Pros
Small business with aspirations to grow means there is room to move up. Very community orientated. You will know your customers very well and become involved with the surrounding community through fundraising efforts and events put on by the store. Exposure to different products that one would not find at conventional grocery stores. Opportunities for education via seminars, JIBC courses, etc. Depending on the path you find yourself on within the company. 10% discount on purchases.
Cons
No clear job descriptions (often put into situations where you are working between multiple departments and no steady schedule.). Very little standardization in the training procedures for various positions. Staff are often left to feel it out for themselves and then often find themselves in hot water when things go wrong. Blackout periods during holidays prevent traveling home for the holidays if you are from out of town. No clear message from the top often mixed and contradictory messages from multiple upper management, department ops, and HR. Lack of employee perks beyond a discount and employee special events seem to be out of touch with the demographics employed by the company. Policy enforcement at store level is pick and choose by the managers discretion. Staff holding the same positions across the company are paid entirely different wages. (Some shorter tenure employees hold higher wages then those who have been with the company for several years.)