Pros
Great coworkers, great customers, great discounts. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at REI. I learned so much from the people I worked with. Everyone has such unique, interesting backgrounds and are (kind of) experts in a wide variety of fields, from trekking to biking to climbing to stand up paddle boarding. The customers are typically wonderful. It's so fun to chat with them about their upcoming trips and past experiences. Discounts are SO GOOD. Pro deals and great in-store discounts as well- half off all REI-brand products! I had my own health insurance, but I'm pretty sure they offer theirs to all employees. REI also has really fun product training classes. You get paid to attend and the company reps often bring in food and products to raffle off. Also, REI's corporate social responsibility is pretty decent. Let's be honest, it could be better- more organic fabrics, sweatshop-free, etc.- but it is a start.
Cons
The pay, while better than minimum wage, is not great. It's wonderful that they offer health insurance to all employees, but $10.90/hour isn't much to live off of (depending on where you live). In Santa Barbara, I struggled to pay my bills. Also, you occasionally deal with less-than-stellar customers, but that happens in any retail environment. REI loves to brag about how ethical it is, but it could do more. Besides the fairly low pay, REI works with sweatshop-loving North Face. Also, its own products could be more ethical.