Pros
- Positive relationship building with store employees - Fair amount of flexibility in schedule - Ability to gain some decent position experience
Cons
- Poor organizational structure with no clear communication or decision making responsibilities. - Frequent contradictions with upper management. - Store furniture is very old and we battle with terminates constantly. The store presentation is very 80's or 90's, lacking modern features and placement techniques. - Lack of upward mobility and no employee development opportunities. - Customers are treated better than employees. Many employee discounts are now non-existent, severely reduced or are less than customer membership discounts. - Pay structure focuses on time of employment and not capabilities and skills (ability to fulfill job reqs). - Upper management refuses to take advantage of its employees' knowledge or recommendations. - No structured training plan for most positions. Management training is outdated and not focused on job duties and performance. - Investment of employees is nonexistent with no focus on retaining good employees. - Responsibilities given to management are limited and micromanaged. - Vendetta and discrimination are held against employees that seek other employment. - Does not have an operational handbook that defines how tasks are carried out, which leads to vast inconsistencies and frustration between stores. - Pricing structure is very confusing. Merchandise on our website is cheaper because it's purchased online, but we have to honor those prices in the store for some reason. Since we don't control the prices, it's not clear when prices change. They also complain about sales figures even though they place everything on sale, which we have no control of. - Frequent contradictions regarding handbook guidance, policies and procedures. Don't expect to get backed by management even if you are in the right in a customer interface situation. - Managers are directed to act more as sales persons rather than focus on managing the store. This leads to many shortfalls in organization, training and maintaining a positive environment. - Not competitive in terms of compensation and opportunity. - Two of our office computers went years without the proper applications to perform our job, despite continuous inquiries; something as simple as Microsoft Office. We had to download a bootleg off brand version so we could have some measure of compatibility. - Difficult to take time off throughout the year due to limited management staff. ** This is a paycheck job, used to gain experience in some aspects of management, though limited as they are. ** "Hardly a career"