Pros
We are entitled to six regularly priced items per month at 50% off, and we receive unlimited discounts of 30% off of all sale items. Also, when we set our availability to reflect time needed off on a regular basis for school or a second job, etc, the schedule is just fine. Even requesting days off outside that availability is pretty easy, if you do it within the time frame required (usually a week and a half in advance). Plus, there are shifts available starting at 6 am, and the closing crew gets out at 10 pm, so there is a variety of hours to work, some not even requiring customer service. I did say that we have no health benefits in my review, but that is not completely true. The benefits part-time employees are entitled to, however, are not nearly comprehensive enough. Gap is very good about paying mileage should we cover a shift at a store other than our own, even if the rate kind of sucks (43¢/ mi). Even though in my state employers are only required to give workers a ten-minute, paid rest period for each 4.75 hours worked, Gap gives 15 minutes, which is actually enough time to eat something. Each store has its own loss prevention officer working in the back office.
Cons
As stated above, the health benefits are not comprehensive enough (for example, there is a package that gives you $50 doctor visits but covers nothing for prescriptions or hospital stays). The vision is a rip-off, too, as is the dental, and Gap doesn't kick in a penny to cover the costs, which are higher than going through a "real" insurance company like Blue Cross. Part-timers get no paid time off, and often are not given a shift to replace one that they may have to get covered by another employee. Management at my particular store often requests that we find people to cover our shifts should we be unable to work them, which is illegal in my state. We are also often asked what the nature of our illness/ reason for absence is, also illegal in my state. When we do new window sets (approximately once every six weeks), the old things from the previous windows (posters, cardboard props, rope, plastic decals and so forth) are tossed. That seems a tad wasteful. Plus, the company as a whole seems rather uninterested in recycling—there is nary a recycle can to be found, on the sales floor or in the stock rooms. When we receive shipment, often there will be a 2' x 3' box sent to us containing one t-shirt (wrapped in lots pf plastic, of course). The bags we are encouraged to use for customers are plastic (the paper ones are "too expensive" to give to everybody and should be reserved for big spenders only). We are hounded to get customers to sign up for credit cards and the pressure exerted on said customers is despicable, especially from management. They're the worst. The particular mall I work in has a parking garage that costs $3 an hour, and Gap does not reimburse us for any part of that. We are not allowed to ask a customer how many items she is trying on, OR limit the number allowed in the fitting rooms, and then, should there be a theft from the store, we are derided for not noticing or preventing it, even though we have a loss prevention officer whose sole responsibility is that very task. Because we are a retail establishment, the typical employee tends to be slightly unmotivated, which breeds some animosity amongst those who really do try to work their hardest, and management does nothing to defuse the situation—little positive reinforcement for working hard, and no punishment for slacking. Oh, and the dress code sucks. Half the stuff we sell, we aren't allowed to wear to work. No flip flops (I live in a HOT climate), no pants shorter than mid-calf, nothing sleeveless (for me and those like me, longer, as "excessive" [ambiguous language, no?] tattoos are not allowed), and shirts may not expose the midriff EVEN WHEN THE ARMS ARE RAISED. This is really hard to do without wearing a muu muu. All t-shirts must be layered (again, it's hot here!), and can have no graphic printed design (all-over prints are allowed, it's not completely boring). For a company that attracts young workers, this dress code is torture.
