Uncommon Goods reviews

3.7

66% would recommend to a friend

(188 total reviews)

David Bolotsky

80% approve of CEO

38% positive business outlook

Uncommon Goods has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 188 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Uncommon Goods employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

188 reviews
4.0
Sep 22, 2015

Highly recommended for most professionals

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some of the reviews say that the people on our team are the best thing about where we work, but for me it has been the career opportunity provided by UncommonGoods. The company is a great place for most professionals, but is exceptionally great for those in a transitional or early stage of their career, seeking rapid professional growth in a high-impact position. Training, tuition reimbursement and other professional growth opportunities are highly encouraged, as are hard work, working independence and transparency from the top down. Furthermore, UncommonGoods encourages cross-departmental career transitions/promotions and encourages seasonal employees to apply for full-time positions. Essentially, if you are hardworking and can show that you can grow as an employee, UncommonGoods will help you make that happen. Every day I spent there felt well-spent! Another aspect that I like is that you can own part of the company you work at via stock options, you get to be a part of a B-Corp (other examples are Etsy, Warby Parker, etc..) and can work at a company that gives back (UncommonGoods has given over $1 million to non-profits chosen by customers).

Cons

Although top management cares deeply and sincerely about the team and is constantly seeking ways to improve the environment for everyone, their reaction times are slow, and they tend to prioritize risk aversion over growth, and that limits both the potential of employees and the company overall. This isn't necessarily a con, but as an employee you will feel the effects of this strategy. Another important note is that this is a relatively flat structure, so you may not be promoted as quickly as you'd like. That said, it is also a relatively small team taking on a lot, so you'll never be short of opportunities to take on more interesting and impactful responsibilities.

5.0
Mar 23, 2015

Overall great place to work

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Friendly company culture with a lot of very smart and passionate people. Everyone works hard, and is very motivated. Managers really care about their people and their business. - Lots of employee perks: monthly company lunches and snacks, good company discount, volunteer days and more. - Strong company philosophy of making a positive impact which is seen in the types of merchandise sold, the better to give program, the packing materials used, and the fact that minimum hourly wage is 50% above the NYC minimum wage, amongst other things. - UncommonGoods is focused on constant improvement and is always striving to do things better. Although things don’t always move as quickly as would be ideal, there is always a lot happening. - There aren't many companies like UncommonGoods still based in NY and the company is committed to keeping all parts of the business in a single location.

Cons

- UG is a relatively flat organization so there is not a lot of opportunity for quick upward movement. However, managers can provide opportunities through projects and other horizontal development. - Centralized decision making is not always communicated clearly, which can cause frustration. - With such a focus on improvement, successes aren't always celebrated as much as they should be.

1.0
Dec 3, 2014

Bizarre that i was hired and terminated in about a month!

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-The ideology and values of the company seem great! -The CEO seems like a good guy based on a group discussion he had with new employees. -Most workers are great people. -They have a good working environment atmosphere.

Cons

-Seasonal work seems scary after what i went through. -Took about two and a half weeks to finish two days worth of training. -Got terminated with a phone call a few days after THANKSGIVING!!!!. It was also the day i was expecting my first schedule for the upcoming week so to say i was surprised would be an understatement. -I got no explanation of termination by the person who called until i asked "WHY?" & the response was we have limited shifts and too many people. (I guess that was my fault) -I really never got a sense that i mattered which is evident with my termination which came out of the blue. -Termination came before the end of the season which was told to us was December 20th but to be fair they said they could terminate at any moment.

avatar
Uncommon Goods Response
11y
We apologize that your time with us was cut so short! We are taking the appropriate steps to make sure that this does not happen to our seasonal team members again. Our biggest challenge remains providing a great experience for our seasonal workforce. With 5-fold growth in our team in an 8-week time frame, this remains a work in progress. We’ve made a big investment in training and development and strengthening our management team and the experience gets better each year. Thank you for your review and your willingness to endorse our values and work atmosphere. Anytime we fall short, we want to hear about it and, while we’d prefer to have someone speak to their manager or our HR team, we appreciate the opportunity to respond to this post.
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Glassdoor has 268 Uncommon Goods reviews submitted anonymously by Uncommon Goods employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Uncommon Goods is right for you.