Someone at work mentioned that this blog existed so I had to check it out for myself...

Yep, those photos look pretty accurate to me! On the morning of January 18, 2007, the regional manager came into the store and boy was she pissed! I wasn't there to see her, but the instructions she left for management was to have every department, recovery and freight employee in the store in the Men's department cleaning.

Now, we all had mixed emotions on this one. Why should we have to help in one person's area when there is so much more to be done in the store? We have our own departments to maintain and they will soon be out of hand if we aren't there for most of a workday. But whatever. If Miriam (sp.) wants to see the Men's department cleaned up because of some pictures posted on the web, then fine. Just don't expect the rest of the store to look good as a result.

Let me start at the beginning. There are several factors which play into the condition of this particular store, three of them being:

1. Store Management
2. Lack of staff
3. Customer demographic

If you've ever shopped Kohl's you already know they're a fast-growing discount retailer. Just this month they've reached the billion-dollar mark for one-year sales. That said, there is always a sales and people looking to get even more of a discount.

Your average Kohl's customer shops the store with Wal-Mart money and expects Barney's service. They take several pieces of clothing into the dressing rooms, try them all on and then leave them there. Okay, this happens. But then you all expect us, the employees, to clean it all up because "that's your job," you say. Right? Well, as long as we're having to go behind each and every PIG that shops, we aren't able to assist you on the sales floor, aren't able to get more product onto the floor (replenishment), and we aren't able to keep the sales floor in pristine condition. And don't get me started on the KIDS that run through the store! Sure, you say it's never YOUR kids, but we see differently. How many times have you turned around and had to call your child's name? You don't know what they were doing, but we do...more on that one later, though...

Then you have those customers who get to the front registers, decide they don't want something and just leave it at the front. Okay, no big deal, but what happens when you - the BUYING customer - wants something that was left at the front? We can't get there fast enough to put things back bacause of those customers who left things in the fitting rooms for us to clean up!

You also have impatient customers who complain about having to wait 3-5 minutes in line on a SATURDAY AFTERNOON!  H E L L O!! If we're all cleaning up after you all who don't put things back where you got them from, how do you expect to be helped out of the store quickly? Simple, it just doesn't happen.

Kohl's is what you call a Self-Service Store - you find what you need on your own and put it back where you got it from. When you need help, the associates are there to help you. Oh. There aren't any associates around to help, you say? Well, we've been called to the front registers to help check people out. Surely you understand that we can't be in two places at the same time, right?

And then there's the Customer Service desk...people return things for all kinds of reasons (nothing wrong with that) and we (department associates) are supposed to make several trips a day to the service desk in order to grab those undamaged returns to put them back on the sales floor. No big deal, but we're also supposed to be 1)on the sales floor helping customers, 2)replenishing said sales floor, 3)helping out on registers, 4)cleaning up your childrens' spills, 5)getting UPC numbers for customers who have merchandise without tags, 6)cleaning out fitting rooms, etc.

Not everything can be blamed on the customer. I am not suggesting that at all, but you all do need to take some responsibility. It isn't every customer, but it is the vast majority of Dallas shoppers. Some of you blame it on the mid-to low-income customers with little money and several children. You aren't looking at the Highland Park and Plano shoppers we get each day, the ones who expect to be waited on hand and foot, the ones who think they deserve more than the next customer.

We try to be fair to everybody that shops there no matter where you come from. We do our best with what we are given.

Now with that said, there's the management team. Oh boy. In a nutshell, they're pretty much good for nothing. They leave everything up to the department supervisors and part-time associates while they sit in the office eating donuts and taking lunch breaks. They are so concerned with their vacation time and what they're doing over the weekend, that we're left to figure things out on our own. We do a pretty good job considering we have NO help from management.

*Only two of them really care and they know who they are. Thanks for your help, you suggestions and concern for us little people.*

Have you all met the store manager? He's the one whose name and picture you see up on the wall at the Customer Service Desk. You may direct all complaints to him if you want instant gratification.

Instead of hiring more staff, they leave shifts uncovered and ask employees from other stores to come help out. It really is embarassing to those of us who are there and do what we're supposed to. The store has been understaffed from day one. The company doesn't want to put the money necessary into payroll to hire new associates and they don't want to spend the money that is available to have current associates scheduled to work.

When you have people that are only scheduled to work 5-10 hours a week, do you really expect them to be cheerful about their jobs? I certainly don't. When we're at work all we hear are complaints from managers, customers and even other employees about how nothing is getting done. There's only so much we can do before management steps in and takes responsibility!

Yes, there are those associates who are there simply to collect a paycheck and do nothing to deserve it, which in turn means the rest of us have to pick up more slack!! When does this end? Unfortunately, it is a never-ending cycle! We have to come in and bust our bottoms each and every day for customers who will never notice (for many reasons), managers who never step in and for a company that doesn't care anything about its associates.

