New European ownership negatively changed culture and management practices - Customer Service Representative Maui Jim Employee Review

1.0
Sep 20, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Employee discount on the sunglasses.

Cons

The company was previously private and then was purchased in the past year by a much larger European company who owns fashion houses like Gucci. They negatively impacted the culture and morale and started abusing employee overtime by hardly even giving 24 hours notice. Most of the time it was less notice than 24 hours and it was extended indefinitely. Almost every single Human Respurces employee aside from the directors quit in the spring and summer of 2024. That really signaled to the employees that things were headed down a bad path. Upper management does not care about how Kering is handling things. They’re just letting it all happen. So many tenured employees have quit in the past 12 months.

Explore other reviews about Maui Jim

5.0
Dec 1, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Relaxed company culture, friendly people

Cons

Not incredible pay, limited opportunities outside Peoria office if you want something beyond sales

1.0
Jul 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I struggled to find any real meaningful positives during my time there.

Cons

The company placed a heavy emphasis on promoting a Hawaiian-inspired culture, but to me it felt more like a branding exercise than an authentic workplace culture. The fake “aloha” signs everywhere, including emails to major clients, the light blue ocean paint in the background, the faded palm tree posters just made the place feel liminal rather than real. The values being promoted did not match my day-to-day experience as an employee. The biggest issue was inconsistent management. Management fails to provide clear and realistic expectations which seemed to change depending on the day or the person involved, making it difficult to know what standards employees were actually being held to. Policies and decisions did not appear to be applied consistently, which created frustration and a sense of unfairness. Micromanagement was a constant problem. Employees were expected to account for nearly every minute of the day, yet guidance and expectations were often unclear. Communication between departments was inconsistent, leading to confusion, last-minute changes, and unnecessary stress. The head of shipping, in my experience, was a major contributor to these issues. I experienced inconsistent treatment and felt that decisions affecting employees were often unfair or arbitrary. Rather than fostering trust and teamwork, the leadership approach created an environment where employees felt closely monitored but not genuinely supported. The workload was frequently overwhelming, with little flexibility or opportunity to step away. Morale suffered because the focus seemed to be on control rather than helping employees succeed. Asking for help was basically pointless because everyone was either overworked or unwilling to help.

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