Most of the sales associates were full-time and, when it would come up in conversation that I was only part-time/summer, they seemed a bit dismissive. I got the vibe from some of them that it was because I wasn't treating the job like a career -- just a summer job until I went back to college.
When working in a department one day, the other two sales associates were talking about their schedules/lunch breaks. One asked me if I was working an 8-hour shift and, when I said I only had a 4-hour shift that day, she asked in an irritated voice, "Well, can you stay for 8 hours?" Since she had no control over my schedule (and I could only work a certain number of hours), it seemed presumptuous of her to assume that she could just ask me to stay because of her and the other associate's schedules. Later, I heard her complaining to another associate, "Well, *she* [me] is leaving at three" -- as if I couldn't hear her.
Macy's also doesn't assign you to a department when you're new -- you float from department to department where they need coverage. This seems like somewhat of a backward strategy, since you don't have a chance to get comfortable with everything before you get moved to another department. The sale days are also crazy and really tough if you're brand-new.
I worked the kids' department summer sale on my third day and it was insane with all the discounts to plug in and multiple codes to scan for every item. I got a nice comment card from a customer, but I still shudder just thinking about it.
