Pros
Eagan: Staff was very friendly. Management is easy to get along with and shares the grunt work. They don't take their jobs too seriously, but are professional at the same time. Tips are generous, I could go home from a late morning/early afternoon shift with $30-$40 in tips alone, which is great for being a barista, but also because it was just me working alone with one manager, who aren't permitted to collect tips. Benefits are offered after a few months as long as you work at least 20 hours a week. Training is done during slow shifts, where you may only see bewteen 3 and 10 customers an hour, and you're weened into early morning shifts (if you volunterred to work them) so as not to get overwhelmed. Time off was easy to get, I was hired right before a 2 week vacation. Very laid back environment. West Saint Paul: It keeps you busy, and it's easy to get to. Both: If you need a shift covered, you can call outside of your store. As long as the employee covering your shift is in your district (which is actually pretty large), they can work for you. The district manager visits frequently and likes to get to know the employees, so if you ever have an issue inside the store (like with management), she's easy to get a hold of and talk to.
Cons
Both: Hard to find someone to cover a shift within the store. Eagan: Usually no more than 4 people on staff at any given time, so finding a chance to step away can be tricky. West Saint Paul: Drive-thru. All employees on shift must wear headsets, so it's very difficult to hear customers inside the store, especially durring the busy mornings. Cliques. There is a group of people that have been working there for a while, and newcomers are often shunned and forced out. The store manager is very immature and can get a little Jersey frat boy on the employees (he's very unprofessional and doesn't follow the rules himself, but he loves to be condecending make new employees feel horrible for doing the smallest thing wrong). He made me cry on several shifts. Since the cleaning/task list is shared amongst everyone on the shift, blame is often passed around if it's not completed. Nobody is afraid to write you up for even the smallest slip up. I got 6 write ups in 5 days, some not even from people on the clock at the time, others not even from shift supervisors or management, which is a HUGE no-no in the company's policies, but is accepted by management.