Pros
The culture, the clothing, the people, the music, the benefits. I made some lifelong friends and learned a lot. In the beginning, Store Managers were respected, their opinion mattered, and you could reach out to HQ for anything you needed to make your store successful. Hard work paid off and if you wanted to be promoted, you could reach out to your supervisor and they would help put you on the correct path, and constantly give you feedback.
Cons
When I began working there, the company had only 20 retail stores. Each individual was valued and appreciated. By the end of my employment, there were 200+ stores, and it was clear that I wasn't working for the same company. The role of Store Manager changed, as the entire company did, and loyal long term employees were treated as burdens because we weren't adapted to the changes yet. New employees were hired, mostly from larger corporations and chains, and trained on all new policies and procedures. I repeatedly reached out to my District Manager for help and wouldn't receive any sort of response for days or weeks at a time. There were many new expectations, but seasoned employees weren't set up for success with proper training. Within the last six months of my employment with the company, I saw more unhappy and dissatisfied employees (and more turnover) than in the first 7.5 years total. It was very disheartening and disappointing.