assistant store manager

associate

store manager

engineering team leader

merchandising associate

RW&CO

I havn’t worked there for a few years now but here’s what I remember from my year and a half there.

Training:
I was never properly trained on how to operate the system for cash/finding product in other stores. Hopefully they changed there system but when I was there it was very outdated way too complicated. You had to be really on top of the sales because they sometimes weren’t automatically applied in the cash register system. Not being fully trained on cash but expected to do cash was stressful, especially because it was not an intuitive program to work with. It does not feel like a company that will help you grow long term. 

Daily Tasks:
Folding, organizing, and speaking with customers. Sometimes you can package online orders which was honestly the most fun I had at the job. Very run of the mill clothing retail job. 

Pay, discounts, and hours:
The discount was really good which was nice because they expect you to wear their clothing when working. Pay was minimum wage, never got a pay raise while there unless minimum wage went up. Hours were sparse, I only worked weekends because I was in high school but they only gave me three hour shifts towards the end of my time there which was a pain, especially when you only work minimum wage. 

Quality of product:
It’s fast fashion and the quality of clothing is very hit or miss. I still have some pieces years later but I remember being amazed at the prices they charged for clothing despite the sub-par quality. 

Management:
Management was hit or miss. My first manager there was nice. I didn’t see her a lot but she ran the store well and was good with staff. The second manager made me cry on shift. She was passive aggressive and very dismissive about any feedback staff gave her. She was a nightmare to work with and while she got fired a couple years after I left, the company ignored initial staff complaints about her. There was a complete overturn of staff because of the second manager and corporate/our store location head did nothing despite receiving many complaints about the managers behaviour.

Not a terrible job, depends on your manager. Very run of the mill retail store, feels a bit stale and corporate if anything. 





I've been working at RW&Co for quite a while now, and I can safely say that although the company does teach you the basics to working a retail job, RW&Co is not a company I would reccommend staying with. I have experienced, and seen many other of my coworkers experience several difficult situations and instances while working in the company. Many of this has to do with hours. If you are not full-time, or not considered part of management, your hours will be very inconsistent. Being part time, I can recall several ocassions in which I had not had a shift for 3 weeks, and also several occassions where I would be working 30 hours a week. Many of my former coworkers have actually left the company because of the lack of hours that the company provides. This leads to my next point, which is that the company expects too much from it's employees. The company solely relies on it's employees to do everything in their right and will to make some sort of sale. In vice versa, the blame also goes to it's employees if the store does not reach some random target determined by the higher up managers. Making sales is obviously a given in a retail job, but RW&Co expects you to go "above and beyond" in helping the customer. The company wants you to put all of your effort towards making the sale at all times. This is very frustrating because when you eo happen to work hard and make a good sale and do a good job, the company does not recognize your hard work. You are expected to work extremely hard for sales, but do NOT get commission or recognition for your hard work. The company also expects it's employees to dress in mostly RW&Co brand clothing. This is expected of course, but, the company expects that you also keep your wardrobe updated to every single released collection (which happens about twice a month). Even with the 50% off discount, this is highly unreasonable for many part time workers, especially if you are in a situation where you have not worked for 3 weeks due to a cut in hours. It feels as if you are literally forced to give your paycheck back to the company.

A typical day at work can be quite challenging due to a complicated and disorganized atmosphere. While the colleagues are generally competent, the lack of cohesive teamwork and leadership is a significant issue. The disconnect between the sales team and the backroom staff is a particular pain point. Sales associates frequently disrupt ongoing tasks in the backroom, and their disregard for proper product handling creates unnecessary chaos and disorder. The absence of a systematic organization system in the backroom compounds this problem. Offsite storage is similarly cluttered and mismanaged, with outdated furniture and broken mannequins taking up valuable space. The surplus of bags only adds to the chaos, making it challenging to maintain any semblance of order. 

I am appreciative of the guidance provided by the merchandising lead, but it's disheartening to see her working alone without adequate support or understanding from the team. She deserves more recognition and respect for her contributions. 

The Store Manager's management style is less than ideal. She is hyper, loud, and often exhibits micromanagement tendencies. Her communication is laced with passive-aggressiveness, and I've heard stories of colleagues reduced to tears due to her behavior. I personally experienced a shout, which I chose to ignore. All of these factors contribute to a generally unpleasant work atmosphere.

