Pros
Was an ESOP company up until March 2021 Was a steady paycheck and actually a good place to work until April 2020 . Life insurance and supplemental life insurance was available for cheap. I was a valued employee there until they saw that after 14 straight months of mandated masking, I could no longer handle it. Once I broke down and said I could not live like this anymore, they saw me as expendable.
Cons
Prior to March 25, 2021, Walman Optical was an ESOP company but they decided to sell the company to Essilor-Luxotica. So they decided that anyone working there would end up getting something like double the value of their ESOP since once the buyout is complete, people would get their money, but the company would no longer be an ESOP company. Have kept a mask policy that did not prevent anyone from getting and spreading the virus since April 2020 and absolutely refused to lift it when Governor Walz lifted the mandate on May 14, 2021. They keep employees in a department for many years with no opportunity to grow or cross train into another department. I had to work there for over 7 years before I saw wages over $17/hour. Treat anyone who expresses dissent as "crazy".