HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE - Sales Associate Dillard's Employee Review

Great job, nice pay, easy work

None I enjoyed this job

I would recommend this company mainly for someone looking for their first job and strong job security. For me, the main benefit was during the first six months, when I learned how to work in an industry environment, collaborate with others, and communicate professionally. I also had the opportunity to refresh and apply the skills I had learned in school.

Micromanagement was a major issue in my team. During my first year, I experienced frequent disrespectful behavior from management, including being spoken to in an unprofessional way in front of other employees. There was also a strong blame culture: when work went well, supervisors and managers took credit, but when mistakes happened, the focus was mainly on blaming the employee rather than providing support or guidance. In my experience, my manager often seemed more focused on protecting his own position than recognizing or supporting employee growth. I also felt that my skills, contributions, and work were often undervalued or minimized in front of others, instead of being fairly acknowledged. The work environment felt unnecessarily stressful and overly controlled. For example, even being one minute late returning from lunch was treated as an issue, which reflects the level of micromanagement I experienced. Compensation discussions were also disappointing. When I asked for a salary raise, the response was not based on my skills, performance, or the value I brought to the company. Instead, I was told that my manager made less money when he was my age, which felt irrelevant and unprofessional. The annual review process also felt unfair and poorly handled. In my first year, I received an unsatisfactory rating for one evaluation item simply because I had not yet had the opportunity to reach the stage described in that question, so my supervisor could not properly evaluate me. Instead of marking it as not applicable or providing fair context, it was treated negatively. Many assigned tasks were not meaningful for professional growth and did not help me develop new skills. I was also asked for reports almost every day, sometimes more than once per day, which added to the pressure and made the environment feel even more controlled. The benefits package was weak compared with many other companies. Paid time off was limited, with only 10 vacation days, and many holidays were regular workdays. Another major concern was the lack of a strong HR presence, which made it difficult to raise workplace concerns properly. Overall, I would not recommend this company if you have other job offers or better career options available.