Pros
For a part time associate, being a brand associate teaches you to work in a fast paced environment. Stores with long standing brand associates have a great environment to grow in. Good employee discount. Some upper managers are a pleasure to work with.
Cons
Full time managers are given job duties to complete in time frames that are not consistent to the pace of the retail environment. 20+ hours a week are dedicated to being on the sales floor for the customer, and the other 20 are divided among 40+ hours of job specific requirements to be done, resulting in processes not being completed and management left being told they are failing. General Managers work 70+ hours a week with little extra benefits leading to terrible work and personal life balance, lower managers only have the benefit of not being required to work off the clock to protect some of their life balance. Constantly being talked down to about not signing up enough customers on credit cards or capturing enough e-mails, is morally destructive and leads to all associates feeling inadequate and defeated. Stores are constantly understaffed, however are told they are over spending hours and are continuously cutting staff due to low sales.