graphic designer

senior planner

stylist

security guard

merchandiser

Dolls Kill

Review of My Recent Experience

I recently completed a contract role with a company that, unfortunately, left me with some significant concerns, particularly around management practices and operational efficiency.

Despite fulfilling my responsibilities—often involving the most labor-intensive tasks—I have yet to receive payment for my work, which was submitted on August 20th. Additionally, the work environment was challenging, with interactions that included unprofessional behavior from certain authoritative figures.

While I found the founder to be a kind and genuine person, it seems that the management approach, likely outsourced, prioritizes cost-cutting over effective leadership. This has led to several issues:

1. Financial Instability: The company appears to be struggling, with frequent flash sales, heavy discounts, and a reliance on external shows as a primary revenue stream. Moreover, there are numerous customer complaints online and concerns about products being sold below a profitable margin.

2. High Employee Turnover: The quiet atmosphere in the office and the high turnover rate, particularly in the warehouse in a different location, suggest dissatisfaction among employees and a potentially toxic work environment. (Or inadequate pay)

3. Operational Disorganization: There seems to be a lack of clear strategy, disorganized operations, and inefficiencies that hinder productivity.

While I appreciate the efforts of the founder and the dedication of my colleagues, it’s clear that some critical changes are needed to ensure the company's long-term success and to foster a more positive and professional work environment.



During a typical day, although it was very fast paced, it was inspiring to be around so many hard working people. Majority of people treated each-other with kindness and support, which was of great help when you have a lot of pressure to perform your job immaculately. Among learning various negotiation techniques during my time as a buyer for Dolls Kill, I learned a lot about various marketing strategies and how to implement them and when to implement them. The hardest part of my job was keeping up with the daily changes within the marketing department, however I am glad I worked through this type of environment because it allowed me to practice being adaptable to daily changes that are out of my control. The most enjoyable part of my job was seeing the customer enjoyment and feedback of the posts I created for the Dolls Kill Instagram. Also, creative days where I was able to freely create content were some of my favorite times during my two years at this company.

A typical day at work varies based on the needs at the store level and the priorities from headquarters. I thrive on challenges and appreciate opportunities for growth—and I’ve certainly found that here.

I initially joined the company as an associate, despite having prior management experience. I was genuinely excited to become part of a team and contribute to a brand I already loved as a customer. Since then, I’ve experienced significant growth, earning three promotions in a relatively short period. Additionally, I had the privilege of collaborating with headquarters on the openings of both pop-up and new permanent locations, allowing me to showcase my skills and contribute to larger company initiatives.

The company truly values hard work and dedication, and I’ve seen firsthand how effort is recognized and rewarded. While the journey hasn’t always been easy, my passion for the work and enthusiasm for new challenges have made it incredibly fulfilling. I’ve also had a consistently positive experience with the company’s culture, both at the store level and at headquarters.

It was pretty decent working there. They try their best to care for their workers with what resources they have. Most managers have their favorites and give them the opportunity for them to pick their jobs they’d like to have before offering them to someone else to give them a shot. They’re still learning how to manage the warehouse still after I believe like 4 years running. It’s coming a long but they have some work to do. They sometimes don’t have the resources to get things done, and they don’t have that many employees to get the tasks they want handled- handled. Employees are always having to work in crunch time and are constantly being scolded daily for them to reach their numbers. They care more about those numbers than they care about the quality of work. They’d rather you throw everything in a box without any regard for the items/presentation of them which is what they mostly get complaints for. Also the homeless live behind the warehouse and a lot of people get their cars broken into. 

I was over it because they kept moving me around.They would train me on one station for only about 3 days then if I am not doing good they would move me to a different station and then they moved me again.It takes me two weeks to get the hang of things they don't train you long enough and a lot of new people leave because the leads are so negative trying to give everyone a hard time is unnecessary.It takes two to be a good team being a lead with so much negativity is not going to help.My first day there my feet are not used to walking on cement floors so I couldn't do my best at picking and I was so proud of myself for being faster on it, but the lead from S1 would pick on me and try to make me feel bad about not being fast enough.She hid my work cart on my last day there so I won't finish my work.I was done and one of the leads said that they don't care about how I feel there,but yet when I left for the restroom she went out to look for me. Get there early if you want to use the restroom because I would get trouble for going to the restroom and when you want to go to the restroom doing your shift you will have to ask.

