Bath and Body Works
 

Ok, I need some ideas and opinions. Has anyone ever worked at bath and body works? I'm thinking of applying but I just wanted check an see if anyone had any experience to share. Thanks!

I did over Christmas one year. I think there is a close relation to any of the limited brand companies. (LImited, Victorias Secret, Bath&Body, Express, White Barn) I have worked at three of these. It's okay, pay is decent (around $7-8 where I was in Michigan)
My problems were that they really expected you to sell product, but in reality I don't care if we make goal or target, but there is no additional anything, besides your base hourly rate. Also, there are often not that many hours available (think 8-10) per week. Some of my managers have also just been too hugh strung, in meeting goals and thinking that their job, as a manager at Victorias Secret is a career, not a job.

Best of luck to you

Bath and Body Works is a great place to work. I worked there as an advisor. It really easy and fun. Oh yeah, the discount is a PLUS as well, as sampling all the new lotions that come out before anyone else does! Let's just say that I worked ther for four months and own ALL of their produst!! I mean everything single item!!

i worked as an assistant stock manager for the store in pentagon city, va. overall, the experience was great but if you have any tattoos or piercings that can be seen, you might have a problem. i was hired by an assistant manager who said that it would not be an issue that i had my lip and eyebrow pierced. but when the manager came back from vacation, she told me that i had to remove those piercings and my 11 earrings in my ears. she said it was the company's policy for everyone to look natural and the same. we ended up compromising because i threatened to sue for discrimination. after that incident, it was smooth sailing after that.

i worked there for a year. the discounts are great, working with the people is fun, and they are always pushing you to try new products so that you can give customers a firsthand account. so i would say definitely go for it ... just remember that cleanup after the store closes is a bitch.

i have heard you don't get too many hours. I have tried applying there before. Many people I know that do work there don't get many hours and there are sunday night restock which most of the crew has to stay for. Kind of like a monthly inventory.

I work for Limited Brands, it's not bad, it's not great. I'm currently pretty miffed at them because my store is remodeling and we were told they would not transfer us to other stores in the company (there's 3 in the mall) but then transferred half the girls that were part time like me. I'm working for a different company now and am not sure I'll be going back to Limited.

Thanks for all the advice! Yall are the best :)

Ballerina worked there last Christmas--she loved it but they didn't give anyone many hours.

I work for a limited brand now, and I really like it, except for the fact that they want you to meet all these store goals (like opening up credit cards and making X amount of $$) but they dont give you any incentives! Sometimes I feel like I work extra hard just so the managers can get their bonus (or whatever they get) and the people who make it happen get NADA!

I was a Consultant (Assistant Manager) for Bath & Body Works for 3 years in 3 different stores and I loved it. I cried when I went back to school. It's a demanding job but it was also a lot of fun. I did scheduling as well and the most hours went to the advisors who did the best selling. There were lots of incentives in our stores, many of which were through the company. There were contests just about every day with really cool prizes. I have a ton of BBW t-shirts, hats, etc. Yes the managers are stressed out because it's their jobs on the line if the store doesn't make goal. But a good manager is a good leader and can manage without showing that stress or putting it on the people she/he manages. I miss BBW every time Christmas rolls around cause that was my favorite time to work there, crazy I know! :) I always had a good time doing almanacs (floorsets) because I made a boring time fun for my employees.

I worked at Bath and Body Works and hated it. It is the most boring job I have ever had. All you do is walk around the store all day. And the smell starts to get to you. I never go in there anymore and I used to love it. I personally would not recommend working there but someone else might say different. The one thing that I did like was the discount. That was pretty cool. Good luck finding a job.

