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      Half Price Books

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      Half Price Books reviews

      3.7

      70% would recommend to a friend

      (718 total reviews)
      avatar

      Sharon Anderson Wright

      64% approve of CEO

      55% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.9

      Diversity & inclusion

      3.7

      Culture & values

      3.7

      Work/Life balance

      3.6

      Compensation and benefits

      3.2

      Career opportunities

      3.1

      Senior management

      Half Price Books has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 718 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Half Price Books employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      718 reviews
      3.0
      Aug 20, 2017

      A low-stress company to work for with a few drawbacks.

      Customer service representative
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Fairly low-stress at the lower levels of employment. 35 hour workweeks are a boon and a curse. The people who work for this company, especially those not in management, are excellent. We have a decent healthcare program. Our time-off accrual isn't what it used to be but still not bad. There are quarterly profit-based-bonuses though we sometimes do not turn enough profit to merit the bonus, increasingly so over the past 4 years or so. It's a great company to work for given you do not seek any real advancement, career-wise.

      Cons

      I agree with a lot of people's assessments that management is very hectic and lacks discipline and coordination. The company on a whole is still trying to figure out the next step in its evolution. Our website is a joke among most of the staff at our level as it rarely functions the way that it should. Pay is not good and managers will often cite percentage caps when assessing raises during yearly reviews. I make more than most people at my level and even more than my supervisors and I have yet to crack 30k after over 10 years with the company. There is no real valuation of employees. Promotions are based on superficiality. The company has grown more corporate driven on a whole and is losing its sense of self. Our office is run like a warehouse where there is no communication and no trust from management. They have eliminated any "distraction" including banter and headphones at our desks.

      4.0
      Sep 20, 2016

      A socially progressive, environmentally conscious retail company

      Bookseller
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      - Wages are excellent relative to most of the retail industry/environment. - Benefits package is also excellent (Medical/dental, 401K, profit sharing, paid vacation, employee discount, etc). - People who gravitate to employment at HPB tend to be friendly, intelligent, creative and capable, making for a quality work environment, socially. - HPB promotes from within. Management positions, etc, are filled from existing staff, not from outside the company. - Business policies are fair and honest. Profit does not trump ethics. - As mentioned in the title, the company is socially progressive and works hard to be environmentally responsible. - Frequent opportunities for employees to volunteer for special projects.

      Cons

      - Though the company has been around since the early 1970s, it can still seem amateur. It has a hard time defining and committing to its strengths. It also seems to have difficulty measuring the success, or failure, of it's practices, as well as a short memory regarding what has been tried already. This results in frequently shifting directives/procedures, the recurrence of practices that were previously deemed unsuccessful, and a lot of energy being wasted on trying to fix things that aren't broken. - Communication from the top down can be poor. Lots of lags and hiccups with the dissemination of information. - Scheduling: This is retail, so there's a lot of working nights, weekends, and holidays. It's a struggle to maintain a social life with your 9-5 friends and family. Also (though not the case for every storefront), staffing is kept pretty svelte, meaning that it can be struggle to get desired time off, and the work environment can be stressful. - Sometimes there's a disconnect between corporate headquarters and the front lines. Policy, procedure, and tech rollouts sometimes fail to address the needs and realities of day-to-day work in the storefronts.

      4.0
      Aug 14, 2016

      SLIM

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Wonderfully thoughtful, intelligent company. They're continuing to make great decisions in a shaky industry.

      Cons

      One star lost for an amazing company because the SLIM position does not get the pay or recognition it deserves for the intense amount of work the position requires. My work load is as intense as the Store Manager's.

      Viewing 214 - 216 of 718 Reviews
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      Glassdoor has 759 Half Price Books reviews submitted anonymously by Half Price Books employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Half Price Books is right for you.