Pros
One of the first that introduced a curated e-commerce experience but that was 13 YEARS AGO. Great brands to work with.
Cons
I worked for this company for 5+ years in a senior role for 4 of those years. You’re probably thinking, seems odd to work somewhere for so long and rank this company so low + read all of the other negative reviews (which are 100% accurate). La Garconne is a very difficult environment to work in. The founder has favorites, so if you’re her flavor of the week, month or year working at LG is more manageable, you’re left alone and treated with a little more respect but even that is being generous. Her management style is a micromanaging, decision flipping dictatorship and she creates fear of loosing your job (which is 100% true). She gets her husband the "CEO" who is basically her minion to do all of her dirty work so she doesn’t need to get her hands dirty. Or at least that’s what she tells herself because she clearly doesn’t consider what people say once they leave the company. Maybe that’s why they have such a hard time recruiting now… There has been many incredible employees fired over her emotional rollercoaster she’s created — all that leave go onto being very successful. Not to mention how thin each employee is spread within their roles. Giving them responsibility they have no experience in, which leaves employees to fail because there is no support for them to succeed. During her smoke breaks with other employees she will gossip and backstab other employees. As a founder of a company you shouldn’t be the one infecting your own company with this type of behaviour. Women working together should support and empower each other, if she becomes jealous or envious of you, she will flip on you. Week by week her direction changes, and she is constantly changing her mind on all decisions which proves that herself and the CEO are clueless as to what they’re doing. There is no marketing, no advertising, no social media department or strategy nor do they realize how important these roles and departments are for a company to succeed + terrible customer service (read the Yelp reviews). Instead they shift their energy and blame other departments that don’t have the ability to change a company around and put all the pressure on them. This of course gives no prospering results because there is nothing to support them. Their employees are the ones they blame for a failing company when the owners continue to make poor decisions. There is no communication within the company because everyone is scared, there is no HR, good luck trying to use your very limited vacation days. Made to feel bad if you call out sick. Personal day? Ha! Forget about it. They will work you to the core and give you no support or respect even after you’ve proven yourself. One antidotal story, to show the founders true colors, is I had a severe health issue which was directly correlated to stress, I was in the hospital for a week. After returning to work (way to early), the founder pulled me into a room and berated me because I was out for too long. Not to mention I gave her daily updates on my condition and communicated how serious it was which she decided not to believe even after doctors notes. Oh and I have $10,000 in hospital bills because their health plan is so poor. It is disgusting how unempathetic she was after working with her so closely for so many years. I poured my life into the company for 5 years and that’s how I was treated as a senior member. My only regret at La Garconne was not walking out that day. The founder and CEO are playing “run a company” but have no clue how to which is why the company is in the red — poor decision making and management style has lead them to this. They still continue to blame everyone who has left or who is still at the company — which isn’t many, mostly interns because they can’t afford to hire managers and they pay their employees late! She won’t let anyone wear headphones in the office and sometimes if you’re lucky they will play music. Monday morning meetings usually start off with a negative rant to the remaining employees about how everyone needs to “act serious” and everyone leaves that meeting feeling battered down and scared. Acting “serious” means nothing and is not going to help your company. Not to mention you can usually hear a pin drop throughout the day because everyone is scared to talk which she has also commented on if people are laughing too much. One of the last managers standing also follows the same management style as the founder going behind employees backs and acting SHADY. They are completely out of touch with the retail landscape and don’t understand the core values that help businesses succeed. And the list goes on… For those in the industry, everyone already knows La Garconne’s reputation so this is nothing new. If you are new to the industry or unfamiliar with La Garconne, there are a million other positive work environments that will support your growth and help you succeed that treat their employees with respect. Do yourself a favor and work for a company that has more integrity and success. ***Disclaimer, the photo retoucher review below is one of the only positive reviews and it’s from 2014. Not sure how La Garconne sneaked that review to the top but 2014 was a long time ago and a lot has changed.