Shoe Carnival Employee Reviews

1.0

Sales Associate (Former Employee)

9.12.2021, Job Location: Peoria, IL

I am not fond of this store anymore. I was not treated fairly at and the pay was awful. Everything I was told to do I did to the best of my ability and still got in trouble for.

Not going through the trouble of coming in this store again till something changes. Watched other managers make fun of a manager and treat them very awful. I do not recommend working for this specific location.

1.0

Store Manager (Former Employee)

4.9.2021, Job Location: St. Louis, MO

Working at this company would be ideal for someone who is in high school or for a first job. The pay is not ideal - especially for management, who have to work mandatory 45hr weeks and 6 day work weeks during peak times of the year (back to school & major holidays). In all fairness, I will say that 3 weeks paid time off is given to offset this requirement - which cannot be taken all at once.

Annual raises range from 1-3% for management and what is given relies on the yearly sales of each store individually. Raises for sales associates to team leader is 0.25 per hour. Many stores have issues with theft, "grab and go" and not enough people on staff or security, to aid in that problem.

The manager's main responsibility is to deter theft. Which means, spending the majority of your day at the front door making sure no one leaves without paying. Also while answering the phones and putting out stock, delivering customer service and everything that is entailed in that.

Most managers are women. -5% of them are good to work with, the other 95%- gossipy, catty, childish and display poor leadership ability.

3.0

Costumer Service (Current Employee)

28.6.2021, Job Location: Tampa, FL

My coworkers are great but the company itself doesn’t care about its employees. The pay is awful, (even for managers who have to be adults and spend most of their time there.

They should have a living wage with the hours they work) and for a company that’s focus is shoes, they do not care about foot related health; Standing for 8-12 hours is such an outdated concept for businesses and has been proven to cause health issues.

Some stools behind the counter would be a good start in showing their workers some consideration.

2.0

Assistant Manager (Former Employee)

18.6.2021, Job Location: Orange Park, FL

They keep bad managers. I've worked with some amazing managers. And absolutely loved my job at those points. But when bad management took over they did nothing. He ran the store into the ground.

17 employees quit during this time leaving us other employees to work doubles non stop. I had no time with my children or home life at all.

He ran everyone into the ground and gave no encouragement or any type of good job even though we overwhelmed ourselves working like that. Sad such a good company let's many great employees walk away then to get rid of the problem (that manager).

3.0

Sales Associate/Cashier/Customer Service/Stock (Former Employee)

8.5.2021, Job Location: Mishawaka, IN

I took a position as a cashier but ended up doing multiple things around the store such as running isles, doing truck, being a sales associate, many things are required of you that you don’t even apply for.

The pay is definitely too low to want to stay there, you can ask for specific days off in the week but it’s rare to ever have less than 5 days working always 8 and a half hour shifts and you spend your whole day there. Customers are rude everyday and it’s a lot to handle.

Management is very picky and one manager will tell you to do something a specific way while another manager will yell at you for doing it like that. Not well maintained at all, always short on staff due to bad working environment.

1.0

Sales Associate (Former Employee)

16.3.2021, Job Location: Foley, AL

When I was working at shoe carnival, as a cashier I felt like I wasn’t treated fairly, I didn’t get not a single break when I am a minor.

At closing I was the only one doing anything while most people were on their phones. They would only ever schedule two people to close which isn’t good especially if someone calls out that was supposed to close.

When I had to quit for personal reasons, the manger did not respond to me, and was very rude when I went to pick up my check. The absolute worst place I have ever worked. I do not what so ever recommend working here.

Pay is awful and so is management.

3.0

Processing Clerk (Former Employee)

5.2.2021, Job Location: Evansville, IN

After a previous manager passed away and a new system was put into place. It has become almost impossible to meet daily/weekly goals that were previously easy to exceed.

We're talking about a 40%-50% decrease in productivity with the new system even when we manage to have enough workers in the various positions.

We are usually understaffed since no one wants to work 60 hours a week Mon-Sat on a permanent basis just to make up for mistakes management make.

Mistakes like changing a system that had you easily exceeding goals. Mistakes like getting rid of all temporary staff the moment we catch up, only to be understaffed and fall behind almost immediately. When I started there every other worker had at least 5 years under their belt.

