There was no magic... it was mostly tragic - Commission Shoe Sales Associate Macy's Employee Review

1.0
18 Dec 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

When I first started working there I would have given it 2 or 3 stars because at the time things were decent. Full-time associates in shoe sales at that time were making 9% at that time, pt-timers a little bit less. There was plenty of competition but if you applied yourself you could make on avg $12-$18 an hr, w/ top sellers making more than that during good periods. I really enjoyed a lot of my coworkers, it was commissioned sales so you couldn't trust everyone, however we laughed a lot and had some fun. I also enjoyed meeting a lot of cool customers from all over the world who truly made my day go well.

Cons

The cons were poor management, for the most part the shoe associates were pretty independent & Macy's allowed us to have the power to handle a lot of customers' issues on our own & told us to side with them. However in those instances when you really needed a manager as a customer was demanding one they were often times nowhere to be found b/c every Tues & Thurs every manager in the store was in a mandatory 4 hr meeting during peak times. Furthermore in my dept, when certain managers were available they would run away or try to blow you off when you needed them. Also favoritism was widespread and at times nauseating. The major con was when our store cut our commission down to 7% because they hired shoe expeditors. Instead of sales associates going to the stockroom to get the customers' shoes we were banned, we could only scan their shoe while an expeditor grabbed it for us. When they told us about the new system management lied through their teeth. They told us it would be faster, we could help more customers, we'd make more money, blah blah blah. In reality they hired way more sales associates than ever & we made less money b/c everyone was always on the selling floor & for some reason they hired few expeditors, which slowed down service tremendously b/c 3 or 4 people couldn't handle the demand of 20+ sales associates ordering 2 or 3 shoes at once. Sometimes customers would wait up to ten min for one single shoe that a sales associate could have easily gone to get in one minute but if he dared to go into the stock room to give good customer service & assure a sale, a manager would often be waiting to yell at him. Also a really bad downside were sales days when clearance shoes were marked down to 75%, you'd have about 20 people in your face everywhere you turned the whole day asking for mates to $15-$25 shoes on average, and some of these people would still want other deals and hook-ups. So draining.

Explore other reviews about Macy's

5.0
10 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Friendly and reliable work conditions.

Cons

I have no cons. Enjoyed my time at Macys.

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Macy's Response
2d
We're happy to hear that you enjoyed your time working with us at our Virginia Beach location. Thanks for sharing your positive feedback!
2.0
3 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

you get ok pto even as a part timer, not physically demanding, good A/C and heating depending on the weather.

Cons

very low pay compared to other businesses, you only get a 40 cent raise every year. same playlist consisting of 15 songs on repeat and it drives you crazy as time goes on. very inconsistent hours they rarely give morning shifts, you only get the more undesirable shifts like closing which ends at 9:30pm. the sales goals will be exceeded and they hours will still be cut especially around the holiday season. numerous amounts of time where i am left alone at the register on a busy day with no backup and still expected to clean fitting rooms and recover the floor with no help. overall no room for growth, started when i was 18 and am now 20 and have not even been considered or offered a higher position, 2 tiny raises is all i got. i overall feel like my position is bottom of the barrel compared to asset protection, jewelry department, and fragrance sales because they get paid better and make commission while doing less easier work. would not recommend and if you do end up working at a Macys use the experience you have and never stop applying to jobs because there really is no growth here.

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Macy's Response
1w
Thank you for your honest feedback as our Sales Associate. If you are open to it and would like to discuss further, please feel free to send us a private message on https://www.facebook.com/Macys/ or https://www.instagram.com/macys/, and include your name, phone number, email address, and store location so we can connect with you directly! Thank you.
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