Pros
These pros are from the view of working in a store: - People who shop here are generally friendly. Not a lot of "Karens". - Animals are welcome, so you get to pet a lot of dogs. - Floor associates have a lot of autonomy to fix problems, assist guests, and offer discounts when warranted. Customer service is a focus. - The company makes investments in technology that is used to make the job easier like headsets, scanners, and mobile checkout units. - The employee discount of 15% off regular priced merch and 20% off the TSC brand pet food is nice. - As of now, employees who work 10 hours a week are eligible for a health care plan. There is a rumor this is going away. - There is enough variety in the day so things are rarely boring. - Exercise! You will usually get your steps in for the day. - Stores partner with local organizations for events and are usually good for the community.
Cons
- On a store level, they do not offer full time hours unless you are a "shift lead". Your hours can vary wildly week by week with little consistency. - When hired, you may be told they aren't hiring for full time "right now". This is to hook you so you think there is a chance to move into full time when there is not. - Shift leads are a couple hourly employees per store who act as manager when the store manager/assistant manager don't want to close or work weekends. Nobody in their right mind would do that amount of work for that little pay. - Hourly pay is low, especially for the work and knowledge required. During a normal week, you'll haul around 50lb bags of feed, drive a forklift, pump propane, take care of baby chickens, advise people on the best grass seed, tell people how to get rid of moles, unload a freight truck, restock shelves, run a cash register, clean the bathrooms, watch for shoplifters, recommend livestock vaccinations, greet every customer that you encounter, sell the TSC credit card, enroll everyone in the customer loyalty program, explain the difference in dog food ingredients, rent out trailers, explain electric versus propane heat, and much more. All for about $12 per hour. - Management likes to remind everyone that if the store makes certain sales goals, everyone gets a monthly bonus that almost makes up another dollar per hour. They bring this up if you ask for more money. The definition of "bonus" indicates that if you have to consider this as part of your hourly compensation, then it stops being a bonus. - The constant focus on the TSC credit card. Cashiers are supposed to annoy every customer into signing up. Because customers can't read the numerous store signs and their email isnt spammed with it? Predatory interest rates don't matter. It feels gross trying to talk someone's 80-year old gramma who only stopped to buy birdseed into getting a credit card. - Little to no ability to move up in the company in a meaningful way. Promotions from within are rare. Applications from internal candidates are ignored or brought up on months later. HR seems to have absolutely no interest in cultivating bench strength. - Since the pay is so low, applicants are hard to find and turnover is high. Because there is an age requirement on some of the job duties like filling propane tanks, they can't fill in with teenagers. Since they can't attract new employees, they can't afford to fire problem employees. - Low staffing makes for dangerous work conditions. Employees are encouraged to come in sick or injured. Working with a skeleton crew causes corners to be cut, guests to go unassisted, phone calls to be ignored, shoplifters to be overlooked, and the potential for robbery is much higher. Plus the constant stress of never having enough hands to get everything done.