Perks don't outweigh considerable problems - Anonymous employee Barrel Employee Review

2.0
Sep 4, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Everyone is young and eager to grow. Highly organized and amazing perks. - Provided lunch (everyone eats together) - Beer tap and wine tap - Ping pong - Creative Days (Hackathon) - Bourbon Fridays

Cons

A lot of people who work there are coming straight out of college, or it's their first agency job. This results in a lot of inexperience and mismanagement. Management doesn't trust their employees to get client work done so there is a lot of micro-managing. Management also won't hire experienced and senior employees (maybe they don't want to lose their "control" or provide a competitive salary). Since there is no creative direction (just management telling you what to do) there are a lot of missed opportunities to work on interesting client work. Turnover rate has been very high (10 people in 5 months) because people have been unsatisfied with management, client work, and compensation. Perks are great but they are not genuine, I've heard HR and management say numerous times "it keeps you here". Obviously perks are not what people value higher than trust, creative freedom and competitive salary.

Explore other reviews about Barrel

5.0
Jan 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Amazing reputation in the Shopify ecosystem for an agency - Challenging work that forces you to adapt/learn constantly. Never a dull moment! -Good comp, amazing benefits [half day Fridays year round, home office set-up, professional development stipend, solid health insurance, etc..] - Opportunity to make real changes inside the company if your idea is solid - Unparalleled place for personal/professional growth. Lots of responsibility placed on each employee & a lot expected- but also a focus by leadership on the growth of each employee - Unlimited growth potential if you have areas you're interested in across design, Shopify, technical, sales, marketing, etc..

Cons

- Consistent moments of high stress & pressing timelines. Have to be prepared to handle multiple priority items at the same time over a long period of time

2.0
Feb 26, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good place to learn in early career

Cons

Not great work life balance

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