Pros
My specific location is really calm, and in an area where a lot of regulars come in. Since we tend to have a slower work-day, it's easier to spend more time with each customer, ask them who they're buying for and if they're looking for anything specific, and really get to know them, which usually means they'll feel comfortable and want to buy more and come back. The hours are pretty reasonable, and everyone seems super understanding if an issue comes up where you can't make it in on time. The workers are all friendly to each other and make quick bonds; I've already found myself being invited to a co-worker's baby shower. It's a close-knit community, and they do a good job of checking up on you and making sure you're doing alright. I've already begun learning things that most new recruits wouldn't get the chance to train in at the bigger, more active stores. The managers and shift supervisors want new recruits to learn how to do more than their job title suggests, so that, if an opening arises for a higher position in another store, we can apply and move up. Carter's is really good about promoting within the company. Also, a really nice benefit is that employee discount (25%), in addition to the fact that we are now allowed to join our store's 'Rewarding Moments' rewards program ($1 = 1 point, 75 points = $10 credit to use), so it adds up pretty quickly.
Cons
Management seems a little too obsessive with numbers. It gets to a point where customer service is less about actually serving the customer, and more about how we can reach our quota (*note: I'm not saying we shouldn't care AT ALL about numbers, but when an entire register is sectioned off so we can see our daily percentages at all moments of the day [thus leaving only two registers open for actual work], there might just be a problem). I have a bit of a bone to pick with 'Rewarding Moments' (our rewards program) too. Each associate is told to continuously ask customers if they would like to join the program, and we do our best to mention it while on the sales floor and during transactions. This is great and all, but just recently, our store manager began putting out the percentages (per associate) of sales that went through with Rewarding Moments. This can be really annoying, because now everyone at my location is obsessed with getting a high percentage, but they don't do it properly. Instead of ringing up MORE customers, to get a HIGHER percentage, they ring up LESS customers and only those that they know have Rewarding Moments, so they can keep their percentages up. And guess who gets the remaining (aka "the majority of") the transactions: the newbies. So while the other workers are praised for their perfect percentages, the newer recruits are being told to "do better" and get their percentages up.