Pros
The coworkers were the only genuinely positive part of the job. I built strong friendships and found support among team members who were going through the same struggles.
Cons
I worked as a Supervisor at Crossroads Trading Company for a year and a half, and I can honestly say it was one of the most emotionally draining and exploitative jobs I’ve ever had. I gave everything to that store—my time, energy, skills, and care—and was met with disrespect, negligence, and manipulation in return. Despite holding a supervisor title, I was consistently given the responsibilities of higher-level managers without the pay, support, or recognition. The company dangles promotions in front of employees like a carrot, insisting that you “prove yourself” by doing the job first—unpaid and unacknowledged—for months on end. It’s not a path to growth, it’s a system designed to squeeze as much labor as possible out of loyal employees without rewarding them. The toll on my mental health was severe. For the last six months of my time there, I was going home with regular panic attacks. My concerns—and those of my coworkers—were ignored. Management was entirely uninterested in the well-being of their staff. The store itself was unsafe: there was mold growing in the basement that made multiple people physically ill. Nothing was done until customers started complaining about the smell. And if that weren’t enough, I was subjected to horrifying incidents like having urine thrown on me and responding to a brick being smashed through the front window. There was no meaningful support from the company afterward. Just an expectation to clean up the mess and carry on. One of the most disturbing moments of all was when our internal software system was breached and my Social Security number was leaked. The reaction from management was almost non-existent. They downplayed the situation entirely, clearly more focused on protecting Crossroads’ reputation than protecting their employees. No proper response, no apology, no urgency—just damage control. It was another example of how expendable we were made to feel. Upper management was often clueless and disconnected. I regularly had to walk district managers through basic tasks like processing returns or submitting transfers. Higher-paid individuals spent their time in the office or on their phones, while the rest of us carried the entire store on our backs. The only time anyone in leadership showed urgency or accountability was when the VP, Lia, came to visit—then it was all smoke and mirrors to make it look like everything was running smoothly. The only reason I stayed as long as I did was because of my coworkers. We were in the trenches together and supported each other through every impossible shift and management failure. But no matter how great your team is, it doesn’t make up for being overworked, underpaid, unsafe, and ignored. Crossroads Trading Company does not value its employees. They exploit your commitment, steal your labor, put your health and safety at risk, and sweep serious issues under the rug. I wouldn’t recommend working here to anyone under any circumstance.
