The Container Store

My first "Container Store" experience was visiting my Mom in Bethesda, MD.  I thought the store was brilliant so I became a loyal on line customer.  The store was started by one guy.  It is privately held.  He has done a great job.  The staff is friendly and helpful.  It is a pleasure to shop there.  Their on line site is easy to navigate.  I'm a fan.  Today, I became an even bigger fan.

I rarely shop inside the type of stores where there is a lot of schlepping to be done.  There is a new Container Store on 58th Street and I was down the block having lunch.  I stopped by en route to the subway because I needed a few items for the kids camp.  I walked in and they asked me if I had ever tried Go-shop. 

They gave me a hand held piece.  I scanned what I wanted and would enter how many.  I finished my shopping in 10 minutes without carrying a thing.  I went downstairs and gave them my handheld device.  A printed receipt and a time when it would be delivered (my choice) was handed back.  Tomorrow between 12-3.  Brilliant!  No schlepping, no talking, no check out.  All computerized.  I will remain a loyal customer.  Companies that use technology intelligently to make a better overall experience for their customers get an A+ in my book.

Comments

[old friend]

the container store is not that great - backstabbing, pay terribly....and over work you. it's a cult.

[myownperson]

Having also worked at The Container Store I have to agree 110% with comment by 'old friend'. Though the 2 owners are smart enough to hire people who enjoy working with people and who know and want to provide great customer service TCS is run like a cult - if you don't 'drink the cool-aid and do the ya-hoo dance' on a daily basis it doesn't matter how well you do your job or how great you are with the customers - management will look for ways to fire you or cause you to quit. And personally - I think there is an undercurrent of discrimination - they hire people of color but don't make them managers and older employees (40 and up) are given the worst shifts and rarely if ever offered full time positions. Don't believe the hype that everyone at TCS loves working for them - they need the job just like everyone who has to work.

[keepin it real]

The truth should to be told about the container store. You work for nine hours with a half an hour lunch, without any 15 min breaks in between. Managers ask you to do things that aren't in your job description. (ie - clean public bathrooms) Customers threaten employee's and are nasty but you're you're not protected by your employers. Supervisors, managers and store directors only care about one thing and that's numbers. Ask the container store if there are any black or latino managers within the company. You either have to be white, gay or over weight to have a manager's position within the container store. Sorry i had to find out the hard way just how great the container store really is. I worked there.

[hardcore newyorker]

The container store is not what it appears to be. They bring you in on this big hype and extensive training to what you think will be the job you would enjoy doing. Wrong! After a while of working there you notice that the honeymoon is over. They overwork you, promote based on color/ethnicity and is not flexible when it comes to scheduling. This is New York and they are new here but fail to understand that everyone has other lives outside of that store. They do not, DO NOT, adjust according to your lifestyle. This job is definitely not the best one to work for and many had to find out the hard way which is why their turnover is so high. Fortune's best company to work is a joke.If you are looking for a good part-time job look elsewhere, well unless you want to be part of a Texan cult. The concern of numbers is their priority, NOT YOU!

[disappointed employee]

Drink the cool-aid or you'll be fired! That's their MO. Have kids, they don't care. You're in school and working for the company part-time, they don't care. They tell you in the beginning " We want you to have a life outside the container store" that's a joke. They want your life to be the container store. Call out because there's a death in your family, you get fired! Call out because you're sick with the flu, you get fired! They say they care but it's all a front. Don't believe the hype, because that's all it is!

[speakingthetruth]

It's true. I've worked there for a few months and can't believe that for a 9 hour shift, you can only get a 1/2 hour break. And forget it if you're a person of color, you're not going to be a manager, you're not going to be given any responsibility,and you'll never be made full-time. And if anyone is thinking about applying, it doesn't matter what you apply for anyway. They'll send sales people to work in dirty stockrooms and expect you to grin and bear it.

[anothertruthspeaker]

I can vouch for 'speakingthetruth' not only do you only get a 1/2 hour lunch break when you've been on your feet for 9 hours but they pull really shady crap which I think may be against employment law - EEOC rules. On holidays they automatically take it upon themselves to schedule part-timers who have full time jobs elswhere and so are off from their real jobs to work on the holiday in place of TCS full time employees so that they don't have to pay the overtime/holiday wages. They also will have part-timers work upto the full-time hours but refuse to make them full-timers even when they keep asking for full time employment - I guess this is so they don't have to put them on benefits (didn't Wal-Mart have a lawsuit against them for doing the same???). Yeah, they offer the 401K to part-timers but you have to be there 6 months first - very few make the 6 months under the conditions and cult like atmosphere you have to work in at The Container Store.

