Pros
Great pay and benefits. You learn how to manage time and to be very efficient. If you work with a good store manager, there will be a family atmosphere within the store. The satisfaction of accomplishing tasks under seemingly impossible odds, but don't expect any praise from upper management, your reward comes from yourself.
Cons
Store Managers do not run the store, they stock and clean and have to do whatever the DM dictates. The DM's are hired right out of college with no or little actual work experience. If they happen to treat you well it is because they have a heart, Aldi does nothing to encourage raising morale of store employees...it is the most negative job ever. You work hard and accomplish a tremendous amount of work in the store, but rarely get positive feedback, you are simply told whatever is wrong with the store all the time. The upper management (operations and above) have no clue what is actually going on within the store. They make assumptions on short, very infrequent visits, and based mostly on what the DM tells them. Again, you are at the mercy of your DM. Some DM's try to make a difference, to make it better, but don't be fooled, they are young and worried about their own career and will sell you out in a heartbeat, no matter how highly they may think of you, if it is you or them, you are a goner, you will have no avenue to save yourself. If you take this job, set the extra money aside and get out as soon as you can. The job is extremely physical, as soon as you start to show any type of weakness; age, back problems etc., you will be on the chopping block, to make room for someone younger and fresher. There is no job security. Previous post was spot on when stating each DM has their own priorities and each DM change you have to change your entire staff's priorities. The training process for store staff is inadequate, you have to train them while still maintaining the speed you did without the trainee, so they miss out on a lot. Then you are blamed because they are not trained. They do no allow enough training hours, and those hours are deducted from the store manager's pay!!!! Yet the store manager has no control over hiring and staffing levels, or even the basics of inventory. The DM does all this, but the store manager is held accountable. Have a good inventory result and everyone smiles. Have a poor result and the first thing the DM says? "It is YOUR inventory, it is YOUR problem". In my time with this company, I have learned that the entire mood and attitude is set by the Operations Director, their management style filters down to the store level. If you have an honest conversation with current management, you will find that 90% or more are completely miserable and they will tell you they would get out if they could afford it. That is how they keep people. The pay.