Pros
- comprehensive training - associates have been great - learn how to work on things and use tools - flexible hours to an extent
Cons
Say goodbye to your social life if you’re a manager at a 3 manager store, and good luck if you have a family. They also took away the weekly bonus that was given for working at a 3 manager store. Tuition reimbursement has also changed to make you work much more for the full amount and throws your school/work/life balance out of wack. Staffing can be a challenge. Mostly high school kids so when school season starts mornings are rough as no one applies to be a full timer because the pay is low. Penny pinching has been ramped up, and often in dumb ways. Lots of focus on opening new stores when current stores are barely treading water. An email will go out congratulating a new store opening and a few hours later that store will send an email out asking for staffing help, along with the several other stores that have also already asked for help. Has been a huge focus on labor usage and trying to have your store at the bare minimum at all times, because heaven forbid you use two extra labor hours for kids who only make $12/hr. But it’s totally ok to have a painting company come out and spray paint a star on the concrete for $400 (not kidding). With the bare minimum staffing upper management still expects you to do everything, everywhere, all at once. Managers need to be top in sales and constantly be out in the drive, and also stay on top of maintenance/monthly tasks, while trying to train new managers, while also just trying to do any other management things. Upper management brushes it off saying you need to use “time management” but it is not possible when we’re running a skeleton crew. Corporate has a tendency to take the customers’ side, even if the customer was incredibly rude and belligerent. Feels like it’s only reinforcing this behavior. Customer gets a Works wash and then comes around after and harasses you and your associates into giving them a rewash for an ultimate+ceramic? Corporate will cave and give them an ultimate+ceramic wash if they call, even if you did everything right and had to be verbally abused. Now the customer is just going to come back smug that their temper tantrum got them their way. I won’t stand for me or my associates to be treated like that. We are people, not retail robots. Nobody likes the white shirts and ties/bow ties. The red polos are infinitely better and I seriously doubt a customer would really care or stop coming here because we aren’t wearing the white shirts. Everyone I know said in the employee feedback survey that they didn’t like them, yet we still haven’t heard anything about the results/findings of the employee survey and that was months ago. Corporate office is closed on holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day while the stores stay open. Really feels great knowing we’re out working on a holiday while the office folks get to enjoy a 3 day weekend. At least have some of the office people come help the stores that need it. Employee Appreciation Day involved us just getting a thank you text. Feels more insulting than the free medium Pepsi for the New York Giants fan appreciation day. Hours can be kind of tough. Let’s be honest, does someone really need a car wash at 8:52 PM on a Tuesday? At least Crew Carwash has caught on and closes at 8. The new president Joe is a great guy, but I was expecting a new, young face taking over to bring about some more new/modern changes. Instead, we’re regressing and the plan is to try and do things how we used to years ago. Talented GM’s and AM’s are leaving. Maintenance and construction workers are leaving. An ENTIRE store in NKY quit. Corporate is silent on it. Mike’s has changed but not for the better.