Pros
- Meeting the designers behind the pieces and hearing their creative process. - Jewellery is local and or Canadian made (some international designers too!). - Opportunities to be creative. - Flexible hours. - Beautiful locations. - Opportunity for growth within the company (though limited) - Benefits offered. - Meeting so many interesting people and working with them on design projects/sales. - Life long friendships with staff both past and present. - Learning about gemology, design, different metals and materials, anything and everything jewellery related. - Create custom displays for the pieces and their respected artists. - Non-company supplied music (can listen to a variety of genres, store appropriate of course). - Being able to learn and research more on your own time to improve your skills. - Seeing customers reactions when they pick up their custom order and see the real thing for the first time. Makes all of the stress/hard work along the way so incredibly worth it!
Cons
- Gossip and micromanaging. - Not trusting in managers decision making or input, even when they know their employees needs/stores better. - Lack of empathy/communication when it comes to working with those who are neurodivergent. If you see that something is off or impacting performance at work, have empathy and communicate directly. No gossip or assumptions, because though the situation may not be a big deal to you, it can have a huge impact on the person experiencing it. - No written policy for basic things like vacation, raises, benefits, sick days etc. Mostly verbal information. - Dealing with unprofessional behaviour from other staff. I.e. having a staff member quit on the spot due to being treated rudely/yelled at on multiple occasions and leaving in tears. - Too much importance on receiving reviews, mainly focuses on the negative. - Lack of needed repairs (broken mirrors, drawers, outdated computer equipment, burnt out light bulbs, cabinet doors, etc).