Sur La Table Employer Reviews

I have learned alot from working at Sur La Table. It has been my longest job that I have ever been with in my entire life. And basically it's my second family since I am there all the time. By working there for almost four years I have experienced the good and the bad parts of the company. In my department alone I am cross trained in all areas. Picking, – more... packing, consolidation, manifest, and giftwrap. Then in retail I know how to pick and how to consolidate. I am also cross trained in working stock management, ticketing, staging, and qc. In qc(quality control) I have worked covering retail, stock management, staging, ticketing, and cross dock. I always like to get my hours so I always try and learn new things to beable to work there a full day. I also have been the picker trainer for my department for the past three seasons meaning anytime we bring in new people or temps then I am in charge of training them. I also cross train employees in my department into two other departments. Retail and staging. I think that I'm very important person in my department. I am always there and the people are very nice. – less

I worked for this company during a time of transition. They were in the process of moving from being a small privately owned boutique chain to a large national brand.
Generally speaking, this was a very fun place to work. The job involved selling beautiful products to a customer base that was very motivated to buy them. Not a bad retail job. They also – more... promote from within. But as time went on, fewer and fewer of the decisions were being made at the store level and more were being made by corporate directive. This was frustrating as I along with many of the people I worked with felt very passionate and invested in the company and the products we sold. – less

Retail is the same no matter where you go. From small chains to large companies with over 1000 stores, it's all very similar. The communication between stores and upper management and corporate is often one sided. It's fun talking to people about cooking and entertaining, but often hard to meet goals and objectives that can seem unattainable.

The hardest – more... part is inspiring employees to be more focused on meeting and exceeding goals, when most are part time and receive no benefits. Also it's tough having a life outside of work because of the business needs and various blackout periods for time off. – less

I really enjoyed working for Sur La Table.
The manager identified and placed me appropriately to my skill level and talents at that time. I was given more than adequate support from staff and co-workers in training. There was no drama and I was able to renew my retail and loss prevention knowledge and skills.

60% of the job is customer interaction, the other 40% is people development. Ensuring your team is providing the best service possible- the company takes it very seriously. It's still a very small company so expect to speak to executives about your business and store performance on a regular basis.

Take my advise, promote yourself to customer and stay away. For such an immature company, you would be shocked they've been around for over 40 years. This company has zero accountability and have some of the most egotistical and rude management I've ever worked for (and I've been in retail management for 15 years). Not only that, but they seem to only – more... promote those who have a cut-throat attitude and encourage that over developing people. The product assortment is unique, but this company is clearly not committed to development, advancement or values at all. I was berated by my store manager on a daily basis, even on days when one of us was off through calls and text messages. On occasion, I was even subjected to harassment from other store managers over the phone. I tried to bring harsh work conditions and harassment to the attention of district and corporate managers and my reward was a one sentence termination document and the unemployment line. Yes, California is an "at will" state, but retaliation is against the law. Just to make a point, I really am not a bad worker. In fact, I have been with a new company for less than a year and I've already received two promotions based on high performance. Development and recognition are not part of Sur La Table's culture. I vehemently recommend you keep your distance. There are so many better places out there. – less

Not much to say here. The company is a retail business and as such you deal with typical retail high points and low points.

there was alot of drama at this job, it was also unorganized, during holidays , we recieved gift cards. wasn't too enjoyable,

it is fun place to work, you get to lean a lot about cooking, and cooking tools.
you learn how the coffee machine works.
there is 7 kind of drinks you can make from one machine

The staff are all a bunch of foodies that love to talk shop and chop in the kitchen. One of the best things about the job is the free coffee you get from our espresso machines. The management works with your schedule. The hardest part of the job is not spending you rentire paycheck there.

Get packing orders, they come down belts in boxes, verify order idems. Wrap and pack, put in boxes and print shipping labels. Send out orders on another belt. My co-workers were great. Management was ok, job was not that hard. Like working with people

Sur la Table is a great place to work! I work part time and they are very flexible with my schedule. The people are great and very supportive in the culinary program.