Do I think it was wrong for the person to come in and take pictures of the store for the sake of embarassing the associates and company as a whole? Absolutely not, but I do feel it was necessary for a response.

I am now off to the company's "After-Christmas Party" at good ol Dave & Busters. I was pressed for time in writing this and will be back after work tomorrow with more.

-Kohl's Dallas Employee

P.S. If any of you wondered why you don't get a "Thank you for shopping," it is because those of us who go above and beyond don't get a "Thank you for all your help."

AND --- It was right AFTER CHRISTMAS that the original blogger visited! What do you expect? People were shopping our store until after Midnight and most of us had to be back there as early as 6AM.

In case you missed it, this is a response to Hurricane Kohl's.

KDE-

Thanks for posting a response! That definitely takes a lot of guts. Anyway, I hear where you're coming from regarding the customer's messiness, but that happens in any store, and they have systems and staff in place to fix those problems. That's not to imply that it's your fault, it's obvious when walking into that store that you guys are sorely understaffed. I don't think anyone expects each employee to be capable of doing the job of 2 or 3. And, with bad management, that just exacerbates the problem. Anyway, thanks again for posting this. I'll be sure to pass along your side of the story. Kudos!

A brilliant testimonial to the fact that the store would indeed run much better without the customers.

KDE - You seem to have a good grasp of the situation, and I hope you're given the forum to offer a solution that's feasible for everyone. Good luck with management, though... That's a tough nut to crack.

I feel for this Kohl's employee, and understand this sad situation all too well, having worked retail recently. Tony obviously has had little experience working a back-breaking and unrewarding job. I have also owned my own businesses, so I've learned that the "customer-first" mantra is useful only for those of us who actually profit by doing professional work for GOOD clients directly. (This mantra also makes great fluff for so-called marketing "experts.") Most employees in large retail chains never see any reward for putting up with the level of abuse that customers tyically dish out these days. If anyone thinks that their paycheck should be reward enough, I challenge them to try to pay for a bad apartment and feed/clothe themselves on $8-10 an hour. How excited, motivated, and "customer first" would YOU be? I have seen both sides now, and I can tell you that until companies begin to care at least as much about their employee's poor pay and working conditions as they do about their upper management's golden parachutes, this situation will never improve. To those of you customers who patronize these discount stores for their cheap prices: you have no right to expect anything but the most basic and poorest shopping conditions. Great "experiences" must be paid for. Wake up Valued Customer...you just can't have it all for pennies.

Boy, aren't you a bitter buttercup. Don't they have a "comments" box at your store so that you can complain to the right people instead of the PIG customers that you depend on for a job?

Good god, I hope you get fired and fast. You are an immature human being and a lousy worker. Boo hoo--people are pigs, management doesn't care, and you don't get thanked. Silly me, I thought you were paid to do your job!

If you don't like the situation at Kohls, you have three choice--put up with it, work for change, or leave. Complaining about management and company in a public blog is stupid, unhelpful, and grounds for firing (if not getting sued.)

Do I think you may have some points about management? Absolutely. But then bring these concerns to the appropriate people in an appropriate way. Calling your customers pigs in simply inexcusable. All you've proven is that you're part of the problem and not part of the solution.

I get an eerie feeling that 'ConcernedCustomer' is a member of the management team there??? lol

Can you believe that prior to becoming Store Manager,this guy was in charge of visual merchandising for the district? That cracks me up!!!:-?

Boo Hoo to you too Amylulu, you can also shop anywhere you want. Kudos to this employee , he is 100% right! I work at a different Kohls and I am a MATURE ( ie middle aged woman, not a "kid") have worked the corp. world, govt. jobs, you name it, and Kohls cares less about their employees then anyone I have ever worked for. Our employess are wonderful and 85% of our customers are fantastic too, but there are PIGS out there, get over it, there are, You may meet them one day Amy,,or maybe its you who throws your unwanted merchandise on the floor??:o

Hey,

I agree with some of the other commentors -- it takes courage to speak honestly about how you feel.

I'm sure it is very frustrating to work in a place that doesn't support or encourage you to excel and make the customers' experience noteworthy.

Maybe you can start an employee "revolution" to affect change in the organization. Either that -- or go work at Target, who understand the value of both their customers and their employees.

I've written a follow up and cited this blog at this URL:

http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2007/02/its_your_fault.html

Best of luck,

Drew

lol at the 'ConcernedCustomer'

Those are the ones that F*** the store up.
The one who bitches when the item rang up $.50 more then what the customer thought it was and he/she doesn't want it anymore because paying $10 for a $45 shirt on clearance is just too expensive.

I work for a different store, and holidays are tough, and there isn't anything yo ureally can do about how customers or management are. Truth is if people were really paying attention it shouldn't have happend in the first place. Its everyones fault it got published bc if you guys would be doing your job normally they wouldn't have evidence or reason to complain. Why not spend less time complaining on the internet outside of work and actually do your job.:(

hey, that is really brave (and right) of you to post all this. im a kohl's worker in new york and i'm just posting to laugh because our "After-Christmas Party" is also at Dave & Busters. The company probably cut a deal with them, even though at my store everyone who wants to attend had to pay $5!