[justanewyorker]

I can't believe there are so many people who feel the way i feel, working at the container store. my view has changed since i started at the container store eight months ago. i thought this was like no other retailer. it's true, it's like no other retail store i've ever worked for in the past. i was written up for not cheering 8:30 in the morning. i was told if you're not happy, you can always look for another job. at that point i knew these people were crazy. i'm there to provide a service to the customers and have never had a customer make a complaint in my eight months there. keep on drinking the cool aid or just pretend to until something better comes along.

[anothernewyorker]

NOT 100'S BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR!!!! I LASTED A FEW WEEKS BEFORE I REALIZED IT'S NOT THE REAL DEAL! WANT ADVICE, DON'T WORK THERE!!!

[worriedrelative]

I have a brother that use to work for the container store. He left some weeks ago. The reason he left was because they wouldn't honor the fact that he was a student. I couldn't believe this is the same retail store who will pay their employees top dollar to work for them but won't honor their school schedule. Now that my brother is no longer with the container store, his grades are better. It was definitely an experience he wouldn't forget.

[TotalCrockofSh*t]

The managers there are phoney and full of it. That store is full of sh*t. They get rid of employees that they don't like instead of basing it on their performance. They lie and hide the reason for others getting promoted because it would reveal their racist actions. TCS stands for Texan Cult Show, cause thats all it is a show; a simple facade!

[Donald Trump Says...]

Wow, the container store holds a special place with me. Right in the toilet! they will dump on you in a hot second. The best part about the container store...the customers and some of the workers, who are constantly overlooked for their hard work. Now allow me to clarify the exact location I speak of, LEXINGTON. As far as I know the 6th ave location is run a heck of allot better, the company on a whole is pretty tight, but lexington BITES MOSQUITO NUTS! Now I've heard that S*@t rolls down hill however, I believe that the practices in this particular location are "contained" with in itself!

[YB&GI]

I've been reading and hearing about how great the customer service is in the container store. I had the worst experience with one of the MANAGERS in this store. I was simply inquiring about that elf closet thing they have all over the place. The first young lady was nice, I believe her name was Latoya, but when the manager Lisa came over all went horribly WRONG. She was the rudest most dismisive person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. I was under the impression that she may have been pregnant, due to her stature and ill natured tone yet on further probing to find out who she was I found out that she was a manager and was just a nasty individual. She definitely does not know how to talk to people, and if she is any kind of representation of the container store this is one less place that I'll be shopping in.

[Gracious Customer]

It's A Cult!!!!

[Concerned Ctiizen]

many of the events described on this site - if accurate - are clearly illegal. 1/2 hour break during a 9 hour shift, age/racial descrimination, etc. I'm wondering why so many people are willing to just walk away and not take TCS to court? I'm sure there are plenty of lawyers who would be more than willing to take on such a high profile, potentially profitable case.

[hEiR*oF*EnLiGhTeNmEnT]

True ****ing story ! ! ! This is friggin' incredible. Just when i thought i was the only one. Maybe the people not speaking up are sippin on that Kool-aid or just need the money and speaking of that 1/2 hour break i know someone who asked a manager about it and the response they got was more of a threat than anything else ! ! !

[Former Member of the Matrix]

TCS aka “the Matrix”, when you start out you believe the with high hopes, you are one of the “blue pill” people. You will work for a few weeks/months happily. Then you take the “red pill” But then you start to see past the veil. Their infamous happy huddles give me a freaking break. I don’t give a rats ass what the Dollar Per Customer is, or what Phone Capture Rate was. Are you kidding me. I don't know how things are at the markets outside of NY, but up in here, us New Yorkers don't give a flying fuck, I'm here for check! First, second and third. And moving up in the company is definitely based on faking the happy and dropping dime on other co-workers. That fake concern drove me crazy! Especially this one idiot manager who keep asking you every 5 minutes “Are you alright? Are you okay? How are you feeling? ”. Its freaking 7AM in the freaking morning, how the hell do you think I feel I’M TIRED! Where they completely lost my respect was during the transit strike in the dead of winter and they actually had the audacity to EXPECT folks who had cars to automatically car pool other workers. They had no regard or forethought that maybe those that had cars MIGHT have other obligations, other people to help, like their own families. If they so cared about their workers why didn’t they do like other companies and are for a mini van or a bus to pick folks up in the outer boroughs. They even gave people a hard time if you arrived late for you shift after walking 30-50 blocks. The morale at 6th is so low. Even their former golden "managers" have left in droves. Pathetic. They love to harp how they aren't like other retailers, when in fact they are worse! At least you elsewhere and treat you like the slave that you are not sugar coat it with a bunch of crap!

