Pros
Opportunities to learn a variety of skills due to the broad scope of responsibilities Staff camaraderie can be strong at the store level
Cons
1. Poor Inventory and Product Availability One of the most significant challenges is the ongoing lack of product availability. Despite store-level effort to drive sales, customers often face long wait times (2-3 months) for items, many of which arrive defective. This has been a persistent issue both before and after COVID-19, and there appears to be little effort from corporate leadership to resolve it. 2. Long Hours with Inadequate Staffing Immediately after introducing a hiring freeze, work hours were abruptly changed from 930AM-7PM to 930AM-930PM causing significant strain on employees personal lives and schedules. As a result, staff are stretched thin, especially during opening and closing shifts, often leaving just two employees to handle everything. 3. Wage Compression and Lack of Raises Raises are rare. When minimum wage increases, wages across job titles are compressed instead of adjusted, minimizing the gap between roles despite differences in responsibility. 4. Unreasonable Responsibilities for Keyholders Keyholders are expected to manage service issues, assist with managerial duties, and maintain personal sales targets - all for a $1 pay increase over regular sales staff. There is little formal recognition for this added responsibility which is also not listed in the job description. 5. Management Culture and Support Store management tends to deflect service responsibilities onto keyholders by referring to them as "part of the management team." Employees may also receive dismissive remarks such as being advised to find another job or accusations of "causing a rebellion" when raising concerns about workload inequality and distribution. 6. Imbalanced Management Structure There are concerns/doubts about the efficiency of the management structure at some locations, with up to four out of six store employees holding some form of "management" role. This has led to confusion over role clarity and negative effects on operational efficiency. 7. Gendered Task Assignments Physical tasks such as unloading shipments, lifting heavy furniture, assembling furniture, installing electrical fixtures on ladders, minor repairs and even customer pickups often fall on male employees, who are still expected to meet sales targets afterward. This often results in unequal sales opportunities and inconsistent task distribution.