The PTO accrual is abysmal for hourly staff. 1.6 hours every 40 hours is nothing. The benefits - especially medical are awful. There is a huge deductible and most offices are out of network with BCBS of Tennessee. This is especially upsetting because Tend advertises having "impressive goodie bags". It also feels like there is very little empathy coming from corporate. There is a point system in place that feels very demeaning. We are all human, there are days when we have emergencies. We should be able to take a day off in the event of a true emergency, with studio manager approval without having to use our PTO or getting a point marked against us. Also, there needs to be at least a 3-5 minute grace period when clocking in -- as there are a multitude of factors outside of our control that can lead to being late, especially when you live in a metropolitan area. Additionally, the raises have also been severely lacking, a 3% raise barley makes a dent in your paycheck, especially with the rising inflation and cost of living. Additionally, Tend does not offer any mental health services and it is unacceptable that sick leave does not include mental health days. All of these issues need to be addressed, as there has been an increasingly high turnover rate, especially in the last few months. It is also worthy to note, there is no holiday party and no holiday bonus. In all the years I have worked in dental, I have never not received a holiday bonus. It is also not conducive to a positive work-life balance to have us open on Christmas eve and New years eve. It goes without saying, this is time that should be spent with one's family. Furthermore, in order to help with the work-life balance that Tend claims it offers, Saturday hours should be from 8-12 PM. This is pretty standard in dental offices in DC, as Saturdays are most usually reserved for emergency appointments. I would also like to see more opportunity for the admin staff in the studios to be promoted to the operations teams. Other side notes: Sometimes it seems like Tend just does things for its image, but does not fully execute. For example, we give out recyclable water cans, but there is no recycling bin.
