Pros
Stop & Shop does a lot right: it's extremely customer-focused, offers a steady guaranteed income, is typically flexible with scheduling, and has a strong and successful business model. Part-time associates are guaranteed 15 hours per week with optional rotational Sundays, and full-time associates are guaranteed 40 hours per week with the same deal for Sundays, which are always time and a half. It's a great first job, college job, or long-term career; with so many roles within such a large company, there is endless opportunity if sought. In my career with Stop & Shop, I've had mostly positive experiences with my co-workers at all levels; the customers who shop in our stores are more pleasant than not, and each store has its own personality. All part-time and full-time associates at store level, with the exception of the store management team, belong to a union, which may be considered a positive aspect of the job: low-cost health, dental, vision, and life insurance for both part-time and full-time employees after 1 year; job protection; guaranteed yearly raise (though it's not a lot, it's at least something), and guaranteed hours regardless of sales. Full-time associates are offered college tuition reimbursement, and medical benefits extend to cover spouses and children for a low cost. Union members also have paid sick time, personal days, and vacation weeks, as well as time and a half on most holidays.
Cons
Unfortunately, it's been in my experience that there's a disconnect between the corporate offices and the stores. The individuals who create policies and make decisions about in-store operations have largely never worked at store level; while their ideas may work on paper, there are a lot of variables that do not seem to be considered which cause these changes to be more harmful than good. It's also too often the case that the hours allowed for scheduling are insufficient for the volume of work to be done in a week, which brings unnecessary stress to a job that should be pretty straight-forward. Part of my problem with this is simply compensation: while the company is thriving and there is money to be had from upper management through the corporate offices, union employees are paid based partially on job title, but mostly on seniority. With this pay scheme, performance is never a consideration, which is a huge bummer if you work hard, since someone else who may not be pulling their weight is making the same; sufficient compensation would make the added stress of being in a position of responsibility. It's also worth mentioning that jobs that were previously filled by a higher-paid salaried person are being filled with hourly union workers for a fraction of the pay, which is definitely not a good way to motivate someone who's performing well in that role.