Pros
I thoroughly enjoyed working at the Naugatuck location. As a very big DIY auto mechanic, it was easy for me to relate to customers and help them problem-solve on a daily basis. It ultimately is what you make of it. Provided a great way to network in the community and build relationships with sales to commercial garages. Though the management and district management can be nitpicky with store organization and training, it made our store one of the best I have ever been to. Very Organized store, and I enjoyed work there overall. The company encourages gearheads to be a part of the business through large employee discounts and the culture the company is aiming for. You can in fact negotiate wage if you see yourself as a more valuable addition to the team.
Cons
It seems the district manager would prefer to hire full-time employees for as little pay as possible, negating experience. They rotated around 4 employees in my absence, with little experience likely asking for those willing to work at minimum wage. My immediate managers (store managers) for the most part had been excellent. I had a manager that was demoted after returning from a vacation, and heard from several different people that my drill duty (one weekend a month) military service requirement had become an "annoyance" despite always coming in on off days when my coworkers "felt sick" or likely just did not want to come in. She had apparently said to at least two other employees she would not hire more military employees, and when I suggested someone who was interested in working for the company, the first question was "are they military?" suggesting that that would in fact matter to her. I had to sandwich off-days of two consecutive weeks together to cover two travel and two duty days for a long weekend, essentially meaning that I would work for two weeks straight, using my off days for military duty. This goes against legal USERRA Guidelines, and the DM lacked this knowledge through when I left the business.