Mud Bay reviews

2.7

31% would recommend to a friend

(214 total reviews)
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Marisa Wulff

19% approve of CEO

24% positive business outlook

Mud Bay has an employee rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars, based on 214 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Mud Bay employee rating is 24% below average for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

214 reviews
1.0
Jun 18, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Medical Benefits, the dogs, some really good friends, discounts on some merchandise.

Cons

The amount of gossip, back stabbing, crap talking, and just plain pettiness and drama from management and HR. It’s a toxic environment behind the scenes and management pretends to care about their employees and their well being. They do everything they can to break you down and make you feel horrible about yourself. This company has become way to corporate and they only seem to care about making money and keeping the public happy and not their employees.

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Mud Bay Response
2y
We’re very sorry to hear that that was your experience while working with Mud Bay. That is not the Mud Bay Experience that we strive to provide for our teams. We would like the opportunity to look further into this. Please reach out to us at HR@MudBay.com.
2.0
Feb 6, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Most people are nice. You get to meet and pet a lot of animals. The job itself isn't hard. Decent job if you are VERY outgoing.

Cons

PTO and Attendance Policies: Combined vacation and sick hours that accrues very slowly. It really makes planning vacations tough unless you have more than enough PTO saved up in case you get sick between now and your vacation. You are given a minimum number of hours you will be scheduled per week (GFE) and you are not allowed to work any less than that even if you are willing to take unpaid days off. If you want to take a week off you need at least the same amount of PTO as your GFE. A very strict attendance policy with little wiggle room. It only takes a handful of late arrivals or call outs before you will be given a strike in the discipline system, that is unless you use your very limited PTO. Discipline Track: They use a 4 strike discipline system but what is considered a strike can be as small as a mistake or a miscommunication and many things can count as a strike. The wrong manager can and will find small things to "coach" you on and those strikes will add up quick. Too often, those who were fired, did something fairly minor but because they were on their third strike, had to be let go. The strikes are only removed after 6 months so you could quickly get to 3 strikes and have to work everyday for months worried that a simple mistake could lead to your firing. Pay: Pay is better than a good number of retail jobs but for a company that espouses "living wages" they're still not willing to set to a level that is actually livable on. Based on the MIT living wage calculator they use to determine their wage structure, they explicitly expect you to be a 2 income household. So single folk are going to have a much harder time with the pay. They make claims to be a supportive and progressive company but literally every single person I knew that had legitimate wage grievances were women, and this occurred at multiple stores throughout the company. One was even told "It is what it is" by HR when they asked why they made less than some of the newer hires. A few of these grievances were fixed but only because managers (all of whom were men in this instance) fought on their behalf. Culture: About 50% of a store's staff are leads and managers, a bit less for the larger stores. Some times it can feel like there are too many "cooks in the kitchen" so to speak. Too many of the leads aren't actually good at their job. So many issues could be dealt with if they were willing to actually lead and do things like have even slightly difficult talks with staff. Instead they often run to the manager and it becomes a bigger deal than it ever needed to be. They spend all this time taking classes on how to lead but frankly very few of them actually stood out as leaders. If you are not super outgoing the expectation to engage with everyone that enters the store, and again if they've been in the store for 5-10 minutes, will get tiresome. Overall culture of some stores has taken a considerable turn for the worse. Its really a store-by-store issue though. Even for Seattle, it is a very white workforce; you could probably count the number of people of color that you'll work with on one hand.

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Mud Bay Response
3y
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback. We are sorry to hear that your experiences fell short of your expectations. At Mud Bay, we do our very best to work with Muddies’ individual scheduling preferences and balance them with the needs of the business. Our District Managers and the HR team are available to answer any questions about scheduling laws and business requirements. Our attendance policy was built with feedback from our Store Leads, Store Managers, and District Managers. It carefully balances the requirement to maintain stores that are open and available to support our customers with the needs of individual Muddies. Occasionally, Mud Bay does have to make the difficult decision to part ways with a Muddy. These decisions are never made casually. Muddies are provided with opportunities to learn and grow from their mistakes. All Muddy separations are reviewed by the HR team to ensure we are providing a fair and consistent employment experience for all Muddies. Mud Bay is proud to provide all Muddies with a living wage, based on the MIT living wage calculator. The 2023 model is based on the household requirements for 2 working adults with a child. Those rates are higher than the rates for single adults with no children. Mud Bay’s hiring decisions and compensation models do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, or veteran status. We invite you to share your personal experiences with our HR team at hr@mudbay.com.
3.0
Dec 28, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Tidy and Clean Store Philosophy, the store itself kept an air of quality and cleanliness that few stores match. Forward-facing rugs were kept clean and switched out regularly, floors were disinfected nightly, shelves were dusted, regularly, windows were cleaned, product was catalog quarterly (if not daily, actually), and accidents were cleaned thoughtfully and near-immediately by well-trained and through practices. Great Training and on-boarding, training was often full of information and is encouraged/required for new employees, which led to Good product sourcing, excellent research into brand and a wealth of information available to both customers and employees for pet issues, both physical and behavioral. Willing to exclude popular products if they do not meet quality or company standards. A generally friendly and comfortable atmosphere, the store attracted mostly good clientele and making visits with customers comfortable and enjoyable was priority. The work was, comparative to it's counterparts, specialized and simple. Generous pet supply employee discount. Pets were allowed to accompany you to work. Retail Staff and Store-level management were friendly and easy to get along with, matching the company's overall philosophy. Good generic brand selections, lovely packaging and appealing, informative signage. Easy and informative tools at disposal, like product catalog, information about nutrition, and others. An overall good experience that I loved working at, (but not with.)

