Design Within Reach Reviews

Pros

Autonomous work environment, great product, met some great clients
Catalogue was inspirational Commission based on sales
unfortunately no bonus structure

Cons

Lots of head turning from issues, Upper management very unprofessional-almost like being in high school again gossiping talking about other employees etc

Advice to Senior Management

get some new leaders because the tired old ones that are still running the show are running people out of there

Pros

Base pay plus commission is the best part of the job.

Cons

Very unprofessional work environment. Management doesn't know if they're coming or going.
If you want to be treated like a child you'll be satisfied. Training what training?

Advice to Senior Management

give the business up

Pros

Great People to work with
Lots of room for job growth

Cons

High level of change on a daily basis
Management can be emotional

Advice to Senior Management

Don't loose the great group of people you have

Pros

great product and you can learn alot

Cons

stale, lost clients to other on-point stores

Advice to Senior Management

other companies will pass you by quickly... listen to employees, higher employees that love design

Pros

Good benefits, good salary, good discount

Cons

Understaffed, hard to get time off when only one other person working with you

Pros

Gorgeous Product and integrity of design, strong education emphasis with public. Easy enough if you're smart and good with the public. Requires great attention to detail. Decent salary for the work, good springboard for better things.

Cons

Very poor management development. Company is in it's tenth year and it still feels like a start-up. Company is always on the edge so there's no excess cash to support management development.

Advice to Senior Management

Please put some money and time into supporting your sales people. We not only create the income, but we're the front line experience for our customers. If we're overworked and beaten-down, our attitude will reflect that. Please fully staff your Studios, no vacations do not make happy sales people.

Pros

very entrepreneurial work environment and one that if you love design you'll constantly be inspired. The people, plain & simple

Cons

Lost its vision, innovation, direction, and respect long ago. Hopefully, new management can change all that.

Advice to Senior Management

learn from past mistakes. continue to inspire, awe and educate. Understand your customer from the design expert to the aspirational. hire experienced professionals (with a passion for design) who already excel at their position instead of learning as they go.

Pros

Lots of energy when the studio is busy.
Great physical environment to work in: who wouldn't want to be surrounded by beautiful furniture?
Traning and technology is comprehensive.
Intimate family of studios
Comfortable working environment: AE's given a desk and a chair!

Cons

The constant push to sell sell sell: beyond walk-ins, the prospecting is warisome.
Response from HQ sometimes takes more than 24 hours... hard to relay to a customer!

Advice to Senior Management

Sometimes it's not just prospecting that makes the difference in studio performance: sometimes it's the state of the economy or the mindset of the local businesses or the culture of the area as a whole. Our Studio is constantly pushed to prospect and mine the field for golden opportunities, but after just a month or two without any results we are asked to change direction and do something else. These things take time!

Pros

Nice product and partnerships with manufacturers (Knoll, Herman Miller, Fritz Hansen). Decent employee discount. Level of interaction with design community.

Cons

Executive team seems highly unqualified. Poor management - directors lacks even the most basic people management practices. Inconsistent messaging to field.

Advice to Senior Management

Develop a realistic business strategy and develop a stronger corporate identity. This is a great company, but can it be sustained as it is currently structured? Review top executive's performance, dismiss those execs who are underqualified and bring in new talent and skills - too many promotions are based on relationships rather than merit.

Pros

Great Employee Discounts. Some very nice people

Cons

People who run this company have no idea what they are doing. Upper mgmt has, for the most part, never had any high level positions at other retail companies and therefore, have no inkling of how a company is supposed to do business. Additionally, the VP's who run the company (except for the CEO) are simply not qualified . Too young and inexperienced. This inexperience and youth led to an unprofessional work environment. Execs are simply too ignorant to know that they are handling things badly or talking to someone inappropriately. Turnover is very high there, mostly due to these reasons stated. Cronyism is a huge issue. All the higher ups have given jobs to their partners, nieces, wives, friends etc. It has not gone un-noticed that all these friends and relatives survived all the lay-offs, while other more qualified people were let go.

Advice to Senior Management

Execs should not be allowed to get their boyfriends etc jobs. Execs should take some classes on how to speak to people and how to conduct themselves in a way that is professional and ethical.