Pros
Overall the only pro is the same as with any retail position, dealing with customers, meeting new people and building relationships with both customer and staff.
Cons
In my time with the company I saw unethical practices from the top down putting pressure on the store level to bend if not even break the rules placed on us. And for those that succumed to the pressure and then got caught they would be crucified as exapmles of not to get caught not really of not to do what was wrong. After 2yrs working there every person I saw promoted to DM and above were very unethical people and those that were there when I was hired for the most part left the company and from the few with whom I kept in contact it was over issues that were ethical in nature. The company puts profits over the safety of it's employees. Case in point, there were a rash of hold ups being committed at stores in the area and the company failed to increase staffing to help deter the robbers, add cameras that pointed elsewhere beside only where emplyoee theft would occur and gave no thought of actually informing the rest of us until we had a robbery in our own district. The Manager and ASM as well as a couple patrons were all bound and held at gun point the Mgr actually had the gun pressed to his head and forced to open the safe. After the fact when the DM showed up at the scene his first word to the Mgr was "How much did they get?" as his concern was more about the money and couldn't care less about the safety of his employees or even his customers. Understaffing - most below the ASM level (and even sometimes above) need a second job to make up for lack of hours Low Pay - again as above anyone below an ASM will need a second job unless they are just teens living at home with no bills Poor Work Place Safety - many times the management staff are expected to work nearly full shifts alone creating an environment ripe for accidents, robberies to name a couple Overwork vs Pay - also due to the understaffing many times unreaslistic expectations for tasks to be completed are created and if in Management you can expect not to have much of a life oustide work (especially in the eyes of the DM and Area Managers). Many times I was called upon to go to other stores on my supposed days off for no compensation. Lack of Ethics - While pressuring stores to "Hit their numbers" to the point of threatening employment, many stores would have to falsify reservations, subscriptions and the like because they weren't able to make the numbers legitimetly. But if caught the upper management didn't revise the expected numbers of the store they would just fire those that were caught. I never allowed false reservations or any of the measured numbers and many times I didn't have the top numbers but when I was asked why I would throw it back at them about how mine were all legit. Poor Logistical Planning/Upper Management - I was also usually a top store regardless but they never took into consideration things like how opening two or more stores in the same area would effect the ability of that same original store to make its numbers. Outright Lying from Upper Management - I left because the last 3yrs of my employment with the company I was told if I were to achieve certain rankings or go and get a store turned around I would be promoted to a DM. I achieved all that was asked and then some with each store I took over it turned from a bottom performing store to one the would get top rankings. Each time to see those with less time in company and with lesser rankings promoted. I know the reason. I was too valuable as a good solid worker bee to be promoted and I was making the DM's I worked under look good.