Even though I wouldn't personally go as far as calling customers Pigs (because most of us are customers too at times). I've worked at two different kohls and have been a shopper of many other different stores-- this happens EVERYWHERE, maybe not at the time and place that you are at but it happens... I love it how some of the responses on here are telling us what our job is and what we get paid for. Oh yes, another one of those types: "I can do what I want because I'm paying for this pair of jeans, so it gives me permission to throw 10 pairs of them scattered on the ground just to get to them" - lol.

I find it amazing people actually believe the pictures posted were not scripted. I shop at Kohl's because the men's department is well stocked, the clothing is of quality and the consideration given men in the space allowed to present the varity of clothing is overwhemming, compared to other retail stores that treat mens clothing areas as "second hand" customers. Of course like you, I also consider pricing and I find Kohl's prices are below their competitors. I love the sales.
Just to set the record straight, I do not work for Kohl's. I have no association with Kohl's, other than being a customer.
Several postings praise Target for their operation and management. Bet most people would be surprised to find out most managers in the Texas stores moved from store management of Target to become management at Kohl's. I believe this says alot, by compliment, that they were in search of better working conditions and found it.

I shop mostly at the Kohl's store on McDermitt and Custer in Plano. Every time I have shopped there, as i enter I am always greeted with a "Good morning" as I walk past the cashiers post.I have had to take an item back for return to the Service Department and upon presenting my receipt was treated with excellent service and a smile.I was so amazed with this service I ask the lady for her name. She responded "Terri". Well Terri thank you for the great service and smile you provided. Another time I needed assistance and was promptly helped by a lady that works there named "Joanne'. She was assigned to the office area, but she took the time to help me by explained in detail and within five minutes I had exactly what I wanted.This only certifies to me I am shopping in a store that wants my business and appreiates me as a customer.

As the readers can tell, I like shopping at Kohl's. What I don't understand is,If people believe Target or other retail stores are better, why would they waste their time visiting Kohl's at all. Another question I have i

is, why would a person take hours to walk through a store, be it Kohl's, Target, WalMart, Etc; to take pictures, unless they had a bone to pick or just out of spite. I don't believe the pictures posted were the condition of the store, but displayed by the photographer in an attempt to get revenge for something. I strongly suggest what ever the reason this person would be better served to take his business elsewhere and stay out of Kohl's.
Let me "THANK" each associate that I have ever had contact with while shopping at Kohl's I believe you do a great job and because of you i am a customer of Kohl's.

Again..... "THANK YOU".

ERH- First, I don't believe for a second that you don't work at Kohl's, or have no affiliation.

"Bet most people would be surprised to find out most managers in the Texas stores moved from store management of Target to become management at Kohl's."

Yeah, good try. Unfortunately, not true.

And, you'll notice that almost every cell phone sold today has a camera on it. The Kohl's is right next to my house, and occasionally has good deals. That being so, I'll occasionally stop by. Honestly, I was laughing at the mess while I was taking the pictures because it was so cartoonish. No revenge, I was just there. And, frankly, if you read what I wrote, I made it pretty clear that the problem is with staffing, not their associates.

But, thanks for "making up" your argument. Very nice.

I heard about this website through a current employee and I had to go see for myself. How interesting and how happy I was to see someone do this finally!! Its funny because when management hears that district or regional is visiting stores they add as many hours as they can to make sure the store is all neat and clean and pretty for when they come. So they never see those in between times that it really does look like.
I was an employee for over 6 years and boy let me tell you Kohl's is very under staffed, the management staff is told by regional what hours they can use. I was from a high traffic store, which we still got the same amount of hours basically as a low traffic store. The management staff doesn't care about their employees they care about themselves only and how far up the ladder they can climb by stepping on anyone in their way.
ERH referenced the store she shops at and let me tell you they are all nice and sweet cause that is a low traffic store and they don't have all the pressure as the high traffic store. FYI: The store that the pictures were taken at was (very high traffic, so it's no wonder you get great service at the mcdermott store, the managers aren't hounding the employees etc.
Alot of the comments are true and yes I am a shopper but people in general are pigs when they go to a retail store, they just don't care. If it were their home they wouldn't treat it like that. I beleive that every person needs to work in a high volume retail store just for one day to get the picture how it works cause you have NO idea what the associates have to go through for what they are paid. I do have to add tho there have been several Managers that have come from Target but only to leave Kohl's also cause the working conditions are not any better. The employees do not get the recognition from the management they deserve. The Management does give recognition but to the same few selected employee that kiss their butt repeatedly. Those employees that are sti

Those employees that are still there and working their tails off with out kissing butt get no recognition.
Those few that have commented on how they can't believe the comments on how customers are pigs and that they think the pictures are edited obviously have NEVER worked or had any family work in a retail environment.
Paul- kudos to you for stepping up and posting this, but you are right you will probably never get or see a resolution to this problem. The district and regional manager of the area you took the pictures don't care either. Not for the employees or the store, they like their butt kissed also. They are too good that when they walk into one of their stores they don't even speak to the employees and yet they want us to smile and say hi to everyone we come in contact with. How Sad!

