Working At Plato's Closet: Former Employee Confessions

Plato’s Closet is a popular fashion-forward secondhand clothing store. Although all ages and sizes can shop there, it is advertised as a teen resale shop.

At Plato’s Closet, you can find a wide variety of women’s and men’s clothing, shoes, accessories, and other miscellaneous items. Maybe you’re considering working there, or maybe you just want the tea on all of the insider details when it comes to working at Plato’s Closet.

Either way, you’re in the right place! I worked for Plato’s Closet for 4 years, and have plenty of stories and details to share.

Due to Plato’s Closet being a franchise company, each store will operate differently. Therefore, keep this in mind as you read my personal experience while working at Plato’s Closet.

Jump to:

• Plato’s Closet Employee Pay
• Working At The Plato’s Closet Buy Counter
• Employee Discount
• Can You Sell Clothes As An Employee?
• How Long Are Plato’s Closet Shifts?
• Plato’s Closet Uniform
• Day In The Life Of A Plato’s Closet Employee

Plato’s Closet Employee Pay

At Plato’s Closet, there are multiple roles that an employee can have. Each of these roles comes with different pay. 

The two primary roles, outside of the management team, are Sales Associates and Keyholders. A Sales Associate is an entry-level position. During my time at Plato’s Closet, the position was paid minimum wage to start out. Each year, an annual raise would be given with a varying amount.

Sales Associates are able to perform basic tasks, including tagging items, straightening the store, putting away items from dressing rooms, and checking out customers at the cash register.

A Keyholder is a higher authority position at Plato’s Closet. Therefore, those in this role have a higher hourly pay when compared to Sales Associates. Keyholders have to be 18 years of age or older to hold this position.

With this advanced role comes more responsibility, including performing opening and closing duties. Additionally, these team members are able to process returns or exchanges, along with working at the infamous buy counter and facilitating the purchasing of items from customers.

Plus, Keyholders are still expected to perform the tasks of Sales Associates when needed.

Working At The Plato’s Closet Buy Counter

Being a Keyholder that buys the items has its pros and cons. On the plus side, you get to see the items that come in firsthand and call dibs. 

Although, employees must remain impartial and price items appropriately regardless of if they personally like the items or not. Usually, there are two employees working together to buy items.

One thoroughly inspects items and passes them on to the other employee to put the items into the computer. If you are working on the computer, you have to input the brand and condition, and the computer will do all of the pricing work for you.

However, sometimes the buying process can be difficult because dirty items can come in, along with off-the-wall and even not appropriate items. I’ve unfortunately had my fair share of sifting through dirty socks. 

Additionally, some customers would stand over your shoulder the whole time you were processing the buy, putting pressure on you and asking questions.

Once you complete the buy, you have to tell the customer how many items you accepted and for how much. Customers can become upset by this, but that is just because not many know how much Plato’s Closet pays for items.

Employee Discount

So, can you buy the clothes if you work at Plato's Closet? Yes, you can absolutely buy the clothes and other items as a Plato’s Closet employee! Plus, you get a really good employee discount.

At the time that I was working at Plato’s Closet, I received a 30% employee discount. At my store, you could purchase an item with your employee discount at any time, and with any item, including designer items! All workers received the same percentage discount- Keyholders and Sales Associates alike.

At my Plato’s Closet store, we were given first dibs on the items that would come in. Once we found an item that we liked, we could put it in our personal bin to reserve it. 

There was no limit on the number of items you could reserve and/or buy. Each employee had a personal bin that is located behind the counter to place their belongings (purse, water bottle, jacket, etc). 

This is also the bin where employees place items that they want to try on and/or buy. Items are generally allowed to be kept in your bin for a week. Once you were ready to buy your reserved items, ask another employee to check you out.

You have to provide your phone number, and the other associate applies the percentage discount to your items. During my time working at Plato’s Closet, I would put a LOT of my paycheck back into the store.

I just couldn’t help myself! Already deeply discounted items on top of another 30% off? I'm sold.

Can You Sell Clothes As An Employee?

You can also bring in items to sell at the Plato’s Closet store that you work for. If you are a Keyholder, you are unable to process your own buy.

You will have to have another Keyholder or manager inspect and price your items. You do not receive more or less for selling your items because you are an employee.

After your buy is processed, you can opt to take either cash or store credit. You get the same amount of monetary value either way.

How Long Are Plato’s Closet Shifts?

