Custom Ink reviews

2.9

30% would recommend to a friend

(703 total reviews)
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David Doctorow

23% approve of CEO

23% positive business outlook

Custom Ink has an employee rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars, based on 703 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Custom Ink employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.4 stars).

Reviews by job title

703 reviews
2.0
Jun 10, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I was surrounded by highly skilled and collaborative coworkers, some of which went on to be great friends. Competitive pay and benefits package.

Cons

Constantly changing productivity targets which made it difficult to maintain the same level of pay let alone achieve the higher levels. This also led to many people sacrificing quality to achieve the higher numbers which overall made the job more difficult. Custom Ink just laid off 2 warehouses earlier this year so it was no surprise when they started laying off artists as well which will be happening at different “exit” dates throughout the year. They use the term “right sizing” to describe these layoffs which not only lacks empathy but is incredibly insulting to the artists being let go and those that remain. They plan to lay off over half of their art department and will be making additional cuts to other departments as well. Earlier this year and last year they were actively stating that there wouldn’t be cuts and that the over staffing in our department was intentional- obviously that was just to keep us working hard until they no longer needed us. They are actively replacing US employees with offshore ones to reduce the cost of labor. They’re also using an excessive amount of automation which will obviously cut into the quality and integrity of the experience and goods that the customer receives. It constantly felt like I was on the chopping block and I was actually told by one of the higher ups that job security was an “unreasonable expectation”. Mind you I worked at this company for 7 years which normally should allow some level of job security by nature. Beware of the positive reviews shown as some are clearly written by bots or employees that have been encouraged to make 5 star reviews to mitigate the influx of very valid negative ones. The CEO went from being a likable and empathetic leader to a reckless and robotic overlord. He lashed out whenever employees were upset and would send unhinged “update” emails to the entire company to try and convince us that the state of the business was fine. It honestly felt embarrassing to read them.

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Custom Ink Response
3y
Thank you for sharing your experience with us, and for your years of service. We appreciate your perspective and value your feedback. We’re sorry to hear you had a difficult time, and we understand that it’s frustrating when you don’t feel heard or valued. We have had to make some difficult decisions, prompted by increasing production costs and tight labor markets but we tried to support impacted Inkers with generous severance packages and an extended benefits period. We always strive to learn from and listen to our Inkers, and we will share your feedback with the team.
1.0
Jan 22, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Health Insurance/Benefits Food/Kitchen Lax dress code --that's --it

Cons

Everything not named in Pros. This place has the maturity level of an elementary school. If you don't conform to their ways, you will be shown the door. It's overrun with unqualified managers who have 0 experience in leading a team. This is NOT the type of workplace you can expected to be treated like an adult, and you better hope you become friends with the "in" crowd or you might want to show yourself the door.

2.0
Jan 31, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- The employees they do have are treated well - Decent career opportunities - All of my peers were amazing people

Cons

- Disorganized management (constantly moving targets, contradicting business updates month-by-month, and poor communication from leadership) - "Golden Rule": It sounds stupid, but it was one of my favorite parts of the company. Treat others how you want to be treated. A core value from the CEO and Founder. Along the way, the company made repeated choices that went against this, to the point where it feels insulting they have that included in their values. This includes mass layoffs in favor of cheap labor, despite "one last final push" till we were a public company. Many of these employees had been with the company since its beginning. The entire 2023 year left a massive bitter taste in my mouth and many others. Beware of this company's culture before you enter. - Their shirts are way overpriced

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Custom Ink Response
2y
We greatly appreciate your candid feedback. It's invaluable in guiding our efforts to enhance our service. We recognize the hardships faced by everyone affected, despite our efforts to soften the impact with comprehensive severance packages and prolonged benefits. We empathize with the challenges you've encountered and assure you that we'll convey your comments to our team. Should you wish to discuss your views in more depth, do not hesitate to contact us at inkerfeedback@customink.com.
Viewing 19 - 21 of 703 Reviews

Glassdoor has 732 Custom Ink reviews submitted anonymously by Custom Ink employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Custom Ink is right for you.