All of the comments are correct. Customers are pigs. Pigs walk up ti the table of sweaters you are folding, pick one up barely look at it and toss it back at you. Without a care. They leave used diapers in the fitting room, babys and grown womens. People have used the fitting rooms as restrooms. Women try on clothes and leave them turn inside out on the floor they way they took them off. Pigs find cheaper yellow tags to put on more expensive yellow tags trying to get a even cheaper deal. Witnessed a customer looking for a cheaper sign in behind a sign. Come on learn the jeans are not rolled in your arms and shoved on the shelves. Look at the crease's you'll see how they go. Retail is tough and Kohls is mainly understaff on busy days. The workers that get the credit are the ones there during the day. The workers who come in at night and make the store reading for the next day get next to nothing. Work a week in retail during back to school and then you will know all to well what we are saying.

Many of the customers are piggies. But working in retail we all should have expected that. I work in a NJ Kohls and it is really a problem. The company only cares about it's $$ and the people who work at the corporate offices get the perks. At the store many of you know it there is NO SUCH THING AS BEING FULL TIME. 90% of the employees are PT Regular status. The DM constantly cut payroll(probably for their bonuses) Management expects employees to clean and catch up on work that was supposed to be done a month ago in 4 hrs. Oh not to mention if your are intelligent enough to be multi-skilled in various areas of the store you will be given the thankless job of cleaning up messes not by only customer but associates and management also. Payroll is cut so when people are only given 8,12,or if you really kiss up 20 hrs a week making min wages (check out the rents in Jersey:o )it should not make you wonder why employee morale is low, then they have the nerve to hire more employees. Why?? When they can't give the ones who are there hours to begin with? But remember new associates get paid less ie: lowering the cost of their payroll. I believe that they purposely cut peoples hours, hoping they will get fed up and quit so they can find a poor soul who is more desperate for a job that they can hire at a lower wage.They really should consider quality not quantity. But like I said it's all about $$$ and keeping shareholders happy getting them those Dividends.

I must say that Ex Employee sounds as though they might be a little bitter that they worked for 6 years without moving up in the company. I was only employed for a year when I was given a great promtion. I only have a GED and some college so it wasn't my education that got me promoted, it was my hard work. When it is known that the DM or RM is coming we cannot add hours. We have payroll that we must adhere to reguardless of who is coming. That doesn't mean that people might not be asked to stay longer to make up for the three or more employees that have called out but that is not adding hours. That is covering them.

Ebie: the DM doesn't cut payroll. They do not have the ability to do so. Payroll is cut by corporate when sales are not made, or sets and trucks are cancelled. Also, at EVERY Kohls there is such thing as retention. When we loose employees we have to explain why they are no longer with us. Anytime an associate goes two weeks without receiving a paycheck we get a report and are expected to respond as to why those associates are no longer with us. Believe me, we don't want those reports so we don't intentinaly run people off. All associates are hired on at the same rate of pay per area worked. After 90 days everyone gets the same raise then at one year you get a performance evaluation that determines how much your raise will be. Yet, everyone gets a raise at one year. This is pretty standard with most companies I have worked for before. As for the statement about hiring lower wage associates let me ask you this: If you are paid minimum wage, as you claim, then how could we hire lower waged associates? It isn't possible. If you stay with the company for one year you end up with shares of the company (that's why associates, not managers, attend the shareholders meetings every year) so aren't those dividends yours as well?

For you Paul: Yes many managers from Target, Sears, Home Depot etc. do get recruited from their current jobs to work for Kohls. As a

As a matter of fact 2 of the execs in my district are from Target and 1 from Home Depot. In your last post you said that Kohls sometimes has good deals so you sometimes stop in. I have to ask you then, were these pictures representative of the condition of this store on your previous visits? I am betting they are not because 1) you probably wouldn't have returned and 2) You would have most likely taken those photos and posted them before now. You taking those photos and posting them is like someone taking your picture when you have food poisoning and posting them on a dating website saying "This is Paul!" That is not a fair portrayal of the store or company. When you have a company with as many stores and associates as Kohls does you are going to have stores with some issues and employees that hate their jobs. It is a fact of any company. I will say one thing bad about Kohls: The attendence policy isn't strict enough. The company is so worried about retention that they give associates 15 occurances a year which makes it hard to get rid of the associates that call in non-stop. And you don't have a choice but to schedule them because the system requires it. Staffing isn't the biggest proble, callouts are. If you are staffed fully and 4 People call out,like we had happen Sunday, then the store is going to have a harder time with recovery than it would if everyone showed up for work. Associates are even allowed to No Call No Show three times before they are termed! And at the end of their first year they get 15 more! That is crazy to me. It didn't matter how long I had worked there, at my last job you only got 5 callout and you were termed. In case you can't tell I love my job and the company I work for. I read the post about the lack of recognition and so on and it makes me sad to think that not every Kohls out there are like the ones I have worked for. I truely believe that at my store we are a family. Maybe that is a result of the great leadership that we have.

