Working at Forever 21 — Reviews by Employees

I've only worked at Forever Annoying (21) there for about a month and half and already I'm ready to leave. Sorry this review is a long one because I feel like the next person even thinking about working at Forever 21 should read all of these reviews and think long and hard and question Should I Really Work Here? Because this place is an emotionless pit, it can literally suck the life out of you fast.
As a visual assistant/sales associate so here’s the thing when you’re doing the SA job and the VA job there's two different managers so it gets confusing and annoying pretty fast. One tells you to do something then the other manager tell you to do something different and then she decides to yell at you to top it off.
I've always wanted to learn about visuals and gain the experience but all I do is HANG new product. With an occasional dressing up the bust forms which was fun but I didn’t do it fast enough so she yelled at me (It Was My First Time Doing Them). But that's not the end of it I'm doing this for some of THE RUDEST ASSHOLES I have ever dealt with they call themselves Visual Merchdasiers and The Visual Merchdasier Manager. They're both annoying.
You know doing the visuals should have been fun but they make it stressful. She (The VM) is the worse when it comes to giving direction she knows how the sections should look to her but can't explain it well to others. And then she gets all mad when it takes more than an hour because she changes her mind all the freaking time and she can be very fake. I know it's the pressure of making it look nice because of the Field Visual Merchdaiser coming in to review. But think it out effectively and explain it better in a way that's not so confusing. The other VM is a guy with really no respect for others, he's really disrespectful at all levels and don't care about anything or anyone but himself and he sometimes rude to customers. The other visual assistant I think she stayed too long she doesn't speak and is just there she doesn't help too much so I never say too much to her. It’s sloppy and it’s very unorganized it’s super dusty so you sneeze a lot.
They meaning the (Managers) nit-pick you about the stupidest stuff left and right you did this wrong. Oh and they talk about you all the time they play sweet and innocent but really they're backstabbers. As a sales associate I've kept my distance from the others who aren't who they appear to be. There's a clash between the Sales Associates and the Visuals which to me makes no sense, I'm doing both and the visuals don't tell the other sales associates where the new/old product been placed so I'm the one to tell them because no one else will which is sad. As a SA it’s hard enough to find stuff so putting back the go backs isn't easy, but when you can't ask a visual it's bad.
And it’s been a struggle wanting to return all happy and nice since some incidents I've had with them wasn't too pleasant. There’s always an annoying thing everyday that’s laughable and unheard of. One thing you should be aware of is the late night shifts that last for hours, I’ve stayed from 7pm to 4am that’s 9 hours and there’s no overtime pay for these shifts and no A/C going. Then another shift I had was from 10pm till 10am in the morning (12 hours) it’s insane and not even worth it. They’re rude when it comes to 4am and your leaving there’s no police or security but a dozen black cats roaming around the back door and the mall. They won’t even escort or walk you out to make sure you got in your car safe.
They lie a lot about the times when it’s late night shifts and they don't seem to care about any situations you’re in, plus they treated me like an outcast when I refused to do an overnight shift. This job and company is a joke on every level with only 30 min breaks for 6hr or later shifts, then 10 min breaks for 4hr or less shifts and such a lousy discount of only 10% plus an uninspiring pay rate for the employees and no benefits for part/timers. It’s the worse of the worse when comes to working in retail, other retail places are better than F21.
The music is so loud you can’t hear too much of anything and it feels like your brain is having a seizure because they replay the same bad songs over and over again. It gets boring real fast if you’re use to moving around a lot, they’ll make you stay in one area all the time so it gets so tiresome. The customers are sweet yet really annoying and can be rude and disrespectful. The fitting room is boring, but fun at times when you’re helping someone with a Fashion problem. Go-backs are the worse to deal with and if there’s no help from associates then the racks fill up pretty quickly and you’re stuck with racks full of junk waiting to go back. There are a few nice, sweet and willing to work with you people there. Also stop belittling us and work with us, it’s really sad when you don’t get trained on things when it’s the first two weeks they just expect you to know what do but that’s not the case TRAIN US properly then we’ll be better workers.
All I can say is working at this Forever 21 in Southeast Florida is not worth it and they’re building more in this area and many more in other areas so apply if you really, really have to or have no other choice. I’m glad to read that others like their F21 store they work for, but I could never imagine hating a place with such cute stuff like I have with this place. So now I can totally see why the turnover rate is so high because it’s worth quitting Forever 21 and find yourself a better place to work at.
SO RUN FAR WAY OR LOOK THE OTHER WAY WHEN YOU SEE OR HEAR A F21 OPEN HOUSE HAPPENING IN YOUR CITY!!!

