Pros
They have tremendous resources’ (although used poorly). Some of the best people in the industry still work there (but seem to have lost their way).
Cons
Support for the customer base that drives the business is now only feigned and used in slick sales presentations. The pitfalls of being part of a large corporation, owned by Bain Capital, has taken the heart out of a once privately owned company that was great to work for and genuinely cared about the customers’ best interest. Keeping good employees below upper management was at one time an important consideration. Now, these frontline, face of the company employees are seemingly viewed as easily replaceable cogs with little consideration given to cultivating any promising talent. As I left the company after more than ten years of service, they couldn’t even bother to make sure my final check was correctly and accurately disbursed. Weeks later when I finally received a check, it arrived unsigned. So, not worth the paper it was printed on. I requested an exit interview and after a series clever avoidance tactics’, I came to the realization that they were even less interested in my feedback than they were when they employed me. Further, the wellbeing and morale of employees is ignored when brought to their attention and the battle cry of “we have to do more with less” is the priority even at the expense of an individual needs, e.g.; a retail District Manager asked a Store Manager in their third trimester of pregnancy, to work double shifts. Not once or twice but was expected to do it on a regular basis, as part of their schedule. Simply shameful! That district manager has since been promoted to a Director of Sales position. The desire to serve the customer and the company with a sincere interest in what’s best for everyone has been replaced with focus on a spread sheet filled with forecast and goals. Gone are the days when we all knew that focusing on customers, employees and the company alike built loyalty with everyone. Upper management tries motivates by coining sales initiatives with military titles. “Operation Normandy” is one I recall specifically. (It was a failure, BTW) Perhaps the biggest CON of all are those who remain working for the company who used to know better, seem satisfied to remain silent and collect a pay check. An open door policy for concerns is now closed. Short sightedness is the new order of the day. Each individual sale is more important than building long lasting relationships with customers and employees. So unless you’re willing to sacrifice integrity, higher ideals and the satisfaction of treating people appropriately, think twice about working or shopping there.
