Pros
1. Fun place to work 2. You have the opportunity to explore every kind of creative activity known to man 3. Excellent merchandise selection 4. If they're out of a product, they can special order it for you no problems. 5. Customers tend to be sugar sweet (for the most part)
Cons
1. Constantly having to grill customers for emails (they don't like that AT ALL). Especially if they're regulars, and have already given it... 2. Since our store entered the first phase of Store of the Future, our customer service has suffered greatly. From open to about noon there is only a manager who has to deal with all the opening procedures and paperwork, not to mention catching up on district related emails in the back office. Then there is the lone cashier; the only employee to be seen anywhere in the store (other than framing). What happened to the sales people on the sales floor; you know, the ones who show the customers where to go, discuss the products with the customers so we can make juicy sales, the ones who can jump on a register if the cashier gets swamped. Yeah, THOSE sales people! Store of the Future has axed that completely, especially in the mornings. God forbid the cashier has to go and do a price check herself because the manager is on a conference call, or is caught in Framing because they're swamped or busy doing a CSO, and suddenly she's got 10 customers flagging her down 'where's this and where's that'. NOT COOL! 3. Khaki pants...really? Who thought that was a good idea for a craft store? Let's just jump on the 'everyone's doing it' bandwagon and alienate our customers who rely on us to BE creative and inspiring. No, instead we must look like 'mindless automatons', joining the fray of strange sameness that most all retail chains are drowning in...khaki slacks . We are a craft store, where creativity is supposed to be paramount...yet we look like retail clones of so many other retail chains... 4. 'Expert T-shirts'...anyone can say they're a Brain Surgeon, but the proof is in the doing. If we're allowed to wear what we make, or showcase the craft we're best at, that may add some clout to our claim of experthood, especially in the eyes of the customer relying on us to be an expert. 4. Understaffed 5. No real opportunity for growth or moving up. I've seen people in the same position for 5-6 years, and never move up...it's typical for retail...it feels kinda dead end. 6. Never enough hours, and way to many people being hired and underutilized.