Dear Current Employee,
You're full of it. Every associate knows the meaning of verbal abuse and the way minimum wage employees are treated there. Yeah, continuous flow. That is really meaningful work - if you're a robot. The store I worked in was a dump most of the time and it was low volumn with management that didn't have a day of HR or interpersonal skills training. This was a "training store". More people have left in the last year not because they didn't like the job but were under pressure and verbal abuse doled out by ASA's (who are under pressure by incompitent managers). Management is complicit or worse, instigators of these tactics to try to get work done faster than a reasonable person would. It's all about the bonus, and everyone knows it. Get off the Kool-aid.

And when payroll is cut, who suffers? Let me guess - the people that were scheduled to work 4 hours that week anyway? No wonder management is the enemy.

as a kohls employee i have to agree the customers expect you to pick up after them. but the store should man the dressing rooms, and what is going in and coming out. no can't do that might cost extra money. are these managers making more moneyif they hold down the number of associates working at any given time. out store looked like a hurricane struck it after any sale and we are ther to 2 or 3 in the morning cleaning up after people who try on items=, kick them aside and leave them on the floor. working in customer service i have found people returning items they work to dances or holidays, good way to save money. how about luggage they had for three years and now want some new pieces. manager says go ahead make them happy. how about a raise that would make me a little happier. how about underwear that has been pooped in and returned (gown man not child) again make him happy. we shouldn't even have to hadnle this stuff. i used this slow cooker and the food stuck so i tried it again and the second time the food burned, i didnt clean it out i just want my money. it was gotten to the point of being beyond rediculous. six month old shoes and coats and coats excvhanged for new ones. kohls mottos is please the customer right or wrong at any cost and screw the associates.
i have stuck my hands inmore bags and pulled out more things that are absolute revolting then i care to talk about >I.e.
pants suid never work with a stay free maxi pad stuck to the crotch of the pants. i have been called more names by customers young and old then a cop. at all times the manager sticks up for the customers. thanks again sir. when i call you for help your first question is are they gonna yell at me. no better me i am the who makes the big bucks

Kohls management hide in the office while their little worker ants pick up after the fat pigs who shop at KOhls. The same people who use the bathrooms will call when they leave the store and ask for a manager to compalain about the mess they themselves made. Make the peons get in there and clean up after me..... the same people who can't put toilet paper in the toilet are the ones who ask for the manager at the slightest whim. Kohls customers are in the know. they know if they threaten to call corporate they will get their own way. I have never seen a bigger bunch egomaniac in my life, and talk about crying poor they are the world's biggest whiners. I learned early on they think you are working at Kohls because you are dumb and can't get another job..I particularly love the ones who come to the service desk at five after closing and have several bags to returns, some from one or two years before. they have absolutely no shamethey are poor mouthing at every opportunity. maybe we make less but we also don't cry poor as loud as kohls customers. athey think nothing of trading old shoes for new ones. but shows for a wake or prom and bringin them back when they are done. one family brought back four pais of shoes and two suits. had to go to grandmas funeral, wanted to look nice, don't need it any more, give me my money. management is the biggest ass kissers when it comes to customers who bitch over nothing. gotta keep my stats high.

I work at Kohls in Frankfort, Illinois Our manager loves to look at the young girls tits. The lower cut or see thru the top the better he likes it. He fancies hiimself quite the hot swinger. I can only say this sure reflect on him and the store. It looks like hooker heaven

Love your comments so true so true. Smile at all times even when you're getting spit on.

Kohls should go out am employee the illegals that are sorely looking for jobs and are used to being treated like second class citizens.It fits more with their second class attitude towards the associates.

[QUOTE]Kohls should go out am employee the illegals that are sorely looking for jobs and are used to being treated like second class citizens.It fits more with their second class attitude towards the associates. [/QUOTE]

HAHA BETTER YOU SAY IT THAN ME!

Ok so i was just at the store where these pics were taken to help out. Yes it took hours to clean, but look at the neighborhood. I personally like my store. The management for the most part is great. The store manager is awesome and is the main reason i still work there for little pay. I would personally work for a place that i like the people i work for and get paid crap than hate the people i work for and get paid alot. Sure, granted he's got his days, but for the most part he's easy going. Our store is the highest volume in the district with some of the trashy customers, but when it all comes down to it each nite we pull together as a team and get stuff done. Like I said on that jerks page, it's all about respect. Teaching our kids respect for other people. Getting respect from management, and giving respect to a manager that will work overnite or even hop on a register when need be.:)

I worked for the Kohl's corporation for one year. I was one of the most versatile employees that my store had. I would willingly work in any and every department because I had the desire to move up in the company. I thought that it would be a great place to be a manager because the store was always busy. That must mean big paychecks, right?

