Pros
Great employee discount. Getting dibs on the cool stuff people bring in is a nice perk. People are open and supportive of personal identities and lgbt people. The people I worked with were often supportive, easy to get along with, and hard working. It was easy to get acclimated and I felt personally well trained despite some of my training coming from my coworkers and not management. My managers were open to a lot of store suggestions which was great. My store managers and shift leads were very patient and polite which helped me feel at ease when asking them to help correct my mistakes.
Cons
The CEO is openly antiunion and actively tries to dissuade employees from unionizing by coming to the store and giving long antiunion speeches. A few of my coworkers have worked for HPB for years and still have to live with their parents. Some of my coworkers are married with children and living with their parents because they can’t afford housing. My pay would not allow me to live alone. I could not afford to live in a one bedroom off of the pay. That is unacceptable to pay someone so they’re living paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to even live alone. People who have been working here for years make barely more than a new hire. The compensation is insultingly low. You can not live off the pay. And there is no incentive to stay. Employees at half price books are undervalued, underpaid, and overworked.