Pros
Employees are, for the most part, treated with respect. 10% discount on already cheap products is nice Employees are encouraged to be themselves Coworker/Customer harassment and abuse is not tolerated Job is not as monotonous and boring as most retail jobs…you are never on register for more than 3 hours Transferring to other stores all over the country is fairly easy and done consistently, which is great since TJs is located in most major cities. Coworkers are fun, intelligent, great attitude (mostly) Many customers are kind, interesting, funny. There is definitely a higher level of customer interaction. If you work long enough, you can make a decent hourly wage. But it will take a while.
Cons
On the flip side of the high level of customer service, you also have customers who expect you to bend over backwards for them which can result in unbelievable requests. It is a retail job…it is monotonous. After about 3 months you have learned everything you will learn and then it is just clocking your hours and getting through the day. For most employees, schedules are not consistent and in the slow season your hours will be drastically cut without consideration for your financial needs. Management unabashedly plays favorites with employees which, if you're not a favorite, will affect your hours and pay. Promotions are rare and not based on merit. In the stores in my area, we have had several promotions of people who are simply awful. My store, at least, is ridiculously sexist. Unqualified men get promoted over qualified women constantly. Pretty much every long term employee has a back injury. Training is virtually nonexistent.