This will vary by location, but typically shifts are between 4 to 8 hours. As a student working at Plato’s Closet, I would have many evenings after school where I would work 4-5 hours.

This is likely something you can discuss with your manager to arrange what works best with your schedule. If you have a closing shift at Plato’s Closet, you may have to stay a little later for the extra closing duties.

This includes straightening the clothes and shoes on the racks, vacuuming/mopping the floor, clearing out the dressing rooms, and the Keyholder duties of counting the cash registers and locking up for the night.

Plato’s Closet Uniform

Plato’s Closet does not necessarily have a uniform. Some stores give t-shirts with the Plato's Closet logo to employees with the intention of wearing them while on the job.

Outside of that, employees typically have a lot of flexibility when it comes to dressing for work. At my location, my manager requested that we avoided wearing athletic clothing (like sweatpants and running shorts).

I recommend that employees wear something comfortable, especially shoes, because it can be a long day on your feet.

Other than that, my Plato’s Closet location was very lenient when it came to their hair, tattoo, and piercing policy. There were generally no restrictions in any of those aforementioned areas.

Day In The Life Of A Plato’s Closet Employee

Each day looks different for a Plato’s Closet employee depending on the current needs of the store and the role of the employee. In this section, we will go over what a day could look like including the duties the employees have to cover.

Many times employees would rotate between these roles, depending on their job description, throughout their shift. There is not usually a specific assignment for each employee, it would be figured out as you go.

Opening The Store

This task can only be performed by a Keyholder or manager. This requires the employee to go to the bank, receive cash to stock the registers, and go back to the store and put the correct amount of money in each drawer.

Flip on the open sign, and get ready for customers!

Performing Buys

Many times customers wait outside to be the first in line for their buy so they don’t have to wait too long. This task also can only be performed by a Keyholder or manager.

Tagging

While performing buys, the employee will place the items in bins, stacking the items in the order they were entered in the computer system. Once the customer agrees and the transaction is completed, a long list of tags will automatically be printed.

From here, the tags will be placed in their respective bin, waiting for an associate to get the tagging device and attach the tags to the right items.

These items would either go straight out to the sales floor, or be placed in bins for backstock if there was an abundance of a certain item. Any employee can perform this task.

Dressing Rooms

All employees at the front counter are generally on dressing room duty. Each employee has a key that allows customers into the dressing room.

Once the customer is finished, they will either leave their items in the dressing room or set them on the counter. An employee, usually a Sales Associate, will re-hang and organize these items on a rack. 

Then, that employee or another will take the clothes back out to the floor and put them in their correct place. On busy days, the rack fills up quickly!

Checking Out

All employees are allowed to check out customers. If it is a return or exchange, a Keyholder or manager will need to be involved.

Also, if the item does not have a price tag, a Keyholder or manager will have to assist and print a new one.

The employee will scan each item. You don’t have to worry about double charging because each clothing item has a unique SKU, and the computer will sound an alarm if the item is scanned twice.

Deep Cleaning And Organizing

At certain times throughout the year, the store would be deeply cleaned and organized. During this process, one or multiple employees would sort through each and every item within a section (for example, dresses).

They would look out for items that are not the right size or color, and take those items out, with the end task of placing them in their right place. This was always a very lengthy task that could take all day for one clothing item section.

Closing The Buy Counter

At a certain time before closing, usually 1-3 hours, the buy counter closes. If a customer brings in items, you can notify them that they can return tomorrow or leave the clothes overnight to be the first one done in the morning.

Closing The Store

During the closing process, each type of employee would have a different role. Keyholders would count and reconcile the cash, checks, and credit card receipts in the registers.

At this time, Sales Associates are straightening the store, putting out the items from the return rack, emptying the expired holds bin, and performing the necessary cleaning tasks.

Conclusion

Now you know a glimpse of what it's really like to work at Plato's Closet. Overall, in my experience, Plato’s Closet was a great place to work.

I was able to make many good friends, have fun and shop while getting paid, and score some really good deals on clothing, shoes, and accessories for myself.

As with any retail job, there will be tough days and frustrating customers. For me, the pros outweighed the cons. That is why I stuck around for over 4 years!

Personally, it was a great way for me to find my way into the fashion world, ultimately leading to me running my own online reselling business. Your own experience will vary depending on your fellow employees, management, and store policies.

What are your thoughts on Plato’s Closet? Comment below!

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