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The Clever Factory Reviews
Updated Jun 7, 2023
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Found 39 of over 42 reviews
51% Recommend to a Friend
63% Approve of CEO
Found 40 of over 42 reviews
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Recommend to a Friend
Approve of CEO
Andrew Hyde
23 Ratings
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Pros
Cons
- "The management is always at odds with each other and the two clueless salesmen at the company have all the say and constantly change their minds which results in more work being stacked upon the lowly designers, not to mention how very little the salesmen understand about design in general." (in 4 reviews)
Pros & Cons are excerpts from user reviews. They are not authored by Glassdoor.
Ratings by Race Ethnicity
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- Current Employee, more than 1 year★★★★★
Pros
Great people, work life balance and culture. Fun place to work!
Cons
Low pay and poor benefits
- Former Employee★★★★★
Pros
Fun Products Great People Never a dull moment
Cons
Long Hours Very busy certain times of the year
- Former Employee★★★★★
TCF is headed for the ICU and life support. Don’t waste your time here, you’ll get infected.
Apr 19, 2022 - Graphic DesignerRecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
MetroCenter is an easily accessible place to work in town. Cookies once a month for company birthday acknowledgements.
Cons
- Tons of overtime required. ZERO overtime pay. - Routinely dry the tears of frazzled coworkers. - Diversity is not a priority. It’s a white bubble. - Routinely hire just out of college students so they can pay low and maintain staff that doesn’t know how to advocate for themselves. - CS6 operating system keeps designers out of touch with industry standards. - Very wide income gap between owners/executives and designers. Many many designers have to have 2nd and 3rd jobs. - “Competitive salary” touted; in actuality it’s 10-15K below national average. - Slim PTO package and minimum federal holidays observed; work life balance is not a consideration. - They fire people without always filling their roles. Be prepared to be a part time copywriter; you will not be paid for your skills or the extra time needed to complete projects. They absorb the salaries and put the work on existing employees. - HR is a joke. One of the biggest gossips in the office. Only used as a mouthpiece for owner demands, will repeat what you say in confidence.
Continue reading - Current Employee, more than 3 years★★★★★
Advice to young graphic designers
May 27, 2022 - Project Leader in Nashville, TNRecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Could potentially learn about illustration IF they like you.
Cons
BE WARNED--- When I was offered a job at The Clever Factory some years ago I read these glassdoor reviews. I had concerns, my parents had concerns and anyone that reads them (except the owners and upper management) has concerns. I chose to ignore them and I was wrong to do so. It doesn't matter how many amazing people you have working around you the problem lies with Andy and Debby (the owners). After working there for several years they did not even know my name. COLLEGE STUDENTS- This may seem like a cool job but you will be setting yourself back 10 years working here. The Clever Factory uses outdated graphic design software and if you start anywhere else you WILL struggle and you WILL pay for it. I have read through the salaries that are posted and I would like to say that they are inaccurate. Graphic designers will make 37K for Nashville and the USA this is not even a little bit competitive. Project leaders will make around 42K when they should be making around 50-55. After working there for maybe 5-6 years you might get promoted to Team Lead and you will make 50k. At any other company in this nation for the same about of responsibility (or less) you should be making 80-90k. Let it be noted that members of product development and sales receive bonuses every year. It doesn't matter if you design 50 items that make it into retail stores. You will not receive a bonus because they do not respect graphic designers. The pace that they work you at is unreasonable. You are expected to have about 4 designs done in one morning. They also want you to use art that they have purchased because they are not interested in growing you as an employee. I could go on and on but I have already sacrificed way too much of my time for this company. It is only a matter of time before they go under.
Continue reading - Former Employee★★★★★
Great place to work, promote from within
May 30, 2022 - Anonymous EmployeeRecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
It is a great place to work. Good people. Tons of opportunities. Stable and growing company. Very flexible and forward thinking with regard to employee health and safety during Covid.
Cons
Small company with some growing pains. If you can work with them, you will have opportunities.
- Current Employee, more than 3 years★★★★★
Pros
The people are great. You get to design a variety of products. Great learning experience! Work from home every other week is nice!
Cons
Doesn’t pay that much for the industry.
- Former Employee, more than 3 years★★★★★
Nice place to work
May 17, 2022 - Digital Image Coordinator in Nashville, TNRecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Small company where you can learn the business
Cons
It is in north Nashville and traffic is always bad.
- Current Employee★★★★★
Pros
Hybrid, fun environment, good co-workers, ability to move up if you're efficient and fast
Cons
Long hours/late nights, unrealistic due dates/expectations
- Former Employee, more than 1 year★★★★★
Soulless Machine
May 3, 2022 - Anonymous Employee in Nashville, TNRecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Got along with my fellow employees
Cons
The company does not care about you as a person. You are dispensable. Just a cog in the machine.
- Former Employee★★★★★
Pros
Creative environment, fun products, nice people
Cons
busy with limited time off
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The Clever Factory Reviews FAQs
The Clever Factory has an overall rating of 2.9 out of 5, based on over 42 reviews left anonymously by employees. 51% of employees would recommend working at The Clever Factory to a friend and 42% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.
51% of The Clever Factory employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated The Clever Factory 2.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.7 for culture and values and 3.0 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at The Clever Factory to be culture, workplace, coworkers and the cons to be career development, benefits, management.
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