Pros
I really like working here. It is the best most satisfying job I've had. If you like being around positive upbeat people, helping people, fashion, and organizing, you will most likely enjoy working here. I really love this brand because it encourages women to be confident and to be themselves. I also love (most) of my coworkers and bosses. My boss I have currently is great. She always says hi with a big smile on her face when you come into work and is always professional. She keeps the store organized and makes sure goals are being met (without making you feel pressured). My coworkers are all very down to earth people. No one is stuck up or unfriendly at all. Everyone is nice and wants to create a comfortable environment. Furthermore, the clients we get are usually in their 20s or older, which is great because you don't have to deal with annoying immature teens. You get 50% off of all full price items and also booklets every couple of months that have 70% off coupons. If your store does well reaching goals, then you get prominent performance coupons which is another 40% off on top of you 50%. And if you go above and beyond as an individual, your manager can give you a Bravo, which are two 20% off coupons you can add to your 50%. You can also get clothes really cheap working here. This company's clothes are pretty expensive if you are a college student like me ($50 blouses, $70 jeans, $30 shirts, etc), but some old product does eventually get marked down really low (as low as $4.88!), and the employees are usually the first to snatch these items up. I have purchased many items for only $4.88 - jeans, tops, jewelry, sweaters, etc. I use to not have many clothes at all before working here, but now I have many items that I love.
Cons
The starting salary isn't that good, but it depends on your boss. I started at $9.50 as a sales associate over a year ago and have never received a raise. My coworkers who have worked at other locations other than mine have told me that employees get raises if the store does well but it is only a couple of cents. However, the new manager has been starting people at $10+, so it depends who hires you and how much you've made in previous jobs. Try to negotiate a better wage and you may get one. During certain seasons (spring, summer, holidays), it gets really busy. It's almost unbelievable how many people come shopping at this small store at times!! Things become a mess very quickly and go-backs pile up in minutes. Times like this are incredibly stressful (I almost quit once because it was just so overwhelming and frustrating). Furthermore, many of the people who shop here seem to hate cleaning up after themselves or have no regard for the employees. They pick up neatly folded clothing only to look at it for two second and then throw it back down. If they need a Large, they throw the whole neat pile over just to pick up their size with no attempt to keep things neat. The dressing rooms can be the worst. Some people take 15 items into the fitting room (there is not limit at Loft) and then leave the room with all the clothes on the floor and bench with no attempt to clean up after themselves by putting the clothes back on the hanger. FURTHERMORE, many people steal. This has been my first retail job so I don't know how common this is, but on any given day, if you look for sensors in the fitting room, you will definitely find one. We also have larger thefts. Some men just walk into the store, grab a pile of clothes, and then run out!!! These situations are very frightening especially when you see them because there is nothing you can do!! I would recommend that this company hires security guards. I would also recommend that the company pays their employees better as we have so many responsibilities and $9.50 is a terrible wage for the amount of work I do and how nice I have to be to some rude people.