The District Manager's approach to management is also less than satisfactory. Her lack of social interaction with the team prior to implementing changes and rearranging things without clear communication has been disconcerting.

My experience at this workplace has taught me practical skills such as folding clothing, marking offers, and the process of opening and sorting boxes of products. However, the overall work environment and management issues have been a significant drawback to the learning experience.

The day would begin with opening the store, balancing daily cash registers and preparing proper floats. Ensuring the tidyness and upkeep of the store was up to par to begin the day.
I learned that hard work pays off with not only your employers but with your customers as well. It feels good to have your customers request your fashion advice and assistance while shopping in your store.
I began as a sales associate and was quickly advanced to the position of keyholder. I was assistant manager in training until it came time that I had to move back to ontario. It was unfortunate but at the time my position was not transferable.
My co-workers were hardworking for the most part. I find there is always someone cutting corners and doing what they can to do as least work as possible. I would always pick up the slack for them, and I let it go unidentified twice but when the third time came around as part of management and a dedicated employee I had to bring to the attention of higher management. I believe in the end this person quit or was let go.
The most enjoyable part was working with the customers. From assisting with fashion sense to just overall conversation I enjoy people. I enjoy the challenge of an upset customer and the test to see if I can keep them and thier brand loyalty to our company. I can honestly say I have always been able to fix or change issues to the point where our customer is a continuos customer and in some instances they are happier than they ever were with our service and products after I have settled an issue.

a typical work day includes making sure the morning count matches the previous nights count, making sure all the clothing is folded and hung neatly, everything is restocked, stickered, and sized.each employee has a task that they are working at, and all the customers have been greeted and asissted as needed. the change rooms are kept clean, and all clothing is processed and put back in to its place

what ive learned from this job is how to communicate at a higher level, being able to take charge and manage a group of people as the acting manager. ive also learned to communicate with customers and  dig deep to find out what they are looking for and how i can assist them in their time at the store. ive also learned how to speak to employees as a manager and not just a co-worker.also being able to manage tasks on a timely basis to ensure that i get the maximum amount of work done in my day

the team that i work with are more like a close knit family versus co-workers. we communicate with eachother very well and are very supportive in each of our rolls. this enable the store to run very smoothly and with out conflicts.

the hardest part of my job would have to be the large volumes of customers at times and sometimes not having enough staff when that happens as well as having alot of stock to work with and not enough space in the store. otherwise my job runs very smoothly on a daily basis. 

the most enjoyable part of my job is that the environment im in on a day to day basis is friendly and familiar, eveyone gets along well, and we always have an enjoyable time everyday

Worked majority of my time at RW & Co. during winter break, it is the peak of shopping since everyone wants to buy gifts. Due to this circumstance the work load I had to manage during this occupation was immense, I was marking down products, shelving unwanted clothes, working the floor, waxing the metal, rearranging the items in style, etc. It was my first retail experience and since it was so tough it built character in me causing me to react quickly to customers and always keep be fast pace to ensure that work is being done accurately and efficiently. My co-workers were a big part of my success in this company because they welcomed me with open arms ,and me being new, I didn't know much about the job. On the first day they took time off to show me how to correctly do everything that must be done.This helped get me on track fast and created some type of chemistry between my co-workers and I. Any workplace that offers friendly attitudes towards newly appointed members is always a better place to be. Although it was enjoyable it was definitely difficult.The hardest part of the job was the first day, learning the ropes and dealing with customers demands as well as stocking everything in place was some of the stuff I had to deal with on that day. Once I learned the ropes and became comfortable speaking to customers and moving around the floor the job became like another task which I could manage. All and all the experience in RW & Co. was fun but I would love to take what I learned from this store and apply it somewhere else where I can learn more skills and gain new experience.

