Pros
Kids are for the most part hilarious and you really get a chance to make a difference in their days. Lots of opportunity for advancement. A great place to build your resume and take on new challenges.
Cons
Compensation for GM's since the buyout is bottom of the barrel, with any future for raises or advancement being dismal at best. Incredibly, the excessively low GM base salary was admitted by the CEO on a company-wide conference call, and no sincere effort has been made to change that. They're "looking into it." Considering the amount of work and stress involved, the pay just doesn't add up. The company has far too many leaders above the store level, and many have vastly different, conflicting priorities and expectations. There's absolutely no consistency and things often flip flop between polar opposites at the drop of a hat. New initiatives are always executed in an extremely poor manner, at all levels, from P.O.S. implementation to basic communication. It's not uncommon to find out about a new program or sales initiative days after it starts, and as a GM you are usually running to catch up. Favoritism is rampant and standards are applied differently to different people. If you're a cast member, you can expect your DM to flip out that you didn't wear a belt one day, but if you're one of the managers he's buddy buddy with, multiple, visible tattoos are fine. Company culture is toxic and excessively political in a bizarrely unnecessary way. If you don't feed into drama and gossip, you will be shunned and ignored. On the other hand, if you can get down with badmouthing everyone, all the time, you will be adored by most. DM's feed into this and foster that culture willingly; don't be surprised if your boss comes in and talks trash about his other GM's to you.