Pros
Get to deal with the public and work with children. Training, developing and coaching staff (usually for them to go off to other companies!)
Cons
Don't expect advancement past store manager. (But any advancement is difficult!) Don't expect to work less than 55+ hours a week as a store manager .. There is NO WORK LIFE BALANCE! Having to deal with the companies insistence on selling to children (which is just down right unethical) The totally unrealistic KPI's that are set across the board and don't take into account the actual store position, past performance, or anything else for that matter. They don't pay store managers fairly, I personally knew of 2 store mangers who's stores pulled in less revenue than mine, and I was paid less because they'd been in areas hard to recruit a new manager .. Yet I also know they also did less work than myself. When I brought this up at reviews, I was constantly rebuffed. The area managers take total advantage of store managers, getting them to do their work and saying it's for their "development" Constantly using "Bearisms" company jargon and made up words that contain the word bear or bear things eg "pawsome, beary special" etc in speech and e-mails to prove you are one of the company. If you're not using it then you're being subversive and not being part of the "family" Don't expect help when you really need it .. They will tell you that you are part of the Build-a-Bear family, but when you do need it .. They cut you off! If anyone is showing that they aren't "buying" into the whole company ethos the policy was to try brain wash some more and if that didn't work to round on them and get them to leave! At the moment (and being told by existing friends who still work for the company) they are still penny pinching, make stores run with impossibly low staff payroll and trying to push unrealistic targets and KPI's!