Pros
Positive Things 1. My colleagues: The other associates are major contributors to keeping the environment upbeat and fun. In most cases, there's a general sense of cameraderie among the store staff. 2. A Hub for Crafts and crafty people: Although Michael's seems to be in a weird Toys 'R' Us meets Pier 1 hybrid stage, its still a great place to be for an artist, a craft enthusiast, or anyone with creative interests. You can become intrigued or curious, especially when new products and trends come. 3. Spirited: Due to the seasonal nature of the business, it's very easy to get swept up in changing seasons and holiday moods. The company as a whole really seems to get behind "the atmosphere" of everything, from emails to uniforms, decor, events, crafts, games and all.
Cons
Negative Things 1. Underpaid: Very low salary/pay for a full time management position. Especially considering what is expected of the position. 2. Impractical Expectations: Workload does not make sense against what we're given to work with. Your always having to "make do", but your supervisors will be expecting these huge results. In many cases, you're made to be responsible for things you have almost no control over. 3. Skeleton Crew: This is a particularly stressful point for this position. The store is in many cases basically empty due to minimum payroll. The budget you're given often leaves room for nothing. As a result, often times, aside from a lone cashier (who may be peeved they didn't get many hours), you and maybe one other associate (the store manager, a sales associate, framer, etc.) are having to sprint around the store like a bat out of hell to do everything (the sole register back-up, answer customer phone calls, help custs on the floor, coordinate and plan company-mandated events, make time-sensitive business calls, verify in-stocks, be a loss prevention officer, recover the store, receive and send UPS shipments, fix malfunctioning computers, respond to/send emails, and on and on). All the while, the company pushes the idea that the customers should feel like we have a whole fleet of staff. This makes for an exhausting, and morale-killing day, particularly during busier times. Customers often identify this fault, voice it in colorful ways, and at some point, the blame will somehow fall on your shoulders. 4. Training/Development: You're might be given a crash course, but all-in-all, you're left to kind of "figure it out". Most everything I learned and accomplished was either by injecting my personal skill set, by trail-and-error, or by being strategically nosey. Mostly the latter. Opportunity/Corporate-to-Store Disconnect: At least at the store level, opportunities to grow or show what you're capable of are few and far between.There's almost no openness as to the potential career possibilities or avenues within the company. It almost appears hidden to the stores. Its easy to feel stuck, or that you've reached the a ceiling.