sales associate

seasonal associate

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

I have been a retail manager for years and had only worked for Canadian companies until I joined WS and had the worst experience of my life. My first experience was at the conference in Arizona and I left there feeling like I had joined some crazy cult. The employees at my store were for the most part horrible people who believed they were of the same economic status of the customers, where my opinion is that it doesn't matter what kind of retail environment you work in you are still just a retail employee. They reminded me of the two women in Pretty woman who ended up getting schooled by Julia Roberts. The company likes to say that they have a people first culture which is a total lie. Staff members had won prizes for corporate contests and yet had not received them six months later. Work life balance is terrible and my DM had no clue what she was doing. My training was about 4 days of being a greeter at a store and getting a bunch of information crammed in my head and then told....go, cut staff hours but still make these ludicrous budgets. also if you don't work in the States don't expect to make any sense of the visual set up packages or actually get any of your benefits.Enjoy conference calls?, well you had better because you will be on them for hours every day. Hands down the worst experience of my life.

I worked at Williams Sonoma while attending culinary school. All of the staff there were either retired ladies who just wanted something to do or younger people with a passion for cooking. The pay was relatively low (just a bit above minimum wage) and there were no commissions, so work was strictly for the hourly rate, atmosphere and of course, the generous 40% staff discount. I believe most employees spent all of their earnings right away on buying kitchen gear, and I was right there with them. 12 years later I still have a very well appointed kitchen thanks to my job at WS and fond memories of working there. 

If I were ever in a location or time of my life that a retail job like this is appealing, I would definitely work for WS again. I also was entrusted to teach a lot of the culinary classes - and while I wasn’t paid extra to do this, this was one of my most treasured parts of the job. 

Overall, this was the worst work experience of my life. This is an environment that will suck your soul out. It starts off with training. You will never recieve any proper full training; I was given several reasons for this. It's either not in the budget to send trainers or proper support. Or, the 3 hours (total) of product knowledge training, till training and operations training will suffice you to run a store. Upper management is a whole seperate issue; expect to be treated with a complete lack of respect and have them constantly belittle you. 

This is a company that offers a lot of promises, but does not deliver. Avoid working for them. You will regret it

Good customer service was provided. The merchandise offered for sale was of a high quality and people were often interested in asking for advice.  They responded well to suggestions and were generally very easy to deal with. They were happy and many were returning customers who were satisfied with the quality of the product offered for sale.  That's why they returned. They appreciated my linking them up on line to stores who had the product that we had run out of.  The working environment was a very nice one--all workers got along well with each other and with the store manager.  An invaluable orientation programme was offered as well as discounts to sales personel.

The other employees greeted me with a smile and were very polite, welcoming me into their work family the first day I started. 
The management was efficient and did very well at their job.
My co-workers were very professional and had warm personalities towards everyone. 
The hardest part was standing for long periods but after awhile you do not notice it. Certain items proved difficult to wrap but fellow co-workers were there with a helping hand.
The atmosphere of the workplace was the most enjoyable part. Also when the customers would get their wrapped gifts with smiles on their faces, commenting on the nice work.

Seasonal workers are thrown into the fire without proper training. Management expects you to know everything when all the bases have not yet been covered. Management gets angry when you make mistakes but you're only trained for about 3 hours. The most ridiculous and busy place.

I thought I was the only one who felt lost until I overheard veteran workers talking about how they don't even know what position they're at for the day or what their duties are. 

Don't get me started on the customers. Most get mad about the most trivial, white collar things. Super nit picky. 

If you ever consider working here, don't.

What is the best part of working at the company?
None but people ( the Associates but after they find out what this company stands for they also leave 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Corporate managers and area manager ( they have a style of my way or the high away 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Horrible !. This is the company that talks about values and culture but it really is non existent 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
12-15 hours and continued phone calls from customers not getting their products and the corporate team : let it be

Fast paced environment with emphasis on engaging with the customer at many sensory levels. Steep learning curve to become familiar with the myriad of product but a strong focus on associate development. Good work ethic and enthusiasm is recognized and rewarded. Cooking or foodie background is a huge asset and makes customer interaction much more fun - selling a great product AND helping to make someone a great cook...or at least spark a new passion.

I had worked for this company for a long time. I have had some wonderful bosses but unfortunately have seen a very ugly side of this company. They don't value employees and don't practice their culture of "people first" and certainly don't pay an industry standard. I had been fortunate to work with some amazing people which had kept me there as long as I had been, I would caution anyone applying with this company. The brand will draw you in but it is not what you might think it is.

The atmosphere is very happy in here, but it's organized chaos at Christmas so you must be mentally prepared. I learned how to put through shipment orders, I had to use a walkie talkie to communicate with other staff members and managers on different floor levels and cash through and assist customers as well. Overall a good learning experience, but a little stressful.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Sales associate 3 salaries reported	$17.50 per hour
Seasonal associate 1 salary reported	$17.50 per hour

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