Pros
As far as office jobs go: very nice, clean facilities. Office supplies, IT support, and ergonomic workstations are plentiful. Policies & procedures are in place and easily accessible to all employees, so it’s easy for a newbie to find answers to HR-related questions, as well as issues directly related to your job. Extremely well-organized and structured—although at times verging on micro-management. Diverse workforce filled with intelligent and friendly people. Nice pay. Opportunities to work from home. Benefits for part-time employees. Fun company-sponsored events abound (Wine-down Friday, Family Movie Night, etc.). You can see why it is on list of Fortune Magazine’s Best Companies to Work For year after year.
Cons
In spite of the employee-first culture, the company is so large that you feel small and insignificant, like a nameless body filling a chair. Nearly impossible to become acquainted with everyone. Likewise, they don’t recognize you either. This position is within a call center based out of the home office. Expect everything a call center entails: high call volume, noisy environment, residing in a cubicle farm where you are assigned a different desk each shift, wearing a headset and talking on the phone all day to upset people. Frequent employee turnover leads to a general feeling of “the blind leading the blind” with supervisors who have been on the job less time than you have. The training you receive is stellar, however, once completed, you are literally thrown to the wolves. Typical calls: 70% helping people navigate through TCS website and/or rewards program, sending replacement items, and locating shipments. 30% selling elfa. If you want a taste of the kind of people and issues involved in an average call—take a look at the “visitor posts” on the TCS Facebook page some time. And it’s retail, so you can expect: working late nights, weekends & holidays, and accommodating demanding customers. The goal of course is always: sell, sell, sell. You are instructed to take the next call even if not completely finished with current customer, so as not to miss out on another potential sale.
