Pros
Caribou has the added perk of any sort of job in its field such as free drinks, discounted coffee and products as well as learning more about a particular product such as coffee. Caribou stresses education about its product which does allow for one to be enthusiastic about it, but it ends there. Once the charade has worn off, one realizes how they are simply a tool to rake in capital. If you are willing to work full-time, Caribou has health insurance and wonderful dental insurance, which is expensive- but at least is available. If you are a coffee enthusiast, you get a half pound of beans every week for free (or tea). You get a free drink per shift and 30% otherwise. Depending on your manager, it can be a great work atmosphere.
Cons
I worked at Caribou for two years, had a stellar work record and moved up in the company- only to see how truly disorganized and money-driven the entire corporate strategy is. And yes, the purpose of a company is to make money, but not at the cost of their employees. After listening to the rhetoric my manager was telling me about how our District Manager goes about hiring, it seemed that people were simply expendable and replaceable. The lack of concern about employees, the fact that they had lives outside of their workplace and their sole concern being how much of a promotional product was being sold- was my point of concern for them. Each period there is a brand new bean that "has" to be sold. Supervisors are threatened with "notices of discipline," if they do not succeed at selling these promotional beans. I have been told to lie to customers in order to sell beans, persuading people who already have beans in their hand; to opt for the promotional bean instead. If the purpose is to only make money off of promotional beans, then why have a coffee shop? The purpose is to provide an eclectic variety of coffee beans and drinks for people to enjoy and to enjoy with the peace of mind that they were obtained ethically. The company boasts sustainable and fair-trade practices for their beans, yet they treat their employees with no respect and do not foster a sustainably healthy environment for their workers - who are the ones actually bringing in the capital. This past week I put in my two week's notice after I called a manager to get back-up since our store was being slammed, but was stunned when their only concern was whether or not I had sold any pounds of that period's promotional beans. Promotions are often on a whim, and the staff isn't informed with enough time to prepare for the onslaught of 200+ customers with a coupon in tow. One day I came into work unaware that it was a promotion and was severely understaffed which had its own set of ramifications (long drink waits, upset employees, running out of materials, trash piling up). Whether a caribou environment is successful or not is incumbent upon whatever manager might be stationed there at the time. Caribou's strategy involves shuffling managers all across a district and so team-building and healthy work environments often suffer as a result of this shuffling. In my time as a supervisor I've seen wonderful managers go, while managers who are unfit for their position- climb ahead since their align themselves with Caribou's rhetoric; doing whatever it takes. I used to love Caribou, but their blatant disregard for their employees makes me feel bad for them. It has become a company I am not longer proud to work for. I would never recommend anyone that I cared about to work here.