Someone wrote this about our store.
"The once great company which turned on its dedicated,most knowledgeable, best working veterans and threw them out with security.
The District Manager pits people against people for her enjoyment.
And if you call HR to complain, they refer you back to her."
“ I never thought anyone would tell the truth.”
A forum to tell the truth wasn’t available till now. We Listen was set up to protect SMS & DMs by identifying problem employees ,who had the guts to tell the truth, so they could be targeted ( which they promised wouldn’t happen.)Surprise, surprise! BN LIED to their employees. But here, real anonymity ( based on how much info you give)is allowing real employees to tell what is really going on ! One of my managers was dating a cashier. A bookseller called We Listen. The cashier kept her job & continued dating the SM. The bookseller who called , went from working 30 hours a week ( for several years) to 4 ! Received an IP for a phone call the SM ( supposedly received ) saying the bookseller used profanity. When the bookseller didn’t leave after those instances, received a write up for a no call/ no show. ( the SM changed the one 4hr shift the bookseller had , without notifying them) Thats what reporting to We Listen did for the Bookseller.
I am shocked and horrified at what I have read about managers and DMs on here. Shocked and horrified because I never thought anyone would tell the truth. That witch deserves worse than what is said on here.
They should call "We Listen," "We will tell on you!"
A couple of more reviews from employees from CareerBliss:
"I've worked at Barnes & Noble for 2 months now and it's cool. I liked the job because of the location and also because I knew I wouldn't get too many terrible customers. But this job s---s. Management is terrible. They pay minimum wage and we do so much work. It takes over a year to get a raise and it's only 25 cents. The whole atmosphere is kind of depressing and they make it clear that they don't care about their workers, it's all about the customers. The training is no good, they fire you if you don't sell memberships, managers have the worst attitudes, it is very boring. They don't give much hours. The job is physically demanding and they aren't lenient with workers who may still be in school. All in all, the job isn't too good. Even the music is bad!"
What do you like about working at Barnes & Noble?
"I love the actual job and the work that I do."
Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company?
"In all fairness, it depends on the store. Some locations have General Managers who are employee focused and the better atmosphere can truly make a difference. As a Department Manager, I fight for my team and reward them myself with dinners and gift cards. If possible, do some research and find out what the culture at the particular location they are applying at is like."
What don't you like about working at Barnes & Noble?
"Company culture is not employee friendly. The workers are undervalued. The company keeps its hourly workers under full-time status so as to not provide benefits when the pay is already low. Employees rarely last more than a few months. Managers used to work 45-50 hours a week when on a salary that was based on 40, but after losing a lawsuit, have recently been made hourly. Now they are expected to be just as productive, but are not allowed to work over, so as not to qualify for overtime. Communication is top down only and employee input is not encouraged. Schedules are not consistent and make it impossible to properly utilize their vacation time. It makes for a very tense atmosphere."
What suggestions do you have for management?
"I would focus more on the employee culture, valuing their input and appreciating their efforts. Attrition is high due to the old school hierarchy which doesn't engage its employees at a personal level."
This sounds like my place. They closed one of the stores in the area and many of those people came to our store. When our SM asked the DM how will they handle all of the new people the DM said, LET THEM FIGHT IT OUT AMONGST THEMSELVES.
This was just how bad things were.