It was a decent paying job, with a set schedule, that actually had good work life balance. Since then about 80% of those staff have quit. One person with over 20 years working there took a pay cut to go somewhere else, that is how bad it has gotten.

I toughed it out for awhile hoping it would get back to normal, but management has made it clear that this is the new normal.

1.0

Sales Associate (Former Employee)

17.12.2020, Job Location: Baton Rouge, LA

This job pays horribly, if you have real bills and responsibilities then this job isn’t for you. The management is a joke.

Everyone talks about everyone. They have a huge turnover rate, because they don’t know how to talk to people.

Employees were more knowledgeable than some of the managers. They threaten to write you up and cut hours over low shoe perk scores. I wouldn’t want my worse enemy to work there.

1.0

Sales Associate (Former Employee)

18.10.2020, Job Location: Kokomo, IN

I loved waiting on customers. The only down side was I was not successful at shoe perks. Then managers turned against me. I wished I could have accomplished what they asked of me.

Management pressure was very stressful given the fact that management don’t run register because they are unsuccessful at shoe perks also.

They just don’t want it on record. I was not even supposed to be on register but because of the stores large turnover in employees I was forced to.

1.0

Construction Manager (Former Employee)

5.5.2020, Job Location: Evansville, IN

Backstabbing, Horrible leadership, Constant fear of losing your job. Seems like leaderships only purpose is to discover what you are doing wrong and expose it.

Cost of living in Evansville is low, but their salaries are much lower than industry standards. Bonus is non existent and laughable. If you go to HR to file a formal complaint you might as well resign as you will have a target on your back.

Buddy system culture. Enter at your own risk.

4.0

General Manager (Current Employee)

21.4.2020, Job Location: US

Shoe Carnival is great to work for.

They offer great benefits and retirement plans. The opportunity to advance is there, just may need to be in a bigger market to advance more quickly.

The company operates without debt and is always looking to keep competitive in the ever changing market.

2.0

Asst. Store Manager (Current Employee)

20.4.2020, Job Location: US

Shoe Carnival is a great place for high school or college students to work. As a part time employee, it is a low stress minimum wage job. Depending on your location, they generally work around schedules pretty well.

Before I start, I would like to state that all of the complaints I’m about to list are based on the actions of people outside of the store. (District manager and corporate positions)
In general, I’ve been content with my direct superiors and coworkers in store.

I would not recommend pursuing a full time position here. I currently work as an assistant store manager. I have worked in 3 different shoe carnival locations.

The corporate part of the company shows very little recognition for good work, but gladly scolds the peons below them. I have never worked for a company where the district manager is so uninvolved. He will bark orders over email, but never checks in otherwise. We constantly have our goals raised, while having payroll cut and our tools to accomplish said goals taken away.

Their pay scales are far from competitive. We hire in new employees at minimum wage, very rarely allowing any type of negotiation. From that, yearly reviews happen that can offer raises. I’ve been told multiple times in years past that I received the “maximum amount allowed” on my yearly raise. It was 28 cents. I’m sorry for being ungrateful, but does 28 cents sound like a reward for a year of good work? Not to me.

Now, pay scales for management. The hourly pay caps at 17. That being said, I am considered “overpaid” by most other management, but I only make 14.50. I’ve been with the company for 4 years, and only got raises when I threatened to find a new job. I have never heard of them giving a merit raise unless someone has threatened to quit. It makes it uncomfortable and less special than if merit raises were actually offered on occasion. Compare these numbers to other companies, and it’s not worth the hassle of running a store. I recently applied for the exact same position at a local competitor, and they pay 50,000 salary for the same job.

^I wrote all of the above before the current state of the world happened. I will be leaving the company once this pandemic is over with. They have made it abundantly clear that they do not care about the safety of their employees. Greed would be the best word that I could use to describe the company. It is actually disgusting. I wish I could post this on a more public platform, because there is actually no chance that this review changes a single thing in the hands of shoe carnival’s management.

2.0

Store Associate (Current Employee)

20.4.2020, Job Location: Louisville, KY

The management at my particular store is amazing, very understanding of what we, as employees, can and cannot do and what is a reasonable demand of an employee as opposed to an unreasonable demand. Customer service is something I love to provide and I speak to customers and coworkers as if they were my own friends and family, even customers who are unreasonable. This is only hard when the company is very obsessive about email signups.

