Volunteer (Former Employee) – Victoria, BC – 3 February 2019
Only worked part time for a short amount of time but enjoyed it. Did work alone in the store a few times while the other employee went for lunch, thought this was unsafe but it was only ever for 10-30 min at a time.
Product Manager (Current Employee) – Georgetown, ON – 3 February 2019
I learned a lot about managing and delegating tasks amongst staff members while remaining an individual that they can approach with any personal issues.
Assistant Manager (Current Employee) – Edmonton, AB – 24 January 2019
They hire new people with no or least experience at low wages but expect them to learn everything by themselves. They have zero training programs for self-development. For everything they only expect you to use your common sense instead of guiding well. They never appreciate anybody's hardworking but instead push staff after numbers. which creates dissatisfaction and discouragement.
A typical day included meetin greeting customers - offering advice on products services in the store - great face to face interaction- upselling
Style Specialist (Former Employee) – Mississauga, ON – 22 January 2019
A typical day included meeting greeting customers - offering advice on products services in the store - great face to face interaction- up-selling Great opportunity to learn sales tactics Great employer with good discounts Culture is a bit cut throat, lot of competition because it was a commission based job
Was a Store Manager (Former Employee) – Alberta – 22 January 2019
A great area manager whom was in charge of overseeing my store and a couple other stores. It was sad to see this supervisor with good, sound people skills start to buy in to the corporate culture of bullying, under pressure. The bullied become the bullies. A beautiful brand, but the corporate mindset will tank the business eventually as the egos get in the way of good business practice..aka staff appreciation. The company is very much caught in the old fear mongering style of 80's retail. A key leader in the field whom has been with the company for many years is a liability, bad for the business. As often happens they slip through the cracks. I do not regret my time at Le Chateau as I learned valuable lessons.
Pros
I am hard pressed to come up with a valid "pro" but I can say it is an education and enlightening.
keyholder (Former Employee) – Vancouver, BC – 17 January 2019
Come into the store (different location, all the same), add last details to your outfit. Check with the manager the number for the day, and the day before (if we did well). Be on the floor with customers in rush hours. Cheking the computer for what is in the program today. Do what the program says. If you open the store, you swap the floor and if you close the store you clean and fold all closing not properly place. Organize the back store.
F/T Sales Associate (Former Employee) – Scarborough, ON – 7 January 2019
Had a hard working and great team to coworkers.
Considering the store size there was not enough employees scheduled to cover the floor. Upper management was very shady and would literally pass off their work to employees. District Manager was very rude and spoke to you in a very demeaning manner and refused to visit store while putting pressure on store manager to get task completed. They are always cutting hours so it is waste of time for P/T employees.
Store Manager (Former Employee) – Mississauga, ON – 4 January 2019
Le Chateau, like many retailers in Canada, is going through a period of transition leading to a re-orienting away from its original premise as a fast fashion retailer and a downloading of responsibilities onto store management. Coupled with slowing sales across the industry, it can be a challenge at times and the satisfaction is completely dependent on how well your store is doing. Having a great supervisor makes all the difference as well. Executive managers in the company seem to be at odds with themselves over strategies, which seem to change from one day to the next. The clothing is great and the quality much better than some people give them credit for. At the end of the day, retail management can be an enjoyable occupation, provided you are willing to go along with change.
Styliste-Conseil (Former Employee) – Joliette, QC – 28 December 2018
J'ai fait un remplacement durant la période achalandée des Fêtes et je n'avais aucune idée de ce dont je devait faire. Je n'ai pas eu de formation car je n'ai servi que pour dépanner. Je ne m'y sentais pas du tout à ma place
Brand Specialist (Former Employee) – Waterloo, ON – 19 December 2018
My experience was positive. The staff were fun and supportive and management helped us work on our goals - personal, store and Le Chateau overall. Le Chateau provides excellent Product Knowledge packages for all retail staff. Each staff member was given the tools to really get to know the product, the designs and the new collections. Great place to work.
Part time brand stylist (Former Employee) – Surrey, BC – 30 November 2018
Worked like a dog and was underappreciated, all work is thrown on the associates while management is doing the bare minimum (most of the time standing in a corner chatting about what a lovely dinner they had). At first it was fun, but once the management loses interest it becomes like a living h*ll!!!
Provide cook for breakfast and lunch. Huge office with people from all departments. Accounting co-workers were nice. Job itself was interesting. Nice Boss.
Brand Stylist (Current Employee) – Pickering, ON – 20 November 2018
A productive workplace with self-motivated co workers that foster to further excel the brand. It is a place where self development occurs both in the work and job life. A lot opportunities to learn various important skills.
Brand Stylist (Former Employee) – Toronto, ON – 14 November 2018
expect low pay, terrible management, being treated poorly by customers all day long only to end up with a less than decent check. Hours are often very inconsistent
Men's Department Retail Manager (Former Employee) – Hamilton, ON – 13 November 2018
I did quite well here. Was able to go to work in suits every day and felt good. The money just wasn't enough. There is relative room for advancement but the company has been struggling the past few years.
Product Manager (Former Employee) – Ajax – 30 October 2018
loved my team at each store but i then found out i was very fortunate. Head office is terrible with communication and will never admit if they made a mistake. You have to go above your job description which is great for getting experience but terrible when you look at your pay and what you signed on for versus what is expected of you.
Assistant Manager (Former Employee) – Brantford, ON – 24 October 2018
They are very flexible with scheduling, and its a fun environment to work in! They also recognize hard work and promote within. Their open door policy makes for a very comfortable environment.
A typical day at work includes working with awesome people, being taught by knowledgeable co-workers and welcomed into a great and fun job culture. It also teaches you the skills and background foundation to develop your sales skills for future endeavours.
Sales Associate (Former Employee) – Kitchener, ON – 3 October 2018
was here for co-op, had a nice employee discount. Staff was always helpful and kind. Mall hours so you would not be there past 930, was fun helping customers find items
A nice place to work, with great discounts and job advancement
Junior Assistant Manager (Former Employee) – Scarborough, ON – 14 September 2018
Le Chaeau gave me the opportunity to develop skills and talents that I did, but also didnt know I had. After 3 months as a sales associate, I was promoted to Keyholder/Junior Assistant Manager, where I got the opportunity to showcase my leadership abilities and aided the manager with interviewing and training and development. I had a great store manager, which made the workplace culture enjoyable, however, I cannot say the same for our district manager. In addition, Le Chateau's employee discounts are very generous compared to many other retail companies that I've worked for. I believe the most challenging thing would be meeting store sales, during low season times, which is usually from September to November, and then mid January to March.
Pros
great opportunities for job advancement, great employee discounts, had an amazing store manager
Cons
repetitive work which gets boring after a while, upper management can use work