My Colleagues Were Everything But Salesmen, And the Manager Was No Exception!
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
The brand's image and philosophy are undeniably strong. Ralph Lauren represents elegance, heritage, and a globally recognized standard of luxury. However, the Home Collection won’t get the attention it deserves in Germany with this team, to be honest.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
The team, the chaos, the lack of training, the absence of benefits, poor management, and an overall lack of structure. There were too many issues to overlook, and it felt like no one was taking responsibility to address them.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
Take the time to actually read applicants' CVs, communicate professionally during the hiring process, and hire trained individuals instead of random people. Who is overseeing these processes, honestly? Where is the HR team during all of this? Proper recruitment and onboarding are essential for building an effective and motivated team.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
The atmosphere was dominated by insecurity. The moment you started performing slightly better than your colleagues, they would go out of their way to ruin your mood. The focus wasn’t on teamwork or success but on maintaining the illusion of being a “luxury brand”—don’t be too much, and certainly don’t do too much.
Ironically, the regional manager was consistently disappointed because we almost never reached our sales targets. Perhaps the solution isn’t micromanaging the team but hiring people with actual sales skills and experience?
Kommunikation
Lucky for me, I speak English, but it’s essential to hire people who can at least speak one language fluently to ensure smooth communication and effective teamwork. How can you expect to manage a team when you can’t even fully understand what people are saying?
Repeating every instruction in three different languages didn’t help productivity either, it only created more confusion and slowed everything down.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
None. There was absolutely no sense of teamwork or support among colleagues. Everyone seemed more focused on their own interests rather than working together towards common goals.
Work-Life-Balance
It’s a joke. There was no real consideration for maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
I had a conflict with an older colleague and reached out to my manager for help. Her response? “It’s not my business.” If your team isn’t your business, then what is?
Interessante Aufgaben
Honestly, there weren’t any. Due to a lack of professionalism and the inability to effectively reach customers, most days felt empty. You could clean everything daily just to pass the time. One colleague even read the same catalog three times a day.
There was little engagement, no meaningful tasks, and certainly no sense of purpose in the work.
Gleichberechtigung
Also a joke.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
Honestly, everyone who works here is either planning to leave or has already left. The only ones staying are those with no ambition, limited skills, and no real prospects elsewhere.
Arbeitsbedingungen
While the shopping center itself was nice, Ralph Lauren couldn’t manage to provide a larger stockroom, create more space for employees, or invest in proper redecorating for the sake of the customers. Visual merchandising was severely lacking, and the overall presentation didn’t reflect the image of a so-called “luxury brand.”
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
it was okay
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
No benefits for some, and every benefit for others what a great way to motivate a team! I had none. Fairness and transparency in compensation and benefits were completely absent.
Image
The brand has a very polished and prestigious image. Ralph Lauren is undeniably famous and well known.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
I’ve heard that some colleagues had opportunities for growth and development, but I personally had no experience with that. There was no clear path for advancement or training offered to me during my time there.