Pros
Great relationships with the girls who worked with me. Clothes and visuals in the store were beautiful. Discounts were ok, but based on pay still couldnt afford to buy clothes.
Cons
I came to Altard State after moving post college graduation and was familiar with the brand from where I lived before. I also had a couple years of retail experience and some in previous management positions. That being said here's the honest truth from our store: First off pay was a joke, given our geographic location, it was not a liveable wage. I was working in management and making jut a couple dollars more than some of the brand reps. I had no work-life balance and requesting off or asking to work around commitments was like jumping through hoops. Work weeks were crazy. I was still hourly and working more than 40 hours each week then getting yelled at for going into overtime, but if I didnt work past those 40 hours I "didnt care" and "wasnt doing enough for the store". Other people in management only cared about themselves and did not care about the store and would constantly talk about other employees behind their back. I found out she was lying to upper management about other managers and making us look bad by placing all the store's problems on us. It was infuriating because of how much work I did put into the store, and the DM would have seen that if she really even cared about our store. I was told I would be promoted and then never heard from the DM again. I didnt mind though because talking to the DM was always an awful experience, she would belittle and talk condescendingly to me every single time. Im an adult and wanted to be talked to like one, not get an attitude and place blame on people. When I put my two weeks in after getting a position in a career that my degree was in I was basically chastised even though I followed the procedure for leaving. It was so bad that I didnt even want to finish my two weeks. Leaving was the best decision I made. Hands down. For a company that relies so heavily on their Christian values, they certainly do not follow them when it comes to their employees. I found out that the store wasnt doing the volunteer hours and not actually donating any of the money they made on Mission Mondays because the new store manager wasnt acting in connecting with the charities they choose from the community.
