Not the place to work if you're looking for consistent income
Pros
Though physically demanding at times (standing for 6 - 7 hours per shift with only two breaks per shift) it's not that hard to do. Depending on the product, you're allowed to be creative with your presentation. Most of the customers are very nice and appreciate what you do. I also found many of my co-workers, including those employed by the contractor, to be great people to work with.
Cons
Rarely more than 18 hours of work per week. Slow periods (1 - 2 shifts per week) are frequent. There's a rule that there must be at least 40 - 50(?) people on the roster, though 25 - 30 would be better for getting adequate hours. In the location I worked, there were some people struggling to get shifts, while a handful of staff were working over 30 hours... an obvious case of favoritism that affected morale. Many demonstrators had to work 2 or 3 jobs, which caused scheduling problems. While a few of those that got over 20 hours per week were scheduled that way (a big problem!), some who benefited were called in at the last minute because of a no show or last minute demonstration add. This means that they were basically on call every day. Those I spoke to would tell me they were working in their yards, planning to go shopping, or visiting friends and relatives when they got the call. This increases stress because it doesn't allow you to have time to yourself. It also breeds resentment because those that lived further away, or had plans for their off days when the last minute call came in, lost money. Some of the customers were very rude and didn't grasp the concept that there are food safety issues that needed to be observed. They would reach into food preparation areas forcing us to throw away the entire batch of samples. The standing takes a while to get used to and several demonstrators used back braces. This is because the serving carts are one height, but for taller workers, you may spend the entire shift hunched over. The back pain can be significant. There didn't appear to be a real career path, or much room for career growth. It made going to work an exercise of going through the motions.