Working at Teavana — Reviews by Employees

Ya know, I've only been with this company for a few months, and I have to say, I absolutely love it. I'm only part time, but I am the happiest I've been at any job I've ever held. The staff and management at this location is fair, fun, and gets things accomplished. From what I've heard, from more seasoned employees at this location, this didn't used to be the case a year ago. From what I've read here online, the individual experience of every employee with the company, varies SOLELY based on the stores General Manager. I'm no expert, but it seems as if I've got a great mgmnt team. It's very unfortunate that so many stores have all of these "unethical" things going on in them....maybe thats something that upper management needs to investigate....because at the store I work at, those "shady" things don't go on. And we're actually PRAISED for our progress, and COACHED when we do something wrong. I'm only working part time, but am considering attempting to stay with them and try to advance, depending on how things go.

Someone made a comment that Teavana is a rapidly growing company, and I didn't get a chance to dispel that illusion. Teavana's store locations are all in malls and are being leased. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this will keep overhead costs down and allow you to expand the number of stores without really having equity in anything. Teavana doesn't own the land they get their tea from because they don't have the money to do so. Don't let them fool you with the rapid expansion stories. A local investment company out of Atlanta invested a few million in the company and the CEO used the money to lease more store locations and buy up more product from vendors. He isn't doing something amazing, he's just signing leases around the country and shelving products. I don't think there is one facet of this company that Teavana has completely bought over or owns from the distribution side to the retail side. Wake up people this guy is running a shell company that's well-being depends on whether the crop in these tea growing regions prospers or it doesn't.

Now, in one of my earlier post I was accused of not being fair and misrepresenting what this company stood for and some of the practices that they employ that I personally felt were unethical. Therefore, I will approach it in a different way. I'm not some disgruntled employee who lost his job, I left on my own volition because I was offered a job paying twice as much elsewhere. Now keep in mind at Teavana, I was making $12.00 hourly in management, so this isn't a case of some sales associate who can't make ends meet. I've been in sales positions before, and I know all too well about the people who are claiming Teavana as being some model company. I took this job because I needed a job and the pay was just enough to put aside my own concerns to really see how I felt about working for this company. I'm not sitting here lying to you about unethical practices because I have some vested interest in this company still. I'm a firm believer in giving it to people straight, and so I will. While in training with Teavana, I was instructed along with other people, to study company material off the clock on our own time, and it didn't hit me until halfway through the week that what we were being told to do violates labor laws that are in place, which clearly state that an employee who is asked to do anything pertaining to a company outside of work hours must be compensated for time spent. If you don't believe me then look it up. This was the first HR violation I encountered with this company. The second thing I encountered was the fact that this company doesn't do background checks. Now, it's not illegal to abstain from doing background checks, but got forbid they hire a felon and he bludgeons a customer or another employee to death with a cast iron pot then the company will be held liable, so basically, they are willing to risk your life as an employee or a customers life to save money. If you don't believe me about the liability issue then look it up. A lot of respondents to negative posts on here use the argument that maybe these people complaining just weren't cut out for the company, but in reality maybe the company wasn't cut out for these people. Someone said maybe I had no personality in giving out tea samples, but quite frankly, maybe the company should carry a product and brand that doesn't need to be sold on personality, but on merit and benefits. Being a human billboard and yelling at customers "do you want a delicious tea sample" isn't a sales strategy, it just cheapens the products your company is selling. I was told in a comment on one of the post I put up that turning Teavana into a beverage company wouldn't make money, even though Starbucks a multi-billion dollar international company that is publicly traded is doing it everyday. Teavana only really appeals to a certain demographic of people(health nuts, tea enthusiasts, and baby boomers), and that accounts for a very small percentage of the market they are mildly penetrating. Anyway, I can go on and on, but for the BS you have to do with this company as a sales associate or even manager just find another retail gig. Nothing rewarding about working for Teavana, you just look like a jacka$$ standing in front of the store begging people to try tea samples. People are promoted, but then a lot people aren't, so don't let them suck you in with that. My advice if you apply for this company then apply for something in management and fudge your resume because they don't do background checks or drug testing, but always watch your back because this company is full of bottom feeders.

I get frustrated when I see all these negative reviews about the "shadiness" of the company. I am aware that it seems to vary by store, but in our store, we have a huge number of return, happy customers. Yes, there is a sales process, and yes, there are sales goals, but you don't have to be shady to do well. I legitimately care about what I'm selling, and I care about making the customers happy. Maximizing every sale does not mean that you are shoving things down their throats. I was actually quite skeptical at the beginning about whether or not I'd make a good salesperson, but I've found that having a genuine interest in pleasing the customer results in a positive experience for them as well as for me. Sure, some people will only buy a small amount of something, but if you follow the sales process for everyone, you will find that many people are extremely willing to spend more if they are only offered more. If you follow that process for everyone, the high tickets average out the low, and you do just fine. The idea is to simply offer options, find out what the customer really needs, and be mindful of that while trying to maximize the sale. It's simple. I find that the employees who think it's "shady" are just not very good at it, and that is fine. I appreciate that it's not just a mall job.

