Pros
A quick note: My employment at the Great Lakes Crossing location in Auburn Hill, MI only lasted for seven months due to a sudden shift in living arrangements. I was hired in quickly as a cook with almost no cooking experience. Expectations were high and work was often arduous with little margin for error afforded the staff, but this was countered by supportive management that offered support freely and often. While the work is hard (I lost 40 pounds in the seven months I worked there), no one treats you like you aren't capable. Growth is encouraged and the pay structure is (or was, I'm not sure if anything has changed) directly tied to your mastery of the various stations. So the harder you work and the more effort you put towards learning everything, the faster you earn raises. Consequently, learning all the stations makes you a candidate for management which opens up further career opportunities. If you're motivated and are proactive about your education, you could likely find yourself moving outside of any hired-in station very quickly. Workers held each other in high esteem and the camaraderie of the Back-of-House staff made an otherwise difficult job a delight. Insurance and retirement benefits are offered to full-time employees, and full-time is only 30 hours. They were very flexible with my school schedule with ample time provided between class and work. I can't impress how positive of a work environment it was. Maybe it's because I came from a bar and was used to angry co-workers and abusive clientele, but the positivity that came from the management and fellow staff was inspiring and incredibly motivating. Though I never met the CEOs, they frequently visit locations and had visited ours some time before my employment. Several of my coworkers told me they were extraordinarily pleasant, friendly, and supportive of the staff.
Cons
I worked back of house and it was easily the hardest I've ever worked for $9/hour. Occasionally, middle management would visit the location and hawk over your shoulder while you're working. They were not friendly and it was very creepy. Like really, really creepy. They quietly roamed the location like vultures waiting to feast. I once literally jumped when I turned to see a man standing right next to me, staring at me. I don't know how long he had been there, apparently not feeling the need to announce his presence, his gaze invasive, his scent authoritative, a florid lick of baby's breath adorning his lapel . I think he had bodyguards, and he might have known how to fly. I quickly turned back to tossing fried rice, hoping, praying that when I reached for the cup of peas and carrots on the prep station behind me, he would no longer be there, piercing my soul with his eyeball daggers, breaking my spirit into a million pieces so they may be melted back down and reformed into a form more suiting his field of vision. It was an unpleasant experience.