Anne Marie

I worked for the Limited as well except I worked for Structure (b/f it was Express men). I agree with the above posts about the lack of incentives for employees. We had to meet a lot of goals but didn't see any of the rewards! I did have fun though, probably b/c I met lots of boys!

i totally agree with you about work ethic, but in my situation, my boss is the queen of micro-management. it ticks me off when she sits in the back room eating (twice a shift usually) and when i go back there to get more stock, she tells me that i have to rush back out on the floor and sell $2000 in the next hour and half. in my opinion, if making the sales plan is going to benefit her, the LEAST she could do is get on the floor and help us! i guess the bottom line is, sometimes people feel like they deserve some incentive if others are getting it (or that if not everyone gets incentives, no one should get should)

whew, sorry, this manager just makes me so angry!

edited bc its the last day of class, my brain is fried, and i just left out random words here and there...

I totally agree with all the other girls about there being no incentive to sell more other than your managers yelling at you, or maybe a few more L:Reward points if there is a contest - but I get my peanuts whether I sell you 6 collar-cuff sweaters or 3.

That's what I like about my job now - I get the benefit from selling you a second pair of shoes or a handbag, instead of just my manager.

And before some old biddy calls me lazy: I was our number two salesperson at my Limited before we started remodeling. I still only got 2-3 3 hour shifts a week because our managers play favorites with who they give hours to, even though I would have made the company more money.

Within a month at my other job, I've been promoted to keyholder. It's nice to be recognized.

I just got a job at Bath & Body and will have training on Thursday. I'm VERY excited because I have worked for Limited Brands before (Victoria's Secret) and LOVED it! The Limited Brand is a GREAT company to work for. They treat their employees right and the discount is very fair. (unlike XXI where it's only 10%...not even worth it if you ask me). Apply, go to the interview, and if you get hired, try it out. You'll probably end up liking it. And yes, if you have facial peircings (even a tounge ring) or visible tatoos you will have to cover them. It's not discrimination, it's policy.

I worked for BBW while I was in school. The thing I really didn't like about it was the long nights where we had to change the entire floor plan around. Usually the things needed (product and building materials) weren't available because another person took it for their display! They do offer a good employee discount, and I bought way too many things there.

I have worked at Bath and Body Works for 2 years now. I like it, because the store where I work at is back home, so I work there whenever I'm home and make extra money. The discount is very nice, especially when new stuff comes out and you get 75% off those. Plus, I wear Express alot and the 20% discount always helps out there. You are definitely expected to know and sell the product hard to the customers, and hours usually are skimpy, like 3 hours a day only like one or two days a week. The funtime is the major holiday times, starting from black friday to new years. You will have tons of hours then. Overall, a fun place to work if you're in school. I couldn't see myself making a career out of Bath and Body Works, though

I think you kind of missed the point that what people were saying was about this particular company. I don't think anyone needs a reality check. For instance, working at Nordstrom you make a small commission on sales once you meet your quota for the pay period-incentive for you to meet the quota (good for the employer) and incentive for you to make more sales to increase your commission (also good for the employer and good for the salesperson). Coming from someone who worked for the Limited brand while in college, there are a lot of sales requirements and not much incentive for employees to reach them. It's not that anyone expects a paycheck for doing nothing, but happy employees are the best employees in my opinion. If I were to work retail again (or recommend a company to someone for employment) it would be one where there are mutually beneficial rewards for sales.

Go Otter! It is that kind of analysis that makes companies better. You should go into consulting, not law ;)

I worked at B&B Works...hated every moment of it. Not only did I only make $6.25 an hour, but I was expected to carry huge boxes (I'm talking 50-60 lbs) down a latter off the stocking shelves 10-15 feet up. You were expected to wear their makeup line and use their products so customers can see it on, etc. Like others have mentioned, you don't get scheduled a lot of hours. I guess what made me mad was the fact that I spent almost every paycheck on B&B products I wouldn't have normally purchased. If you can afford that, then go for it. I don't reccommend the job for poor college students who don't have a lot of money. You really come home with nothing but nice smelling hands. ;)

Just thought I would let yall know that I decided to take the job. I had my training session on Tuesday - I think working at bath and body works will be fine...I'm just a little afraid of the register :) Guess that will come with time though. Anyways thanks for the great replies!

