Overall, a very disappointing experience. Didn't feel like a real job - Seasonal Sales Associate Vans Employee Review

1.0
Jan 20, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-A generous 50% discount -For the most part, my coworkers were chill, laid back, and would help you out if you asked for it -I love Vans. Very cool brand -Fairly easy work. You get the hang of things pretty fast

Cons

-HORRIBLE hours! I was under the impression I'd get a lot of hours because since I worked here during the holidays and they hired about 10 of us seasonal workers, it would always be crazy busy and they needed a lot of help. Quite the opposite! They were way too overstaffed (over 30 of us worked at our store). Therefore, unless you have been working there for awhile, your hours will be bad. On a good week, we will get scheduled for 8 hours. On a regular week, we might get scheduled for 4 hours. It was not uncommon for many workers to get 0 hours. What is the point of having a job with hours so low? -On call shifts. You have to call in 3 hours before your shift starts to see if they need you to come in. They never need you because they are so overstaffed. Still, they expect you to not make any plans so you can be on stand-by just in case. Such BS. -Sometimes, they would cut your shift. So, if you had 8 hours a week, it's highly probably it will go down to 4. If you had 4, it could potentially go down to 0. Sometimes, it would be so slow at Vans that they would send workers home after 2 hours. They would claim they "don't have the payroll to go around". So why did you hire so many people then? I don't get it. -Embarrassingly bad paychecks as a result of terrible hours. If you're trying to make some actual money, do not work here. -They didn't really have time to train the new seasonal sales associates properly. They kind of briefly went over things on the first day, and that was it. They were helpful if we had questions later on though. But they never even trained us to use the register, because supposedly they "didn't have time" even though sometimes it would be so slow at the store we would all just be standing around pretending to fold clothes. -I didn't feel like the managers/assistant managers gave a crap out of me. They were using us seasonal sales associates as backup and they didn't make an effort to really get to know us. I felt unappreciated and disposable. They told me during my interview there would be a good chance we would be kept on after the holidays were over. This is a lie because they don't want to scare you away. In reality, they hire about 10 people, and then they play favorites (not who is the best worker), and pick 1 or 2 people they had fun working with as the ones they keep. The other 8 or 9 people just get dropped. -The way they let us go was really insulting. Our names were just cut from the schedule once they were finished with us. No phone call, no final shift to say good bye or thank you...nothing at all! They didn't even say anything to me about it until I went in to pick up my final paycheck a week later. It was impersonal and nonchalant. So stupid.

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5.0
Mar 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Fun work environment if you love skateboarding/surf type of vibe.

Cons

Less hours during nonpeak season

3.0
Apr 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The environment is absolutely amazing with my coworkers and they are always supportive. Any issues that arise are met with a high level of humanity - on the base level of the people I work with, because I haven't really delt with corporate. It genuinely feels nice to work here when you have a team like mine. The culture of skating is absolutely amazing to learn about at VANs and be a part of as well. I like the history behind some of the shoes, but that's probably just because I'm a history nerd.

Cons

Part time doesn't get many hours or enough pay to survive off of. However, you can't become full time unless you get a higher position. Sadly, they are incredibly hard to get, due to the fact people seem to stay with VANs if they get that promotion, just because it seems to be great to work here once you have that higher position. As well as the usual shift is 4 hours, and sometimes you only get one shift a week. It's just incredibly hard to stay here when it can't even give you enough money on your paychecks to get a small amount of groceries that'll last one person two weeks.

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