It's like saying you work at Disney. People think it's a grand ol' job, but in reality it's like any other shitty minimum wage job. Sure there's some highlights about it, but in the long run it's just a huge freakin company that's scraping every penny to keep in their fat wallets.
But as a consumer, it suddenly becomes the most amazing place ever.
I mean, you're right, for the most part. With any big company, there are good stores and bad stores, and it's really just the luck of the draw if you'll get a good manager or a place with shitty rules. My current job is far more preferable than my last few jobs, but it certainly isn't ideal. But with any big company, it can be very YMMV, so some people can have the best working experience ever, and others can be worse than working at a fast food place.
But yeah, I totally agree with that second to last statement. Even though the company is 'employee owned', it's all about the profits in the end, and most employees don't have enough stock to really care about the bottom line that much.