HA HA HA HA HA HA. I am so stupid.

Needless to say, I got sick and tired of being told that there were opportunities for advancement when there weren't. Like most other retailers, Kohl's tends to hire outside the company. No way, don't let the people who are the hardest workers have those jobs. Let some **** with a college degree in clay pot collecting have those jobs. GREAT.

So I went across town to the JCPenney and applied. My starting pay was $2 more an hour than I left Kohl's with. I've gotten 3 raises in my time with JCPenney (6 months) because they value me as an employee, and have been offered a full-time supervisory position, which I have gladly accepted.

Not all retail is bad. Definitely not. But Kohl's just flat out sucks. I echo the sentiments that everyone else has said: If you treat your employees badly, they will not have any desire to do a good job at work. Conversely, treat your employees like gold and they will be the best employees you'll ever have. I look forward to going to work every single day.

And believe me when I say that I will be the first person to jump on the registers at work; I'm proud that I have worked my way up in the company and will not forget my roots. My store manager is the exact same way; I watched him jump on a register when we were busy and stayed there for over a half-hour to cover two breaks.

It definitely takes a special person to work retail. I think EVERY person should have to work a retail job for at least six months so they can experience what it is like. Just my opinion though.

I believe that the corporation is more focused on drastic expansion of stores than funding the stores they have. The obvious result is a severe cutting of payroll. There is never, ever enough people working the floor to handle the customer load the store gets. So, things back up. And when we try to clean up the back up, already understaffed, the floor gets backed up too. So shit just collides.

Have a problem with it? Guess what, too bad. They don't care if you complain; they'll just bitch at that store manager who generally has no power - payroll is out of their hands (plus they get bonuses if they keep payroll down - real smart move there). There is no solution in this day and age. Go ahead, don't shop there, thousands of others will. This business, like Wal Mart and K-mart is fucked.

So I've been looking all these comments/blogs about Kohl's and the one thing I feel like I need to do is defend the employees. I got to know almost every employee at the Burleson Kohl's Store (Store #526) over my almost 7 or 8 month painful experience as part of the truck team and I think most of you bloggers have painted the employees all wrong. I am somebody that takes great pride in doing the best job possible and working very hard not only because that's what every employee should do for their boss, but because I approach every job as an opportunity to be promoted and become the boss. The only problem with that is when you work your ass off and get as much recognition as the retard that breaks boxes of candles and throws 50lb boxes of plates and dinnerware around for fun. IN FACT, he got MORE attention for being a crappy worker than I ever did for being one of the top 2 in my department (only one better than me was my supervisor who got less recognition than I did and worked twice as long). There are several others that currently work at the Burleson Kohl's that work way to hard and are to good to be stuck in a HELL HOLE like that place. One problem that has been pointed out is the fact that Kohl'ls is understaffed. This is underexagerated. Kohl's never gives out enough hours, enough pay, and they waited for 2 months to hire me because they didn't want to spend the money to do two orrientations so they waited until one was filled. The problem with being one of the good workers is once they recognize that you are a lot better than your peers (took 6 months for just 1 of my 7 managers to notice) they don't give you a raise or let you konw you are appreciated they just work your ass off while other people do the bare minimum (if that) to not get fired. When I ended up quiting it was because I was getting worked like I was three people. I was promised that 11, that's right, 11 more people were going to be hired for truck team and none were. Then they decided to swi

switch to continuous flow, which should have been named "Managements Dumbass Idea" because at least then the new process would have at least made me laugh before it frustrated and pissed me the hell off! Our truck team ended up quiting all except me and the supervisor (the best two workers hands down) and they were replaced by almost all the floor staff. Which meant that the floor was now made up of like 4 people including the ones that had to stand at the registers the whole time (4-2 = 2 people to cover the whole store to help customers, do codes, and clean up). So truck team was made up of women who didn't know the task at all, and then the floor was made up of people that were brand new or just 2 people. Not only was management of the store made up of COMPLETE RETARDS but they were DEF retards too. Not once did they listen to any of the employees complaintes of being understaffed, or how there were to many things for one person to get done. They would hear but not listen and the most of a reply one would get was "Just do your best." The best part about doing your best was that was somehow never good enough for at least one of the 7 bosses that would come and nag you. For one it would be great (the one that told you to do it) and for the other 6 it would be in the wrong spot, shelved/sized/color coordinated/or otherwise messed up. Not only that but our #2 manager (assistant store manager) was not even part of Kohl's they hired a dude from Ross who didn't know any of Kohl's processes, employees, or anything and they put him over 5 other managers who had been there for a long time. He was the type that was gonna come in and fix everything. He immediately came to the truck team and told us we should be getting the truck done in one night when the process was setup to take 2 nights on purpose since that's the way we had been taught to do it. Picture this a guy that look like sid the sloth off of ice age who is pale as hell in dress clothes in the back workin with dir

the rest of my message was deleted some how so I'll sum it up KOHL'S SUCKS. working there just taught me to never work for people that are unethical assholes. ENOUGH SAID.:-?

