If there’s one thing employees are going to do on TikTok, it’s air out their former company’s dirty laundry. Ross Dress for Less, it’s your turn.
Ross is a discount department store chain informally known as the lower-end sibling of Marshall’s and T.J. Maxx. All are popular for offering name-brand clothes, shoes, kitchenware, and home decor at a discount.
However, people have noticed there is a distinct difference in the customer service at the department stores, specifically calling out Ross for a lack of helpful personnel on the sales floor. It turns out that subpar customer service experience some people complain about may be by design.
In two popular videos, former employees said the company discourages customer interaction, instead prioritizing how fast merchandise gets on the sales floor.
With over 1 million views on TikTok, @drag0nsp1t’s video seems to have sparked the Ross talk.
@drag0nsp1t ex ross employee spills on why ross employees dont talk to you :P #fyp #ross #rossdressforless ♬ original sound – monster splash
“Have you guys ever wondered why Ross employees never really talk or never really interact with any customers and how it seems like they’re always rushing you?” @drag0nsp1t, who used to work at the retailer, said.
She said Ross employees “don’t get paid to talk to you” and are actually advised against it. Instead, performance is based on how fast workers stock and arrange merchandise, and they’re actually timed on how quickly they do it. The same goes for when they work the cash register.
@drag0nsp1t expanded, explaining cashiers are timed on how quickly they scan items, put them in the bag, handle the transaction, and get to the next person in line. “If you are not fast enough while doing these things, you get written up,” @drag0nsp1t said.
She added that employees could get written up for having a conversation with a customer beyond just greeting them and asking how they were.
“If they talk to you for too long, they will get written up,” @drag0nsp1t said.
Kenzie (@kenzje_), another former Ross employee, stitched @drag0nsp1t’s video and confirmed some of what she was saying, and added some of the other strange Ross rules to the conversation.
@kenzje_ the timer kept cutting me off 🥲 @monster splash is the og creator 🫶🏻 #rossdressforless #ross #fyp ♬ nintendo wii (mii channel) song – julie on the internet
“It’s really just like a terrible company to work for,” Kenzie said.
She said that when working the register, workers aren’t allowed to have any food or water. And it was even a problem if they had food in their pockets that was at all visible. They also didn’t seem to follow child labor laws, making Kenzie stay two or three hours past closing time—sometimes, she wouldn’t leave til two in the morning—despite her being in high school.
Kenzie went on to say they weren’t allowed to just walk in the store. Instead, they had to take specific routes and management was stingy about breaks. And if a person had aspirations of getting promoted, they’d be told what they needed to do to get bumped up, do it, and still be stuck at the same level.
Commenters offered mixed reactions to the videos.
“okay but I’m glad they tell you not to engage with customers because honestly I just wanna be left alone when I’m shopping,” a person said.
“idk how i managed to work there for 6 years. My water broke at 8 months while i was doing markdowns,” a former employee shared.
“I think it’s funny Ross has so many rules they are the fam dollar of clothing stores it’s never any workers there,” a shopper wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Kenzie and @drag0nsp1t via TikTok message and to Ross via email.