Toxic Environment - Merchandise Specialist Lead Nordstrom Employee Review

1.0
Jul 1, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

On the selling floor you can make a lot of money if you’re good at selling. The people you meet in the store will become your family.

Cons

Nordstrom has created a very toxic environment over the years. It is a known fact within the stores and corporate that HR’s doors are locked and if you are able to contact them they will always direct you to call the HR service center. HR is commonly referred to “as a joke”. It is also known that HR will always side with leadership no matter what an employee presents in terms of proof of a claim. My experience in the stores was with a lot of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. Yet my experience in corporate was that only Whites and Asians were favored with very few Latinos and Black employees. Most corporate employees have never worked in a Nordstrom store, which is contradictory to what Nordstrom portrays. It is almost impossible to go from a store to corporate. “They drank the coolaid” is a common term in the stores referring to employees who support negative leadership decisions. It’s very easy to get or feel stuck within this company. If you are a man within this company you are allowed to be aggressive but if you are a woman you will automatically be labeled as aggressive if you speak out against anything leadership says and will be “coached out”. Bonus: healthcare sucks!

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5.0
Feb 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Great managers and company and atmosphere

Cons

Working weekends, customers, late hours

2.0
Jun 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent base pay, somewhat autonomous, great tip potential.

Cons

The company has changed for the worse since COVID. When I came back the mood of the entire store had shifted. Gone were the days of comradery, customer focus, and taking pride in a job well done. In its place there is a new culture of cutthroat sales, a severe decline in customer focus, and worst of all a new focus on profit over customer satisfaction. When I was told that the amount the store charged for a shoe shine was not enough to do the best job I could for a customer I knew things had gone downhill for the company. Not to mention I watch a manager prey on a mentally disabled person in order to secure a sale, when the person could not understand what was being offered. Sad that such a once great company is now just another greed ridden corporation.

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