retail sales associate

seasonal associate

tour guide

regional manager

assistant store manager

Eastern National

Working for Eastern National has been a blessing and a curse, over the last 2 years I’ve loved the work environment and my coworkers. I worked outside in a glassblowing facility in the gift shop. while management was nice to me, I had a lot of problems advancing in the company or even feeling like I was worth something to them.  The company made it very clear that they didn’t need my presence at the glasshouse, and I was even asked to leave the office by my manager the day I left because I was talking to him for too long apparently.

But don’t get me wrong, the job is fun, I really enjoyed interacting with customers and looking at all the gorgeous handmade glass. Not to mention you’re in such a pretty area, and the customers are happy because it’s handmade glass.

I’d been working for the company for a while, and decided I wanted to move onto full time. I really wanted more commitment to the glasshouse so I decided to apply, my manager pulled me into his office, spoke to me about the position and then proceeded to tell me that he wanted to give the position to one of the other candidates but if I wanted it “I could have it.” This sat with me for a while and really made me feel in-considered and disvalued by the not-for-profit. A couple weeks later my boss told me that availability was opening up and that he could work me full time hours, but as a part time employee (With no benefits of course) at the time, needing the money, I agreed. I thought this would last long, It did not. Very soon after my hours were cut and I was forced to get another job. I really didn’t want to do it because I liked the actual job itself and the tasks I did, but I had a lot of trouble with management and especially upper management who would communicate with me in the form of my manager like he was some sort of puppet. 

I got sick of it, and I left. I knew I the company did not want me as a committed member, and I thought I’d find a job that valued me more. I am honestly incredibly sad to leave, I loved my co-workers and worked really well with them, and I loved the tasks and interacting about the history of glassblowing. Not to mention the National Park Service is the only part of the government that I support, and I really enjoyed working for the nonprofit for that reason. 




This is a toxic environment from the top down. HR is non-existent when you have situations at work or with your family. Territory Manager is disconnected, and they want to get involved. They talk down to you & degrade you. There is no training program in place, so when you mess up they put all the blame on you.  Upper management/HR do not possess problem solving skills. When you go to them with a problem, they take weeks/months to get back to you. They will have you do everything they tell you to do, then when they don't like the results, they threaten you and write you up. If you discover problems within the company that they created, they belittle you. Multiple times I brought up safety issues to them, and they told me that I just have to deal with it. when they do not like the result. They do not support the employees. It is more a=of a popularity contest. If certain people like you, you can do what you want. If you are a hard worker and care about the customer but they don't like you; they will make you uncomfortable. Breaks are pretty much non-existent. You are not allowed to close and get off the floor when you are by yourself. There is no room for promotions as they have their favorites they promote and keep. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The support from the local staff and quality merchandise makes it easy to serve Cubans visitors.   It is such a joy to work with so many awesome people.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Keeping our stock supplied with our best selling merchandise.   The re order process to re stock these items can take time to get them available for our visitors.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is a friendly place to work with management that knows the merchandise and are amazing in handling all aspects of the day to day operation.  Management is professional and handles all aspects of their job to the highest standards. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Greeting visitors and sharing information about Eastern National plus pointing out our merchandise and handling sales and customer questions is our first priority.   The second important part is to keep the store clean and restock merchandise plus making displays appealing to our visitors.

Management needs to understand the time and the process it takes to hire quality employees. NEPOTISM IS NOT THE WAY. The interaction with the public is a definite plus, but not when you have to work without electricity, or air conditioning in 90 degree heat, and below 32 degree cold. Upper management needs to be able to hold their managers accountable for their morbid and gross negligence, and NOT look the other way without penalty. I've seen people quit because of a variety of reasons, but the burn-out rate is ludicrously fast and high. Pay is inconsistent with livable standards, regardless of what minimum wage is. There is no legitimate reason anybody should need state assistance while working 40 hard hours every week. People at this company have their hair falling out from stress and mismanagement, while the CEO barely shows his face and gets massive christmas bonuses every year. But I'm sure rebranding is what will fix all of this. The people that work in these stores deserve so much better.

