Unprofessional and illegal business practices - Photographer deBoudoir Employee Review

1.0
31 Mar 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I was a photographer for over a year for this company. Working in a creative environment empowering women is an amazing experience and my coworkers at my studio were great. There are some very talented people in the company too bad they never get the attention and recognition they deserve.

Cons

This company is entirely motivated and driven by money and how much kissing ass you do of the owner and her direct underlings. I bought into the experience because I love the clients and hearing their stories and making them feel great about themselves. I whole heartedly supported my studio and coworkers fellow photographers and went above and beyond working over time days off and locally promoting and marketing the studio. I contributed many ideas which are now being brought to fruition (and other management taking credit) but there is no sense of urgency. Don't expect to be listened to and don't dare ask for a raise, your job will be on the chopping block immediately. Individualism is not encouraged if you don't drink the company koolaid and instead think for yourself and express opinions you will be met with negative backlash. There is no encouragement or reward for a job well done. The company has been operating some seriously illegal business practices for a full year now such as not paying hours worked in lieu of under min wage earnings on commissions, not paying out employees on payment plans immediately. Also there is no overtime pay no sick pay no vacation pay. They are in the midst of changing this because several employees brought the legal issues to managers attention well over six months ago I might add, now everyone is getting their hours and pay cut to the point of being on the poverty line. The company asks for promotion through yelp reviews from customers even "paying" for reviews with free product and having employees write reviews online like this site. To boost their ratings. Too bad I guess that I'm writing a negative review then! Just so everyone is aware I left deboudoir with no ill will I worked out my full two weeks but then management refused to pay me money owed to me legally as promised and now I am considering legal action against the company.. Sure I'm mad but not bitter because things worked out better for me in the end but I don't want to see anyone else fall into the trap of thinking this company has the employees best interest at heart they don't.

Explore other reviews about deBoudoir

5.0
13 Nov 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are many pros to working with deBoudoir. First and foremost it is an awesome feeling going to work and empowering women. It is such a great feeling to see a woman's response to her pictures. It is also great growing with a company and seeing a small company grow and just knowing that you are a part of it. Honestly, there is not many mornings I don't look forward to going to work.

Cons

There are not many cons to working for deBoudoir. You must be good at self-managing and communication. If you are not good at either than its probably not in your best interest.

1.0
29 Dec 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Easy schedule (depending on your position), the CEO likes to take her employees out for dinner and drinks, Female run company (mostly).

Cons

The compensation is ridiculous, they expect you to work long days (10+ hours sometimes) with a smile and only pay you for ones where you actually make a sale with their outrageous price sheet. They require you to drive around your city, going to various locations (plastic surgeons offices, beauty spas, ect) attempting to get random customers to come in and book appointments but refuse to pay you for gas, time, or even if you book an appointment but don't get an actual sale from it. They also expect you to be available to answer customer's questions on your personal cell phone 24/7, but refuse to give you any compensation towards a phone bill or supply you with a work phone. While working there I was encouraged to bribe customers with a free photo in exchange for a good yelp review, as you can imagine, that worked quite well giving the studio lots of 5 star reviews, that weren't deserved. The quality of the photos/overall customer experience vs. the prices is a total rip off for the customers. Most of the women who come in are being taken advantage of and the upper management is well aware of this and choose to do nothing because it brings in money. All customers are viewed as a one time opportunity to get as much money as possible out of.

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