sales associate

general manager

assistant manager

operations manager

product manager

I had mixed experiences at Gap. It started out good, the first couple years working there were pleasant but changed after new management came in.

I struggled with the promotion process at Gap. I worked hard there for years striving to achieve a promotion but was told I wasn't ready (despite having years of previous employment experience as a keyholder in a previous retail environment and some assistant manager training). This discouraged me and I left the company for a few months and re-applied when a keyholder position opened up, in which I was then accepted as one. An assistant manager left her position shortly after I came back and I was told I was next in line to take her position. I was thrilled with this news to finally have my chance to move up in the company. I ended up being given the former assistant manager's responsibilities without receiving a promotion to an assistant manager role. I felt it was not fair to gain additional responsibilities that were previously an assistant manager's role, yet, I was not being promoted to that role or compensated for the additional responsibilities I was taking on. I always felt no matter how hard I worked at Gap, I was never really going to move up within the company, so I stopped seeing any real future there for advancement.

There were some things I struggled with when I was given the new responsibilities. I made a few mistakes and struggled to understand some processes regarding my new responsibilities. I feel in a professional work environment, management should have taken me aside and spoken to me in private and these things could have been addressed and resolved, giving me additional training where I needed it. Instead, I experienced negative, frustrated feedback done in front of a bunch of my coworkers. It wasn't done constructively in a way that would assist my growth and improvement and was very embarrassing. This was really not a positive experience for me. I ended up giving up my keyholder position the same day. This experience and not being compensated for the additional responsibilities that were previously that of an assistant manager made me not want the keyholder position any longer.

I found there to be some double standards in treatment. Staff would talk about controversial/political topics and it was fine for them to talk about these things when everyone was on the same page, however, the few times I shared my own perspective on these topics, it was problematic because I didn't chirp the same tune. Gap's values often boast about being an inclusive environment, but in my experience, it really isn't. When some of the other associates found out I felt differently about certain things, I started getting treated differently and receiving passive aggressive comments and treatment. In my opinion, I feel political/controversial topics should just not be discussed in the work place because of this reason, because it can be very divisive and cause bad feelings in the work environment.

As a retail job, I enjoyed the tasks. The job itself was fine and I truly did enjoy working there for awhile. It kept me busy and I often felt pride in my own work and had some moments where I was encouraged to express my creativity. I often tried to take initiative to get things done and make the store look nice. I loved working on projects. Outside of this, I just really felt underappreciated and like I didn't fit in here. I wish circumstances had been different and that my overall time at Gap had been a positive one, but that unfortunately wasn't the case for me.

This was my first job, and I had a hard time trying to work here. When I was first hired they said I would get at least 10-20 hours a week, which never happened. The manager hired so many employees and picked favourites that only the favourites would get shifts. Often I was only scheduled for about 6-10 hours a month and left struggling to pick up others shifts to get more hours. Because of the lack of hours I was often frustrated at work because there was a lot of things I never learned to do from lack of training, and the assistant managers would get very snarky and rude if I asked them for help. 

Because I wasn’t one of the favourites, I was often outcasted at work and felt like the managers were trying to pick on me while doing a shift. Often they would text me and ask that I come into work only two hours before the shift started, which made it impossible to predict when I’d be working. Sometimes I’d be forced to say no because there was no way I could get there on time, which lead to the assistant managers to give me dirty looks on my next shift. 

The lack of management was ridiculous. Our general manager was hardly every working, and the assistant managers were very cliquish and gossiped way to much. Often they would be in the back eating and talking about other staff members, and when any employee they didn’t like would ask for help, they would purposefully take copious amounts of time to respond or solve the issue. Management would often treat me like a kid because I was younger than them, often talking down to me or explaining things in a way that just made me feel insignificant. 

When I left my job it was because of starting university and having a full school schedule. I sent my resignation  and I never heard back from the manager. Not a “thank you for being part of the company,” not a question as to why I was leaving, not even a message on what to do with my employee discount card. The only notice I got was a message from the GAP employee schedule app saying I had been removed from the group chat. If I can remember correctly the employee policy stated that a manager could ask if you were interested in having an exit interview, which I would’ve gladly taken (never happened though because nobody acknowledged my resignation). 


As an employee for over 10 years, I have seen the many ups and downs of Gap Inc.  A typical day has changed over time for the store's leadership team, as they have become more of a high priced sales team, and less of a functioning group of people who all have time to get their individual jobs done.  

