visual merchandising team leader

sales consultant

sales associate

sales assistant

sales

Crate and Barrel

The best way I could describe working at Crate and Barrel is all the sales associates are on a sinking ship and the management is on an island not supporting or guiding at all. Most of the sales associates are hired on the spot which can paint a picture of the workplace atmosphere. The pay is decent but it comes with knowing/doing parts of other people’s jobs and management has high expectations. The management team is filled with entitled, egotistical and petty managers. Management does not maintain professional behaviour on the floor such as inappropriate conversations about women customers and deeming them attractive. Managers heavily focus on mistakes and rarely give praise for doing a good job. Constructive feedback is given on the floor in front of customers and associates. Management has a problem when associates talk on the floor, even if there are no customers around. A big part of this job is teamwork and it makes it harder when you cannot even get to know your colleagues without management breaking up a conversation that lasted less than 30 seconds. They will also check the cameras and reprimand those associates that talk often. Also, there is hardly any supply of tools in order to work effectively and efficiently such as walkie-talkies. Diversity in the workplace is very much an issue with most of the POC being back-of-house associates/managers and only two-floor sales managers. Growth in the workplace is little to none, especially if you are not white. To be moved to a different department will take years because management will not take it seriously. Scheduling is completed by one manager who gives out the same shifts every week and will update/gives out shifts without notice.Breaks are odd as management will not give you a break if you work 5 hours or less than 6 which the Employment Standards Act recommends doing so. I enjoyed working with colleagues; however, management and the corporate culture being shoved down sales associates' throats is very toxic and is unsustaining for keeping a healthy working environment. 

Working at Crate was fun and motivating when I first started, and it seems things changed through the course of a few months, when management began analyzing and criticizing your every single move. Often belittled when you make a small mistake or ask a question, you are never rewarded for good performance other than a quick and forced "nice sale!".

Employees voiced their concerns and nothing was done to change. Salaries have been stagnant despite sales booming during the pandemic, which, funny enough, has been used as an excuse to avoid raising wages. Managers expect you to approach customers and push sales, yet they don't meet those expectations themselves. Some sales associates are more skilled than their own bosses, yet they are paid very little above minimum. No commissions.

In turn, customers can be absolutely wonderful and understanding and a few ones can be unpleasant. Coworkers are fantastic and supportive of each other, making for really fun times during work, which is probably what's retaining employees. Beautiful and useful products are sold at the stores, which can be interesting for decorating, kitchen appliances and gifts.

All in all, this company has great potential and sells great products, which makes the customer experience generally good. Sadly, the same could not be said for those running the store, which definitely changed the way I see a company I once loved.

Management in store and at the higher levels were the biggest problems with this company. They don't seem to realize that minimum wage with no benefits, working just shy of full time hours without being a full time staff member due to budget constraints, does not make for happy, healthy employees. When you spend all your life working and can still barely afford rent and food it's not a good fit.

The number of times lower level staff members, as a higher authority access on the computer system, were left essentially in charge of the floor while the managers had all store meetings, without being compensated with thanks or proper salary level, was laughable. Lack of advancement within the company was another issue. If you have long term staff who are trained and competent in higher level job qualifications, why would you pass them over for the few promotions that come up and hire from outside, starting from scratch? It's not good for morale. 

If it weren't for the relationships that grew with my coworkers I would not have stayed as long as I did. I have some lifelong friends from this store

This kind of work situation is to be expected from lower level customer service jobs, but Crate & Barrel touts itself as a higher end option for customers, you'd think they be that for employees too.

This is a fine job for someone looking to get out of the house on a part time basis for some extra cash, but it is not a job to live off of.

A typical day at Crate&Barrel is productive and fun with coworkers, until it comes to its management team. Management team is the most horrific, they do not value their employees, there is numerous account of false story telling, they are always in their office having meetings, and do not contribute to the stores productivity, yet they are fast to be congratulated by regional managers for how good the store looks or the stores sale numbers, yet the staff is completely miserable. You are constantly, spoken by management in a condescending way, you may be subject to being bullyed if you are not among the favourites, and if you speak up for yourself if you do not like the way you are speaking to, they consider that as insubordination and that you spoke to them in a rude way. If you do not want to be mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted, do yourself a favour , do not work for them, as HR will not even help you if you file a complaint.So much great and hardworking people left, and this does not seem alarming, I am sure will not be much longer till more quit.

Also, you will be doing work task outside of your description, and will have to settle with the little pay they give you, and do not even attempt to ask for a salary increase, as it will probaly be less than 2% of your salary.

Perks, great staff team that really are their to support you when you are having a bad day. So much potential, for this work place.