Where can I start with this job?! Yes, it is true, retail is hard to work in but this is the worst retail job I have ever had! The pay was horrible with Sales Associates starting at $7.25 (Texas minimum wage) and are given no training whatsoever. As a part time employee, I was constantly scheduled for 10 hour shifts where I was constantly on my feet, making laps around a 30,000 square foot store the entire time with one 30 minute break, which for some crazy reason, is legal in Texas. After being with the company for over 6 months, I was still ineligible for something so simple as direct deposit. I was promised a promotion for months until I slowly (unfortunately) realized that this was yet another lie the company tells everyone in order to keep people on board. I often performed tasks that were duties of management as well as visual merchandising, still at a sales associate's pay. Eventually I was promoted to a bullshit position as "Visual Assistant" which meant a shitty raise and still acting as manager to the majority of sales associates. Somehow, I was more approachable to speak to and got problems fixed more so than management who was over me and other associates. Favoritism is common with this company and a coworker who came in drunk 90% of the time was promoted ahead of me. I had never been late to work during the entire time I was employed, yet drunks were somehow allowed to walk into work sometimes two hours late and were rewarded for it by means of promotion. There are no benefits whatsoever with this company and the 10% discount employees get is the same that any customer can get if they whine enough. Employees who shop with the company aren't even treated like customers, as we were not allowed to return any merchandise whatsoever after purchase and were constantly padded down and had our bags checked every time we left the building as if we were some sort of criminal. Another employee and I were written up because they called HR and I mentioned calling them again because of another issue involving sanitation in the workplace. OSHA requires that toiletries be provided or able to be accessed and the fact that we couldn't leave the building to even take a piss in sanitary conditions without being walked out and searched, made for a very nasty environment in the so-called "break room". Rules did not always apply to everyone. I was once sent home for dress code violation (tattoo was showing) when on the same day, a manager's tattoo was showing clear as day. I was often reprimanded for not dressing "fashionable" enough when associates were allowed to waltz around the place dressed as hookers. Besides favoritism, a lot of these issues are company wide policies, not just my location and in combination with bad Texas labor laws, it made this a horrible work environment and high turnover rate. If you're looking to work in clothing retail, choose anything but Forever 21.

i worked here for the summer and the only reason why i did was because of the money. the hours are ridiculous! we worked like full-time workers! i worked 40+ every week and yet i was still considered part-time. I THINK THE WORST THING WAS THE AMOUNT OF FAVORITISM. Many of the people that they hired were of one race and all the ones promoted were of the same race. All the assistant managers that was promoted were of the same race. And those people with the clipboards, think that they are so superior and high and mighty. Forever 21 sucks.I had no social life because of this job. I spent the whole summer slaving away in this job and the pay was the only reason why I did not quit. Although I will tell you is that, I really learned a lot about retail jobs and how much they suck and i learned how to slack off.

Did anyone have a bad experience at a northern CA store? We are putting together a class action lawsuit and would like to speak to some northern CA employees, particularly those that worked in Oakland or Alameda County. The stores in the Los Angeles area were pretty bad. If you are willing to share your experience, please email me at jhart@jhartlawfirm.com and I can tell you more about what is going on with the case. You can also reach me at (310) 903-0717 if you would prefer to speak on the phone. Thanks.

I've been with F21 for over 2 years and have really enjoyed it! Yes, there are days that are rough, but here's a wake up call - its work! It's going to be hard sometimes, but that's with any job you've had. For the most part, this is a fun job where I get to talk about fashion all day, help customers shop fashion forward trends and get to know the employees.

I started off as a Visual and am now a Store Manager. I moved up the ladder quickly because I worked hard and did what was expected. I never felt as though I was sacraficing too much, I just did my personal best and it was recognized. Its the people who want to stand around, talk to their friends, slack off and not work that don't like F21. The store is too large with too many items to just stand around. You have to stay busy the whole time you're there, which also makes the time go by fast. Most employees I've worked with understand this and we're out of there an hour after the mall closes.

