Big responsibilities, itty bitty pay
Pros
No need for a degree to get in. Broad corporate/administrative/customer service experience to be gained, with a hard lean on retail. Bonuses, and slightly better-than-McDonald’s pay.
Cons
You need to have a broad range of skills - managerial, administration, customer service, janitorial, and retail - which you will need to juggle, sometimes simultaneously. You are the company’s first line of defence, so make sure you don’t drop the ball, because you will be the clients #1, and often, only target for complaints and confrontations (ranging from whining to full-on Academy Award nominee-contending meltdowns). Usually short-staffed, employees come and go, through a veritable revolving-door. Because of that, don’t expect them to love you if you need a couple of sick days. Schedules change frequently, and dramatically. You may have to work multiple locations, and adjust your working style to mesh with the local teams. As with any job, every location has a different set of personalities, so once you have one set figured out, and are able to feel comfortable, don’t get comfortable…you’ll be dropped-in with another team. The job also has heavy demand on employees to reach certain quotas every quarter, so prepare for a cold, ‘corporate panache’-laced, passive-aggressive talking-to, either through a surprise phone call, or within the 3-4+ hour monthly meetings. Sure there are bonuses and some perks including limited health and dental. But, including the bonuses, you’ll still have a hard time putting any money away. The income will allow you to just get by on a very humble lifestyle. Certainly not worth the level of stress you must endure on. Regular basis.
