Like many U.S. department stores, Dillard's made headlines this year when it shuttered several locations. But despite the closures, the retail chain still operates 250 stores and 32 clearance centers across 29 states. Shoppers love the 84-year-old retailer for its clothing and homewares selections, but even the most devoted customers may be unaware of the inner workings of the store. Keep reading to hear from ex-Dillard's employees about the warnings you should heed, from pushy sales associates to slow checkouts.
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1 | Employees may be told to push certain items.
damann / ShutterstockMost Dillard’s employees have sales goals they need to meet, so they may push certain items on shoppers.
“Upper management makes decisions solely based on sales,” an ex-employee explained on the anonymous review site GlassDoor. “They let go [of] one of my coworkers based [on] their sales numbers even though this was one of our most knowledgeable employees.”
On Reddit, an employee explained the policy in more detail: "I work in the shoe department, which has a quota. We must sell a certain amount per hour, usually between 120-300 dollars an hour. If you do not make that amount you go into 'Deficit.' This means you owe money to the company, which means your pay is cut to meet this."
Moreover, if an item gets returned, that counts against an employee's sales goals. In a Reddit thread about how returns affect Dillard's commission structure, a former employee shared, "they do lose commission or it gets subtracted from their sales that day if they don’t earn commission and that affects things like getting a promotion."
2 | They're also told to push credit cards.
Jacob Lund / ShutterstockLike many retail chains, Dillard’s employees are asked to sign a certain number of customers up for credit cards. Unfortunately, that means they may feel pressured to push them.
A previous employee on GlassDoor called working at the store competitive and said “the amount of credit cards required to open a month can be unrealistic.” A former sales associate agreed on Indeed, explaining that "if you don’t make at least 2 credit cards every 2 weeks you’ll have to go to a credit class on your day off."
Another employee on GlassDoor said there’s a “huge penalization for not opening credit cards even if your sales are good.”
Even employees themselves are pressured to get the store credit card. "You do not receive your employee discount unless you sign up and get approved for this Dillard's credit card," a shoe department associate explained on Reddit.
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3 | There's a good chance the store will be understaffed.
JHVEPhoto / ShutterstockIf you’re shopping at Dillard's and can't find anyone to help you, it’s likely because the store is understaffed.
“They don’t have enough staff to cover the entire sales floor, but yet it is still your job to help customers, make sale, and watch for theft," a former employee explained on GlassDoor.
Another retail sales associate explained, "There is a reason Dillards is always short staffed. Absolutely no work/life balance. You may be hired on as a part-time employee but... They work you full-time hours, sometimes only giving you one day off a week (if that) but never consider you a full-time employee so they don't have to provide any benefits."
4 | Don't be surprised if employees aren't getting along.
ShutterstockFor all the reasons listed above, employees allegedly compete with each other for sales and commissions.
"Not a teamwork atmosphere at all. A lot of gossiping goes on in different departments and co workers are very aggressive when it comes to making sales and each monthly sales goal. Often times you will have fellow co workers stealing sales from you," wrote a former employee on Indeed.
Referring to working in the shoe department, another ex-employee shared on Reddit, "Only a few employees make extra money a month. These employees do this by, stealing sales from other associates, and stealing customers from other areas of the store. These practices create a hostile working environment. I have seen some of the most outgoing people quit due to these practices."
"Employees often argued on the sales floor and in front of customers," added a former employee on GlassDoor.
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5 | Checkout may take longer than it should.
iStockAccording to current and former employees, it's all too common for the registers to malfunction.
"The registers and computer systems are ancient, so they crash all the time, sometimes in the middle of transactions. The technology they use is very outdated and not very intuitive. Because of this, things that should be easy have to be done in a roundabout way," shared a sales associate on GlassDoor.
NOTE: Best Life only includes information from social media and job boards when there is corroboration from multiple sources. These comments have not been independently verified, however, and are the opinions of the people who posted them.
