Pros
They are terrific about making sure the customer experience is paramount, which means that systems, operations, and products are all expected to be the best. Having high expectations ensures that employees need to be at the top of their game. However, that's balanced with a sense of humor that started at the top. Employees joke about "drinking the kool-aid" -- that once you have worked at any part of Crate & Barrel, you always want to come back to it. I made some of the best friends of my life working at Crate. It draws a wide variety of talents and personalities; people who love the products and are enthusiastic about providing them to the public. The fact that the art direction has always been very strong is appealling as well -- it's exciting to be a part of a well-known brand that has always had a great "look." Having worked at both the stores and at the corporate offices, I can say that retail pay is retail pay -- nobody gets wealthy working in the stores -- but the experience is a lot of fun. Starting off in the stores gives corporate employees a much better perspective in what they do. In fact, one of my favorite things about Crate & Barrel was being at quarterly meetings where longtime associates were recognized, and senior personnel almost all started out as sales associates in one store or another. The concept of promoting from within is stellar -- while it's always great to bring in fresh ideas and "new blood," the recognition that every employee has the potential to rise within the organization is a very positive concept. Benefits at Crate & Barrel were very good. I felt the health plans were comprehensive. And a side benefit is always getting a discount on product. Associates start off with a certain percentage, which may increase with seniority. When I worked at Crate, they still had the concept of "Schtickle," a Yiddish derivative word that boiled down to associates being able to buy unsellable merchandise at a steep discount. Chipped dinnerware, small furnishings that needed repairs, stained or torn linens or just items that had been used in display that they couldn't sell -- every associate had the opportunity to get a little C&B for themselves. And a few times a year, all of the schtickle would be packaged up, cleaned up as much as possible, and donated to local shelters and organizations.
Cons
Retail pay is, well, retail. You work very hard at the store level, and you're on your feet all day. That's something to get used to, even if you're used to retail. The stores' designs incorporate a lot of different materials, which mean that sometimes you're on lovely soft reclaimed wood floors, but sometimes you're on poured concrete. And the pace is often very fast (depending on the store location and season, of course). No matter what your job title is, expect to make stockroom runs, dust displays, sweep up messes, stock counters, and help customers find the restrooms. It's part and parcel of making the customer experience a great one. For me personally, moving to Corporate was what I'd wanted, but my direct supervisor had a very dim view of work-life balance. It made my job much harder than it needed to be. Frankly, I'd have been a lifer at Crate if it weren't for that individual. Another aspect of any retail position (and retail IT) is the need to work holidays, nights and weekends. Not every single one, necessarily, but it can be a downside. Retail IT means that you test and bring up new POS and ecommerce systems at really odd hours -- for example, coming in at 11 pm on a Sunday night and working until 10 or 11 in the morning; possibly later, to make sure that things came up right. And if you have kids who have school holidays, you may be expected to work those days and need backup care.