Disappointing, Inconsistent, Expected So Much More
Pros
- Pay is above minimum wage. But when you consider that many people only get 3-4% raises PER YEAR, you can expect to work here for about 3 years before you get a $1/hour raise. - They attract interesting people-- many of the hires are college graduates, trying to pay off student loans at pay that is a little above minimum wage, getting perhaps 2 shifts a week. - Somewhat lax work environment, not the most relaxed I've been but you are allowed to self-manage to a nice degree.
Cons
1 = 3! Communication = Leadership! Ignorance = Strength! Well it's been a long time since they sat us down in that little room and made all those promises they just couldn't keep. If you believe their hype, The Container Store is not only the greatest company to work for-- it is the savior of the world using the Excalibur called Conscious Capitalism! Well Conscious Capitalism is the same as old Capitalism: Profits before People, sell as much as you can, and could you not come in to your scheduled shift tomorrow? We really need to keep our cost of labor down, thanks for understanding. This is a workplace all about politics. This is a company all about 'favorites,' You can work as hard as you possibly can, sell effectively, and make customers feel welcome and happy. Yet you will consistently get less hours, fewer promotion opportunities, and less recognition than someone who kisses up to the right people at the right times (always). Inscribed into the gates of the Container Store is the phrase "Communication is Leadership," but you would be amazed at what is not communicated. Full time positions are announced and filled in the same breath, leaving hungry employees nothing to do except clap for the outside hire that management considered more fit for the job. Hours change constantly, but you can except the 'favorites' to get consistently more hours, in spite of everything. Sadly, the Container Store's positive attitude is often just skin-deep. Like any company, people complain about customers and co-workers behind closed doors, which creates a very confusing atmosphere to work. They encourage you to 'be yourself,' as long as it is within the strict confines of what they deem appropriate, So really, they want you to be 'who they want you to be,' which is not necessarily yourself. The most pervasive ideal you will hear is the 'man in the desert' selling philosophy. Candidly, this is a re-stating of a much older selling philosophy called Always Be Selling. It's cute at first but quite annoying to be expected to go up to each customer and try to fill their basket with things they don't need, but will help the company's bottom line. You learn about them as a person, only to sell to them as a consumer. It reduces people to numbers on a scoreboard, and whether the score is positive or negative we're cutting back, because winter is always coming. That's my greatest strife with the company: They want us to share this collective hallucination that we're improving people's lives, when we're often just putting our hands in their pockets. Don't get me wrong, there are some products in the store I genuinely think help people out, and I'm happy to sell them. But at lot of the time, I feel like I'm just check-stuffing for the benefit of our faceless stock holders. I'll end it with a story: When I started with the Container Store, I was like a puppy, all excited and energetic and loved. We played together all the time, and there were some great memories. Slowly, as I got older, TCS got more puppies that were younger and cuter, and I slowly got nudged to the side to make room for newer things although I tried my best. When I realized what had happened, they put me outside and all I could do is look in and yelp for attention, which I got rarely and begrudgingly. Now I'm an old dog, looking wistfully at the back gate, thinking of running away to find someone else who will appreciate me. Forgive my sentimentality-- I'm very capable of finding a new job I just feel that this story represents my time at TCS.
