The "Designer" Title is a Misnomer
Don’t let the "Designer" title fool you. While you are hired for your design and sales experience, you are essentially a high-pressure salesperson, back-of-house worker, and housewares laborer rolled into one. The work is very physical—expect to be stuffing pillows, restocking throws and decor, vacuuming rugs, dusting, and unpacking merchandise while staying on your feet for 8+ hours with very little downtime on weekends. The deliverable timelines are almost always impossible to meet because you are constantly being pulled to the sales floor. Furthermore, the free design services lead to customers ghosting you and stealing your ideas, all while being pressured to hit sales goals. There is zero consistency regarding your schedule. You are required to have open availability, and ALL weekends are required. Your hours change constantly, making it impossible to plan a life outside of work. During the holidays, the "extended hours" are brutal—shifts can run from 7:45 am to 11:00 pm. By the time you get home and decompress, you’re back at it a few hours later. The work-life balance isn't just poor; it’s non-existent during this time.
Management is often reactive rather than proactive, you’ll receive conflicting directions and be expected to jump into departments you haven't been trained for, especially during closing shifts or holidays. Management and corporate love to promise work trips, fancy team dinners, employee appreciation month, and gift card rewards for hitting certain milestones; however, once you actually put in the grueling work to hit those goals, the excuses start. The "trip" gets postponed indefinitely, the "dinner" never gets scheduled, and the gift cards mysteriously never arrive. It’s a culture of broken promises from both corporate and local leadership.
The floor is rife with drama. Coworkers jump in to take credit for sales and steal customers, creating a competitive atmosphere rather than a collaborative one. Furthermore, the "snitch" culture is rampant; the environment is incredibly petty, and coworkers will report you to management for the most minor infractions just to make themselves look good.
The financial reward is insulting compared to the effort required. As far as "commission" goes—if you can even call it that—you are paid a measly 0.01%. Their tier bonus system is a joke, with incentives being highly taxed. You are also not scheduled for a full 40 hours per week and have to clock out for lunch. Since it's hourly pay, you can imagine how that impacts your earnings, not to mention the yearly "hour cut" period during the slow season.
The credit card push is insane. You aren't just selling furniture; you are a credit card solicitor!! Management breathes down your neck to hit application quotas, regardless of whether it’s right for the customer or not.
Be prepared, you are the punching bag for highly entitled customers who expect concierge-level service while you’re simultaneously being told to restock the floor and pitch credit cards. If you value your mental health and work-life balance, look elsewhere.