Hey Bunch'a theives... Kohl's has an Integrity Hotline. It's posted in the Break Room. If you don't feel your Management is doing anything about the theft or store issues, give it a call. I can guarantee that someone will do something about it!

Stop complaining unless you are willing to do something to fix the problem.

Yeah, I work for Kohl's. I started about 2 years ago as a cashier while attending school. Still at school and enjoying my Part-Time Job!

Paul-
Kohls is always a wreck! Most of the customers in my store make the same exact mess that you showed in the pictures every Friday and Saturday. Christmas is much worse. Management does not schudule according to the business. You have no idea how many times I would walk into a mess like that at two o'clock when I had to close by myself. All because they didn't put anyone in the dept. all day long. I give props to anyone that can stick with that job. It sucks!

I worked for Kohl's in NJ for about 3 years. It was by far the worst job I've ever had. When I started out it was good. I started part time and was promoted to supervisor within a month. every couple months we would get new managers. In my three years with kohls we had 11 mangers between the positions of 01-04. Four of which worked for Kohls prior, the rest were from lord and taylor, target, etc. I could not count the amount of "associates" we have gone through. I do agree that almost everyone in my store was over worked and underpaid. I myself did whatever I could, to do well and make ends meet overtime, overnights etc. Still couldn't earn more then $19,000 a year. Which if you know anything about Bergen County you're not going anywhere with that. Kohls is a bad work environment. Shit just runs downhill in that place. If they can't keep their store managers ( who are the only people in that place that make enough money to survive!!!) Then they must be doing something very wrong!

I have taken some time off from Kohl's because of my childrens busy lives. Now I have done this before, and enjoy the fact that I was headed back. I went in to day to find out when my first day was and it was 2 weeks before I was suppose to start back. All this because of communication skills. Oh they know when they'll meet at the bar for managements b-day. But can not get messages right. It was a note for crying out loud. This is only a small pity example of Kohls, which I'm sure happens elsewhere to. But I'm sure the days that I'm going to miss they will not get anyone to cover it. And everyone else will suffer. But they'll be a great meeting after work about how they made credit and sales. Thank you suckers. Love Management

I completely agree with everything the Kohl's Dallas Employee wrote about. Right down to the part about no help from the management team (though we also have a few that actually take the time to help out). People don't realize how much they could help out by just being a little less lazy. If you take an item off the rack and decide you no longer want that item a minute later, then put it right back on that rack. Don't just set it down on another rack, when you can see the rack that the item belongs on from where you're standing. I have personally spent many hours of my life straightening and sizing countless areas of my Kohl's, only to see some customer come by and demolish my work in minutes. If something is sized and colorized when you come to it, it should be that much easier to keep it that way. However, customers feel no reason to care about the work that went into making that rack or that fixture look the way it does. The problem is that people no longer think of retail employees as fellow people, who spend their time and energy picking up after your messes. They make themselves feel better by thinking that it's "our job" and we would have nothing to do if they didn't give us a mess to clean up. There is always new product that needs to be merchandised onto the floor, and that in itself is a full time job. However, no one can finish putting anything out, because there are always customers with ignorant questions, fitting rooms to clean, and calls for "all available cashiers to the registers" to answer. I could go on forever ranting about customers and lack of associates, but I think everyone has done enough of that. In summary, I ask that customers take that extra effort to just keep clean what we make clean. That's all, I don't think that's an unreasonable suggestion.

Well I'm no longer a worker of Kohls. After the mishap of being put back to work before I was suppose to, I've decided to quit. This is how it went. I cleaned out my locker to the lock to the office and said I have to quit. My kids lives are getting to busy. On supervisor asked If I gave a 2 weeks notice. With that I know that people have try to do 2 weeks notice and they've sent them home at that moment. With that I knew it didn't matter. I responed with no. She then said well since you didn't give notice they may hurt you if you ever want to come back. Now I have worked there 4 and a half years I've seen people come and go a lot of times. Do you think that she could have said thanks for your hard work and dedication? Now a I know that their are a couple other supervisor that would not have responed that way. But who needs to work an that kind of environment. Good Day Kohls!

Sounds like all the employees are in the same boat nation wide. The way the company is turning reminds me of the Wal-Mart mentality towards their employees. I have just taken a deep breath, and decided I can do what I can do, What on earth is the worst thing that can happen?? I can get fired and draw unemployement, would make more money that way anyway with gas prices the way they are and only getting 4 hour shifts. We can't change the customers, we can't change the management, but we can keep our heads high and say at the end of the day I did the best I could with the tools I was given.

