Pros
I really enjoyed the enviroment of working in a store like this. I loved the clothing. I loved feeling like I was in a somewhat creative enviroment. In the beginning of my time with them, I had a great manager and she worked hard to provide a great team atmosphere. Working with many of the customers was really fun. I enjoyed helping someone find the perfect outfit/gift for his or her need.
Cons
There are too many cons to really get into. In the beginning, I loved working for this company and enjoyed going to work every day. Within my first couple weeks there was a management shift, and I was asked to be a key holder. When I entered into an entry level management position my outlook on the company quickly changed. I was only with the company for 4.5 months before I found new employment. I loved the idea that this company has “give back” brands and has an inspirational message. They are technically a Christian company and when I started out working for them I was very excited about this aspect of the job. I quickly realized that, in my experience anyway, it was all a show. When I first started working, they were closed on Sundays, but almost every other Sunday and sometimes every Sunday we would have to come into the store and work. We had to do displays and mark downs and mannequins. They claimed on their door that Sunday was supposed to be a "day of rest" but inside the store, all of their employees were basically forced to come in and work long shifts, sometimes 8 or even 12 hours, to complete almost impossible tasks in the amount of time allotted. I understand that doing floor sets and mark downs are normal for a clothing company and that often times, stores have to do them over night. I do not have a problem with working hard, or long, hours. I do have a problem with a company that claims to respect and honor Sundays as a holy day of rest but then turns around and secretly works its employees on that day. A couple months into my time there, they decided to just be open on Sunday. I had much more respect for them after they did this. At least they weren't secretly having their employees work. On that same note, all of the upper/corporate management that I came in contact with were rude and only cared about the bottom line. I never encountered anyone who seemed to care about the message the company was claiming to portray. This upset me because I was excited about working for the company because of the message. Those are my main complaints but there were many other frustrating things associated with this job.
