Pros
Apple honors and respects all of it's staff for who they are. They encourage and support creativity and diversity. The Grow Your Own programs are a wonderful opportunity for staff to gain new skills and move up in the organization. Apple's dedication to ensuring that it's employees are paid for every minute of work related activity is amazing. I recall a recent memo that reminded us all that we should be clocked in when reading our apple.com email, corporate bulletins on iCommunicate or even changing into our uniform t-shirts. I can't think of any other retailer that is this concerned with equity and fairness in the way its employees are treated.
Cons
The downside to working at Apple? Everyone wants you to fix their iPod! But seriously, There is one thing that I think really could use improvement, which is providing scheduled time to study material on iLearn or the the Grown Your Own programs. I am in the Grow Your Own Creative program and I find it very difficult to find time to study the GYO material while I am scheduled to work in the store. When I am on the clock I am supposed to be on the floor working with customers. Things are rarely slow enough to leave the floor to study in Back of House for more than a few minutes. We are not supposed to review study materials on our lunch break because we are not on the clock and should not be engaged in any work related activity. It's a bit of a catch-22. Btw, when I say that we should have scheduled study time, I'm thinking of maybe an hour a week. Nothing extreme.