Cliques and Managers with No Experience, Guinea pigs for harmful materials - Operations Specialist Spoonflower Employee Review

2.0
Feb 23, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

get $75 free products per month. Weight loss due to strenuous activity. Somewhat thought out training process.

Cons

Air Quality and toxic chemicals, inexperienced leadership with a lack of accountability, us vs. them mentality with factory/office employees and 1st/2nd shift, unclear/unwritten rules that vary from manager to manager, no formal PIP process or other processes you would expect with a growing corporation in business for 10 years. This company basically forces everyone to start off working in a factory, and then after years of working there, you may be able to apply to move into a coveted office job if you are deemed worthy. Your previous experience does not matter, everyone has to put their time in working in a factory. If you are qualified for an open position, you will likely not be hired unless you are at the top of your field or have worked for another fabric printing company. Experience, resume and education are meaningless. Also, dye sub you are basically working in 100+ degree heat with 2 400 degree ovens, caustic chemicals are emitted even if they claim its safe. Dye Sub is a task you are required to do in operations, despite it being completely different and more difficult than all the other tasks required of you.

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Spoonflower Response
6y
Thank you for your feedback. It sounds as if there is a lot that you are dissatisfied with, and I am sorry that is the case. Although it is difficult to work through all of your concerns online , there are a few areas I can address by providing factual information in response to the conclusions you are drawing. Safety is unequivocally the highest priority at Spoonflower. We work very hard to keep our employees safe and are proud of our safety program and safety record. Spoonflower goes above and beyond the applicable regulatory requirements, including OSHA regulations, to make our workplace as safe as possible for all our employees. As a print operation, certain serious hazards exist that we adequately eliminate or mitigate by installing the proper engineering controls and providing employees with the appropriate personal protective equipment and training on how to perform your daily work in a safe manner. During our hiring process, all candidates for positions within our Operations department are given a tour of the factory. We discuss in an open and transparent manner what it is like to work here. All employees, regardless of their position, are encouraged to immediately report any workplace conditions that they believe to be unsafe. Spoonflower looks into the matters promptly. Relative to your advice to management, we feel Spoonflower’s commitment to employee professional and career development is evident in all parts of the company. You will find that former floor operations specialists and print operators have advanced to roles in Product Engineering, Marketing, Customer Service, Distribution and Accounting. In fact, we have an engineering development program that is open to all employees for which we pay 100% of the costs of a code bootcamp. We also continue salary and benefits for employees selected for this program so they can focus 100% of their time to the program and learning to code. Many of the employees who went through this program came from a previous role Operations in some capacity and are now working on front-end and back-end development for our e-commerce platform! Several of our social media and email marketing team members came from Operations and half of our Accounting team were former print and floor operations employees. Almost half of our Customer Service team members are from Operations. Finally, all Operations Supervisors, Team Leaders, Technical Specialists and Pre-Production Specialists are promoted from within, so there are plenty of opportunities as well for those employees who want to stay and grow at Spoonflower. We have a team of highly talented, passionate and dedicated employees and we understand that they are motivated by interesting work and professional development. We try hard to make sure that our goal of providing meaningful work and growth opportunities run parallel to the overall goals of Spoonflower. I am sorry that Spoonflower was not the right environment for you. There are many employees at Spoonflower who do not share your sentiments. We wish you all the best in your future career endeavors.

Explore other reviews about Spoonflower

5.0
Nov 7, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Awesome People: The team here is genuinely supportive and full of creative, driven folks. It’s the kind of place where you feel like you’re working with friends. Cool Mission: Spoonflower’s focus on personalized, creative products makes our work feel meaningful and fun. Exciting Growth: We’re evolving quickly, which means lots of opportunities to tackle new challenges and contribute in a big way.

Cons

Change & Churn: It’s been a year of adjustments, with some team turnover and evolving priorities. Not always easy, but there’s a clear effort to keep moving forward. Small Team, Diverse Responsibilities: With a lean team, there’s a lot of work across different areas. It can be a lot to juggle, but it’s a great fit if you like variety!

1.0
May 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There were a lot of cool people on the team, until most of them were laid off.

Cons

It's no surprise to learn that both of the companies the current CEO (George) ran prior to spoonflower went bankrupt under his leadership. He is short-sighted, fosters a cliquish environment, and treats employees as disposable. During my short tenure, I watched multiple employees get laid off. We're talking about people who had been with the company for a decade, and had been instrumental in shaping the success of the brand, only to get unceremoniously dropped after the company failed to hit unrealistic growth expectations two months in a row. I watched as a new employee was hired, handed a massive project, pulled 50+ hour weeks without a single day off to make the deadline, then immediately laid off within days of the completing the project. The CEO took a 3-week vacation to Germany the following week.

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