Pros
You get to learn about the world of high end furniture, not through your training of course but mostly independent learning by being exposed to beautiful designs. Traveling to manufacturing factories in different countries is also a plus. Staff get sample sales but upper management and head office usually get the first pick so expect broken and malfunctioning pieces. 50% staff discount.
Cons
Unfortunately for such an iconic establishment the cons heavily outweigh the pros. Firstly, the management at Heal’s is abysmal - high levels of incompetence across all levels. Secondly, the working environment is EXTREMELY toxic. It will be made to feel like a safe space however, expressing yourself will have adverse consequences not to talk of how two-faced the staff are. At the end of 2023, there were more than 5 people fired from the flagship TCR store alone and feels like the company is forever dealing with employment tribunals (make sure to keep records and proof of everything and legally speaking, protect yourself). High levels of discrimination and covert racism. You, your opinions & suggestions will most certainly not be valued. Empathy is non existent as even my mental health disclosure due to the work environment was ultimately used against me. I was given 48hrs “compassionate leave” to mourn the loss of an immediate relative. There is a lack of representation & diversity amongst the management team as there are hardly any ethnic minorities in management positions. All managers are women - it’s understandable that society is trying to tackle workplace patriarchy however, some men in management positions wouldn’t hurt. There is lack of growth opportunities as the rare promotion is set aside for favourites or mostly outsourced from other retailers. The company has cleaners but will tell the retail staff to clean furniture as “the cleaners aren’t trained on the cleaning of furniture” even though it’s the same cleaning products that will be handed to you. For the amount of duties staff undertake, the compensation is outrageously below average compared to their competitors. (1% commission as well) Lastly, you will receive a walk through the store and little advice from other staff apart from that, training is non existent. Expect be thrown into the deep end from day one. The list goes on but will leave it here as you already got the drift.