I'd love to hear from those of you who have experience in working at both a chain and an independent studio. What were the benefits and drawbacks in each situation?

I have had many years of experience in both situations. Working in a chain studio, you are a salesman first and foremost. Then you are restricted on what you can teach; for example if a student purchases a Bronze 1 level, you are required to stick within the BR 1 level material regardless of the students ability. If they want the advanced material, they have to know that it has to be purchased. There is a price for everything. I lost many students because of that thinking. As an "indy" you don't have the teaching restrictions but you have to really work on promoting yourself as a dancer and as a good teacher. I feel there are many people promoting themself as a s good teacher and they couldn't get you through a wedding dance. My preferance now is being an "indy"

Both have their drawbacks..

Firstly... from a workaday point of view.
At any chain school( And ive owned, managed etc, for them in the past ) your day is regimented, and if you like stucture, thats a good place to be..they do supply your students, and some schools have good benefits. Also, in larger cities, there is possibly good training, and the opportunity for travel.
You are restricted to stay within syll. when teaching ( not necessarily a bad thing ) but.. they are all pretty much driven by "sales " .

On the Indie side.. you MUST be motivated on a daily basis, and building a client basis is never easy, no matter your experience. You also need to factor in costs, like floor rental and advertising..PLus you will need to keep on training, with good Prof. advice .

The foundation work one gains in an organised school, will become the lynchpin of your workdays ,if you go Indie..

I've worked in a franchise for 5 years and have no complaints. I'm sorry to hear that others feel like their job had a lot to do with sales. If you are a good teacher the lessons sell themselves. Also an executive should be stepping in to handle tuition.

Yes, you are structured in your teaching, but for good reason. Your technique in basic figures must be built in order to be able to execute advanced patterns correctly. Many basic figures are designed to set you up for patterns to come later. I have had many students come to me from independent studios that have been taught patterns from all different levels. Sure, they can replicate the foot placement but can't lead them in a social environment because they lack the ability to differentiate it from similar patterns that they should have learned first. This is not to say that all independent instructors teach in this format, but I have seen it many times.

As far as training, we are initially trained in house but have regional training with top coaches multiple times per year.

I have no practical experience in an independent studio, so I will not guess at something I don't know about.