Von Maur reviews

Where to begin! Upper management communication is lacking in a big way. The inconsistencies with rules and decisions takes a toll on you. Security system is not up to par,in my opinion. I did not feel safe half or more of the time I was working there. There is TOO much pressure put on employees to keep theft from happening. Von Maur does not take enough pride in their merchandise; if they did they'd get a better security system. I felt very undervalued as an employee. Yes,I understand it's retail,but I do have a life,and there was no balance between my personal and professional life. I was questioned many times as to the validity of my health issues. The way the managers approached any illness I may have had, they were insensitive and sometimes downright rude in their responses/reactions. They were always understaffed,which led to associates covering in other departments on a constant basis. I hated this because if I was not familiar with a particular area,I could not offer the customers the kind of service that they deserved,and I looked like an incompetent idiot. But,really,the real incompetent idiots hang out in upper management. The dress code is outdated and stuffy. I worked in the women's contemporary department,but you would never know it by the way I dressed. Why buy designer jeans from someone in pantyhose who virtually has no idea what kind of wear and tear the product has that they're selling?! We,as sales associates,and DM's, also had to unbox stock in our nice work clothes. We were also discouraged to try to make friends at work. Sorry,but I'm not from here,and if my entire life is working at your bogus place of employment,where else am I really going to get to know anyone? This is not the "family" environment that you talked about in my interviews.

The biggest downfall to this store is the lack in experienced management. Von Maur's prerogative seems be having inexperienced, young, blonde women comprise its upper management. So, if you are a relatively attractive young women of the Aryan race- congrats, you have a decent chance of being promoted very quickly. I thought it was something coincidental at my store, but from reading the other reviews, apparently it's not. Most of the upper management is unapproachable. If you do confront most of them with an issue, they will say they will fix it or get back to you, but they usually never do. They play favorites, some people will get written up for some things while others won't. Write ups are readily handed out for tardies (one minute late is LATE) and if you get a customer complaint, no matter how ridiculous, good luck. Management also seems to hand out favors to those in their good graces, like extra weekends off or less than two closing shifts a week. Most of upper management is useless. They often don't help when asked and are ambivalent about resolving issues. Basically they are self-important dictators that like to monitor you from the eyes in the sky. The store is typically understaffed and there is a high turnover. If your department is properly staffed, you will probably be forced to frequently cover other departments. The under staffing issue is also very frustrating, especially if you work in a larger and busy department. If you are understaffed and busy, you are still expected to give "Von Maur customer service". It's impossible. They can be very finicky about approving time off or requesting specific days off. If you are part time, chances are they will try to schedule you more hours, or excuse me, "TESS" will schedule you more hours. Timeliness is important, but it's frustrating not having any pardon on tardies for things like bad weather. It snows here a lot in the winter and the roads can be really bad! It would be nice if that could be taken into consideration. The return policy is obnoxious. Customers abuse you! I could write a novel on the absurd returns I've had to do. We learn one thing in training, but then there are a million "grey areas." We might as well just be told to return anything and everything, whether it has a receipt or not, whether it's been worn or not, and regardless of how long ago it was purchased. A customer brought in a pair of UGG boots to return with a receipt that were two years old and completely worn out! She got to return them!