I had my training session on Friday. My 1st day will be this coming Saturday. I'm very excited as well. Don't be afraid of the register - it will tell exactly what to do next. It's so easy!

Although I never worked at B&B, I worked at Express which is owned by the same company. I've heard that B&B and Express have many of the same policies regarding employees.
What I didn't like about working at Express was that management basically told their employees to hound the customers. The second they walked into the store, we were supposed to run over to them, ask them what they were looking for, explain our Fast Cash policies (a coupon of sorts), and ask them if we could help them. No big deal but then you were told walk over to them about every 5 minutes and ask one of these questions: "Can I find that in your size?", "Is there any event in particular that you're shopping for?", or "Can I start a fitting room for you?" By the time the customer walked out of the store, the customer would have had 5 different Express associates asking them a zillion times if they needed any help. When you put them in the dressing room, you were required to throw another item over the door and say, "This would look great with what you've chosen. By the way, if you open an Express card, you can save 15% on all your purchases today!" God forbid you accidently throw the wrong size over the dressing room door. :)
When they get to the register, you ask them again to open an Express card. When they answer no, you ask, "Why not? You don't want to save 15%?" I hated doing that because that customer could be having an embarrassing credit problem and it's not in your right to question their reasoning behind not opening a card.
From a marketing prospective, I always felt that their customer service was poor. Their idea is to basically pressure their customers into buying something...almost like a car salesman. Our store ended up with a lot of returns because of that.
I'm the type of customer who wants to shop on my own (and I know that MANY people are like that). I walk into the store, say hello to the associates, and then shop on my own. If I need help, I'll ask for it myself. This is the reason that I never felt comfortable basically attacking my customers; I knew that I would have hated to be in their shoes. I love the clothing at Express but I always make it my goal to try to remain inconspicuous while shopping so that the salesgirls will hopefully not come over to me and ask me a zillion questions about some plain old tank top that I'm just looking at. ("We have those in all different colors! They're 2 for $20. I can start you a fitting room!!!!!!!"......errrr, dude, I'm just looking at it)
I lasted for about 3 weeks before the low pay and 3-hour shifts got to me.
Although I'm sure not all stores owned by the Limited Company are like this (my friend worked at Structure, now Express Men, and had a very positive experience), I just wanted to share my experience just in case you are one of those people, like myself, who is uncomfortable with performing high-pressure sales tactics. From my understanding, Express and B&B tend to be the most like this out of all the Limited Company stores.

ZTAngel -- The salepeople at the Express near me have definitely embraced all those "harrass-the customers" guidelines. Drives me CRAZY!!! That's why I don't shop there as often as I do: I like the clothes but don't want to be hounded.

My friend started working at Victoria's Secret a few weeks ago. She likes it alright, but she's having problems getting hours, like a lot of other people have mentioned.

We were discussing this on another board, and either the BBW/Express/Limiteds around here don't pay any attention to that part of the training or else I'm REALLY initimidating, because I always say "no thank you, I'm just looking" and they leave me alone.

We don't have Express in Canada, but I have family members who live in the U.S and when I was smaller (size wise that is) I would love to shop in Express because I loved their clothes. But I noticed the same thing. I would have a zillion sales people attack me. So what happened was when I went to pay for my purchase and the cashier asked me who was helping me, I would say no one. How am I supposed to tell them that so and so was helping me when I had every girl in the store trying to make the sale. If I was fortunate enough to get one or two girls trying to help me I would give the name of the first girl. Otherwise no one would be credited with the sale. Although I'm sure there was a lot of cheating going on.

I worked last Christmas for Bath & Body Works and I loved it. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed selling gift baskets to men who didn't have a clue what to buy for wife/mother-in-law/etc.

The only thing I didn't like was the lack of hours and the temptation to spend my check on stuff in the store!!