14 Pros and Cons of Working for Bed Bath & Beyond

Imagine a world full of all the household gadgets you never even knew you needed.

That is the legacy on which Bed Bath & Beyond has built its image.

Each part of the house, and beyond, has been covered inside stores since the early 70s.

The U-shaped design keeps customers flowing around the store, making them more likely to make more purchases.

As enticing as the prospect can be to stay surrounded by all these products, what’s it really like to work for a big brand store?

Table of Contents

Pros of Working for Bed Bath & Beyond
Cons of Working for Bed Bath & Beyond
14 Pros and Cons of Working for Bed Bath & Beyond – Summary Table
Should You Work for Bed Bath & Beyond?

Pros of Working for Bed Bath & Beyond

1. Discounts

In a store that has a little bit of everything you never even thought of for your home, a discount can go a long way.

Each employee is entitled to 20% off any purchase made.

You could practically redo every room in the house with top-notch items.

Now, that’s an upgrade!

Also, if you’re already in the store all the time, it’s likely that you get first dibs on all the clearance items, which also come in at 20% off.

2. Flexible Schedule

Working in retail can be great for students and adults who need particular schedules for other reasons.

Letting management know upon getting hired that you have restrictions will ensure that you work when it makes the most sense for you.

Having flexibility puts you in charge of the number of hours and hopefully grants you the income needed.

It’s also nice to know that when you leave your job, it stays on location.

There’s no going home to work from your computer.

3. In-Depth Training

One nice thing about working for Bed Bath & Beyond is the amount of training you go through.

Management at each level wants to make sure you’re not out in the lurch while stocking the floor.

In fact, unlike some stores, the register is often the last thing you train on.

Unless, of course, you’re a cashier.

Otherwise, they want you to be an expert on your department and floor safety policies before handling money.

There’s a lot to know and you’re not left to learn through your own devices.

New hires actually work one on one with someone of higher rank to accomplish a whole book of training.

4. Customer Service Skills

It probably will come as no surprise that you deal with all kinds of customers in retail.

That includes people who are mad at the company but take it out on you as well as others who are complimentary.

There is no telling what will walk through the door on any given day.

Dealing with customers at Bed Bath & Beyond allows your customer service skills to flourish thanks to this wide array of personalities to be encountered.

Stick around long enough and you’ll also be introduced to conflict management.

5. Exercise

If you’re working in a retail space, you might as well be wearing a pedometer.

Those steps are going to add up quickly!

At Bed Bath & Beyond, even if you have one department to be responsible for, there’s no sitting until break time.

If you’re not climbing ladders to put up extra stock, you’re running all over the place getting stuff done.

Not to mention the multitude of times customers will ask for something specific that you might need to look up.

Who needs a gym when you’re run ragged?

6. Bridal Registry

This may seem like it should belong in the con category because of the unexpected nature of dramatic people getting married.

However, this typically isn’t the situation in the registry suite.

If you haven’t been inside a store, or never noticed, right in the front is a carved-out spot for this interaction.

A couple usually sits with some form of management to kick things off, they are even offered a beverage.

Sometimes, associates will be paired with a couple to start with so they get a feel for the scanner and how the registry works.

It’s fun and something different than regular duties.

7. Never-Ending Ideas

If nothing else, Bed Bath & Beyond is a cup that runneth over with ideas.

Everywhere you look, you can find inspiration for a party, room, or outdoor scene.

Heck, even the kitchen at home is surely missing gadgets, right?

There really is no need to go anywhere else to purchase gifts for friends and family.

The most creative gifts come from here.

That includes the most random assortment of candies as seen on TV products.

In some sections, you have no idea the surprises that await.

Cons of Working for Bed Bath & Beyond

1. Cashier Assistance

There’s nothing more annoying than being at the top of the ladder in the back of the store stocking bed pillows overhead when calls for cashier assistance come over the intercom.

That signals everyone in the store to rush up to the front and jump on a register.

Cashiers are trained to call for help when there’s literally one person waiting in line.

Then three members come rushing just to find that the customer is probably being checked out by the time they get there.

No one wins in this scenario and it happens all the time.

2. Short Staffed

The smaller the staff, the more cashier assistance is called.

It may not sound like a big deal, but employees can end up spending half their day running up to the registers.

Time spent doing other tasks will leave more things for the next shift to do.

Before you know it, everyone is running behind.

No one is going to jump in and help in the departments, so it can easily turn into a mess.

3. No Career Advancement

Once hired for a particular department, it’s seemingly impossible to move up the ranks.

Even if you have experience in other retail establishments, they treat new employees as starting at entry level.

If this sounds frustrating, it is. Management or regional positions are hard to come by and can take years to achieve.

How about raises?

Even after completing 90 days and the entire training manual, you probably have no idea when you’ll get paid more for that extra knowledge.

4. Management

Everyone in the store is required to run to the front for cashier assistance, except for management.

Even though it’s the management’s rule that one person waiting constitutes a call for help.

Simply put, managers are not as hands-on as they should be.

They also don’t seem to pay enough attention to how the store runs and the interests of their staff.

If you’re hired as management, brace yourself for tough scheduling and long hours.

Some may say that sounds fair, given your pay and status.

However, it often feels more like the company’s way of taking advantage of being salaried.

5. Limited Work-Life Balance

If you don’t dictate specifically what you need a schedule to be, the scheduling manager will do you dirty.

It’s hard to have a life outside of work when you close one night and open the next morning.

Clopens, as they’re called, should not be permissible in any retail situation.

It’s tough enough being on the job, but then forcing someone to eat, drink, and sleep their job is simply unfair.

6. Holiday Shoppers

The chaos that comes with the holidays is too much for shoppers, and much fewer employees.

From wild specials to 15% of flyers, the foot traffic is never-ending.

Couple that with items going out of stock and the short patience many shoppers have around the holidays and it’s not a good time.

There really isn’t good direction from management on how to deal with it other than the extended store hours.

7. Company Finances

Bed Bath & Beyond has been in the news a lot lately and it’s not because of their Sodastreams.

Many locations have closed or are scheduled to close in the coming months.

If you manage to get a job there now, it might not be for long unless corporate can pull some magic strings.