Pros
Unlimited free soda, slurpees and coffee while working. Paid slightly above minimum wage at starting. Plenty of hours. Many locations all over the world, finding one near you is easy. Training days are paid in full.
Cons
When I began, there were already enough assistant managers to cover every shift, meaning there was never a place for a promotion. Manager cares little about how much you've slept or if you have class. I was frequently called in on my days off, sometimes creating 8 or 9 day long stretches of time with no days off. Also, managers will call in and ask for you to work longer, causing 14 to 16 hour work shifts. Managers often have unrealistic schedules for sales associates. As a full time student, I was sometimes expected to work in the morning, go to class, then come in and work overnight, totaling 24 to 26 hour days. Applied for a part time position, was frequently forced to work 40-50 hours. Great if you want to work full time, awful if you don't or can't. Training is done by other associates, who were also trained by other associates, so nobody really knows ALL the rules or regulations. Many store procedures are just done on the spot and guessed at. No benefits at all. Even though I worked 40-50 hours, I applied for part time, asked for part time every week and so was considered part time. Time off was given to managers first, period. Want a day off that a manager asked for? Too bad. This applied to days off already given. Shifts run through meals, and nobody gets discounts on food. This means you are forced to buy food at full price from your store if you want to eat during a 12 hour shift. You're "allowed to take breaks," but if a customer walks into the store, you have to immediately end your break, meaning there isn't really a time you can take a break and have longer than three or four minutes at best. Tons and tons of food is simply thrown away. It's actually kind of depressing how many taquitos and hot dogs you're forced to throw away because "it's been on the grill too long." Employees are not allowed to eat this food. They instead must throw it out, then go inside and pay for a new one. You are frequently expected to run the store on your own at night. My first day after training, I was put on night shift and forced to work 3-6 AM in the store completely alone. In franchise stores, there is nobody to speak to anonymously above your manager about problems.