store manager

assistant store manager

associate

gestionnaire de stock

vendeur en prêt-à-porter

Reitmans (Canada) Limited

Store Staff are the best feature: 
Working in the store and with the fashion associates and key holders was phenomenal! But I think that had far more to do with the character of the staff vs the company cultivation of that. And management that was above the store manager was....less ideal. Often minimal contact unless it was being told what we did wrong. Additionally, rarely felt they had our store's staff's wellbeing in mind. 

What I enjoyed: 
While any job has a mixed about of customers I did really enjoy working in a retail setting for plus-size women. While some customers were entitled and demeaning to me- others were wonderful to chat with, and appreciative to have a welcoming store that was well staffed. Additionally, the dress code being business casual and having the employee discount I did (50% of regularly price items) my sense of style rapidly developed. I also loved having a work setting that was fast-paced. There was always work to be done so I was never standing around twiddling my thumbs. I wonder if I had a different division manager if this environment could have been one I stayed in longer than the one year than I did.  

False promises of opportunity to develop: 
I personally was given mixed communication about receiving the job position I had spent time trying to earn. Originally applied for the assistant manager position. But was hired on as a team lead with "opportunity to develop". I recall periodically having conversations about "when I'm ASM" not "if I'm ASM". After working for close to a year at the location (which was deemed a "trial run" for me to demonstrate my abilities as an ASM candite) a hire from outside the organization was brought in. At the time before the new ASM was named, it was communicated to me that I couldn't be considered for the position due to lack of experience. This was contradictory to what I was told during my original interview and quartly performance/development meetings leading up. It was incredibly disheartening. I had fully intended on staying with he company and growing with the store since I was under the impression they wanted to develop current workers. 
And I wasn't the only one. The company loves to suggest that they "promote from within" but it was not as often I would assume. I had seen the promise of development opportunities frequently being dangled like a carrot in front of a stick being used to motivate part-time workers. During my year of employment, I had seen 1 promotion. It was a fashion associate to a key holder. But this was after close to the f.a. having to bring up the topic numerous times and confirm about the development plan. It is significant to note this promotion was not the employee who had already been with the company for 9 years and had seen no career development. She was severely overlooked in my opinion. 

Consently growing demand on workers: 
We were frequently given goals and sale targets that were hard to compete with. We were put into a geographical division that had higher populations and recorded sales. We would work diligently to not only keep up but to also surpass expectations sometimes. Again, desire great performance, we were rarely celebrated.  There is a bonus rewards program available. Meaning if sale targets are met, employees earn bonus les on their paystub. The program is filled with rules and disqualifications. While you can find some rewards earned, more often than not the bonus won't be received due to technicalities. Most common for our store was we had gone over the hours chart set for the month or quarter so and bonuses were disregarded. This includes if we half used a single hour more than allotted. 

Good luck securing hours- it's not easy:
Possibly one of the largest issues was the hours being scheduled. As a full time employee who was not salary- I was guaranteed 29 hours weekly. While not directly stated, I was given the impression it would be consistently in the 30s range. While this was accurate it was stressful as when my hours did have to drop I was unprepared. And for the fashion associates and key holders? There was not security. I had a fashion associate I worked with that was hard at work to try and care for her family while working this job. She would often become stressed when schedules were released as it was frequently not enough hours. 
I strongly recommend those who accept a job offer- be aware of what your minimum guaranteed hours are, and be ready to accept that number frequently. If you are not able to- apply elsewhere. Hours will be cut as frequently able due to an ABSURD hours chart provided by the company VP. 

In summery: 
If you like to stay busy, enjoy having friendly work setting, and can not be easily dishearted by false promises/performative upper management- I highly recommend RCL. The day-to-day work was enjoyable and the staff in-store were hard working and diligent. 

If you are looking for security in hours scheduled, want a job you have development opportunities within, or want support from upper management- I recommend elsewhere. 

