Corporate has lost its way - Department Manager Michaels Employee Review

1.0
Jun 7, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-working with customers on their projects can be challenging and lots of fun -working with kids for demos and classes is great -most co-workers are nice people -most co-worker are very dedicated -opportunities for advancement within stores

Cons

Work Work is very physical. Lots of lifting, working on ladders, unloading trucks. Not enough time to get jobs done. Too few employees in the store to help customers, keep cash register lines short and cover framing department. Environment "Energy conservation" program of last summer put air conditioners at higher temps in the stores. CNY is already hot and humid in the summer; customers search for air-conditioned stores. Customers were unhappy. Paper products curled. Glue on packaging dissolved. We threw away lots of product because it was un-sellable We were constantly over-heated, dehydrated, hot, tired. We are not allowed fluids on the sales floor or at the registers. Understandable policy if temperatures are controlled correctly, but does not work when your employees are experiencing heat exhaustion. Store Management Store managers are salaried; no one else is at the store level. Hours are so lean that store managers must regularly work extra long hours to get things done. No real training for dept managers on up. Lots of managers could definitely use training in people-skills.

Explore other reviews about Michaels

5.0
Jul 17, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Environment is beautiful and safe, Team is very helpful,

Cons

no cons, its that good!

2.0
Jun 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some great co-workers, employee discount, on site office benefits including a gym and cafe for breakfast/lunch, full suite of employee benefits at reasonable prices

Cons

Ridiculous amount of stress. Retail in general is often stressful but the amount of stress at Michaels is unnecessary and over the top. Constant last-minute changes by leadership to creative, promotions, products, and any other kind of changes. Things will be finalized and signed off on and delivered, and somebody will make a change at the last minute and things are constantly having to be redone. People are worn down and worn out. It’s the highest turnover rate of any place I’ve worked in retail at the corporate office. I’ve seen people take jobs and be gone within weeks. Leadership in some departments are extremely micromanaging and controlling even with employees that are tenured and have multiple years of experience. The stress level for both tenured and new employees is very high. Projects get discussed over and over and over again, decisions are made and then revisited again after decisions were made making delivery late and causing people to work unnecessarily in order to fix things that could’ve been done correctly the first time. The company tries really hard to make the workplace fun and offer activities, motivation, and incentives. Unfortunately they don’t offset what the environment is like working inside with some of the teams and expectations to actually deliver the work. Would not recommend.

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