Pros
I have had experience with a small handful of managers who demonstrate empathy and compassion, who are able to help meet department needs by helping their teams thrive.
Cons
Kindness is an absolute rarity once you step past the entry level. Your experience working at WinCo is vastly different depending on your management team. It is only frustrating as a department manager to see other managers engage in cliquey behavior, where they are quick to other those they pass judgement on. If your store manager is unsupportive- good luck getting anything communicated. Our store manager is consistently fully confident they know what you are asking for while being completely off the mark every time and will not entertain a continued conversation to work out differences in communication. I see favorites being played throughout the store; there is a daily routine of only asking some employees how they are doing and consistently passing by others without a word. You may be lucky enough to work with a supportive upper management team-if you do, I would encourage you to follow them wherever they are moved if the replacement does not treat you the way you feel is respectful. Trying to stand up for yourself nearly always lands in a losing battle despite however much evidence you may have. The company brags about how some of their highest paying positions are filled by those who started on the bottom line and uses this to present unlimited career growth. The reality is more that these chances are so miniscule that you may spend your entire career waiting for a position to open. Even the management training program for perimeter departments may allow you to get a full time position and slightly higher pay, but Managers In Training are frequently left hanging to wait for an actual department manager position to open. It is common practice for department managers to subject their MITs to do every task they do not want to do themselves anymore, taking advantage of an employee's desire to climb.