Not perfect, but still a great place to work
Pros
Good pay and benefits (and yes, while I ended my career as an STL, I started as a part-time team member). Good career advancement opportunities Good vision and values Good work environment While corporate, it is still a highly decentralized company and there is still opportunity to make a mark on the job you're doing
Cons
Inconsistent execution and dedication to the core values by middle and upper leadership Sometimes focus too much on fluff (iPads in shopping carts, most aspects of the HSH program, fancy tech and certain aspects of new store décor) and not enough on basics (training, service, pricing) Favoritism (which could be true of any company this size) John Mackey, while brilliant, is too checked out of day to day operations and there's a lot of stuff that happens that is 180 degrees opposed to his "conscious leadership" views that he's likely completely unaware of. The decentralized nature of the company also sometimes means a lot of reinventing of the wheel and tends to promote a "sink or swim" mentality to getting trained