Top 10 Worst Companies to Work for in Retail (Updated 2023)

Disclaimer: The rankings are not the objective worst. Experiences and ratings are subjective by nature, and we are only giving a sample of some of the lower ranking employers according to the reviews on Glassdoor which might or might not accurately reflect the retail company. 

Who are the worst companies to work for in retail?

Most people start out their first job in retail or customer service. It’s an easy job to get and an easy industry to break into, especially for kids straight out of high school or students currently attending college. One thing it’s not, is an easy job, and although it’s ebay to enjoy the company or products involved with the job, it’s not always fun to deal with customers all day. With that being said, these are Glassdoor’s top 10 worst companies to work for in retail 2023.

Dollar General

With a rating of 2.8 out of 5.0, Dollar General has one of the lowest scores for a large US retail chain and makes it the number one on this list of worst companies to work for. Over 13,000 reviews have been posted and range from both extremes of the positive and negative spectrum. The main complaints cited in a majority of reviews revolve around too low pay for what’s expected, and managers are overworked beyond 60 hours a week without reasonable compensation.

Gamestop

Gamestop has about 7,400 reviews and a 2.9 rating overall. As with the Dollar General, most employees here complain about low wages in comparison to what their job entails. Another common complaint is how management employees are rated poorly in their performance. One employee mentions how there are too many staff meetings and constant micro-management that actually hinder their work performance, instead of helping. Gamestop is in dire need of improving its work environment because this might also be attributed to their decline and struggle to survive over the years. It’s not a good look to be teetering on the edge of survival and being listed as one of the worst companies to work for.

Family Dollar Stores

Family Dollar stores also have a 2.9 rating on Glassdoor and suffer from the same negative remarks as Dollar General. With 5,1000 reviews and counting, most employees point out low pay in relation to the amount of work that needs to be performed along with pressure making it hard to take breaks. Store managers have to work even harder with an above average amount of long hours and 6-day work weeks. It’s an unfortunate trend to see a majority of discount stores being labeled as some of the worst companies to work for.

Carvana

Carvana also keeps in line with a low rating of 2.9 along with its previous two predecessors but has less total reviews totaling 2,3000 as of this writing. Since Carvana is not a traditional retail company, the complaints from its workers are different than most. The two most commonly described cons of working for this company revolve around the poor training of its employees and management. Team leads are also cited for not following policies.

Dollar Tree

Dollar Tree starts to show some progress with the companies on this list coming in with a solid 3 rating from 7,800 reviews. There seems to be a trend here with all of the discount retail stores offering the lowest pay, but surprisingly, that’s not the major complaint here. Instead, The most cons express how everything at Dollar Tree is done cheaply and there is a major lack of teamwork and help from fellow coworkers. Another interesting review that crosses nearly 300 reviews is how good managers come into a store with a positive attitude, and then quickly turn sour and leave.

Petco

Petco is unfortunately on this list with a 3-star rating and 5,600 reviews. Not only do the employees who work here complain about the relatively low pay, but they express how the con is enhanced by the fact that most employees are given minimal hours as well. The other main concern about Petco is how the management is not up to par with their title, they constantly badger workers about the PALS program, and they ruin the store experience for the rest of the employees.

JOANN Stores

JOANN Stores is still at the 3-star mark but has a lower amount of reviews at 3,300. Similar to the previous entry on this list, employees express how poor management ruins the work experience for the entire team. On that note, the main complaint about working at this store is the lack of social interaction with fellow team members. Additionally, customers are known to be rude and hostile when waiting for their fabric to be cut or trying to use coupons.

Claire’s Stores

Claire’s Stores also suffers from paying its employees a low wage that doesn’t match up with the amount of work they have to do at one of their stores. It’s the most common con cited in nearly 300 reviews where employees mention how much they need to do while on the clock. The second most frequent complaint is about how management is not properly running the store because employees generally find themselves having to do a piercing while customers start lining up at the register getting impatient.

Walgreens

Walgreens just barely nudges past its predecessors with an average 3.1 rating, but that scales with a whopping 31,000 reviews. The common thread among all the retail jobs here is the low pay, cited by nearly 2,000 employees, but what makes matters worse for them is how they’re all saying that employees are promised a raise at the one-year mark, but then when that time comes, employees are not being given the pay increase. Other than that, nothing more specific than the general complaint about less-than-good store management.

Kroger

Kroger also has a high number of reviews sitting at 20,000 and an overall low score of 3.1. Nearly 2,000 reviews concisely point out that wages are low, unfair, and uneven when compared across different store locations, and managers are generally very rude to their employees. And that sums up the majority of the negative reviews that employees criticize Kroger for, making it one of the worst companies to work for. These negative cons is what puts Kroger just at the cusp of the worst companies to work for.

Those are Glassdoor’s top 10 worst companies to work for in retail 2023 according to the reviews of various employees. The silver lining here is that all of these companies can take this feedback and make the necessary changes to improve their work environments. This data is extremely valuable along with retail analytics and can improve the quality of the retail experience for both employees and customers.