Pros
Typically hire good people at the store level. Great deals on gear.
Cons
This company has changed so much from when I started working for them nine years ago. They no longer provide benefits such as health insurance for part timers, employees no longer get first pick of returned items, and "Work/Life Balance" is no longer a touted REI ethic. They used to provide great training that translated into great customer satisfaction but now the only training you will get is on how to sell memberships. And you'd better sell memberships or you will not get hours. Most people who were trained under the old REI are gone now, they were being paid more than REI wants to pay so they either left or were fired for one thin reason or another. If you take a job in one of their stores you can expect it to be a WalMart kind of experience.