Pros
One need not be very bright to be successful. The culture rewards people who are comfortable in working extremely hard in a reactive mode. At the leadership level (Band 5) you have a lot of opportunity to play golf in the course of doing business. It is fun to spend a lot of time on college campuses. Most people want to do a good job. If you are young, unattached, and interested in living in different parts of the country, then you have an opportunity to move up in the company. Many times the most critical factor in filling positions is willingnes to relocate.
Cons
They do not know what to do with smart people. They do not want to think strategically - it is too difficult as is calls for people to be introspective of the impact of current practices on future opportunities for growth. Many of the leadership level people (band 5) in the field started out as work-study caferteria workers in college and jocks. If you did not hang out with that crowd in college, you probably will not want to do so now. Dealing with college administrators can be very difficult for two reasons. First - they lack a fundamental understanding of how business works, therefore they struggle with understanding rationale business decisions. Second - colleges use the dining programs as a major source of revenue to fund school budgets. This puts enoumous pressure on the dining managers to balance quality and affordability.