JC Penney made me who I am today. Upon arriving in Baton Rouge I was jobless and driving my girlfriend crazy. If it wasn't for my boyish good looks, devilish charm and rapist wit I would have been homeless quickly. Finally after applying for waiter/bartender jobs with no success all over Baton Rouge (what the hell was that all about???? I had nearly 6 years of experience in that field...and nothing), I eventually piled into the JC Penney and said what the hell. Interview went great and, with the experience I gained from 20 interviews in the previous 2 weeks, I talked the whole time and finished with "Do YOU have any questions". Only question was: when can you start? Whew, income finally. Extremely low income, but income none the less. This became the stepping stone to many subsequent jobs that have led me to where I am now.
As for the store: Many makeovers and remodels have made this a pretty good looking store. I still see associates that were there 12 years ago when I was there. That's a good thing, folks. The problem is that I just saw a Yahoo article saying that they might not make it through the year. Bankruptcy has been on the horizon for a long time now.
They don't really have sales anymore. Everything is set at a permanent "low price". I think that's a problem. People like sales. The merchandise is the same as you can find in Macy's or other department stores, sans the high end fare (i.e. Kenneth Cole, Polo. Although they DO have US Polo Assoc. which is not Polo).
JC Penney is a great place for home items like window treatments and clocks and stuff. I just bought 6 2" Faux Wood blinds for my house and the total was under $180 with free shipping to my house. That's a great deal.
My time there also taught me of the values of this store, which is that every customer deserves fair treatment and a return can be made on any item no matter how old or used. Tough policy but I've exchanged dress shirts for people that were easily 5 years old, worn and stained...but the collar was fraying which meant the product could have been defective and we replaced the shirts with new. That's customer service. read more