I would be very hesitant about anyone saying it’s quick and easy to move up if you just put in time. Big box stores seem to have pipelines into management through business schools. The highest I’ve ever seen someone get into without specific education was a department manager. Assistant managers always came from other stores into training roles, or out of a school business program. Across multiple retail stores, general and specialized, and currently work in employment services helping people find employment. They just rarely do this, and the pyramid gets very narrow once you get past the store level.
And maybe I’m jaded by the retail industry in general, but every CEO is slick talking and confidence inspiring. You don’t get there without it. The work-life balance will also be gone once the holidays come around, and you find out the store is perpetually understaffed, and you will get an instant termination for missing a scheduled shift on Black Friday, Xmas Eve, or New Years Eve.
Idk. All my personal experience in retail says they always preach about fluidity in position, benefits of working there, and how freeing it is to have a job where you just show up, do work, and leave.
In college, I was demanded to work 60 hours a week (I was part-time) with any call offs without prior approval a fireable offense (at-will state) While college classes started, which is why we were so busy. And then I got fired anyway; I’d worked for 2 1/2 years there. I bought jumper cables to jump start another employees car; I was told to do this by a manager. So I did. But I was the only one working customer service; for 2 days, I couldn’t return them. I was a broke college student, I needed my $20. So another employee came through at some point, and I had them return it. They kept the money, so I didn’t pocket cash out of the register, and then I got the money after my shift. Then I got fired, because I scanned my receipt while I was logged into the computer. Didn’t matter that I was on camera, not returning it to myself. The printout said I did it, so I was fired. They did invite me to re-apply in 90 days when I was taken off the blacklist. I worked in retail for another maybe 6 or 7 years, so I wasn’t jaded against retail just against that company. Retail is just that soulless.
I expect you’ll are in a short staffed store with unrealistic expectations and people over you in similar positions, with greater demands on them, also trying to move up. I’ve had people work at Lowes and it’s the same retail story; It’s lobsters in a pot pulling each other down to get out.
I hope it works out though, I really do. It’s a publicly traded company though; it demands more profits and quarterly growth. At the end of the day, what is going to matter? Employees getting out of the rat race and being comfortable, or shareholder profits?