Pros
Originally Allied Trade Group, this company is now acquired by Lowe's Furniture. Everyone is identified as a "Lowe's Employee". You get Lowe's benefits and are involved with events and promotions, etc. under the Lowe's name. This is a decent place to work for people who are "starting out" in the career world. The job, in particular, is a great entry-level position that pays more than state's minimum wage and provides generous benefits. + Availability of Lowe's benefits (there are many types and options to choose from) + Quiet environment (noise levels are only affected by the clacking of keyboards and coworkers) + Little to no telephone calls! (e-mail is the primary source of communication to vendors) + Listening to music while you work + Eating at your desk (quietly, in consideration of others) + Company-wide and department-wide events (game nights, holidays, sale-milestone celebrations) + Mostly-young company culture (very good for company growth) + Free snacks (healthy granola bars, fruits, cookies, etc.)
Cons
- For those with aren't self-motivated as they say they are, or those who are not pleased to work on home decor/furniture products, it is VERY easy to call this job "boring", "monotonous" and overall a "drone job". Here at ATG, we have a lot of those kinds of people with that kind of mindset sadly, despite the good things ATG has to offer. - Turnover rate is moderately high in this company. I have seen promising employees get hired, only to quickly leave the workplace to pursue other jobs in the Seattle area. I've also seen people get caught, and even fired, on a whim. - The culture CAN be fun and vibrant, but I have seen it be a double-edged sword at times. Like I've said in this review's title, ATG is very much like a high-school environment. People form cliques crazily here. Even the managers eat lunch with their team coworkers (usually people with seniority) and do not invite others to join--they aren't very discreet about it either. All in all, things can get VERY socially awkward in the company. **I understand that "forming cliques" happens in any workplace and are not preventable. But from what I see in this company is "frequent favoritism," which ties into poor management. - Free snacks and beverages (coffee/tea) are on a first-come, first-serve basis. They are NOT stocked frequently. You usually have to wait a whole week for them...and they arrive unannounced, so if you miss out, you miss out. Drip coffee is prepared in the morning, but ONLY if someone is nice enough to brew it in the company kitchen for others. - The team environment is heavily-dependent on the people, and whether or not they treat others with respect on their job. The hardest and most motivated team member can still be alienated and treated like a newbie if they are unlikable by their coworkers. - Little to no improvement. Those who start out should expect themselves doing the same thing over and over again for months, maybe even years, until someone with higher seniority leaves ATG, and you take over that person's job. - From my perspective, the president, Michelle, is nice. But a lot of my fellow coworkers are annoyed by the frequent sent out to the ENTIRE company, because usually the e-mails are rather discouraging. Often times, they are "friendly" reminders about security policies that people fail to follow, and positive/negative sales achieved during the holidays.
