Working at Aeropostale — Reviews by Employees

I worked at aero for about a year and a half. From the start I loved my job. The people i worked with were amazing and we always had fun at work. Most people would not want to do the overnight floorsets because of the hours we had to work, but with the store manager and staff I loved it. Then the DM of our area decided he wanted his best friend to become the store manager which ruined everything for all of us. As soon as she started to work there ur staff began dropping like flies. This new manager, who has severe OCD and is not personable at all, was out for all of holiday and kept extending her so called sick leave. As soon as she came back conviently our amazing (personable, friendly, understanding) store manager was fired and this new bitch was brought in. There went the rest of our staff. It was literally down from about a 20 person staff that knew each other and loved each other to about a 15 person staff with four people (not including new SM) that were veterans and left in the store. I toughed it our for 9 months before i could not take anymore of her shit and quit. After giving her my availability and vacation time needed off she would mess up my schedule often. I was a part time employee so she could not tell me that i dont get my time off. The 1st time this happened I called myself out of work. The 2nd time it happened she told me to find replacement for an entire week of 8-5 shifts. When i refused she gave me attitude, but in the end she had to find it because it was her mistake. The third time it happened was the last straw for me. she tried to keep me working while I had to go to school, which was not happening. At this point I was the only original person left, and she treated me like I was nothing even though I worked with her for almost a year. Along with all of this i was making just above minimum wage at 19 yrs old busting my ass whereas the minors who couldnt stay past 11 and were brand new were making almost a dollar more than me. Also i was running the stock room as a sales associate. I had more responsibility than most people getting paid the least. It was complete and total bullshit. I have worked with many other Aero & P.S. stores and would much rather go work with those SM's and managers than the ones in Rockaway. I would not recommend anyone going to work for that store unless you know that the current store manager is gone. She made an enjoyable and fun job for me into one of the worst jobs a person could ever have.

Okay, so I have been working at Aeropostale for about 9 months now, and overall its an alright place to work. First of all, its retail...so you cant expect for it to be an amazing job making 80 grand. Most retail stores hire 16 year old kids and pay them minimum wage. That is one good thing about the company...while they dont pay great, they pay better than their competitors. In my area, you start out making $8/hr as a sales associate. the bad part is that there is NO opportunity for advancement or raises. You get a performance review yearly, and even if you work your ass off you get a 15-20 cent raise. I was lucky enough to get the ONLY possible promotion they offer: Merch/Flow. Its basically just being a sales associate and also doing stock and having more responsibilities. That raise was still only a dollar at the most.

Aside from the pay, the job is not that hard. it IS a job, so you have to work and do your job. If you prove that you do what youre supposed to do consistently, you will get a decent amount of hours. If you dick around and do the bare minimum, you will get less hours. If you decide to just not care, after a while you will get less and less hours until youre not on the schedule. They almost never "fire" anyone.

That brings me to a huge problem. Every week i look at the schedule and see people getting shifts that they do not deserve. We have 3 or 4 good employees, including myself. The rest end up calling out a lot, or not showing up, etc. This means I get phone calls regularly to cover shifts that arent mine, or ill end up working a double shift. Even after giving that much loyalty to my store, some people still dont give me the respect I deserve. There is little motivation to go above and beyond, because they only appreciate you when they are desperate. Favors are soon forgotten.

Managers are really nice most of the time, and they get a lot of pressure from DMs and RMs. Sometimes that causes them to get moody which ends up stressing out the other employees. The upper management gets annoying because sometimes they will bitch about every little detail and other times they wont acknowledge anything after you spend forever getting the store ready for their visit. There is no chance of even moving up into a management spot, because you have to be 21 (and nobody wants to work there until then). They also love hiring from the outside so they can train and mold you to be whatever they want you to be.

It is alot more work than most people would expect from a small, mall based retail store. Im a hard working person so i just dont complain about it. Other people dont do shit but won get fired. They complain about hours even though they call out for the shifts they have. It can be a really annoying place to work, but if you have good work ethic, youll be fine. DO NOT APPLY TO MY STORE IF YOU SUCK!

I have worked at the Aero at the Franklin Park Mall and I absolutely love it! The managers are nice yet make sure the job is done. They care about you as a person not just your work. All of the people that work there are super fun and friendly. It is the best job I have ever had!

I wrote on here when I first got hired, but now it is fourteen months later. Time for a real review for everyone. Just the plain simple truth.

1. Pay- Everyone stars at minimum (Unless Merch Flow/Sales Lead/Manager), every year you work their you get an evaluation and then considered for a raise based on your score. Some get a raise others don't.

2.Respect.- The longer you work there, the more you get. I switched stores (against my will) and it took me a while to get the same respect and kindness I was used to. I still don't got it, but it's getting better, mainly from the managers. Just be hardworking and outgoing and you will be fine.

3. Benefits- 2 50% off's a month on top, bottom, other. Unlimited 30% off. Special holiday promos.

4. Job Security- You can't get fired unless you don't show up or call for your dreaded on calls. On calls suck, but if you don't call your manager cuts your hours. Don't show up for your shift twice and your done, no questions asked unless it was a family emergency or something like that. If you suck at the job, then your hours will be cut for weeks until you just stop caring/checking and you are dropped from the employment list. That's how we get rid of people we don't like to be honest. We get 500 apps a month and only a few positions a season, so if your hired here be happy, have fun, and work hard.

5. Work/Life Balance- You WILL work Weekends and weeknights. Sometimes you will be at the store until midnight to re-fold (recover) and clean everything. It's retail, this should be expected. Enjoy the extra hours and suck it up. You can pretty much pick your shifts and request off whenever you want (besides Black Friday).

