Pros
Fantastic product selection. If you are a self starter and curious about cooking, technique, tools, etc..it's a great place to be. The average staff member at the store level has a passion for cooking and or is creative, smart, interesting..maybe just funny and we love funny.
Cons
Day to day store operations are micro managed from corporate. Executive management seems to have little confidence in the abilities of store managers. Like most retailers it is pay for play but many stores are under staffed because of unreasonable payroll expectations. Store managers often work well past a normal work week to meet the needs of the business. Many new stores seem to be opening in speculative markets with hopes, dreams and wishes for growth without consideration for the reality on the ground. Major markets rely on hiring from the outside for managers because little to no development is taking place from within. Most internal promotions are taking place because people quit or are terminated. Part time staff is under employed for most of the year with the promise of more hours during peak season. Most managers at the store level are frustrated in being unable to provide hours to people who want to work. Stores are required to maintain staffing as it relates to an often exaggerated business goal while keeping most pt employees in the 4-12-24 hours per work week. The computer system is old school and often does not reflect current inventory. Lost prevention is a focus by corporate but store level concerns are often ignored by corporate. In one case a store had its guard removed without corporate informing the management team at that store. Store walk through: by corporate executive and regional managers are sometimes pop visits, usually unprofessional and often demoralizing. The general attitude seems to be wanting to catch the team doing something wrong vs how to help them succeed. Embarrassingly dated management practices with a focus on coaching notes and behavior modifying. The idea is fine but it's sad when smart people rely on a check list to to try and manage intelligent people. It's an inside joke among the the staff when a manager tries to coach in the moment. It's an inside joke among the managers when they write notes to the area/district/regional manager regarding the people they coached. I am sure the joke goes all the way up the top to HR...not to mention Investcorp. Stores follow a mostly mass visual execution with little payroll support to maintain. In most stores managers are working in overdrive trying to keep their store aligned according to visual expectations. Some stores enjoy having a great merch asm that was likely trained by another company.