A typical day at work is arriving at 8:30 AM and preparing for opening at 9 AM. This doesn't amount to much, maybe 10 to 15 minutes of setting things up. You may be busy at 9 AM and then again you may not see any customers until almost 11 AM. From then on it's a fairly steady flow of customers until 4 PM. AT 4 o'clock we start preparing to close at 4:45. Sometimes it is quite busy as we get tour buses, schools, and military groups that come visit Fort Pulaski.  The hardest part of the job is when there aren't many customers and it is slow. The most enjoyable part is meeting all of the different people from all over the United States and the world that come to visit Fort Pulaski. It is also nice to be able to enlighten the customers on the history of Fort Pulaski and answer their myriad of different questions.

Everyone at the field staff level was amazing, but upper management would give confusing and contradictory instructions to field management and then blame them when things went wrong. If you're going through hard times in your life that are making it difficult to get to work on time they will write you up and fire you even if you're meeting your sales goals and getting great reviews from customers. They only care about appearances. HR has no clue how to talk to or handle people who are neurodivergent. If you're visibly struggling they will shut down and leave the conversation. Very dehumanizing.

Also it's not a real nonprofit. They're not required to make donations every year.. They're a for-profit company that makes donations most of the time but can choose not to. The C-level executives make 6 figures and give themselves bonuses every year while field staff get second jobs to pay bills.

The most enjoyable part of my job at Eastern National is meeting visitors from all over the world. I relay  information regarding all the Historic sites in Salem, MA, and surrounding Essex County area. I am responsible for opening and closing registers as well as opening and closing the shop. I have learned a significant amount of history about all our sites that I enjoy sharing with customers. 
The management team has been very friendly and always there to help if there is something I am uncertain about.  
The hardest part of the job is the slow time in the off season with reduced hours and low pay. 
I would strongly recommend this company to anyone who enjoys working with great people and educating young and old alike to the rich history tied to our area.

Greeting visitors, and providing service to everyone walking into the visitor's center. Provide prompt, courteous service with a customer focused attitude. Perform cash handling and register functions in an accurate and consistent manner. Maintained a calm presence during periods of high volume. I stock product, offer assistance to visitors, and answer visitor's questions about the site, offer to help visitors with directions, offer recommendations on local accommodations. I also offer assistance to the park rangers on duty when needed. I preform basic office duties such as answering phones, taking messages, forwarding calls, and assisting the managers in making preforming inventory checks. I do my best to educate the visitor on Eastern Nationals role at Flight 93 National Memorial and our partnership with the National Park Service.

Working for Eastearn National was a wonderful experience. I learned so much about my site and enjoyed working alongside the tour guides and rangers. 
It was a comfortable and relaxed environment. 
Management left a bit to be desired, they were kind but often ‘all over the place’ to put it into words. Though I did not find it relevant to my position. Though it is something to look out for if you would like to climb the ladder. I believe this may be fixed in the future as things settle down. But that was my experience. 
Scheduling was flexible and forgiving. The system has been recently updated. And the customers are usually in a good mood and their questions are fun to answer (if you like history of course). 

This company is very toxic, they expect you to go above and beyond for them while they continue to overlook you even when you’re working hard. If you make a mistake they will hold it over your head unless you are someone who continues to go above and beyond for them. Once you speak up for yourself consider yourself doomed. They have great benefits but the work environment is toxic. People gossip and they only care to work in favor of the employer even though they are not good people. Please don’t stay here for longer than a year and only use this as a temporary job because you will end up like everyone else here, miserable and lazy. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Retail sales associate 2 salaries reported	$17.91 per hour
Seasonal associate 13 salaries reported	$15.93 per hour
Tour guide 7 salaries reported	$17.14 per hour
Regional manager 8 salaries reported	$98,750 per year
Assistant store manager 1 salary reported	$21.50 per hour

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