I used to work at this location in 2016. I was struggling with some really bad mental health issues at the time, and as a result I called out a lot. Despite my absenteeism, store management were always incredibly supportive of me. They said that when I was at work, I did a really good job. The only problem was the absenteeism. They were kind and compassionate and did the best they could to help me deal with what I was going through so that I could stay on as an employee. While they were very clear on what they needed from me, my struggles were always validated. No one tried to make me feel like my problems were some kind of character flaw, and they always went out of their way to show a willingness to support me however they could. They were always willing to give me another chance.
Not many places are this willing to support people with mental illness and help us stay employed. I used to work at a psychiatric hospital in the area, and their treatment of me was downright hostile, which was deeply ironic, to say the least. I am incredibly grateful for the amount of genuine human decency I was showed as an employee here, and I know that as a consumer, I would want to give my business to a location where employees are treated well. I also very strongly believe that you get the best customer service from employees who feel supported by management, rather than downtrodden and exploited.
My one criticism of this specific location: Seekonk is in a region with a lot of Portuguese speakers (between Portuguese immigrants, Cape Verdean immigrants, and even a few Brazilian immigrants) but there was rarely Portuguese-speaking staff in the store. It made it hard to offer quality service to customers who only spoke Portuguese. While working there, I spoke both Spanish and Italian with customers, which they were grateful for, and had I stayed on, I was planning to learn Portuguese.
My main criticism of the company: Pushing the Kohl's charge cards is really predatory. I dealt with multiple people who came in saying they had recently been pushed to sign up for a Kohl's charge by someone who had not made it clear that they were signing up for a credit card. I remember in particular one kid came in with his father. The kid, 18 or 19, was clearly very naive, and the father spoke no English. I suspect they were from a country where people don't really use credit cards. The kid had NO idea how credit cards worked, and had rung up a balance of a few hundred without understanding he would have to pay it off. Luckily, it was slow that day, so I had time to give him a lesson in credit cards. I helped him process a payment for the minimum owed, explained about interest, and shared my credit card strategy (don't charge more than you can pay off immediately on pay day). He was not the only customer I ran into who felt taken advantage of by having the card pushed on them, but he was the one my heart hurt most for. Long story short--I don't like how Kohl's and similar companies push store cards, and as a former cashier, I cannot emphasize enough that they are a BAD financial decision. Sign up for the rewards membership instead. read more