When I first started, my general manager was a wonderful man who ran things fairly well, gave out raises, and made sure every single associate was rewarded fairly (with the company's "Goosebumps", points you can use to buy some genuinely useful prizes) if they worked hard and went above and beyond. Unfortunately he's since moved on to a different store, and things have fallen apart a bit. I have not received any Goosebumps since he left, despite frequently really working myself ragged, such as recently working a twelve and a half hour shift when someone didn't show up for the overnight shift.
The new GM did say "thank you" to me, but considering that other people seem to get Goosebumps over and over again (the Goosebumps are posted on a wall so all can see who is getting them) despite being much less motivated employees, it is frustrating. It sends the message of "Why bother?" Whether you excel at your job and do your hardest to look out for the store's best interests or just do the bare minimum, you'll be treated exactly the same way. In general, this new GM seems to have somewhat killed my store's morale. Your results may vary; I'm sure my original GM's employees are happy, and I'm sure there are many other GMs who try to reward their employees and keep everyone happy and motivated.
Other than that, I've found myself frequently frustrated by how unintelligent some of the people they hire are. At my store, I'd say about half of the staff is actually fairly sharp, quick, and efficient at their work (as well as being intelligent/often witty to converse with, which is a huge benefit), and the other half is...well, the complete opposite. In this economy, with so many in need of a job, I find it hard to believe they couldn't pick out hirees more carefully. People who work slowly and don't quite "get it" harm the overall efficiency of the store, and make other employees forced to pick up the slack. This is especially frustrating in the case of shift managers/the management in general; why are they getting paid more and having more responsibility when they're dimmer than who they're managing?
Another downside, though not the fault of the business, just something potential employees should know going into it, is that it is a very stressful job. At my store at least, we're often understaffed, and in a business as highly busy and prone to intense rushes as WaWa is, that can lead to a lot of stress, hurrying, and being unable to get everything done that needs to get done. You're going to feel stretched thin. This is sort of a pro/con, because it does help the time go much faster, but it can get very tiresome very quickly.
Lastly, and this is also not the fault of the business at all, but I really do not enjoy selling cigarettes/junk food. It does cause a sense of personal guilt if you are the type to be prone to such an emotion. This is a fairly minor issue though.