Additionally, the company treats it's employees with great respect. They promote from within, and they do it readily. They provide training opportunities. They have excellent benefits, even for part-time employees - medical, dental, vision, and a 401K with an employer match (yes, a match! for part-time employees). Besides a very good hourly pay, your monthly bonus increases that by quite a bit. Plus you get the usual all the drinks you want to drink while working (You can't sell tea if you don't drink it, right?) and a great employee discount (Bear in mind that all the Teavana employees that I know buy, use, and LOVE the products that they're selling to people). Additionally, I've met some of the most intelligent people I've ever worked with (I come from a science background and most of my school friends have advanced degrees). This comes from the fact that Teavana doesn't consider anyone "overqualified" and is motivated to hire people who have potential to move upwards in a growing company.

My store has an excellent work environment, with a focus on keeping things light and fun while still getting the job done. The idea is that you have to be in a good mood to do a great job. The sales aspect is treated like a game, and no one in my store is unscrupulous. It's not my job to decide who can or can't spend a certain amount of money, but it IS my job to show them what they can buy, explain why it's something they would want, and then it's the customer's decision if they want to buy it or not. I have never (and neither has anyone I've worked with) tricked a customer into buying something. Additionally, I regularly make bonus and exceed the company goals. I do this by following the sales process and connecting with my customer to understand their needs.

If anyone's thinking of working for Teavana and is getting bummed by these reviews, I encourage you to please make your own judgment and remember that it is a job that you have to work at, so don't expect a walk in the park. Maybe some stores have been run differently, but I believe the company is working to remedy this. Bottom line is, if people think they can go to the mall and not be "bothered" by salespeople, they're in the wrong place :) Seriously though, Teavana has a tried and true sales process. If you really want to see what a "hard sell" actually is, check out the people at the kiosks in the mall, where products really are marked up 1200%, they "secretly" make you a "deal," (ooh, now it's only marked up 600%!) and they grab at you and shout as you walk by.

Okay, basically this company is a joke. It's astounding that a company that is built around selling loose leaf tea and merchandise is such a hard sell environment. I really felt like I was in the boiler room of some financial management company. The owner is money hungry, and what could have been a great business concept is instead just a shell business that creates an illusion that the company is geared towards really introducing consumers to tea and taking an active role in presenting them with products that promote a healthy lifestyle. However, once you go into training and work in the store it's another story. The sales strategy that was stressed in training was top-down selling, which in so many words means, if you're going to sell a product, sell the most expensive first and work your way down. Now, a lot of companies employ this method, but in an industry so subjective as tea in where individual taste should govern what product is chosen, instead, at Teavana the sales associate is instructed to make that decision based on what cost more money for the customer. This company really wavers on the tight-rope of what's ethical and what's not. The sales associates are instructed to be snake oil salesmen. The benefits of the tea are so trumped up it's ridiculous. The pay isn't great, and there is no job security. Also, they don't do background checks or drug testing because that costs money, and well, quite frankly, they fire so many people that it would really get expensive and the owner and his Asian wife are cheap. In addition, they don't fire employees for not meeting their quota because they don't want people claiming unemployment, so they just don't put you on the schedule and hope that you get the point or miss a day of work, so they have a reason to fire you on something that's your fault. Training is less than one week and then you're thrown in the store to sell their expensive merchandise and tea. The work environment sucks because they have this stupid zoning arrangement, and what they won't tell you initially is that the people who sample tea never get sales, but it's the people behind the tea counter who get all the customers. They say sampling tea accounts for 50% of the sales, but that is total BS! Sampling is so ineffective it's sad. On any given day you can stand outside your store and offer samples and most people will say no, a few people will say okay, but they won't purchase anything, and then you have the extremely small percentage of people that sample the tea and they buy something, but they were going to do that anyway because they are regulars. The corporate trainer is obnoxious and she tells you to practically shove tea down people's throats to get their attention, and she calls that effective selling. Oh, and they instruct you to over-scoop the customer's tea, so they pay more at the register. What happened to giving people what they ask for? Teavana is a company for people who have no problem screwing people over. Even the manager's of this company have to sell, and they have to sell more than the sales associates. This company sucks and the truth behind it is they are just a merchandise retail store who sell tea on the back-end, and the tea isn't even their own tea, but it comes from vendors lol. The owner of this company isn't doing anything noteworthy with this company, and he's against making Teavana a beverage company, but yet he lures customers in with his tea samples. Why would someone who is new to tea buy an expensive cast iron teapot and over a hundred dollars worth of tea when they don't even know if they like the tea? The owner is out of touch with what consumers want. Starbucks is successful because people want beverages and something efficient, His business model is skewed. Anytime you push sales before becoming a branded business you're asking for failure. Oh, and a lot of people will tell you that at Teavana you have to sell, and it's not like a regular retail job, but that is BS. Teavana is just like any other shop in the mall except the people in the other stores have a product that customers come in wanting to buy and that pretty much sell itself, but at Teavana nobody wants the product because the company hasn't even marketed the brand lol. A company that has to get employees to lure customers in is a crappy company. Save your emotions and time and go work for another low paying retail chain. This company won't be around for long.

