Empty promises, unqualified leaders & a failing business model - Sales Manager The RealReal Employee Review

1.0
Apr 3, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent medical and dental benefits Idk what else :(

Cons

It is very hard to put a traumatic & horrible experience into words, but will try. - They sell it as flexible environment for managers - but you are expected to be online around the clock, for your bosses, your employees, & customers- many times the VP of west would send slacks/emails on Saturday’s & Sundays or outside of working hours. VP lived outside our time zone & would send things on her time schedule sometimes 5-6am when our working hours were to start at 830-9am & although she “didn’t expect a response” you know that it feels like you need to when your boss’ boss is sending messages. Culture of “moving fast” - our Director valued people who responded 1st/fast rather than respecting time to answer thoughtfully - Sales Culture: Morale the entire time I was there for 1+ year was the worse I’ve ever seen & felt in a personal & professional capacity. No connection, no accountability for leaders or sales reps, 0 long term thought about how to build a sustainable sales culture & high morale. Thankless work. Leaders who say they believe in “mental health” but then prioritize the sales numbers & continually focus on themselves. Leaders are unprofessional and bring their own traumas and stresses into the workplace. Reps are stressed and overworked so they don’t feel like they can take time off, long even lunches, or even participate in any work events because they’re stressed to hit quota. It’s a very much Watch Your Back culture & everyone is out for themselves. - Commission: As a manager, I felt deeply disappointed in the way commission was structured not only for myself but for my sales people - the system for tracking sales/commission was broken the entire time I was there for 1+ year (many promises to fix it went unanswered) - it was impossible to track your units. Also, the warehouse would consistently LOSE items & sales people were not compensated for those items, even though it was out of their control & they did their job in obtaining. **You are not PAID adequately for the sales you bring in. Also, leadership consistently change Quotas month to month, therefore making it harder to make commission (all while trying to sell why this is the best thing for YOU & your business). When people quit (which is monthly) other reps are required to pick up their numbers, making it harder for them to hit quota. There is no accountability - reps and managers can steal & there are rarely consequences. - Unfulfilled & Misguided Promises for Change by Unqualified leadership: as a leader I was “encouraged to speak up” - when I voiced my opinion for changes I was met with - promise to fix it (with no change to follow), explain all the reasons why we can’t do that, and/or gaslight me & tell me to focus on my own job. Leadership in the West is unqualified to lead. VP on multiple occasions gossiped about other managers & would ask for feedback only to use it against you or as a way to gossip about others. Every single time she vowed to make changes she came back with reasons why that couldn’t happen or come up with a different solution that was misguided & didn’t have the best interest of the sales team at heart. Director in West is not a people leader - only cares about “moving the business forward” & hitting numbers. He didnt care when people quit and that the high turnover impacted everyone on the team. Directors also took 0 time actually getting to know the job - he consistently lacked the basic knowledge of the manager role and sales rep role in order to actually be helpful & solve problems. He did not take on an ownership mentality - but rather, it’s “your team” you have to do everything, rather than a typical sales team that approaches teams as “our team”. He did not have a player/coach role, and wanted to stay behind his screen rather than taking time getting to know his team, their jobs, and how to actually help. - Consistently training with rotating door of sales reps: Horrible place to work with such high turnover so as a manager you’re required to train 1-3+ every month. Only to see these reps stay around for 6 months max. Exhausting. - Customers: Sales team is the punching bag for customers. This happens a lot because the business model is broken & unsustainable & the mistakes made on TRR end are immeasurable. Customer service is untrained & warehouse not managed up to par. So although they were consistently yelling at us, I felt terrible for our customers as I knew they precious items were not in the best hands. - business model: they have tried over and over again to make their Direct Sales biz model work & it doesn’t. They consistently are asking for more items more items but the customers don’t always have more to give. They are wayyyy over-hired and they do this on purpose - bump up quotas so that they’re getting more items but then less people hit quota & less commission to pay out. - Unlimited PTO is a trap: Lots of guilt when you take time off, no quota relief if you’re sick, and has to be approved by your boss. Boss would also make other sales managers pick up caring /working for the other managers when they were on PTO rather than he, himself taking on the extra work and covering for his people. I’ve worked for a variety of sales companies and this is not the sales or fashion company to be in if you value your worth. All in all, this is an exhausting, unfulfilling, traumatic, chaotic place to work. Although their big idea of sustainable luxury fashion is amazing - there is a TON of work to be done to make this a sustainable place to work & to enjoy as a consumer.

Explore other reviews about The RealReal

5.0
May 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Overall, the receiving team is very sweet and engaging. They try to help you when you need it or ask for it.

Cons

When you don't reach your goal, they do get on you/

2.0
Jul 17, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Great coworkers - Handle fun products - Front line works their tails off

Cons

- Senior Leaders (some Sr. Mgrs, mainly Directors and up) really don't do much but sit in meetings and blame their teams for their leadership deficiencies. Not to mention they love to never be in office but can't wait to tell you why you should be there. - Changes are constant: Quality Standards, SOPs, Order of Ops, CRM - With little to no training or guidance. The 3 auth centers operate "the same" but really there are drastic process differences in each along with leadership. - Leaders do anything to deflect blame and responsibility. The front lines are worked to exhaustion with unrealistic goals (if TRR was serious about their standards and what they offer).. Rather, people process at lightning speeds just to fill the warehouse with garbage. - Sr leaders of Operations quell issues and disguise problems to C Suite - Toxicity within leadership, everyone is playing defense which does not help solving problems. - No feedback is taken, ideas are shot down. - Vacations/breaks dont exist if you are a leader. No respect for time off. - Churn and churn. Front line staffing is a revolving door.

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