I started as an hourly seasonal employee last holiday season, and after working hard enough to distinguish myself, I was kept on as a regular, part time associate. After a few months, I distinguished myself enough to become a part-time manager. After a few more months of working hard, distancing myself from others, and making a name for myself in the – more... company, I was recruited to a full-time corporate position.

I'm not going to lie - it was rough. The pay wasn't GREAT, the hours were long sometimes, but it paid off, because I knew my endgame. Management was always there to help out, told me what I needed to do, how to do it, but, as always, it was because I asked without being told, and did things without being asked.

As a store employee, working in the store was fun - getting to know regular customers, helping them plan dinners/events, learning about new products and foods, etc.

The fun times continued as a corporate employee. Corporate parties, food contests, awesome upper management, etc.

If you work hard and distinguish yourself, you can go far. – less

this workplace is not for the career minded individual. the hours change at will. the supervisors are unfair. the cleanliness of the workplace is poor.

Most days consist of customer service, serving coffee and sampling products we sell at the store.

Work to be the best team player and top producer. Be a coach by example, help co-workers to produce more and better work and help management acheive their goals. I enjoy work and even though I want challenges I don't feel any complications and I am compatible with my managers. I enjoy setting those goals higher!

Management is easy going but is firm about what tasks need to be accomplished for the day for the store as a whole as well as on an individual basis. Co-workers are kind and always willing to help each other out if lacking in product knowledge for a customer or simply to gain knowledge for their own benefit on the sales floor.
The hardest part of the – more... job is only when there are not enough sales associates on the floor to meet customer rushes and demands. But that fluctuates with what day of the week it is and what time of the day.
The most enjoyable part of the job is that the entire staff shares the same enjoyment of cooking and/or baking. The environment of the store makes a person feel as if they're working with people who are like family. – less

I love my job. I frequently say that I am starving by 11:00 everyday because all I do is talk about food. That's pretty true, too. Generally, my customers are people who love what the company does and are excited just to be in the store. Sometimes, very rarely, the customers aren't so fun, but that's why I don't volunteer for Sur La Table. The people – more... I work with are typically fun, energetic and passionate about food and entertaining. It can seem a little intimidating, but all levels of expertise are welcome at this table whether you consider yourself a culinary pro, hostess with the most-ess or just like to eat!
One of the harder aspects of the job is that as the company grows, the corporate "snapshots" of your store become fewer and farther between and can even be based on second or third hand experiences, which is tough to combat. It gives me pause that in protecting the image and values of the brand that leadership can appear to lose sight of the people that drive their success. Then again, that's just my snapshot of the situation, but also another reason that not volunteering is a good trade.
On the surface, it's hard to complain about a work/life balance when the brand you represent is cooking oriented. The line becomes pretty gray between what is work and what is fun. There are times, though, when it is glaringly obvious that - no matter how fun the job is - you need to tend to other priorities in your life, too, because at the end of the day the bottom line is still that this is a for profit company and the responsibility to your life balance is yours to protect.
Like I said, I love my job. The job isn't always rainbows and unicorns, but it is a pretty good gig compared to other retailers. While I know it isn't realistic to believe, I do like to think that I could be working for the last employer of my retail career. – less

I was excited when I got hired on for Christmas a couple years ago. I love cooking and I love the store. That quickly changed after my first week. The Manager and Assistant Manager are very rude. They have their favorites that they will break company policy for but if they don't like you they make things very tough. Not enough training or opportunities – more... for training on your own.They could at least send you home with a packet on the product. Not easy to communicate with management as well. Instead of giving the employees they had more hours they would hire more. And what is with being on call? Also not a fan of them having me coming in for a couple hours then sending you home. I really wished this could have worked out because the rest of the staff was great! And the Key Holders were more competent than management. – less

I'm not kidding. First, Jack in The Box has integrity. If you work part time, you get the 20 hours you ask for. At Sur La Table, they kept you guessing . Your hours are based on unrealistic sales goals. They will send you home with only two hours. Secondly, Jack in The Box has a code of ethics and treats there employees with dignity . At Sur La Table – more... you feel like a number. Finally, you're pretty much on your own for training. They will give you a day or two, but you will have to do your home work for the $9.00 and hour job. – less