Forever 21 doesnt make their employees offer annoying credit cards or have sales requirements. The store does have sales goals, but it is for the whole store to work towards. They do not give out scripts for their employees to read on the phone or when greeting the door. It's really a place where you can be yourself, show off your personal style and be a personal shopper.

Benefits are good too, but only offered to full time employees. Its one of the best health care packages I've had. It even covers things like acupuncture, chiropractors ect.

Requesting time off is usually not an issue either. Part time employees have a lot of flexibility and full time employees have PTO. There are a few times during the year that everyone is required to work, such as back to school and holiday season. But that is to be expected! You're working in retail people- you need to be there for the busiest times of the year! It's a teamwork environment.

All and all, I've enjoyed my time and Forever 21 and look forward to sticking around for a while! Don't listen to these negative people who are exagerating about this company. They most likely are lazy, have attitude problems and really just dont want to work in general. :)

I loved working there! My SM was really awesome and my DM seemed really nice. They were really flexible with my schedule while in college and never gave me grief about needing days off. The other sales associates were for the most part really nice, and everyone worked hard. It was the best retail place I ever worked and i've worked at a bunch. The only reason I left is b/c I graduated college and got a job in my field. But if you like working in retail and love fashion then I def recommend working at f21.

I am the assistant manager in this store.... The pro and there is only one. Is that they pay well. And that is it. You are treated like you have no brain at all times. I can NOT stress to you the amount of emotional abuse you will go through while working here. The hours are INSANE. three in the afternoon til two am if you are lucky. More times than not you will be there until 4 am....Which you will have to take a second " 30" which you sit in the store and not get paid because you will be the only manager closing and babysitting all of the associates that are more interested in socializing because this is the only life for them too. And for your first day...........Upon arrival at the new job.... DO NOT EXPECT TRAINING......... Expect the DM to yell at you for things you would never know because you have only been there for ten minutes. If you are a tremendous self learner and can block out all life, are single, not expecting a love life, and just forget about friends and family...... you may be a hermit... then you are perfect for this position. But I will warn you that you will lose all sense of self and self worth. DO NOT LOSE YOURSELF AND DO NOT WORK HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Applying and working for Forever 21 has been one of the biggest mistakes that I have made. I understand that yes, it is a retail jobs and that retail jobs usually aren't the greatest, but working for this company has opened my eyes to how greedy, unthoughtful and rude a company can be to its employees. My problem with the job wasn't with my management or supervision at the store, but rather with the regional team and corporate. I do not think anyone who works outside of the actual stores understand what the environment is inside one of the stores. Making profit is the main focus (as it should be with any company), but they do so while cutting extensive hours and shifts and implementing scare tactics rather than encouragement. The discount is a joke at 10 percent. If the company can afford to discount a pair of jeans from 25 dollars to 2.99 on the sale rack when they do not sell, they can afford to give the employees a much more reasonable discount. Pay is low and discounts are very rare, coming at one per year. Direct deposit is only offered to full timers. The fact that they decide to print "John 3:16" on the bottom of the bags and market themselves as a Christian company is a bit annoying. Perhaps the thing that drove me the most crazy is the music that they blast during open hours. It is the same songs over and over at a volume that makes it hard to even hear a customer speaking to you. The job is messy (you will be there 2-3 hours after closing on a normal night cleaning), frustrating, there is little room for promotions (good luck if you are only working part time), and you are working for a company that makes you feel as if you can easily be replaced and that treats you with little respect. It is a cheap company with even cheaper values. Stay away from this company and hope that one day that their actions catch up to them.

you will hate working for this company. you get out late (around 12:30 or 1) the managers pressure you a lot they give you warnings for whatever they can come up with at closing time there is never enough people . they expect for you to leave early and leave no putback racks(there's more than 7 or 8 racks at closing time) everything clean but than again they cut hours. sometimes managers cant even take their breaks because there is not enough people working at the moment. and oh yeahh the discount is bad lol ok thats it :)

well i agree with the person that went off on people bitching about where they work at. why complain if you hate your job that much? not everyone will like what kind of job they have but it's life and there are plenty of people who wish they had a job but because of economy they don't but i bet they don't sit on their ass and whine about it. you guys should be grateful you even have one. shit i would love to have one but i have to search like everyone else is doing. if you don't like your job then find something else to do that makes you happy and is within your career. and if you don't leave then shut up and grow up because there are people who would love to be in your position so think about that.