I love working at Reitmans because I love working with clothes and with a team who wants to work together. We tried to cultivate an environment where we all wanted to be at work, but it was tough because our district manager was not able to allocate more hours for the schedule which made scheduling incredibly difficult.  It is virtually impossible to hire anyone who is not in high-school because the pay is not even close to a living wage and if a hiree asks for more, then I was not allowed to hire them. This made it even more hard to hire someone because students in high-school have so many obligations- swimming, band practice, basketball, etc. The adults in the store worked mostly alone because we could only find a few to work during the daytime during the week, which left tasks undone, such as receiving,  putting clothes on the floor, packing online orders. Steaming clothes was only done upon request by a customer. Returns were virtually impossible because there was not enough time to train new staff because there was not enough time to train new staff- we needed them to be on the floor asap. There was not enough time to have them sit in the back room to watch the training videos on the iPad. 
Personally, I think that reitmans focuses too much on online orders and pressures their employees to finish between 80-100 online orders per day when there are only 2 staff members on the floor who are untrained, and there could also be 20 women in the store at the same time who are needing tending to. There is supposed to be someone in the fitting room almost at all times and that never happens. Meeting the expectations of this job is virtually impossible.

While the team members try their best at reitmans, it is a very hard job with not enough pay to live on, and I don't think it is fair to put high-school girls through that much stress. They already have enough going on. Begging them to come in last minute is also hardly fair. We often had to close the store early because we did not have enough staff and everyone had lives outside of work, which made customers very angry. There comes a time where all these things add up and your employees just want to give up because it kills morale.

So again, I love reitmans. But the company needs to be willing to pay staff properly, hire more employees, and ensure there is enough time for training. This will help to ensure that all areas are covered- the sales floor, cleaning, online orders, the front till.

I loved working for Reitmans, it’s been my dream job since I was a kid. I was hired under a different manager who was extremely nice and accommodating to my needs as a single mother. I slowly made my way up to the keyholder position after my first month working there. I then was interested in the team lead position that just opened up. Then we hired a new A.M ( assistant manager) with zero experience in retail or visuals and needed thorough training. All of the sudden my manager quit abruptly for unknown reasons. I went from part time to 50 hours a week just like that. I trained the assistant manager! The D.M (district manager) didn’t do a single thing to help. Didn’t come up once in the 6 months I worked there. She was extremely hard to get ahold of and it just felt like she didn’t care at all what was happening. The manager from Penningtons came over to hire a new manager for us and help get the store back together. The assistant manager did a lot of  illegal things which made the work for the Pennington’s manager that much more daunting. I couldn’t wait for the new manager to start because I was being unpaid, over worked and unappreciated. As soon as she started she  immediately saw me as a threat to her knowledge as a store manager because I knew that store inside and out and better than anyone there, I was good at my job and adapted fast. I was the “old timer”, one of the longest working employee, which is pretty sad since I was only there for 3 months when all this happened. Once the new store manager started our first conversation wasn’t friendly, she then extremely micro managed me to the point of pure abuse. I tried to reach out to the manager in Penningtons and contacted the D.M and we had a few civil monitored conversations between, my new manager and the Penningtons manager, which I took as progress but then she denied me my chance to finally get the team lead position, by the way the position I was doing already for the past 2 months, and basically demoted me. I tried to be strong and hopeful anyways about it but she then cut my hours to ONE shift a week. Remember when I said I am a single mother?  I was left with no choice but to leave my absolute favourite job in the entire world which is exactly what she wanted... I wish there was more that could of been done but I have never been abused like that before in a work place and I did all that I could. So I just let by gones be by gones, appreciated the time I had with the company.

I've been working at Reitmans for a year and I have found it a very unstable and negative environment to work at. The sales associates are amazing. However, store management needed improvement. I found my store manager really unapproachable and very protected by higher management such as district sales managers, etc. I approached about advancing in the company seeing as I had the experience and craved the opportunity to become something more than a sales associate and my manager basically told me I didn't have the skills although I had been a manager for 2 years prior to working at this store. 

The hours are really unstable so if you are looking for a job that can give you hours, I would suggest looking somewhere else. When I first started I got 20 hours a week, seeing as part time is 10-20 hours a week this was excellent for me. However, when we got the new manager I started getting 3 hours to no hours. Unfortunately it is hard to pay bills and have any sort of lifestyle with barely any shifts. Not to mention management will call you and take your shifts away two days before scheduled to work because they are down sales for the day. 

My training was put off for four months before I got properly trained and learned what the company was about, which was disappointing because management looked down on me for not knowing Reitmans procedures when I was trained by someone who was new themselves. 