OMG i COMPLETELY understand about what you guys are saying about the managers at Kohl's. I thought i was the only one who felt this way haha. The thing that annoys me the most is that whenever I work the register, which is often, if I need help I NEVER get any. If a customer has an item without a barcode or UPC and I need to page for help, no one ever comes!! It's so annoying and it makes me look bad and the customer gets all frusterated at me like it's my fault. Also one time a manager was supposed to be backup on the registers. Now you're supposed to page for backup if you have more than 2 people in your line. The girl called for help and the manager who was supposed to be her backup seriously looked at me and asked me what time it was... and I told her... and do you know what she said?? "Oh well i have 2 more minutes before I'm backup for her" I could not believe it. She saw the girl was struggling trying to get all of these customers out of her line and she just sat there and let the poor girl struggle. Kohl's managers always want you to take initiative and go above and beyond but they dont even take their own advice! Recently they havent been putting me on register as often because I guess I dont get as many people to sign up for Kohl's Credit Cards as they would like me to. I guess they dont understand that It's not that easy to convince someone to sign up for a brand new CREDIT CARD in like the 2 minutes that they're in my line. That's not just something that people like to do on a whim. Obviously they dont understand this because they're not the ones standing at a register for 8 hours with a fixed crooked smile on their face. I get like 2 or 3 apps whenever I'm on register and I thought that was good. But I guess not. The store manager has talked 2 me a million times and still calls me by the wrong name. Whenever you ask a manager for help they act like you are just bothering them so much and they have so much manager stuff to do that they just cant take 2 s

seconds out of their busy day of sitting in the breakroom, taking smoking breaks, and hanging up one piece of clothing at a time to make it look like they're doing work, to help you. I thought the management at my first job in a burger joint was stupid and incompetent but Kohl's management is proving to be the same.

Jonny,
You're right. Productivity will prevail but at what price? Wal-mart cares less than Kohl's about it's employees. Read the paper. :-?

companies don't care about their employees. they care about profit. with the constraints put on us by our corporate masters, it's nearly impossible for managers to have a successful store & keep employees happy. there's really nothing to be done about it until the american consumer demands it. customers don't seem to care about how a store treats it's employees. or if a store is that clean, or if they received good customer service. the only thing that they demand is low prices. i work at a pretty nice store. we're terribly understaffed, our turnover rate is astronomical & a great deal of our associates seem quite miserable. but the customers keep flocking in.
p.s. continuous flow is a mean bastard. i'm gonna go take a nap.

nini, would like to hear what you have to say, but most don't read Chinese'Japenese, what ever one that is.

ok, after stumbling upon this page, I decided someone needed to lend their opinion about the customer service desk. I work at the kohls in burlington, MA. Basically, my day goes like this:
I come into a pile of clothes that towers over my 4' 11" frame. The woman who was working before me gives me a bright smile and says " boy it was crazy here today, well gotta go!" so now there is a pile of crap for me to scan, ticket, and put away; while there is a line down to domestics of cranky customers. One after another they thow their 3 cent kohls bags at me and and give me no help besides saying "oh the slips in there". ok? can you take your crap out of the bag for me please? what was that? its my job to do that? ok then. i then discover that the clothes dont have tickets on them, are unquestionably worn, or are not from this store. the customer looks bewildered when asked if the items have be used. but kohls is "yes we can" so we have to take them back anyway. we gratiously accept worn underwear, swimsuit bottoms, and items from 2004 that have been stored in an attic for the past 3 years. by this time i notice my line is getting extremely long and people are complaining. i page for help and no one answers. after the 5th page a manager calls back from their air conditioned office saying i should stop paging because as usual we are understaffed today and no one is available. And why cant they help me? theyre "busy". Oh, and I cant forget to mention the customers that think i have a magic stock room in my ass. "do you have this in blue"? "does this come in a small"? "am i fat?" haha. i then proceed to ask if theyve checked with the person in the department and of course they always claim no ones there. after one quick page i receive a response and problem is solved for the dumb customer. I then realize it's break time and of course the manager tells me no one can cover it so i have to wait. this means that i wont be getting one.

I'm a Kohl's emp from PA. It's both exhilarating and depressing to read the same issues and complaints from other emps from around the nation. I agree on every complaint expressed. It's sad that Wal-Mart has become such a trendsetter in the department store retail industry, and Kohl's is whittling and whittling away to become more and more like them. I think there's a beautitude that was omitted from the Bible: The overworked and underpayed shall kick management's ass. :)

I have found a great way of handling customers when they start complaining about the dressing rooms being a mess, I just look at them with a smile and say, " I know if we could just teach customers not to leave clothes in the dressing rooms", shuts them up every time, of course I always smile at "em" when I say.it. Probably won't change a think with customers. but sure makes me feel better

One manager at the Kohl's in the blog is a real bitch. She went and got herself pregnant by the administrative assistant who is a married man with kids!! Dumb fat whore.:P

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