Pros
It's a fairly standard job that works well for somebody who's looking for something bigger in the meantime. Not too taxing or challenging and the other staff are decent to work with.
Cons
There's a real lack of organisation on the part of management and middle management. My store has recently had a refurbishment and in the week following this my hours were bumped from 16 to 39 with less than 24 hours notice which is pretty disgraceful. The message was clear that we MUST work these shifts and any attempts to reduce my hours (as is my right) were met with resistance. Pay isn't great and benefits are minimal. As part of the refurbishment, training sessions were undertaken for day-long seminars which were frankly condescending and a waste of everyone's time. The management had made the classic error in thinking that they can buy our loyalty to the company, and expecting us to care about things that aren't our burden. Other companies I have worked for have understood that you breed loyalty by treating your staff with respect and offering competitive benefits. My experience at The Co-Operative has indicated that management want to have their cake and eat it in this regard.
