Pros
The atmosphere is pretty laid-back and friendly. Benefits are good -- dental and vision for working at least 17.5 hours per week, full medical for working at least 30 hours per week -- and the company pays something like 75% of your premium. Paid time off is accrued as you work. They are pretty flexible about schedules. For the most part, you can decide what days and hours you work.
Cons
There is a major lack of organization and communication within the company. When messages are sent from corporate, they often don't make it all the way through the chain down to the lower employees, or they are really different when they get there. Hence, we will hear different messages from each mate, and I'm sure each store's mates are hearing different messages from each captain. Each store's art department is expected to find its own equipment and is given a very small budget to do so. Each store's computers and printers are provided by a central office, and most are 10+ year old machines that have been refurbished countless times. Transferring files to or from our computers is extremely difficult, because we can't access any websites except traderjoes.com, and most of the computers have no usb ports. Each store does have its own wifi signal, but its name is kept secret and it is undiscoverable by outside devices. Regional managers visit the store several times a year and make drastic decisions about our day-to-day operations without good reasons and without really seeing the effects. Almost everyone is required to work at least one weekend day. There is an "everyone does everything" policy, which mandates that every employee must work at the registers and/or stock merchandise, regardless of department or specialty.