The hardest part of the job at my location is dealing with the upper management. They always seem so strained and uptight. It's hard to make any sort of connection with them or even feel comfortable working with them. 

The most enjoyable part is customer interaction and when you're off lol. 

A typical day at work is going in and not being told any sort of targets, the most i've ever heard is an astronomical number that we are supposed to hit (and i mean astronomical). How am I supposed to feel like I can obtain these goals when they are unrealisitc? You are also given a huge list of tasks, then get told to go help customers, and when you don't finish your list you are generally frowned upon. 

Reitmans has no christmas party, no employee of the month, no recognition for hard work (unless you're management at my store), just an overall negative place to work.

Wish it wasn't so negative but unfortunately this is my experience.

A typical day at the store as a Fashion Associate consists of running around the store while management sits on the phone to gossip, or running around while they constantly check the status and numbers of the other stores on the computer. 
     
 Become exhausted by putting clothes back, dealing with old and outdated technology and taking the role of a manager while they are constantly absent. Also processing a lot of returns from online and other stores is a large chunk of your time at the cash desk, following this you will get penalized if you were unable to flip to return into an exchange. This deducts out of the SFL's (management's) segment which is now for some reason your issue. 
     
Constant sales changing every day or every week cause the consumer to never purchase regular price which makes it VERY difficult to reach any sales goal as they just "wait" for it to go on promotion. Customers also come in upset when they've just purchased an item and it's now on promotion the next day- further causing them to wait for a sale when they see something they like. Reitmans does offer a 14 day price adjustment policy if you go in store but this almost never flips their mind, causing them to just re order the now cheaper items online and return the regular priced to the store- leaving us with no profit. 
      
Management is in need of a wake up call! They do not see their hard working staff as people with feelings. We are there to benefit them and that is that. They make you wait for your break until an hour before your shift is finished (where you feel as if you are going to pass out or gnaw on your fingers) and they are so quick to cut your hours when things aren't going in their favor. I understand this is a business but it's almost borderline abuse. 
   
In conclusion, Reitmans needs to get itself together and figure things out. Too many loopholes for customers to abuse the system and we are far too accommodating to customers when THEY are not following the rules.This company expects you to preform miracles. Please understand this is just my personal experience at the location I am employed, however unfortunately when speaking to other stores in the district I know this is the case almost everywhere.

From having no work for two whole weeks, the hours are terrible, the pay is also terrible. All of the hours bascially go to people in management, the employees get the left over in hours which is one shift a week or worse no work for two weeks. As long the people in management have work/hours they dont't really care about their employees. 

You will get the crappiest hours, you will get the longest shifts just because you perform better than the other employees. 

Not to mention there is an extreme amount of favouritism that goes on. People who have worked in the same job for 8 or more years and do less work than someone who has been there for less than a year and who actually does their job, and then some, often get favoured. The management is so disorganized, they have no idea of what they're doing. They can't schedule people right, you say one thing they do opposite of what you say. You give them your availability, they schedule you the days you can't work. ( Nobody in management listens to you.) People in management also tell you they will give you more hours, but they never do. 
You basically stand around doing nothing all day or fold the same clothes over and over again. You show up for a four shift just so the people in management can have all their breaks. They usually stand at the computer all day looking at the different stores, you never feel like you are good enough for people in management. You get told to do things you've already done, but do it anyways. The discount isn't even worth it, because the clothes are still expensive and fall apart. This isn't for you if you have pay bills or pay back a student loan. Honestly, please don't work for this company. It's not worth the pay, discount isn't worth it.  You just can't leave the store once you finish your shift, they have to a 'bag check' to make sure you aren't 'stealing anything'. Which is really stupid, just my thoughts though. Oh, you also have to wear their clothes which is really made for older women. This whole company is a big joke.

