Pros
The coworkers are the best part. It's great to have a bunch of people passionate about the outdoors under one roof working together. The pay is decent, the benefits are good, and talking to customers about outdoor products can be fun. The management, though sometimes disagreeable, are all just human and it shows. Also, if there is ever any disagreement or issue with a customer, the managers almost always take the side of the employee. All of management has been where the rest of the employees have been, so they understand difficult customers and the stress of working the 'trenches' of retail. Definitely the best retail job I've ever had.
Cons
Irregular and inconsistent hours. One week you could have 32 hours, the next you could have 14. It depends on projected customer traffic. Hours are intentionally shy of full time for 80% of staff; maybe to cut costs for employee benefits. The management places a lot of importance on membership sales to evaluate individual performance, but never explicitly say so. Meeting or exceeding membership sales goals can get you favoritism; since you make the store/management you work in look good. They also seem selective on 'violations' to write up for certain favorites. IE: One employee gets fired for a certain violation, while another simply gets a talking to. The membership quota system creates a 'used car salesman' atmosphere at times and makes you feel cheap; it also creates an atmosphere of competition among employees which is not what I pictured REI to be about. The membership system also forces employees to try to sell a customer something they weren't looking for in the first place. There is an odd gap between management and employees (at least at my location), and some managers are hard to relate to. As with any job, there are managers I respect and will do what they ask, and others that I can't help but second guess and reluctantly do what they ask.