While I can say that I learned a lot about business and the industry during my time there, I can't say the same for anyone who has joined a store team in the last 3 or 4 years. While you were given the opportunity to learn as much as you wanted to 10 years ago, now there is rarely enough time given to do mandatory tasks.  Some days, the store couldn't even be swept, let alone have a monthly Joint Health and Safety meeting.     

It is hard to find a good work/life balance as many store leadership teams have been dwindled down to a small group.  Some weeks, it is challenging to find 2 days off while also being able to complete company mandated tasks.  

While many of the part time employees become friends outside of the business, the leadership teams have a hard time making real connections with one another as they rarely work side-by-side and are often left negotiating to see who will get their 30 minutes to complete tasks associated with their own job title.  

While I enjoyed most of the time I worked for Gap Inc, and will always remember the people I worked with, the company seems to have lost touch with its in-store teams, and does not seem ready to invest in them.  

Many high ranking store positions are now filled through outside hires as there are too few seasoned employees left to teach/coach/mentor staff and help them along their career.

Other employees are very friendly. I definitely became close with many of them and enjoyed working with them. Supervisors some were friendly others were not. Management was not as friendly, there is definitely some favoritism. It's almost impossible to advance unless they really like you. It can be fast paced when it's busy. A little too much is expected of you when it's busy. I was not trained as a cashier even thought I asked many times. I have a learning disability and I did not disclose that right away. They considered firing me, but I told them of my disability as the reason I was underperforming. They agreed to accommodate me. I was not accommodated properly. Instead my hours were reduced despite my open availability. I was constantly told they were over hours. You could not make a living with the amount of hours given. My role was reduced and I was taken off of certain tasks. I was written up several times for silly things like clocking out a few minutes late or going over my lunch time to name a few. Even though other employees were doing these things as well. There is lack of communication amongst supervisors and managers. One will tell you one thing and the others will tell you something else. I was left confused about some practices. My last performance review was brutal. The notes were written by the General Manager who had been for several months on maternity leave and the acting General Manager who did not often work with me. Their comments were biased and unhelpful. No advice for improvement or resources were given. My mental health was impacted greatly over the course of four years. I gave my all to Gap and to be treated this way is just a shame.  

As a Pick/Packer with Gap, I would typically have ten hour shifts working to meet aggressive(but achievable) UPH Quotas.

As a picker, your jobs is to collect product as orders come in in order to ensure speedy delivery for web based customers. As a packer, your job is to process deliveries from the pickers in a neat and presentable way designed around improving the customers un-boxing experience.

I left Gap with a high level of endurance, an awareness of how to optimize my productivity, a great impression of their employee culture. Hard work is rewarded, and the experiences I carried with me allowed me to excel in both future warehousing positions and sales lead opportunities.

Management practiced a great 1 on 1 feedback loop that saw performance gains across the board for every employee, as well as group reward systems which really gave you an impression of the overall goals of the company.

The hardest part of the job is the endurance required by the end of a ten hour shift. The most enjoyable part of the job was taking Christmas orders, especially for young families, and knowing you were helping someone complete their holidays.

While opportunity has taken me elsewhere, I recommend anyone take a position with Gap, especially students and new entrants into the workforce - It develops a high standard that leads to excellence.

You never really know how the day will unfold, but it always seems to flow fairly smoothly.

Through my experience with Gap, I have learned a lot about what it means to be not only a follower, but a leader as well - I've gained a lot of experience having had the opportunity to work closely with more than ten different members of Store Management in two very different retail environments. Through my co-workers, I've learned how teamwork and genuine kindness can go a long way towards ensuring that the customer and the employee both have an enjoyable experience with Gap.

I must say, though, that the hardest part of my job, personally, is that I'm simply a Sales Associate - I'm a very dedicated and self-motivated individual that enjoys the occasional challenge, and frankly, as a Sales Associate, there aren't as many challenges as I would like. I enjoy carrying out large projects that require planning and encourage thinking outside the box.

The most enjoyable parts of my job are customer service and visual merchandising. Nothing is more satisfying than making a customers' day. The customers' experience can be extremely valuable whether a purchase is made or not. And on occasion, I'm able to do visual merchandising on my own. I've grown very fond of creating a visual flow for the store through product and fixture placements. Among customer experience, Visual Merchandising is my passion.