This is one of the worst jobs I have had. It was incredibly surprising to hear from employees at other locations that they enjoyed it. The Courtenay location seems to be an outlier in that way.
When I first started the current manager was stealing hours from employees and was only fired after far too many complaints were filed to HR. The new manager was the best I've had but the management of the company in general seemed very poor. The communication was lacking greatly.
A typical day would be clocking in, helping customers, starting fitting rooms for them, taking out any new stock that had arrived, performing returns, tidying the store, and clocking out.
The workplace culture while I was there was pretty toxic. Within the Courtenay store there were several employees that would complain about anyone, and everyone. Nobody would take fault for their actions and would push each other down whenever possible. Problems are often left for someone else to finally deal with them.
Hardest part of the job is dealing with rude and angry customers, and trying to communicate with higher-ups.
Overall, the day-to-day activities of helping customers and doing stock, etc. were fine. The management, toxic culture, and lack of care for your health and safety were the main reasons this job was incredibly stressful and unenjoyable. 
I would not recommend working at the Courtenay location unless several employee changes have been made.

A typical day at work includes helping the customers to find the clothes that will fit them the best and make them feel comfortable in their own skin. On slower days where there are little to no customers, the time is spent cleaning the store (i.e. re-folding clothes, dusting, vacuuming, etc.). Some days we can be tasked with re-organizing the store, either moving clothing collections to other sections or completely changing the set-up of a section. Throughout my time with the company I have learned to be productive at all times, be more confident when around unfamiliar people, and how to solve problems either on my own or with the help of a team member. The management at the store was very well done, our manager was always very organized and respected peoples needs and wishes, especially in regards to days off. Next to the manager, the other employees were always very kind and the entire store is close-knit like a family of sorts. The hardest part of the job would be on busy days where there are many customers that need attention, other employees need help, and the store needs to look presentable all at once. It did however teach me to be more efficient when it comes to multi-tasking and getting jobs done quickly. The most enjoyable part I found in the job was the relationship that was established not just between co-workers but with our customers as well. Our customers put their trust in us that we were giving them clothing choices that they would be able to enjoy over many years and feel confident in.

Decent discount if you like the apparel they offer.
Traffic often times slow, which left a lot room for gossip and un necessary drama. 
Little to no support from your management and a non existent upper management team. 
Management would often times play favorites and based employee hours, shifts as well as time off by who she personally liked best. 
Shady store manager, spent lots of time being a back room doing mindless tasks to avoid social Interactions with staff or customers, however expected staff to pull all of the weight of the front end of the business.
Corperation at the end of the day does not value its front line employees bringing in their revenue, bosts about equality and women's rights, but skims a fine line themselves on workers rights and labor standards. 
Expects you to dedicate your life to the store, but does not offer accommodation or a healthy work life balance to retain its employees in good mental and physical health conditions. Standing 99% of your shifts, however employee benefits offered do not provide orthopedic services. 
Requires its employees to provide them with 2 weeks notice to resign from a position, however does not give its employees any notice when they've decided to sever the work relationship. 

A typical day at Reitmans consisted of assisting customers with finding clothing items they were looking for and building off that item to create an outfit. Example; a customer is looking for dress pants and maybe a shirt for an interview. I would show her our dress pants find out what style and cut she is looking for then move on to colour and pattern. Once we found pants she loves I would show her some dress shirts, cardigans, blazers and blouses to find out what style she is most comfortable in for an interview. Once we have determined a style I would help her find a colour that pops so she will stand out of the crowd and accessories to finish off the look.

When the store wasn't too busy I would unpack stock and put it out on the floor, create displays from our plan-o-gram and clean the store.

The staff at the store was a lot of fun to work with the managers were a blast we actually had game night once a month with the staff.

The thing I liked best about Reitmans was the clothing and my discount, we received 50% off everything in store. I also loved helping the customer find and awesome outfit and feel good about herself. The one thing I didn't like about the company was the hours I was hired as part time but I never really got any hours. I would go in for a 5 hour shift and they would tell me its not busy enough go home after 3 hours, i would get called constantly telling me my shift was cancelled because we weren't busy enough.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Store manager 125 salaries reported	$58,477 per year
Assistant store manager 121 salaries reported	$48,410 per year
Associate 55 salaries reported	$17.81 per hour
Gestionnaire de stock 51 salaries reported	$59,873 per year
Vendeur en prêt-à-porter 30 salaries reported	$16.51 per hour

Working at Reitmans (Canada) Limited: company overview and reviews

Reitmans (Canada) Limited

Reitmans (Canada) Limited ratings

Popular jobs at Reitmans (Canada) Limited

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected