Pros
Generally, a good bunch of varied people to work with. Customer interactions are generally good. Not a bad base rate of pay, considering the work doesn't take a lot of thought and could probably be done by trained monkeys. Minimum contract hours can be obtained (eventually), if you are deemed worthy.
Cons
No penalty rates for Saturday/nights - Then management wonder why so many staff call in sick or they just find it hard to fill shifts on Saturday (well duh!!) - Few people want to work Friday nights, let-alone Saturday nights. Replenishment staff hours are always trimmed to the absolute minimum, meaning that every night you are pushed to absolute physical limits to get the load filled on the shelves before midnight. What doesn't get filled by contract/casual staff before midnight, ends up being completed by the salaried staff, who end up working into the wee small hours of the morning, effectively for no additional pay. Management of my store seems to pay little attention to broken/faulty equipment and worker comfort. Complaints about poor ventilation (very hot/humid conditions) in the inside dock area, are ignored by management. Splitting pallets and running stock out to the store in sauna like conditions is like working in the pits of hell during the Summer months. Most nights, I am drenched in sweat after an hour of splitting/running stock - Not a good look for customers to see workers dripping sweat, all over the store. Little, if any point to pursuing advancement. Team managers/supervisors/Duty Managers are not paid particularly well and are frequently highly stressed. Lots of pressure by Store managers to meet or exceed KPI's so that they can get their annual bonus, but little if any recognition given to those at the bottom who actually make it happen. Listening to the same tired music/ad playlist on the Woolies satellite feed every night for months on end is doing my head in! Change the playlist - please!