I really like Aldo shoes. Maybe it was because I just liked shoes in general.
WAIT! That was before I worked here in a short stint this summer.
Words can not even begin to express how much grief and agony I endured on every shift here, from working to simply watching customers (about 1 or 2 every hour) leave in fury and vowing to dial corporate on the way out, to getting yelled at myself.
From the beginning to the end...I could not believe how awful it was. I'll just bullet for you. You can read and lament. Or laugh.
1. Went in for application, was told they "Had none available." Took my resume and never heard back.
2. Got a part-time elsewhere, went to Aldo just to browse before shift started. Manager wanted me, asked me to interview. Told me wrong date. Wasted my time and gas. Great start.
3. Came in for interview, straight up ignored for 20 minutes. Finally interviewed. Manager was arrogant and rude, best term is a bitch ("I'm a psych and sociology major, I am SO personable, ah hah!!") and told me, "if you can't meet your goals, I'm gonna fire you. we don't take your bullshit here." I asked about turnover rates and it was pretty darn high.
4. Was told at 10am there was a team meeting at 10:30am. Went in a hurry, wasn't paid for it (everyone else was). During the meeting, I heard these phrases:
-"If they look ugly, wear sweatpants, doesn't look fashionable, or comes on Fri-Sun, throw away their resumes." There was a 10 minute discussion on -how- to throw away resumes. Ah, so that's why my first application never went through.
-"[Jane] got fired for taking Aldo merch from the back."
"Oh so that's what happened to her!" Yes, they mentioned names. That's private and unprofessional, Miss Management.
-"[Miss Doe], you have attitude problems." Yes, there were cat fights and snarks too.
-"Oh new girl, you work at [xyz]? I don't like the girls that work there."
Me: "um....why not?"
"I don't know. Just something about them."
Later I found out she didn't get a job there.
Team meeting impression: agonizing [unpaid] teenage mean girls session.
5. FAVORITE: While filling out paperwork, they crossed out the human rights section with a red pen. What are we in, middle school? I wish I had my camera, I only have a pic of it on my cellphone. When I asked, they said, "Oh we got rid of it. It's not our policy." Excuse me? Aldo is written on top of the page. I'm pretty sure this is illegal...and surely the mark of a bad company to work for...
6. No training invested, whatsoever. I didn't know jack. Literally thrown onto floor. I was talking to customers before I even knew what European sizes were.
7. We had to climb ladders often too, on time crunches and without assistance- completely dangerous, but ok. One employee broke her ankle this way and Aldo fired her because she could have been the company's liability. Oh right! We don't have rights!!
8. Required to buy and wear Aldo shoes. No other company I know is allowed to do this. At other stores, we could report that and get thousands of dollars in reward.
9. I told management -very- specifically, what dates and times I would be available. They don't give a rat's arse. Basically every shift I had conflicted with my other part-time, who had been more than gracious, accommodating, and understanding in my requests.
AS A COMPANY-
Pardon upcoming language, but Aldo is a shitbag. They don't give a damn about their employees- they can throw them aside at any moment. Oh, they don't really care about their customers either. The main point is trying to get you to buy their shoes (and low-qual shoe care) and bags (jewelry tarnishes within a day, or on the rack) at exorbitant prices, many at the cost of lying. Every time I worked here, customers would be outraged, and I sided with all of them.
Employees don't have a choice- sell, or be fired. Many times shoes don't fit right, are practically worn, and when a customer tries to do a return, Aldo makes up bullshit excuses to not return shoes because they cut into our daily goals. I got in trouble for holding a customer's return shoes at the counter while they browsed- the reasoning was so that they won't feel welcome about returning the shoes.
-The newest manager Jayde is awesome- she is a psych major, and she truly understood people and how they worked. My coworkers are super awesome, minus my interviewer. Oh, we're revealing names now? Numero 4 and second bullet? Her name's Krutika, and doesn't know how to use her major or which direction to take her career. Good luck succeeding in life, witch.
12.11.2011: new manager, 90% new staff. Aldo has a terrible turnover rate. Don't work here. Don't buy from here. Don't support the store.
LESSON LEARNED: I now have the motivation to not slack off in school again. read more