All negative feedback is very accurate and everything others experienced, I did too. I will only add that no one in management had any respect for minions below them. My manager was a snot nosed kid who hadn't even been with the company for a year when the store opened. She had no sense of personal responsibility and was quite the finger pointer. The area manager once told me I looked like I "got hit by a mack truck" because I wasn't wearing makeup (which I rarely do anyway). I was let go after escalating a theft problem that a girl I worked with had, who happened to be close friends with the manager. It was cited as me having 'an attitude problem' coupled with a bogus undocumented claim of a customer complaint and termination the following day. The stealing girl is now on track for corporate training. I will never work for a company that tolerates this, and Teavana is the epitome of unprofessional.

This is a horrible company that hires young arrogant hustlers for their mngmnt positions. The GM and AGM often make snide remarks about hustling, and lying to customers to maximise profit. All of the remarks by management on this site, defending their precious company, would not last 5 min at any honest hardworking company, the upper managment are often brash, mouthy, snotty and immature children that use horrible language and poor people skills to squeeze the dollars out of their sales people. Teavana, if you dont want your employees selling products that are helpfull to your customers, eliminate all of your stock except cast iron, and get rid of all of your teasbelow 10 dollars, believe it or not, not every person that walks in for a cup of blueberry bliss needs a 600 dollar cast iron set.....

This job is NOT for everyone. If you can do your job the way it is supposed to be done and work as a team player, you will love your job. If you don't, thats fine. It is not an easy job and it's not for everyone.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I will share mine. Teavana is an amazing company. Yes, their concept is unique. I started with the company close to a year ago, as a seasonal hourly associate, I was scheduled maybe 10 hours a week. I listened to my GM, and followed what they had to say in the training step by step. The sales process is there for a reason. After a couple of months, I was promoted to a keyholder, and soon after that, enrolled into the corporate mgmnt training class. Within 4 months of being hired with the company, I was offered a GM position, with full relocation assistance. I, of course accepted the position. Over the past 5-6 months or so, my store has consistently been one of the top performers in the region, and in some instances, company wide. When you put forth the effort required, the possibilities of opportunity with this company, are endless. THIS JOB IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY. Most people that apply to this job, think it's "a tea version of Starbucks". Or, they think they're just going to be cashiers. Yes, you have to sell, and sell your ass off. As for all of the allegations of "managers stealing sales." In my store, if you're not following the sales process, and I see an opportunity to maximize a sale, my AGM and I will both tactfully step in, and salvage/resuscitate the sale. If the team member is still new with the company, by all means, we will ring it under their name. If you've been there awhile, and you know what you're supposed to be doing, but for whatever reason, be it laziness, ignorance, or apathy, we will ring it under our name. We do that, for the simple fact, that we don't want to foster the idea of "playing favorites." At the end of the day, the stores numbers, is what matters. It is a business, not a social gathering. If the store isn't making plan, then alotted payroll hours get cut. Plain and simple. So, for those of you whining and complaining about "she stole my sale," take a look at yourself. Are you REALLY exerting all of your effort into the job? Are you REALLY following the sales process as you were initially shown by your training mgr? Are you ENGAGING the customer, and getting them involved? Or are you being complacently apathetic, and asking them "do you need any help?" after they've already touched the same cast iron pot 4 times? All too often, have I had employees resign from their job, because "this isn't what I expected the job to be." In the interview, I do explain, fully, that this IS a sales job. Maybe I don't do it well enough? I believe that most people hear "sales" in the mall, as "retail cashier". Anyhow, I've begun to drift. My overall point is, as with any job, you usually get out of it, what you put into it. I'm extremely happy with my employment at Teavana, and plan to continue to climb the ladder with the company.

I have been very pleased with the training and
chances for advancement that have come my
way with Teavana. The culture is certainly one
of hardwork, but mgmt knows who you
are; not just a number, and the promotions
come from within so I've had a much chance to
move up here, than other companies in the past
I've been at.