Pros
~Great job when studying - store management are great at working around availability in regards to Uni, and heaps of extra hours become available during summer/Christmas so is a great way to earn/save while studying
~Staff discount card that gets you pretty great savings at Whitcoulls, Farmers, Stevens, Pascoes, Goldmark, and Stewart Dawsons
~Opportunity to get free books
~Opportunity for advancement - I was twice asked if I was interested in becoming a supervisor
~Depending on your store manager, you may be able to be in charge of creating the music playlists (both general and Christmas)
~If you're in a smaller store, you can merchandise stock, which is fun and keeps you busy so time goes a lot faster
Cons
~Little to no chance for pay increase (I was paid minimum wage for three years and only got paid more when the minimum wage increased)
~Karen customers were pretty rare (I only twice personally experienced such wrath of entitlement), but my advice is to just get the supervisor/manager to deal with them straight away - you are not paid enough to put up with that crap
~Can't take any leave in December until Boxing Day (or possibly until the New Year)
~Listening to non-stop Christmas music from late-November until Christmas Eve
~Time can seriously drag when it gets quiet - prepare to do a lot of laps around the store and pretending to look busy by "tidying" stock