Pros
The bakery/cafes are very nice! The stated goal of making the dine-in experience an "every day oasis" has largely been achieved. The food is good and the cafes are always clean and comfortable. I enjoy eating there myself when I have time, it's a good place to get something good to eat and get a little work done or even aimless web surfing using the free wifi. The Senior management team is very good at managing the restaurant side of the business business.
Cons
The underlying infrastructure is in serious need of an overhaul. From an IT stand point much of the equipment and tools are outdated and inadequate to the capacity to which the company has grown. Much of the hardware and processes that were in places when the company had 500 - 600 stores 5 - 7 years ago is still in place today even though the company has grown in size externally almost three fold to almost 1400 cafes. Also it seems there is a concerted effort to keep the support staff abnormally low. There are several key functions that are supported by single individuals creating a "single point of failure" scenario should that individual leave the company. Also staff development is non-existent. In two years w/ the company I have only attended two in-house training sessions both of which were on how to fill out the annual performance evaluation and I attended one other full staff meeting aimed at improving communication practices and cutting down on superfluous e-mails . . . this initiative was more-or-less disregarded 30 days later. The above factors have created an environment where there seems to be little chance of advancement or even enhancing professional skills. The Senior management team does not seem to be particularly adept at managing the behind the scenes aspects of a growing enterprise.