Pros
Amazing discount. The store attracts like-minded people so if you're slightly hippieish or occult you'll love the kinds of customers you interact with. I never dealt with a ton of snobbiness from anyone. The things we carried at the store were always interesting and there was a lot of room to actually enjoy selling things to people due to the product actually being interesting. There is an immense wealth of things to learn at this store. The easiest shipment I've ever had to deal with. Everything comes tagged and in the system and ready to go. I was NEVER bothered with anything about work when I was not there. They are very reluctant to ask people to come in or even to discuss work-related matters with you over the phone. The work-life balance is remarkable. Everything belongs somewhere. Each store is remarkably merchandised and aesthetically pleasing. We never received more merch than we could stock on the shelves which was a delight. Lots of fair trade items and high-quality essential oils. Overall, you just feel good about what you're selling to people (with a few exceptions).
Cons
I was hired on to work full time hours but very infrequently was ever given more than 30 - 35. Unless you're higher management you will not receive full time hours and when you do make higher management they will all but grind you down to your bones. The particular location I worked at had mostly college students for employees and they paid them abysmally for the small-boutique feel of customer service they request. Myself and another employee made 10.50 as keyholders but only because of our experience, and they balanced out the higher pay by refusing me and her hours. Most of the keyholders would get a fifty cent raise from 8 dollars to 8.50. Absolutely absurd for what they ask of their employees. They have extremely specific customer service requests and their secret shopper report is beyond strict. It doesn't leave a ton of room for authenticity, which is what they claim to strive for. It starts to feel like you're reading from a script to ensure you're "asking open-ended questions" and "looking for conversational cues" and "fitting room selling" and if you aren't using certain buzz words and sentence structure you will be coached or given a warning. It limits the creativity of your staff and they claim to strive towards a colorful and creative environment. It's much more strictly structured than they claim it is. Each staff member is required to meet personal sales goals but only one person is allowed on a register per shift at the location I worked at, meaning that the chances of your sales being taken by other employees or whoever is at the register throwing sales that fall below the goal of 3 items and $30 so that their stats don't slip are pretty high. Their POS system is from the early 90s and the room for human error is MASSIVE. You will be written up whether there is an error for 2 cents or 200 dollars. You would be refused request off dates unless you submitted them 2 weeks prior, which is for the most part pretty standard, but there were times we would not get our schedules until the day before it was effective. You will be written up if not fired for even telling customers that you close soon or are closed, even if they ask. The location I worked at closed at 8 on Sundays and one day we did not get out until past 11. The dehumanization of your employees that it takes to keep them at work for hours past their scheduled time when goal has already been hit is beyond me. For a multi-cultural store, almost the entire base of models for their clothing are white. Their advertising features almost exclusively white people. The jewelry is insanely cheap and low-quality.
