Melissa & Doug reviews

The Original owners truly didn't care about the employees, enforced long hours (strict 30 min lunch breaks) and little if any benefits. Enter AEA private equity, a new CEO, and McKinsey oversight and now the focus is no longer on making great products, but saving money and making cuts wherever they can be found. The company is appearing to be more profitable and I'm sure will soon be sold and more detrimental changes will happen. Employees salaries were cut early during Covid, only to be followed by record growth and profits. In return employees were told there would be no salary increases. The impact of inflation applies only to the business - raise product prices due to inflation!, but not to the employees. We got more work and the stressful uncertainty of wondering if we would be fired - which results in us doing even more work. There are new processes in place where money saving ideas and general ways to improve the business are solicited with great faux excitement. You'd think this would be a welcome opportunity for associates to think outside the box, speak up and make some real change. In reality, it only means more work with zero benefit to the employee. Save a million dollars and you may get mentioned in a companywide email! You still won't get a salary increase though. Why should we then bother? The executives preach inclusivity, shared goals and transparency but it's all talk. Yes, the poor health insurance is subsidized (it's still expensive) and yes, there is not profit sharing, but that's it. I guess, you can be on the softball team too.

Lots of processes still being create and overhauling old ones that no longer make sense as the business scales. Typical growing pains.