Pros
For a year and a half I told people that I had the best job I could ever imagine. I loved what I did, I loved who I worked with, and I loved the industry I was a part of. The lower-level to supervisory employees that work for this company were and still are like a family to me and they are all an incredible group of individuals. Great work environment as well.
Cons
Dress code. The biggest con of all is losing a job I loved dearly, put my soul into, and found family in because of a choice to have a facial piercing. I had this facial piercing for 8 months before receiving my first formal warning, which I received while covering said piercing per dress code, but this was no longer accepted. I was given 2 weeks to find a new solution. I purchased the required clear stud as they requested, however, forgot to place the new one in when I went to work on the day exactly 2 weeks after my warning. Within an hour and a half into my shift, after planning to switch jewelry during break, I was called to the managers office. I immediately began taking out my nose ring to put in the dress code appropriate replacement and was told that this didn’t matter, the decision to terminate my employment had already been made. I found this incredibly harsh and sudden. Especially considering this was my only warning, I was able to meet dress code immediately, and had worked hard for this company for a year and a half. I never reached back out to upper management about my firing and this leads me to my second point. There is a large disconnect between upper management and the lower level employees. I felt as though we were treated differently and had a different set of rules. Upper management seemed out of touch and inaccessible. This certainly made me uncomfortbale during different periods of my employment and is the reason I chose to not question my termination. This company claims to pay its workers “a fair, living wage,” however, I made minimum wage and not much more for most of my employment. I felt as though most of the employees I knew were under paid for the work they did, the experience they had, or the passion they put into their work. This company seems to have lost sight of its roots. They seem to be getting caught up in trends and fads, not staying as true to the “classic” feel many love from Duluth Pack. Also, prices continue to rise on bags despite the fact that nothing has changed on them and most employees still aren’t making enough. Less bags are being made for an outdoor activity/lifestyle, and more only lifestyle/travel. The retail store carries excessive amounts of clothing as opposed to more outdoor oriented gear or a larger selection of locally made products. Tom Sega as a business man has definitely turned Duluth Pack into a booming business. I may not agree with how it was done or what it looks like now but he has done a good job as Company President.