6. Growth- 99% of the time you won't get promoted, they will find someone new. It's insane on how they do that to everyone.

7.Location/Co-Workers/Work Environment- Your at the mall, take that as you want. The store smells good and plays decent music. Nothing beats working in flip flop and shorts. Co workers are diff in every store, just depends on how you guys get along.

Aeropostale as a company has good intentions. However the problem lies with the District Managers. They get three paid vacations a year, a HUGE pay and free gas to travel to all the stores. They put so much stress on the store managers, which leads to everyone getting stressed. We do all the work and the DM's get all the credit. Regional Managers, you really need to look at these people; they are scum! Some managers in general are awesome. Others are some of the worst corrupt people! They illegally remove employee's from the store and break every rule possible. Honestly, some people should never be hired in a work place again because of their attitude and rudeness... HILLARY PACKARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK GOD YOU QUIT!

In general, Aero managers have a HIGH turn out rate because Aero expects to much from them and the associates. You can't keep track and annoy every customer with try this on, and we got this, and can we help you find a size/ give the greet pitch of the day and add on all these items when you have rude people with questions, people wanting to check out, a fitting room, and all the Go backs from the fitting room. All while maintaining a perfect store. It does not help that you only have two employees a night either... besides Saturdays and Sundays where you need like five and have three. If I could give some advice to Aero, it would e to have a three person per shift minimum and a five person minimum on weekends... it would help the company so much and would improve hours for everyone... Aero is ranking in the money so they can for sure afford it.

I was in a great store for a year until a new manager from a store that failed/closed up (Good Job Hilary) came in and changed things all up... eventually making lies about me because she was a scared little girl that could not expect the fact I did an awesome job. It did not help that she was sleeping with the DM either (yea Aero, you REALLY need to look into these DM's). However after a long 2.5 months, I was able to re-start at a new store and eventually got a raise and some major respect.

Aeropostale is a cheap company. The stores are a lot less decked out than say Hollister, unless they are "lifestyle" stores, who get a complete 100% redesign with a cool layout and all the extra frills like plants and seats etc. They also get better storage and layout options... which if were given to all stores would make everyone's job a lot easier. But hey, what company isn't like that.

Overall, Aero is a decent place to work if your in HS or college. It gets annoying and stress-full when were busy, because of the policys set in place (Give 10 Every Second) and just because its Retail. But it's also a lot of fun and easier then working at a food place or hard labor. However you might need a second job, since the hours suck unless it's back to school in August and the holiday season. If you work hard and befriend the managers you get more hours, but it's still nothing. I highly think a second job is needed in the summertime at least. Your do your job to make the manager look good so the DM can look good. It's the way it goes.

I'd say working at Aeropostale gets better and easier the longer you stay there. Times get tuff, and some people are hit and miss but in the end it is what you make of it.


If your outgoing, hardworking, somewhat attractive and have some common sense then this job is for you! Good Luck getting hired though! It's like I said.... a few positions and 500 apps a month.

Just be ready for this job to rock your world!

I started during the holiday seasons and i liked it! it was a new experience for me and the people there were really nice. and well, it took some getting used to. the one thing i didn't like was that some people would talk crap about others. and how we would get cut hours because of the business. it's a very hardworking job and i think that people who work at aero dont get payed enough for the hard work we put into it. people don't seem to like aero after a while because of how they expect you to do so many things at one time. it just gets overwhelming when they get on you for not getting something completed when you're working on another thing. it gets frustrating because there are customers there too, and you have to attend to them while you do your projects.

Its sad to hear that people have had a negative work experience at Aeropostale. At both stores I have worked at, I have truly enjoyed my experience. In fact, I came back to Aero, and was promoted quickly- And I love it! The company does have great benefits and the pay is good (and overtime IS time and a half unless youre upper management, as in most companies). My SM and other managers are truly invested in building the best team possible, and thats a great feeling. Every store has a different management style, but respect, compassion, integrity, and teamwork are the values that everyone at Aero agrees to abide by the day they start work..and everyday after!
Id encourage anyone to work at Aero, and hopefully you will have a great experience! Just be ready to work hard while having fun.

Okay if you're really there until 3am straightening graphic tees, you have a bigger issue than just hating your job. You must not have opposable thumbs if that's the case because no matter how trashed the store is after a t-shirt riot or friend and family promotion, we're out of there 10:30 the absolute latest. And that is a rarity. I would say 5 days out of the year that happens, if that. It's a good place to work once you establish yourself as a hard worker and you gain respect from those who have authority over you. If you slack off and don't do what you're supposed to do, you won't get hours. Simple as that. The pay is crap, I've worked there nearly 4 years and make $7.55 (minimum wage is $7.45 in my state). I usually get a 10 cent raise every year, which equates to about 50 bucks a year. Which sucks. But I love the people I work with, hate the customers, like the dress code, and love the discount.

it was good

Aeropostale is a very horrible place to work if you are planning and allocation side (probably because of the current planning team), but very good on the merchant side. There are only a few people here that really know what the #%$#^ they are doing. When the current teens stop buying the product. That when we will see the true leaders. Avoid this place like the plague unless you are a merchant. The smiles you see are all for show.

I have worked for Aeropostale for 2 yrs now! Starting as a part time Associate to being promoted to sales lead then being promoted again to Asst manager..
their is alot of change in managment and as well with associates, alot of them I feel didnt realize how demanding Aero is and they quit or get fired. I feel that if you just want to stand around and just count a draw go to Hollister or Abercrombie. the pay at aero is very well I have many friends that are asst managers at other retail stores and I make alot more than they do... Aero is very fast paced and their is always something that needs to get done, Lazy or slow paced workers their is no need to apply you wont work out their.