Pros
-Discount on products and services. -Cool place to tell people you work. -The people you work with are at least outwardly fun, but it’s situational.
Cons
-Training: there is none. I was given a binder for the register on the same day the doors opened. That’s it. If you say anything about not being trained, you’ll be told there are so many resources available etc. There aren’t. No one in the corporate retail department is going to assist in your training or even attempt to make a relationship with you. They will however be very quick to passive aggressively scold you for breathing incorrectly. -Guests: Out of 10 guests, 2 will be awesome, 3 will be normal, 3 will be rude, and 1 will be downright abusive. They think they’re going to a salon when it’s really a school. If you’re in retail, expect to be constantly bombarded with vitriol. The way some of these people speak to students is crazy, but what’s crazier is that it’s mostly allowed. The management hates dealing with the “bad” guests and will usually just avoid contacting them back in hopes the difficult person will go away. If they don’t go away, the director usually just gives them what they want to get them out of his hair. -Students: Out of 10 students, 1 will be amazing, 2 will be ok, 6 will be awful and 1 will probably be expelled. There are SO MANY students packed into a classroom that no one can move around. You will get no individual attention as a student, so hopefully you’re a quick learner. The handful of good students is drowned about by the students who couldn’t care less about being there. -Leadership: The students run the place and they know it. The director will bend at anything a student or their parent says. He will completely disregard policies and then look at everyone else like they have lost their mind when they try to enforce the policy again. After that, he will look at everyone else like they’ve lost their mind for not enforcing the policy. You can’t win. The team that works there is constantly abused by students and guests, especially anyone in retail. Sadly, no one cares so you eventually just stop bringing it up. If you manage to get in the director’s good graces, you’ll make it. Sneeze the wrong way and he turns like a pit bull. Lots of unethical practices here regarding disciplinary action and terminations; lawsuit waiting to happen. Aside from breaking internal policies, if the board ever came on a surprise visit when the admin team didn’t have time to get ready, the school would fail so bad. If the fire marshal ever goes in to audit, the place will have to close to get up to code. Culture: Non existent. There was one sort of 2-3 years ago, but not at all now. There’s very little appreciation or consideration for anyone else’s life, unless you’re the director. The director can work 8-2 every day and it’s cool because he has work he “needs” to do at home. He also gets 3-4 days off campus a week where he works at home and so much vacation you’d be shocked. Every time a leadership position came available, he never posted it and just decided that he wanted this person. No interviews. No asking if anyone else’s would be interested. It’s either the person he wants or he will hire someone from the outside; there is NO upward mobility. I was usually the only management person on campus on Saturdays because everyone else had “a life”. My job had nothing to do with student management and I was often reminded of it. BUT it was ok to never have anyone else in management there on Saturday meaning that if there was an issue, I was the person the teachers would come to to handle it. And then I’d be in trouble the next week for handling the situation. All in all, avoid this place for work, education, and services.