Fun place to work - Assistant Manager Magpie Jewellery Employee Review

Meeting Canadian designers and custom designing jewellery.

I joined Magpie Jewellers with enthusiasm, drawn to the company’s strong reputation in Ottawa and its commitment to Canadian designers. Unfortunately, my experience was profoundly disappointing. The work environment was dominated by a long-standing back-office employee whose behavior created a toxic atmosphere. Her personal attacks and constant insults significantly impacted team morale (apparently the last 10 years). Despite repeated concerns raised by staff, including myself, the owner consistently refused to address the issue. He admitted that this is how she is, and questioned her why she can treat clients so well but not staff. But not solution or reprimanding her. In addition, his dismissive attitude was epitomized by his remark, “This is not a happiness factory,” which revealed his lack of care for employee well-being and underscored his role as a boss, not a leader. After her last outburst, I stood up for myself in front of my colleagues and later followed up with an email to the owner, outlining how her behaviour was affecting the team and myself. Instead of addressing the problem (her), I was let go just before Christmas. Ironically, during my interview, I had emphasized my desire for a positive work environment—a key reason I had left my previous role of nearly 10 years, which paid five times as much. Facing this situation alone, without family in the area, was especially difficult. It also meant I couldn’t provide a Christmas for my sponsor child in a developing country—a heartbreaking consequence of losing this job. For a company that prides itself on sustainability and community values, its treatment of employees is unsustainable. Adding to the frustration, the owner strung me along for months—from February to November 2024—through emails and three in-person interviews. This prolonged process, only to result in such an unprofessional experience, should have been a clear red flag from the start.

- Meeting the designers behind the pieces and hearing their creative process. - Jewellery is local and or Canadian made (some international designers too!). - Opportunities to be creative. - Flexible hours. - Beautiful locations. - Opportunity for growth within the company (though limited) - Benefits offered. - Meeting so many interesting people and working with them on design projects/sales. - Life long friendships with staff both past and present. - Learning about gemology, design, different metals and materials, anything and everything jewellery related. - Create custom displays for the pieces and their respected artists. - Non-company supplied music (can listen to a variety of genres, store appropriate of course). - Being able to learn and research more on your own time to improve your skills. - Seeing customers reactions when they pick up their custom order and see the real thing for the first time. Makes all of the stress/hard work along the way so incredibly worth it!

- Gossip and micromanaging. - Not trusting in managers decision making or input, even when they know their employees needs/stores better. - Lack of empathy/communication when it comes to working with those who are neurodivergent. If you see that something is off or impacting performance at work, have empathy and communicate directly. No gossip or assumptions, because though the situation may not be a big deal to you, it can have a huge impact on the person experiencing it. - No written policy for basic things like vacation, raises, benefits, sick days etc. Mostly verbal information. - Dealing with unprofessional behaviour from other staff. I.e. having a staff member quit on the spot due to being treated rudely/yelled at on multiple occasions and leaving in tears. - Too much importance on receiving reviews, mainly focuses on the negative. - Lack of needed repairs (broken mirrors, drawers, outdated computer equipment, burnt out light bulbs, cabinet doors, etc).