I worked for the company for over a year. At the end of my employment, managers told me not to accept resumes from men anymore. The district manager and the managers that I worked with were insincere. They would actively talk about other employees and gossip about customers while on the floor and loud enough for other customers to heard. Majority of the customers were wonderful and my coworkers were lovely but the overall management and operational skills of the district management were poor and employees are often held at different standards. The turnover rate is usually always within a six months to a year since majority of the employees are part time and only the managers get full time hours + benefits. Also, when we had our annual visits from the higher ups, they would try to micromanage the part time staff while management would scramble to give good face and then complained once they left. When I was fired, they asked me to sign a contract that said I wasn’t allowed to discuss why my employment was terminated or file any kind of claim for an extra week of termination pay. Overall, it was an awful experience. I dreaded going into work not knowing what kind of atmosphere I was walking into and the unpredictable of it took a big toll on my personal life. The only redeeming factor was the discount, talking to the employees, selling to some of the people who were kind enough to pay an outrageous of money for sub quality clothing and my coworkers. 

I've only been working here for a short time so far and it's been incredibly hard to learn to do things properly. You have to be really thick skinned and have a lot of patience because you will be criticized 24/7 and micromanaged a ton. Their method of training is to basically throw you into the lion's den without any knowledge whatsoever and when you make a mistake (which you will, all the time) they'll correct you in a "You should have already known this" kind of way. I didn't appreciate not being trained on anything properly so I could avoid the mistakes in the first place. I understand being busy but it's still not acceptable to me. And if you wanna talk to your co-workers, forget it. I really wanted to get to know my fellow colleagues because they are amazing and nice people, but you're basically not allowed talk to anyone while on shift except to ask a job-related question. It's not a formal rule, but if you try to talk to them you'll be chastised for doing so. Managers act nice to you one second but are screaming the next second, so it's an incredibly stressful environment. The work itself wasn't bad at all and consists of basic retail tasks like greeting customers, folding clothes, upselling, putting clothes back from the fitting room and et cetera. However, combined with terrible workplace culture, inadequate training and especially not being able to converse with my fellow co-workers, I definitely wouldn't recommend working here.

A typical day at RW would entail a day multitasking while receiving little to no support from management. Management is trained to watch you struggle and not help unless it is asked for or unless there is no other option. They briefly go over how things should be done and expects you to memorize and do it exactly. They have high expectations and for workers and constantly reprimand them when management's expectations aren't met. All of the store managers, team leads, and keyholders I've personally met (there's a lot) feel extremely comfortable talking bad about other employees to employees or other management. They do not believe in promotions unless you're their right-hand man. There is NO place to move up when you start as an associate. They teach you how to do everything instead of hiring different people. They also break rules and policies to make more money for the stores since reaching sales targets is the most important thing to management. I've had multiple co-workers quit their job at RW to go back to their job at Mcdonald's. Management and coworkers only look out for themselves and do not create a collaborative space to work at. They're very hostile and act like hawks. Made multiple of my co-workers cry and made all of our mental healths plumet.

To summarize;
-Decent discount👍
-Multiple jobs frowned upon👎
-Bonus structure (though, rarely achieved and a pittance of a reward)👎
-Shady company👎
-Hit/miss quality of product👎
-Won't back their policies, if customers are upset.👎
-Lack of acknowledgement of LGBTQIA+ community 👎

Will pay you as little as they can get away with, if you want a fair wage you'll need to negotiate, and you'll be reminded often if you manage to get more than their minimum offer, that they expect you to work harder than others for it. I wouldn't say it's the absolute worst retail job, but pretty close, lol. This is definitely one of those places where the word "family" is thrown around far too often by managers. If anything, it's a dysfunctional family, where the parents expect way too much, promise the world, and deliver a pebble. 

This company is also WAY behind when it comes to the way members of the LGBTQIA+ community are treated. You MUST select a gender when signing people up for emails, and if you "prefer not to say" we had to just pick one for you. In this day and age, I think there's no excuse for anyone not to be an ally. I worked with someone who expressed feeling defeated that coworkers (mostly management) made no effort to use their preferred pronouns. 

I have very little (but not quite zero) positive things to say about working here.


Top Job Titles	Average salary
Assistant store manager 37 salaries reported	$49,476 per year
Associate 25 salaries reported	$17.71 per hour
Store manager 25 salaries reported	$63,498 per year
Engineering team leader 17 salaries reported	$19.01 per hour
Merchandising associate 16 salaries reported	$17.83 per hour

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