Pros
The pay is on par with much of the retail world for the majority of staff. Management pay scales graduate nicely as one moves up in positions and responsibility. Depending on the management team at the store level, working can be reasonable and sometimes fun -- this is largely personality-driven. As most positions are public-facing, how one treats the customers will largely be reflected in how one receives treatment back. And while it is easier to post the negatives (see below), the positives certainly exist and make this retail environment better than some. Lowes does largely offer a wide variety of opportunities to the sufficiently self-motivated. It does take a self-motivated individual to excel, though. Retirement (401k), healthcare options (HDHP/HSA and traditional), dental, optical, long-term disability, life insurance, employee stock purchase programs, 10% employee purchase discount, paid sick leave, vacation and paid holiday (5) are all above-average extras for retail. Depending on one's schedule, an hour unpaid lunch and two 15 min paid breaks to a day. Most managers and supervisors work hard to accommodate unexpected life events and quality-of-life calendars with scheduling, 'though it is a retail hour rotation for many floor staff. And Lowes remains excellent in respecting both Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day by being closed. Finally, Lowes is a leader is respecting our military with 10% off for service members (abuse of this program has lead to ID checks to keep the dishonorable from cheating legit military). To be fair -- there is a LOT of criticism and shade thrown below. Marvin has only had 1.5 years to fix things, and some have been excellent. The mess his predecessor left is now his to resolve. So while he's not to blame for the past, he and his will be full on owners of what the future brings.
Cons
Staffing and 'raises' for the non-management population seems to follow the tired 1980s business management school mindset. There are no merit raises; store management will claim it is out of their hands. Everyone gets the same COLA until they cap out after x number of years. If store traffic is light, rather than use the staff to stock/clean/improve the store, management is encourages to 'cut hours' and send staff home as a meager cost savings. Customers will feel this effect immediately, with insufficient floor coverage and assistance. Not to mention most staff actually rely upon the paycheck to cover living expenses, and being forced off the clock immediately impacts their ability to live. This generates a negative feedback where the employee will be less motivated to support the store and customers -- such resentment is a logical result job being treated so marginally. A great example is during the holidays when, after annual attrition, permanent full or part-time positions are filled. The new staff enjoy some days or weeks on the floor, but find their hours drastically cut when toward the end of the holiday season, customer traffic meters down. Why would someone wish to take a part-time job for 20 hrs a week, and want to stay with a company when they say 'sorry, we only have 8 hours to offer you this week (or less)? How is it efficient or cost-effective to hire, then train, floor personnel, only to drive them away by shorting the hours. These individuals are being paid the lowest of their class (being new), and still require many hours of floor time to become competent in their assignments, tasks, and customer/staff support skills. They could be put to work in a hundred different ways that would support and improve the store and the customer experience. Seems the only lever corporate gives facilities managers is the 'cut hours' tool. All this really does is disappoint the 'fewer' customers that do shop with us. The dissatisfied customer leaves the store empty-handed and convinced they should have shopped somewhere else first. That's a lasting lost far more costly to the store than paying part-time staff some extra hours/wk. This is American retail -- not just Lowes. Dear Consumer -- is this what you want for your dirt-cheap products? Dear Stock Holder -- is this worth your quarterly numbers, or do you seek long-term success?