Pros
The women, barring management, that I worked alongside with in my store are very intelligent and capable human beings. They made it more possible for me to maintain some of my mental health while working at this company. Amour Vert also recently began a 401k initiative for full-time employees, so that's at least another positive thing.
Cons
If you can avoid working for this company, do so at all costs. Here is why: 1. As part of the employee policy, you are required to wear Amour Vert clothing during your shift. Rather than giving a wardrobe allowance like most other companies that have this same requirement, you are required to pay out of pocket for the clothing. You receive a monthly discount of 95% off 2 full priced items with some incentives to earn bonus wardrobe discounts. 2. That being said, the clothing is not manufactured to be durable nor are any of the monthly collections cohesive. For example, customers consistently gave feedback that the modal material that Amour Vert is known for pills very easily - no matter how much care is given when washing the garment. The silks also rip very easily, and the company cannot give an honest answer of where the silk fabric comes from or how it is sustainable. Further, the prints and cuts featured in most collections while I worked there are whack. It's not clothing that you WANT to wear and represent. Customers are catching onto this, and it reflects in the numbers the business is producing. It's unlikely that this company will survive in the next 5 years partially because of product, but also because of business practices. This leads me into my third point. 3. Upper management in the company is unstable and vastly out of touch, especially the management in charge of the Bay Area stores. The CEO does not know who is working in each store, nor does he know who the main customer demographic of the brand is. This lack of foresight trickles into other upper management roles. Set by their example, each store is ran like a high school. Management gossips about all people who work in the company. during working business hours. There are never any coaching moments to "fix" what they deem as unacceptable behaviors; rather, they default to passive aggressive emails and avoiding direct conversation. This makes the work environment extremely toxic, as prior reviewers have mentioned. They treat employees as though each one is dispensable. which is why there is such a high turnover rate. They are constantly asking employees to work whole shifts alone without taking a lunch break since stores don't have adequate coverage. They do not pay predictability pay if your shift is changed less than 24 hours before you're intended to work, which is also illegal in SF. However, if you can handle immaturity and a lack of business acumen, then perhaps you'll be able to work with these individuals. 4. The pay and commission structure is very low in comparison to what similar retailers offer. Upper management also advertises higher hourly rates on job postings to find more applicants, but then they pay barely over minimum wage regardless of an individual's experience. To keep costs low, upper management will also edit your timecard, without your prior knowledge of this happening or your consent, to keep you from receiving your overtime pay for additional hours worked. This is an illegal practice, but business ethics don't seem to be at top of mind most of the time for Amour Vert. 5. You will be scolded for using sick time due to a gross lack of coverage across stores. When working in hazardous conditions during my time at Amour Vert, upper management did not take the issue seriously even though other retailers had closed their stores due to these conditions. I was treated as a sub-human employee my entire time at Amour Vert by upper management, which is not what was deserved.
