I worked for Guess for several years, starting as a part time sales associate and worked my way to a training store manager. Over the years, I saw a slow, steady decline in the company, which was heartbreaking, as I truly did love Guess. After a few years of declining sales and plummeting stock prices, the company began to limit resources, such as payroll and tools, as well as incentives, like pay raises and contests. My store performed well every year I was there, outperforming the other stores in my district and beating my numbers from the previous year. Yet I did not receive a pay increase the last 4 years I was there. I was given the excuse by my DM that no one had received pay increases but I later found that to be not true. It all really started to go downhill when the new CEO started. Say what you will about Paul, but he really did see the company as an extension of his heart and treated the employees like they were family. I always felt as though I was cared about and that I mattered to the company. After Victor began, I felt a real coldness sink in and the changes began coming very quickly. Focuses changed daily, positions were eliminated, everyone was scrambling to keep up. As a trainer, I was trying to be the champion of change and embrace everything as best as I could so I could provide a good experience for new hires and set them up for success. That was very difficult to do when priorities and initiatives changed daily (sometimes hourly). When they switched their focus from customers to product, everyone’s shrink went up (yes, shocking) and we had to have a bad kids meeting where we all committed to get our act together without still completely knowing what our focus was supposed to be. Guess was unique in that they had a dedicated training department but once we changed directions, that department became an afterthought and was deemed as unnecessary, when in reality, training should be your biggest focus if you want to change your company and improve your results. You need those people in the field to be your liaisons and cheerleaders for the change you want to see. The lack of opportunity for growth in my department and the coldness of my leadership is why I ultimately decided to leave. On my last day there, after 10 years of blood, sweat and tears, no one I had worked with or for reached out to say goodbye. The only person who made me feel as though I had any value or contributed anything while I was there was the head of HR who said some lovely things to me during my exit interview. Expect the typical retail experience: nights, weekends, holidays, customers, unrealistic sales goals with ever decreasing traffic, no work/life balance (my employees and DM called and texted me nonstop on days off). I really hope that Guess finds its place again because it was once a great company to work for and had all those changes not happened, I’d still be there.
