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Retailers dominate worst places to work list

Written by George Anderson

People seem to really like complaining about their jobs in retail and they can apparently cite quite a few reasons for their unhappiness, according to 24/7 Wall St., which has published a list of the 11 worst publicly-traded companies to work for in the U.S. Seven of the businesses making this year's list, its third, were retail chains.

To determine the worst places to work, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed thousands of employer reviews on Glassdoor.com, a website with a database of millions of those evaluations, CEO ratings, salary reports, and more to help connect jobseekers with the right companies.

The company ranked as the worst place to work was Books-A-Million, a chain of more than 250 stores, which had a 2.3 rating out of five. Only 14 percent of workers said they would recommend the company to a friend and only 23 percent approved of CEO Terry Finley's leadership.

Among the negative reviews for Books-A-Million found on Glassdoor:

  • "Incessant emphasis on selling overpriced discount card, at the expense of customer service."
  • "They bad mouth and treat the employees like trash and admit that customer service is not the focus."
  • "You not only don't get your commission, but you also lose out on your below-minimum wage hours."

As a point of contrast, here's how bookselling rivals compare:

  1. Amazon.com: 3.3 rating; 64 percent would recommend company to a friend; 85 percent approve of CEO
  2. Barnes & Noble: 3.3 rating; 61 percent would recommend company; 59 percent approve of CEO
  3. Half Price Books: 3.7 rating; 76 percent would recommend company; 87 percent approve of CEO

Among the other retailers to make 24/7 Wall St.'s worst list are:

  1. Jos. A Bank: 2.3 rating; 25 percent would recommend company; 25 percent approve of CEO
  2. Dillard's: 2.3 rating; 29 percent would recommend; 24 percent approve of CEO
  3. hhgregg: 2.4 rating; 31 percent would recommend; 36 percent approve of CEO
  4. Family Dollar: 2.4 rating; 28 percent would recommend; 40 percent approve of CEO
  5. Children's Place: 2.4 rating; 28 percent would recommend; 27 percent approve of CEO
  6. RadioShack: 2.4 rating; 24 percent would recommend; 46 percent approve of CEO

As a final point of contrast, here are some better places to work in retail according to Glassdoor's reviews:

  1. Costco: 3.8 rating; 82 percent would recommend; 92 percent approve of CEO
  2. Starbucks: 3.7 rating; 78 percent would recommend; 88 percent approve of CEO
  3. Whole Foods: 3.6 rating; 74 percent would recommend; 84 percent approve of CEO
  4. Container Store: 3.2 rating; 60 percent would recommend; 71 percent approve of CEO

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