I feel as though I am harassing people most often as a cashier because of this, it is outrageous to me that, even when I fully explain the benefits of the program and the customer says 'no' I am pushed to get a yes no matter what and even tricking people into signing up. In my opinion, this is NOT okay and my manager shouldn't be forced to force employees to get sign-ups by his boss and the CEO.

As a cashier, I do not like harassing customers for their personal information and tricking customers into providing it. I absolutely, under no circumstances, should be pressured to do this and this pressuring has never been as extreme as when I've worked here at Shoe Carnival. I understand wanting people to sign up, but you should not have to harass your employees, in turn, to harass customers into giving out their personal information.

It also makes me upset how the website is barely consistent with the stock in our store and I have met many customers who have been extremely confrontational to me over an item that, when they looked online, was said to be in stock only for, when they get to our store, for it to be not in stock. This is the hardest part of my job along with harassing people for their personal info.

The best part of my job is my coworkers and I love all my coworkers as if they were my own family. We all like to work, it would be even more awesome if we were given more hours just to not only organize shoes but clean the store in terms of dust and grime. There's barely any time to do it with the few people working at a given time but our store is very impeccably dirty - ESPECIALLY the carpets which is another reason I am not so happy with the CEO. We have been told our carpets were going to be replaced since I've been working, an entire year.

Our carpets have been extremely dirty and dusty with the promise of replacement yet they still have not been replaced. I never cough or sneeze but at work, I am constantly coughing and sneezing, especially when I'm organizing shoes lower to the ground and have gone through many a pair of khakis due to the dirt on the ground turning the knees of them black.

4.0

Asst. Store Manager (Current Employee)

20.4.2020, Job Location: US

I started working at shoe carnival when I was 19 in 2012. Over the last 8 years, I have enjoyed my time as a cashier, department lead, and ASM.

There is always something to do, leaving very little down time. I love this part about the job because I am constantly occupied which makes each shift fly by. There are many opportunities for advancement and pay increases. Full time employees receive health benefits, and the option for a 401k and stocks.

The only negative thing I can say about working for shoe carnival is the pay. I started out making minimum wage, and have worked my way up little by little since. You are given a yearly review which determines the amount of increase you are to receive. This increase usually does not exceed 25 cents, and that is if you get a perfect review.

The only other times I have received a pay increase is when I got a promotion. Even then it was not as much as I would have hoped for, nor was it what their employees deserve for the amount of work they are expected to do; especially management.

2.0

Store Associate (Current Employee)

17.4.2020, Job Location: San Antonio, TX

Well like any other job it takes some time getting used to. Theres people who are incharge, the managers. And people who want to be in charge, other associates.

Theres is people who socialize with each other while your working and vise versa. Its not a difficult job once you get used to it.

2.0

Store Associate (Current Employee)

16.4.2020, Job Location: Johnson City, TN

Store 346: our GM has been able to get away with anything.

She has called a coworker of mine stupid and other names on several occasions, and treats us like we are nothing. She just says thing completely out of line. I have worked retail almost 4 years now and NEVER had a manager like this. The only part of my job I like is the store manager makes it easier and a few of the other coworkers.

But the GM at store 346 makes the job unbearable. Workplace culture is very uncomfortable because of our GM things she has said and done, just make you want to quit.

1.0

Store Associate (Current Employee)

16.4.2020, Job Location: Springfield, IL

The management refuses to accept any faults on their part and does not care about the safety and life in general of their associates. When you start, you are asked your availability and for some reason they couldn’t get mine right.

The only day I asked off was Tuesday night because of family circumstances and they managed to schedule me every single Tuesday and then make me find a replacement for my shift because it “wasn’t their problem”.

2.0

Store Associate (Current Employee)

16.4.2020, Job Location: Elkhart, IN

I personally have a very good work ethic and On a daily basis I’m staying way past closing in order to make sure the store is looking good for the next day.

Some of the people working here are not the best to work alone side with as there is a lot of drama and pettiness that comes along with this job. Adding to that, there are managers who are very sexist and give guys specifically certain jobs and punishments while the females don’t have to do much work.

There are multiple times that I’ve been yelled at for “standing around” when other employees don’t get yelled at.