Pros
For the most part, I really enjoyed working at Lids. The environment was relaxed, friendly, and my co-workers had a lot to do with my positive experience. The discount was cool (40%), but having to only do it through the SM at times was sometimes an inconvenience, especially if you worked a different schedule than they did. I got along well with my SMs (our store had 3-4 over a year), ASMs, and other associates; if someone had a last minute emergency or you needed a day/shift covered, I found it really easy to just ask and have it covered. I enjoyed the good relationship I had with my SM because they trusted me enough to help with menial paperwork tasks (writing schedules/numbers, etc.), which was probably pointless but it let me know that, even as a PT sales associate, I was somewhat valued.
Cons
Inconsistent hours/shifts were the biggest problems. Some weeks you could work 20 hours, others it was as little as 3 or 4. If you're hired during the holiday season, you typically work the most hours possible (we were told that the the sparse hours of September-October/November were what gave our store the excessive hours of late November-December). It was also very stressful to constantly be yelled at by our SM (supposedly by way of our DM, who simply did not like us) because of our embroidery % and conversion rate. This wasn't a once a week thing, but more like an every day occurrence. None of us liked taking conference calls, to a point where my SM would force myself and the ASM to take them because they didn't feel like it. Don't expect to receive a promotion/job bump if you don't perform to "company standard" - 7% embroidery, 20% customer conversion, good $ per transaction, etc. If I haven't made it clear already, our DM was horrendous and I wish we never had to deal with him. He would frequently ignore our e-mails and requests for materials (to a point where our SM would make personal calls to his cellphone, asking for a mop/ladder, and he would continue to ignore us). Only when we produced a negative e-mail or had a low % of email captures would he email us - and he continued to ignore our requests.