Pluspunten
The manager of the DC store is a great leader that is a wonder to work for. He treats everyone fairly and treats men and women the same based on competance and performance. He is direct and to the point, which would be extremely valuable for him to convey to more of his staff. He never asks you to do jobs that he would not jump in and help you with (and frequently does exactly that, even in late night operations.) The old guard at the stores are great employees that really know their stuff. They work very hard, and make intensity and excitement about getting the job (merchandising the store and selling product) legitimately fun. More than half of this is that they are just great people, and it shows. All of the managers are technically skilled.
Minpunten
The Container Store is a pretty decent place to work, but one serious downside is that it, just like many places these days cater pretty heavily toward female workers, and being an organization and storage seller, it is heavily dominated by women, and somewhat hostile to men (and especially unfair, due to men doing much more of the heavy lifting for the same pay.) Being in DC or MD stores, you will be privy to a heavy dose of progressive viewpoints that they feel it is appropriate to express openly in the workplace, but hostility toward former military servicemen is allowable. Team Leaders (Assistant Managers) are not *nearly* as competant as the store manager, who is well trained and a great leader, and treats everyone, from all walks of life, fairly. "Drinking the Kool Aid" about being unecessarily excited about store activities (this is not the same as being driven, they seem to expect you to be literally happy about this stuff) is a painful experience.