A typical shift at Gap will include:
- Working the cash register
- Working in the fitting room (especially if you are new until you are cash trained)
- Stock room

Shifts are very flexible and you can easily trade them. The work is fairly easy, just folding clothes all day, bringing more clothes out from the stock room, return & exchanges. Most of the managers were chill. Virtually no training, you have to learn on your own which is ridiculous.

My biggest problem with Gap is the constant sales promotions. They are far too often and make it difficult to keep up with, and customers take out their anger on the sales associates. Having frequent and changing promotions makes it too chaotic and lots of misunderstandings between the customer and workers. We literally have to drag customers in with promotions and there are a lot of rude customers.

Another problem is some managers were too neurotic and obsessive compulsive, they were too easily stressed and took it out on the sales associate. Obsessions with e-mail capture rate, folding the clothes perfectly (even though they were already folded perfectly), not working fast enough, etc. constantly pressuring workers beyond their limits in an unhealthy manner. My location was always a mess, having way too many clothes, far more than the store could handle. Occasionally we were also understaffed. 

It's not bad for a student, but definitely not worth the pay, way too chaotic of a workplace.

- extremely disorganized company
- filled with extremely passionate and talented individuals who work extremely hard for little to no recognition
- says it wants to make its branding and merchandising #1 priority but doesn't provide the right framework or payroll allotment to allow for proper landing of flow
- managers can't get enough office time
- difficult to move up in company once at a certain level
- district managers only assist high level stores, rarely come and spend their expertise in other stores
- district managers are condescending and rude
- company is constantly changing its rhetoric and focus
- little to no structured training - once "training" is over it is sink or swim; after a while you are seen as "being here long enough" and "should know" things which makes it difficult for people who are not fast learners - definitely needs to invest time in solid learning plans and dedicated payroll and time for management to get solid training
- fast paced environment
- staff Gap recruits are passionate, bright and cheerful people
- as a merchandiser, you have to do considerable overnights for long stretches of time in peak seasons and then switch back to days with almost no time off in between nights and days; extremely difficult on body, mind and motivation

If I could chose to never have worked for Gap Inc. I would have, its not that I believe they are the worst company but no one wants to work at a below satisfactory company. I was greatly valued their as a staff member by management but promises for advancement always came up empty. Company is trying to shrink and cut costs and corners at the employees expense. As the company struggles and has had to close many of their doors in the U.S. they have made many changes in the management board. I devoted many of my years of my early adulthood and although I had a degree in business management this was clearly to be put in better use elsewhere. If you are in high school or struggling to find a job just until you find your career dream job then it would be an adequate choice. But if your desire is to work in upper management and climb the business ladder, I would look elsewhere. Gap Inc. was once a great company to work for but as they continue on survival mode their employees are at the last of the list for changes. Its a retail job so perhaps expectations are not high, however be carful to not be like me and grow comfortable in a job that is not taking you anywhere and you don't know where the last five years of your life have gone. Good luck and I hope my honest truth was of any use.

The management here was great, they were very lenient with my schedule and I was able to switch up my availability with every new semester/school schedule. 

Salary/Benefits: Every new batch of hires got paid more than some of the older employees there. A few of my coworkers and I (who'd been there for a couple years) were getting $12/hr while the summer's new hires were getting $13/hr. Our wages weren't raised to that till the annual June wage raise. Employee Discount was great! 50% off regular priced items at GAP, Old Navy, and Banana Republic (30% off at the outlets), and 10% off on all markdowns at all locations. 

Cons: sometimes I'd get scheduled on days I'd already booked off or was given hours beyond my availability (others experienced this as well), there were times where the managers owned up to their mistakes in scheduling and got rid of the shift but other times where they expected you to either show up or find someone to cover for you. 

I'd recommend this place to students looking for part time positions while in school. They're very understanding for when you need time off for exams (but remember to book this off two weeks in advance, look at your syllabi and plan ahead!), they also use an app called shyft which makes it easy for you and you coworkers to trade shifts, pick up extra shifts, or to get your shift covered last minute.  Overall great few years working with the GAP.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Sales associate 8 salaries reported	$18.13 per hour
General manager 4 salaries reported	$70,875 per year
Assistant manager 1 salary reported	$24.00 per hour
Operations manager 1 salary reported	$27.00 per hour
Product manager 2 salaries reported	$26.00 per hour

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