Pros
Stores are small, so there is not a lot of product to memorize. Customers are generally other small businesses and older patrons, as a result they are friendlier and more professional than other retail positions I have worked in.
Cons
I know that a lot of these cons are to be expected in retail, but I assure you that all of the information that I list is to a much greater degree than my current and previous retail experience (I have 10 years with the industry.). Managers are constantly watching you and giving you direction through an earpiece, which can be very frustrating when you can not get a moment to complete a task without being micro-managed on it. Pay and benefits are minimal. The management model involves finding reasons to correct employees, even the hard-working and experienced ones, which is done loudly and publicly for all others to hear. To achieve this, the store manager will give an employee a task, then correct them for something contradictory, often not helping the customer enough, or spending too much time on a single customer. One of my co-workers stepped down from a management position because she could not stand the pressure to constantly reprimand her subordinates by her superiors. The environment is VERY sales oriented, which would be fine if there was a substantial and attainable reward for making sales. More time and company money went into watching training videos and taking computer quizzes than any practical training. Other employees were always miserable, even the assistant store managers were unenthused every day. Retention was based on an online survey that was taken upon hire and taken again at the 90 day mark. If there wasn't a high enough improvement in the score between the two takings of the test, the employee was fired regardless even if management liked that employee (Such was my case.). The store manager tried calling me into work a month after firing me.