Cons

Harbors a Toxic Positivity Culture that encourages neutralization rather than conflict resolution. This encouraged gossiping, and bad blood, as reaching out to upper management resulted in scolding and everyone getting speeches on communication instead of dealing with, or addressing, bad behavior. Customers were encouraged to abuse store policy, and even abuse staff. Upper Management felt disconnected from the retail floor, as decisions were made largely on what may seem more aesthetically pleasing rather than practical- like cleaning supplies and floor signs being hidden away from customer view at the back of the store rather than kept readily available or accessible- or product being hidden away in inappropriate sectors because the table looked nicer there. Practicality is forfeit for aesthetics and money saving.- the Company always valued it's appearance, even if it meant undercutting quality or practicality. Company is stiff with granting stores with money for non-essentials. Cleaning tools were purchased with no long term considerations in mind, and replacements were often of worse quality than the original. Company took storage and display from current stores instead of providing new ones in order to furnish new stores. The Company will keep on bad or actively malicious employees but will act on their zero tolerance policies if any negative act is noticed by upper management. Reasonable, but there was no evidence that write ups fell off records with time and improvement, even for policies that were eliminated during tenure. PTO is encouraged to be used for sick days and will refuse to make accommodations for injury if it means breaking a rule (example, dress code), even with doctor's requests. This lead to many call-outs, which in turn led to premature shutdown of the store due to under-staffing and many unwilling to fill in. Almost Impossible to climb upwards, company more often than not, pulled in new employees instead of promoting- with notable exceptions in the case of favoritism in management. Part time does not gain benefits and they were happy to keep employees there as long as possible. Company hired, and pays, based on the assumption that employees would be living outside of the company's own clientele, and does not compensate for travel (public or private transportation). Some employees spend absurd amounts in travel costs just to get to work. Even at the wage paid, it was not a livable one until several yearly raises in and an upward fight to gain enough hours to be able to afford rent, food, and travel without assistance. I was never able to save money at the rate and was living paycheck to paycheck. Company has goals in growth instead of maintaining current stores. Outdated Retail systems that are frustrating and time consuming for everyone involved. Hilariously little diversity, mostly white. Mostly women? Watched a co-worker get bullied out of working by lack of effort by management, refusal to promote or compensate compared to workload, and intolerant customers feeling free to speak their mind. Retail-typical issues like lack of seating for staff member sand general outdated welfare practices.- who were expected to be on their feet at all times, even during tasks that did not require mobility- such as writing thank you notes, packing treats, and other menial tasks.

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Mud Bay Response
2y
Mud Bay believes that growth and ownership are part of a healthy work culture, including our values of accountability and graciousness. Conflict resolution is an important skill in leadership for anyone in our stores, which is why there are multiple leaders in each building to engage and mediate such issues. Allegations of abuse and bullying are taken very seriously, whether by customers or by employees. Action is taken based on the findings of an internal investigation, and customers may be asked to no longer shop in our stores. Our PTO policy allows Muddies the flexibility of using their PTO how they see fit, including both vacation and sick time. This means that they do not lose any unused time at the end of the year and that they are paid for any unused time if they decide to leave the company. Our HR team is happy to have a conversation with anyone who feels that they need an accommodation to perform the essential functions of their job and are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Part-time team members are not eligible for health benefits but are still eligible for our Employee Assistance Program, 401k, ESOP, Employee Discount, Pet Insurance, and technology discounts. Mud Bay is proud to provide all Muddies with a living wage, based on the MIT living wage calculator. The 2023 model is based on the household requirements for 2 working adults with a child. Those rates are higher than the rates for single adults with no children. We have 65 locations throughout the company, and different locations will mean varying distances of commuting for individual Muddies. Our weekly staffing update allows Muddies to assess if a location with an open position would be a better option for them, and are encouraged to apply for a transfer. We always offer positions to current employees before posting a position outside of the company to ensure growth opportunities and changes from part-time to full-time status.
Viewing 37 - 39 of 214 Reviews

Glassdoor has 216 Mud Bay reviews submitted anonymously by Mud Bay employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Mud Bay is right for you.