immediately mark it down and make the customer believe that he/she is getting a good deal. And oddly, no one seems to be suspicious of this, seeing that almost EVERYTHING in the store is almost ALWAYS on sale. I'd rather pay more money for clothing that will fit me and not end up in holes.

Also, make up, electronics and housewares are generally overpriced. Even with my double discounts. I paid much more for shower curtains/rods at Kohl's than I would have if I would've purchased them at target.

And THEN there's this annoying push to get customers to sign up for the Kohl's charge card. If the credit goal is met, it is rumored that managers, of course, get a nice bonus at the end of the year. This makes sense because they annoy the crap out of the associates by pushing and pushing to get us to solicit our poor customers. In FACT, our ability to get a certain number of charge cards is even a part of our review process. Lucky sales floor associates are not only supposed to be at three places at once all day, every day, but we are also expected to have the time to stop customers, who are trying to shop, and suggest that it might be a good idea for them to open a Kohl's charge card. If they say no, we are reminded by management that we really ought to "improve" ourselves. Associates are often pitted against each other in a contest to see who can convince enough people to open a charge card. It's such bullshit. We have customers who are smart enough to, God forbid, make decisions for themselves and decide they don't want the card, yet they are pestered over and over every time they enter the store. No wonder they start to get pissed off.

The customers hear annoying announcements over the intercom that tell them how "wonderful" this charge card is and how much they will save. Then we, on the sales floor and registers, are instructed to push once again. If the customer says NO, our new G.R.E.A.T. training instructs us to push even harder. We get .50 cents to a dollar for each card we open. Awesome! Add that to our measly paychecks and we can buy an extra hot dog for lunch one day. And seriously, the managers just won't SHUT UP about it. They make announcements over the intercom saying how many cards they have vs. how many they need.

Does anyone read the fine print? First, you pay a 25 dollar fee for a missed payment, which happens often because the company is notorious for NOT sending you your bill and insisting that they in fact did and somehow this is your fault that you did not receive it. Secondly, although there is no annual fee, keep a balance on the card and you face a whopping 21.9% APR. Is the extra 30% you might save a month really worth it? No wonder Kohl's has so much money to spend on advertising and manager bonuses. Argh!

Iyyabelle
Lebanon, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.