Pros
*Generally flexible scheduling *Part timers can easily move between departments, company willing to train *Decent paid vaca after a number of years *Strong HR department if you speak up about abuses and problems *Job can be decent if you get in under the right store/department manager, in the right store, and keep your head down
Cons
*Expected availability for full timers is horrible. If you haven't been around a while, expect to be asked to be available open to close, seven days a week, even as a part timer *Training is generally deficient *Pay is absolutely terrible, with basically no chance to advance ( annual pay raises of 0 - 1.5%, with no other opportunities for pay advancement through merit ) *You will be consistently asked to come in on days off, and work many days in a row *Part-time "flex" positions - you work 30 - 38 hours a week, five days, get access to more expensive insurance, and when they need you to work 50 hours, they can and do, but will cut you back to 30 asap to make sure you don't average too high. *Company insurance is very high deductible, and fairly expensive ( 200 + a month for a single individual ) *Jobs can be nigh on impossible to perform to any acceptable level at bigger stores - they tend to have incredibly high turnover rates ( like say, six assistant department managers and four department managers in six years, at one store I worked at ) *Departments always scheduled to razors edge of required employees, so if you see any spike in business for any reason, you're suddenly heavily understaffed and under stress, with most departments being under-scheduled right from the start in order to give padding for payroll *Company will move managers from store to store with little to no warning - suddenly shifting around entire stores within a matter of months, often at great inconvenience to department managers who are suddenly facing a commute to a store where they aren't established *Management will consistently schedule you for very late shifts ( 10 - 11 p.m. ), and then have you in exactly 8 hours later at 6 or 7 p.m ( knowing full well that you won't get out at the scheduled time as a closer ). *Very high concentration of employees in poor health, lot of stressed out smokers