Pros
- Safety is taken seriously. - MSA's and management were always there to back you up/check on donors if you needed them to. - We had potlucks on the weekend shifts. - Rotating weekend shifts meant that everyone got a weekend off every other week. - When you get hired, the manager takes you out to (free) lunch. - Employee of the month gets to go to a restaurant of their choice and gets free lunch, and gets a parking spot right by the door for the duration of that month. - You get to wear normal clothes (jeans & t-shirt) under your white coat on weekends. - Manager listens to you.
Cons
- Often understaffed as the pay is low and people are always getting hired and leaving right away as soon as they find something better. - You're on your feet 24/7. Quite a few people complained about having plantar fasciitis. Make sure you have shoes with good support or you'll regret it. - A full-time employee was reported for inappropriate conduct/sexual harassment multiple times but never got fired (at least not while I worked there). It seems it stemmed from how long they had been working at that location, how much of a close friend they became to everyone, and the money problems they were having. This, in my opinion, is not a valid reason to keep someone onboard. Compassion was misplaced. - Closing shift sucks. Not only because you stay late, clean every station, throw out garbage, restock, throw away cardboard and lift boxes, but because most people slack off. Multiple people would "disappear" and only reappear once you were mostly done. - People don't clean up after themselves. The person who used your booth before you probably left the plasma test machine disgusting, with blood everywhere. - People steal food. - If you're female, prepare to get hit on by donors. - If you're not white and don't let someone donate because they didn't meet the criteria, prepare to be insulted, harassed, or stalked.