Short Pump Mall, Richmond Virginia - Do Not Recommend
Pros
Overall, my pros have almost nothing to do with the job or company itself, and more to do with my coworkers at this location. It's a pretty basic retail job with a specialized product. But if you've worked in any other retail, you can expect about the same environment. The pay is *slightly* higher than other places, and part-time employees can accrue PTO. Those are the main positive differences I would note.
Cons
To begin with the company at large: they are not the benevolent patrons they bolster themselves up to be. As an employee, you receive a lot of talk about how wonderful it is to work for an ethical campaign company, and about how seriously they take employee well-being, and raising the minimum wage. The campaigns have dwindled in frequency and attention significantly over the years. I found it incredibly difficult to get a hold of anyone above my store manager to talk to when I needed HR help. And their initiative to raise their minimum wage is laughable. More specifically, the Short Pump Mall location, as of writing this, is under management that has perpetuated a culture of toxic positivity, a disregard for mental health needs, and, more concerning, harassment. As a team, we attempted to bring up our concerns with specific, repetitive incidents to light to no avail. In fact, more often than not, the behavior was entirely excused. This lack of initiative from management is what made me and others feel there was no point in discussion, as it was clear nothing would be done. It wasn't a battle worth fighting. I have worked at another Lush store under very different management and had a much better experience, which is why I wanted to come back to the company. This was upsetting and disappointing, and had it not been for the situation at hand, I would have made the job work and continued there with the rest of the team.
