Pros
They do hire some people, especially those with criminal backgrounds, who would find it difficult to find another job.
Cons
Terrible pay which is far below industry standards for similar work. No regular employee reviews or raises. The Houston chapter even pays less than many other Goodwill chapters in other markets. Unpleasant work environment. Management uses fear and intimidation to motivate employees instead of team building and positive reinforcement, resulting in high turnover and unhappy employees. Bureaucratic micromanaging by an upper management/operations team that has a very poor understanding of normal retail operations and procedures. These people have no understanding of Retail 101, so if you're an experienced retail professional you will have a very hard time fitting in here. They are not open to suggestions on how to improve their operations because they don't have a clue how bad their retail operations really are. The stores have terrible customer service and most of their management doesn't even have a proper understanding of what good customer service is. They throw away tons of perfectly good sellable merchandise because it didn't sell in the very limited amount of time they give an item to sell before they trash it. They could donate it to other charities, clearance price it, or auction if off like the Salvation Army does but instead they force the employees to destroy it. And no, the employees are not allowed to take any of it, it just goes in the trash. They are a wasteful, mismanaged company with very little regard for their employees in spite of their supposed mission. Most employees are very poorly paid while the top executives are making huge six figure salaries.