Pros
While the starting pay might seem like a "pro", it is only that until you discover the starting pay of everyone who succeeded you in the hiring timeline. Probably the only benefit of working here is meeting like-minded individuals. With the amount of manipulation going on behind the doors of TCS, the workers are quickly separated and identifiable as those who "drink the Kool-Aid" and those who don't. And it is within the group of non-drinkers that you will find the most intelligent and enigmatic of personalities, though you will find having to make those interactions behind closed doors of your own.
Cons
If you’re thinking about employment at one of this company’s retail locations, don’t waste your time. After well over five years, that’s exactly what my time there has been - a waste. Make no mistake, working at TCS is NOT a stepping stone. TCS is a place for those who no longer have ambition for themselves, other than a life in the retail industry - a simple truth. While my opinions will appear now and then, I will try to be as factual as possible. The level of intelligence at TCS is almost comical. The manager frequently boasted how he went into retail “straight out of high school,” as if it was a proud accomplishment. In fact, I even recall him trying to convince me to do the same, and abandon my university studies, saying things like, “see, you don’t need math.” This was during my second year as an employee, and I have since concluded that TCS is a haven for the unsuccessful, to feel as if they’ve truly accomplished something in his/her life. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t blindly follow the crowd, and likes to ask ‘why’ questions, this place is NOT for you. I can honestly say this is exactly what kept me within the peripheral vision of the management - not because I didn’t do my job well, but because I was continuously pointing out the discrepancies in the company’s/management’s policies - most of which were half-baked ideas that only lasted several months, before being abandoned altogether, in favour of the latest scheme. It’s hard to really know what’s right and wrong at this company. After all, what are you supposed to think when employee-of-the-month (MVP, as they are referred to) was given to an individual who clearly had what was suspected to be, a drug problem. Beware the company that claims “Everyone is a manger!” This was something that was instilled in me from the very beginning. However, this is more of a power-play than actual policy, and you will consistently be undermined. If a customer doesn't like your decision and asks to speak to a REAL manager, he/she will overrule your decision - not all the time, but more often than not. And not only did this continuously make employees look foolish - having to complete the customer interaction after being put-in-place by the Manager - but it didn’t really follow the company’s claims of putting its employees first. The truth is, everyone is a “manager”… when it’s convenient for the Manager(s). Need to have a discussion with the Manager? Get ready to be patronised! A day was hardly complete without the Manager saying something like, “When have I ever said, ‘no’?” or “Have I ever been anything but nice to you?” And if you’re really lucky, you’ll get the “why do you come to work?” discussion, which, of course, led you to give any number of fantasy reasons giving them praise. Fortune’s Top 100 Companies to Work For? Think again! FACT: Companies pay a fee to be considered for that list, after which the company pays a secondary fee to retrieve the survey answers given by the employees. While the expected companies are found on that list (Google, Genentech, etc), know that there a plenty of other superb companies that DO NOT need to be on that list to know where they stand. Fortune’s 'list' is more of a PR model than an unbiased collection of data. Manipulative training and deceitful information! PART 1: TCS’s management gives employees misleading product information to help drive sales. FACT: Employees were TOLD that a box made of nylon strapping was MADE out of seat belts. The fact was, it is only made of SIMILAR materials found in seat belts. While the website corrects this information, it isn’t something that happens at their store-level, leading to questionable sales tactics. PART 2: TCS sells closets that customers can choose to install themselves, or have TCS install for them. If a customer chooses to have TCS install the system, he/she pays an additional fee. FACT: For that ADDITIONAL INSTALLATION FEE, a customer will get FORMERLY RETURNED, OPEN-BOX, and slightly DEFECTIVE pieces. The Management OPENLY encourages this, so as to reduce the amount unsellable merchandise within the store. Besides, they argued, the customer wouldn’t know any better since they won't be the ones handling the pieces and installing the system. On that note... PART 3: About 90% of the parts used for TCS store displays will make it back into regular inventory. FACT: Once the displays are no longer needed (usually after heavy use), MAJORITY of the pieces will go back in inventory WITHOUT DISCOUNT and WITHOUT DISCLOSURE to the customer that what they are purchasing was previously utilized. The fact of the matter remains, TCS is in the retail industry, and nothing more. The management here will consistently try to convince you otherwise. Looking for work elsewhere may become difficult while working here, and I encourage anyone currently employed at TCS to limit his/her time with the company. You will find, as I did, that you will not end up with any “transferrable skills”, at least nothing worth citing on any résumé destined for positions outside of retail. Instead, you will find yourself spending countless hours trying to spin this retail job as something that sounds more impressive than it actually is. While others might claim that a job in retail builds character, there are plenty of other ways to do so.