I was so So excited for this opportunity. I was hired as a Team lead.
That is when things started to go sideways. the changed the name of my position JUST after I quit my other job (which paid WAY MORE) and did not have a job description for the new position. So on my first couple of days I saw my "staff" hanging around, i suggested that perhaps dusting or organization while chatting would be more productive. La-Oops, they had not told ANY of the staff I was a supervisor. I was called into the office to "talk" it was at this point i found out my "Supervisor or Team Lead" position was gone (to a staff that was on shift). I was never informed of this position change, made me look real stupid. I was basically a head cashier with not leadership authority, and no input to the stores success. I found this a darn shame.  The staff at the store I left still tell me what a great lead I was (the best).
As a mid 40's person I did (and still do) not see the need to hold back an opinion when it needs to be said. This was a disaster with management with very tender Egos. Anyways things deteriorated to a point that I was very disrespected by management. So I choose to leave. Now I see there is an ASM position. I am so tempted to apply. I would be the best management they have had there. Many co-workers from different departments said this to my face.

I loved CB2. It was a great company to work with and the management and staff are great. 
I have always worked with clothing retail so I found it a great and exciting challenge to work in a store with fashion forward furniture and concept. I learnt a new way of customer service approach where you deal with the clientele on a one to one basis. It's more personal and sometimes you end up having an on going retail relationship with them because they come back and ask for you. I got to deal with designers, interior designers and the movie industry which was a whole other ballgame compared to working with personal buying for your home. 
The hardest part of the job was honestly when it slowed down and there wasn't much to do and I like it to be busy and always have something to do. I found it hard sometimes to deal with a customer that has experienced an unsuccessful delivery (the service provided to them) or the furniture it self was not satisfying in quality and so forth because you get blamed for everything but we had a great management team that would guide us through it or take over to fix the problem at hand. 

I loved the staff and that made working there enjoyable and easy. we all helped each other out instead of working against each other. We have a shared commission instead of individual so it was important that everyone pulled their weight.

Most days were fun and engaging, I've worked in a few warehouse/retail environments and crate and barrel was very comfortable as far as retail goes. My coworkers were lovely and a lot of fun, the culture was incredible. 

I eventually quit after missing two shifts, humiliating I know. I'd stopped checking the scheduling app because shifts were so rare for me. I was a part time employee who had been trained for both sales and warehouse work, but I was lucky to get more than 3 hours week, down from 35 hours a week during the holiday season. I stopped being able to continue investments or pay bills, and despite asking many managers about the situation I was always told that all part time employees were dealing with this, and there was nothing they could do.

The company hired more people while many employees, not just myself, were on austerity hours. This was very frustrating and I quit. 

I'm sad that my employment ended with them the way it did, I really enjoyed the culture and the people and I would've kept working there had they kept giving me a reliable salary.

When I first joined the company, the experience was excellent. The product was strong, the culture was welcoming, and the people I worked with were truly great. It felt like an environment where collaboration, innovation, and employee well-being were valued.
However, over time—particularly with the transition to new leadership—the culture shifted significantly. Work-life balance deteriorated, and expectations became increasingly unrealistic without the proper guidance or support needed to succeed. Attitudes from leadership and management grew negative, and the sense of respect and care for employees diminished.
What was once a company that prioritized its people has unfortunately become one that seems to prioritize only money, often at the expense of its employees’ well-being. It’s disappointing to see such a drastic change from what used to be a truly great place to work.

Change in any organization is inevitable. Some changes at Yorkdale's Crate were positive, such as elevating the look of the showrooms and the orderliness of the stock rooms. However, recognizing and motivating FSAs using best talent management practices  and reasonable/achievable SPH based on tenure and sound financial analysis was grossly missing from the new leadership team. This negatively impacted performance reviews and raises. Turnover of FSAs has been unusually high. That right there is very telling of the current leadership culture. There are hidden high costs to overlooking high turnover; something sales numbers don't reflect. There are also hidden high costs to servicing clients with furniture that too often was repeatedly delivered damaged. 

Coworkers are great here; they are beneficial and want to help you out and act like a little mini family. Coworkers will always try to uplift you during your shift and be there for you if you are faced with a difficult task. For a part-time job, the pay is pretty good. However, management can be rather rude, and they micromanage our every move. Management does not like us to talk on the floor even when it’s dead, makes us do multiple jobs at once even when we are hired for one job, and some managers make very uncalled-for jokes. The scheduling can get quite annoying because you will get the same shifts every week, and it will never change; for example, if you’re opening or closing, you will forever be that opener or closer, which is quite unfair. Breaks are bizarre because they do not give you a 15-minute break even when you are working for five hours, but over six hours, you get 45 minutes. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Visual merchandising team leader 1 salary reported	$19.50 per hour
Sales consultant 1 salary reported	$37.50 per hour
Sales associate 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Sales assistant 1 salary reported	$44,599 per year
Sales 1 salary reported	$66,792 per year

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