Store Manager - Store Manager DSW Employee Review

2.0
Sep 25, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Though your salary the work life balance is great, about 40-45 hour work week. The salary is very competitive. Great vision followed by great values.

Cons

Too many initiatives at once. The pressure to balance service and the tasking is not feasible with payroll allotted. The tablet goals are terrible too, I get it's a technology driven culture however at the end of the day the customer just wants rung up and go and they could care less if it's at the cash wrap or a stupid tablet. The RD visits aren't what they should be- more support and positive energy versus intimidation and barking. The DM's and RD's spend too much time making sure the values are lived to sales associates but SM's feel unappreciated and all efforts are overlooked with little to no recognition- it's a double standard. The complaints versus compliments goal (7:1) is absolutely ridiculous. Though it's understandable it's not a realistic goal to attain, I guarantee most compliments in stores are friends of employes so stores ratio looks great. There's no "benefit of the doubt" when a customer complains about some things. SM's have to walk on eggshells to make decisions when dealing with difficult customers in fear of a complaint, it's the end of the world when it happens. There's not much celebrated amongst the SM's, we only feel special once a year during the SM conference.

Explore other reviews about DSW

5.0
Jun 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The job it self is easy and not very fast pass.

Cons

Not always easy to get time off.

2.0
Jul 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

30% Employee Discount, sometimes around the holidays they'll have an additional for employees. Sometimes you'll get along with other associates.

Cons

- Poor hours, which goes both ways, you could either get not enough or too many hours. I was pulling around 30hrs a week for the first few months when I first got hired. - No appreciation or acknowledgment if you're actually doing the work and not just focusing on looking good for the customers. - Poor management. No communication in between the superiors, none of the updates they get (as far as procedures and what not) get passed down to the employees that actually need to use that information. - You won't be able to do anything about thieves, other than make them known to managers, and attempt to watch them while juggling a thousand other things. - No room for growth unless you've gotten hired through nepotism or you're willing to lose your soul for that job. - No adequate raises. I started at 15.50$ and ended at 17.70$ and I worked there for nearly 4 years (2 months shy) putting in a ton of effort.

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