Being in leadership, one should feel empowered to make changes that benefit the business/operation. This is not the case with the dictator mentality of the upper management. 
A typical workday should start with morning stretches and a quick meeting with the team to share previous day's goals and current day's goals. Get the team excited to get to work. Deal with issues as they arise throughout the day, write your end of day report and go home.
This is not what is happening. You start your day normally, upper management (GM or VP) come in and change directions. They do it in such a way that will ensure you don't accomplish your initial goals or the ones they set half way through the day. Then it's a conversation as to why you missed. There is a huge disconnect from the FC to Corp.
The people that work in the fulfillment center are great people from all walks of life and are great to work with. The upper management brings morale down and tries to be upbeat to make things seem like they are going smoothly. 

The management at the FC take their time to train and prep any and all associates who want to move up  in the company. This is done through 1:1 talks and stretch rolls that allow the associates to demonstrate their critical thinking and team building skills. There have been multiple instances of associates starting from the standard FC-1 level and working up to paid salary roles. 

The culture can best be describe as "Lets Get S**t Done". Almost everyone does their part to make sure each shift flows as smoothly as possible. Of course problems arise and mistakes happen but the management are not there to get people in trouble but instead take their time to coach their associates. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is the team-building and associate-development. The creation of clear-cut goals and completing those goals. 

I looked up the average salary of a Dollskill employee and it was around 70k-300 sum k. Now, if you work at one of their retail stores, be prepared to do 10x more of the work then anyone in an office could do, and be prepared to do all of the dirty work. Oh, and if you work at one of their retail locations, the pay is minimum wage. I watched one of my managers stay till 2 am every night, off the clock, just to prepare the store for the next day. This manager was taken advantage of, and it  was painful to watch. Be prepared to be given broken promises and dreams. Be prepared to work at a sweating pace, and be paid minimum wage, and watch others, who actually work hard to advance in the company, be tossed away as if they are replaceable. It is not a stable company to work for if you are looking for the comfort of a job where working hard pays off, and will be noticed.

Pay is average for a warehouse job. Management is terrible. Seems like no one really knows what they're doing. The conditions were TERRIBLE during the peak season.  Only one unisex restroom for 300+ employees and then the company ordered PORTA POTTIES  with only 3 stalls in the men and womens porta potty trailer, which were located OUTSIDE. Employees were made to go outside in the rain to have to use the restroom.
While those who worked in the office and the customer service department, which only consisted of about 10 people had access to their own restrooms which were made unavailable to warehouse associates. So that was a total of 2 womens restrooms and 2 mens restrooms and  an additional unisex restroom that was made off limits to warehouse workers to accommodate the few people that worked in the office and customer service, while 300+ people had to share 1 restroom at one point. 

This company promotes from within, and does not look at your work ethic before promoting. This company promotes people who literally SLEEP on the job EVERY SHIFT!! Not a professional environment as they use a lot of temps (convicts, felons, etc.) and all management does is twiddle their thumbs while pointing the finger at regular associates. There is no communication. They do not give employee evaluations on time. Management tries to get other management in trouble with the higher ups. Assistant Managers tell other associates how much they “HATE” some associates and talk about associates behind their backs. (calling girls names, sexually harassing girls, etc.) They operate illegally by renovating without city permits. This place is a joke. Only work here if you are DESPERATE!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Graphic designer 4 salaries reported	$81,250 per year
Senior planner 2 salaries reported	$115,000 per year
Stylist 2 salaries reported	$17.87 per hour
Security guard 4 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Merchandiser 2 salaries reported	$117,500 per year

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