Pros
Great associate discount. I've worked for JCP for over 15 years so I am grandfathered in to getting a pension.
Cons
I am not talking for myself but for the other associates in my store. I used to be a lead expert but had to demote myself due to health problems. The last 5 or so years JCP has given lousy hours and pay. At the store I work at they demand you have open availability or they threaten to cut your hours even though associates only on average work between 13 to 22 hours per week. These hours do not let you accumulate mto also known as pto. Only lead experts and management average 35-40 hours get pto and benefits. JCPenney I started working for was so much better. There was a family comrodery and the company cared about it's workers. Full time needs to come back and be available to all hard working associates. Also, department managers or at least floor managers need to be set in place as before. It is too much work for a lead expert to handle with stingy pay. Many of them work off the clock to stay caught up. For the regular sales or support associates 4 hour shifts don't cut it especially if you need to support your family or help support them. JCP has also gotten rid of great workers because they cost too much and want the cheapest minimum wage workers who could care less about their job. The majority of the minimum wage workers are students who don't plan on sticking around. JCP wants great workers then pay for them. Minimum wage just went up in my state to $9/hr. I know of associates who have been there 5-7 years just making between $9.29 to $9.57 an hour, barely more than the new associates. JCP should of given the associates who have been there longer a bigger margin of a raise. Also JCP used to give associates every other weekend off, now they don't making it more difficult for the associates to spend time with their family. However, lead experts nd management get every other weekend off. Mr. James Cash Penney is probably turning over in his grave on what his store has turned into. It originally was called, The Golden Rules Store, I guess that idea went out the window. Nowadays associates are not treated as management expects to get treated. I never led my team that way. When I was supervisor then lead expert I would never give a task or schedule hours to someone if I wasn't willing to do it myself.
