Pros
Part-time work available, with partial benefits, very diverse and inclusive, ideal working environment for someone who has a sales mentality and enjoys busy environments, talking to people and managing staff simultaneously. For those that are ambitious and capable, there are opportunities to showcase your skillset and build merit. In the two years that I've worked, I became a manager in 3 months, managed at 26 different locations and was directly responsible for 3 warehouse locations,including staff and operations, created training modules, partook in creating SOP's and was part of a mentorship program with my district manager to become a district manager, there were a lot of great opportunities for me to continue building my skills and experience and I happened to have a great support system in place to make that happen.
Cons
Long Post Incoming: Leadership and HR dept could be better at addressing the needs of their employees by redirecting funding for better equipment and additional uniforms on a regular basis. I can't begin to tell you how many times my staff asked for replacement uniforms due to wear and tear; the company was never able to effectively provide this so there were lots of employees with aprons that were ripped or that were stapled together so they can hold up. The majority of the time (unless the health dept was conducting inspections), the company didn't allow for enough time in the day for people to effectively clean their work stations, or to deep clean their work equipment and utensils, leaving for a huge build up of caked up equipment that would unfortunately be used to serve customers.. This was all of course unacceptable, but due to the companies policy of maintaining a certain degree of labor hours, this would often get looked over so no one would get progressive disciplined out of their role. There was often gaps in site locations when it came to SOPS. Some locations were following rules, others did what they want. Very little accountability regarding this. The conversations behind closed doors between management and upper management are unfortunately very aggressive in nature towards employees & other managers alike. It's a very political environment that not everyone will 'survive' in. Most part-time staff are often overlooked and talked about as if they don't matter due to the high turn-over rate which really sucks to experience on the managing end. There are so many inaccurate statements from employees, supervisors and managers alike that have been reported to spite one another that there isn't any solid system set in place that helps to protect employees from inaccurate or false statements from holding any weight in their HR dept. A lot of great people were let go due to rumors and allegations without proof due to their staff or other colleagues making false statements without any accountability on their part. As a major corporation, their main goal is to prevent lawsuits from occurring, so it makes sense for them to terminate employees after a report is made to limit that. (California based at-will). Their HR dept is beyond overwhelmed and unfortunately, violent or clear policy violations that would take priority were not addressed in a timely manner, leaving for a hostile and unsafe working environment for the retail staff. Since I started working there, leadership from all sides have created an environment where a majority of managers were 'jaded' from the increase workload and responsibility without creating a system. I was one of the few in California that was assigned to address this, but again, with a major corporation, there's only so much that can be done without pushback. There is a lot of theft that goes on, and difficult people to deal with that feels excessive compared to the new position I've accepted. Regarding growth opportunity; It's definitely available up until you become a supervisor or event manager, after that, there is no additional growth or mentorship/internship programs available. I was part of something comparable to an internship, but it was really just helping someone else out without actually having a mentorship or added compensation. The selected candidates for this pilot program ultimately were ousted when an ideal external candidate came along, which is obviously not ideal for the person wanting to grow internally. Depending on which location you would work at, a huge negative factor for everyone with CDS was our relationship with Costco management and employees. Much like the managers for CDS, there is a lot of negativity directed towards part-time staff, supervisors and managers alike.. There is a lot of unnecessary pushback for simple requests to further CDS' agenda that requires a thick skinned person who's able to build solid relationships despite any odds. Even then, at Costco, CDS is not a priority and often considered a nuisance or eyesore that has caused for a lot of tension in the workplace in multiple warehouses. I've managed and covered as manager for 26 locations in California, unfortunately everything I've said above is accurate and true.