Pros
*The products are unique and most of them have a story to them. The prices are incredibly competitive in the market, which makes them easy to sell, and on top of that employees get a 50% discount on almost all items *The company is constantly trying to bring in new and unique products. This is a pro but is also a con, as the flow of product is ever changing and if someone wants to buy something it may not be there when they come back in a month *The bonus program was revised about a year ago, and it is much better now. Sales people don't work on commission, which helps tune down people's competitive nature, and there is an emphasis on "team selling" as you either bonus as a store or no one gets a bonus. *Upper management, for the most part, can be uplifting and have good communication. *Benefits package is affordable, and they match your 401k up to 4% with no vesting period (full time employees only) *Opportunities to move up or across in the company is reasonable and available to the right people (due to incredibly high turnover rate)
Cons
*Turnover rate is incredibly high, both in store and in upper management. I had 3 different store managers in the span of a year and a half, and 3 different district managers and 3 different regional managers within my 3+ years of working there. Due to high turnover rate of upper management, policies and communication frequently gets muddled and expectations are hard to enforce. *The pay is incredibly low in comparison to the retail market. Retail workers are already underpaid, and this company gives no slack with that. Sales associates start at minimum wage, and store management team members make $3k-7k below local standard. (There's a reason they're always hiring) *The amount of work that is expected for the level of pay is ridiculous. Small store = small teams, so everyone does a little bit of everything, and the management team members are in charge of running the ship with little incentive, guidance, or training. *They are a fairly young company, going on 25 years this year, and some of the people in home office quite frankly have no idea what they're doing. The mistakes that are made that could easily be avoided are frequent and embarrassing. *The majority of the products are not fair trade. All of the clothing, the majority of the jewelry, and any kitchy product you find there was made in a factory in China or Vietnam. They claim that the factories are sustainable and pay their workers a living wage, but since earthbound hardly pays their store employees a living wage, I doubt it. Sorry to burst your bubble.