[Also a Former Member of the Matrix]

It's ALL true, friends and neighbors...TCS is one big CULT where you have to jump up and down and cheer on the big boys and drink the kool-aid or else you will get NOWHERE in this company. They really are full of crap which is pathetic because it was a fun place to work except for the cult aspect. Let's face it: if you don't own the company, you don't give a shit what the dollar per customer is...you just want your paycheck so you can pay your rent. Denial is a strong drug, kids...so those of you who are still sipping on that Kool-Aid may wake up one day with a big hangover.

[Former Member of the Matrix]

That is true, your unplugged co-workers were what got you thru the day. I loved coming in to see my TCS fam, but Management for the most part was too programmed too and out of touch with reality. There were only a FEW really cool ones.

[Unplugged from the Matrix]

Everything that's been said above is all true. The good friends and contacts I've made with fellow co-workers is what kept me working there for so long even though I was completely miserable. Well that and the paychecks of course. But the managers are all Kool-Aid drinking crazies who fake concern for you, but all they want is for you to plug into the Matrix, leave your life at the door and become a happy drone for the company while you're there. Management sucks... if you're don't plug in and make containers your life you can forget about moving ahead. Oh and don't even THINK about trying to go on vacation. At other retail locations you're away for a week and the managers find other workers to cover your shift. At TCS it's YOUR responsibility to get coverage and you better make sure the person you get to cover your shift has the same training as you. I remember practically having to BEG poeple to cover my shifts when I went oon vacation for a week because no one wanted to cover for me. They work you to DEATH on your own shifts (including that little half hour lunch they give you on the weekends) that you don't even want to cover anyone else's shifts because you're so damn tired from working your own. I TCS and the extra money behind because I needed to regain my sanity and mental and physical health. I wasn't sleeping, stressed out, I had back, knee, foot and leg problems from all the standing I was doing. In the end it just wasn't worth it.

[Delmarc]

No doubt no one on this list is lying I worked at the lower manhattan TCS right before the one on Lexington was opening... 9 hour shifts 30 minute lunches... did it all... I just sat down and chilled there in the bathroom... ONLY ONE BATHROOM PER SEX in a work place that has more then 35 at one time THERE SHOULD BE A LAW IN AGAINST THAT... yea I wont lie it is a Cult and to enjoy it you have to be on the Crack that they SNORT in the HUDDLES... GO TEAM... HATED IT... and people who work there are republicans who like most have alot of skeletons in their closets... Thankfully i never gave a fuck and i had another job but yea watch out when you work there cause you may have to snort the snow and smoke the pipe to get in the GO team attitude they want you in... and

[Delmarc]

No doubt no one on this list is lying I worked at the lower manhattan TCS right before the one on Lexington was opening... 9 hour shifts 30 minute lunches... did it all... I just sat down and chilled there in the bathroom... ONLY ONE BATHROOM PER SEX in a work place that has more then 35 at one time THERE SHOULD BE A LAW IN AGAINST THAT... yea I wont lie it is a Cult and to enjoy it you have to be on the Crack that they SNORT in the HUDDLES... GO TEAM... HATED IT... and people who work there are republicans who like most have alot of skeletons in their closets... Thankfully i never gave a fuck and i had another job but yea watch out when you work there cause you may have to snort the snow and smoke the pipe to get in the GO team attitude they want you in... and

[djkhfjkshjkfs]

seriously, COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS til I can quit. the people are really amazing though. however, the management-- well, the weird thing to me is how they never promote any of the really great full timers,they get people who don't know what they're doing at all to fill those positions. and I saw someone voice that very few people of color are managers and I'm with them on that. I find that really fucking strange. they're also not understanding at all when it comes to outside lives. I'm writing my thesis and graduating and I still had to get someone to take my shifts JUST SO I CAN GO TO MY OWN GRADUATION. the 9 hr shifts with a 30 minute break on the weekends is also dangerous especially for the older employees by the end of the day they're truly the most tired. it's unfair. I hear some of the other stores outside of NY are pretty different.

[SOMEONE WHO KNOWS]

But honestly sometimes the reasons they hired and promote people of color is to fill the quota and not be obvious as to what they'd rather do... I'm a minority saying this... they are more picked out of the hat... most deserve it... but some is just to fill the quota... after all in some markets they have to reflect where they are... thats how you build trust between the customer and seller in a way...

[Been There Done That]

I am about to cry sitting here reading this. I feel like an abused spouse that thought it was only happening to them. Not know that many other feel the same way I do. I stayed for a year and always asked, why the make up of the staff was so racially restrained. why do they work us so hard? does anyone ever have an off day? why don't they embrace reality instead of we are always fucking happy BS? i was always hungry because those breaks....cleaning the bathroom....and i was their top elfa seller, but for some reason, no matter how many letters from customers, flower arrangements from customers, compliments from customers and other leads, i was never even considered for full time employment. we were paid to be actors. thank god I had my final curtain call and took my final bow.