machine operator

warehouse worker

senior machine operator

seamstress

seasonal associate

Elite Sportswear

You are required to do about 3 peoples job and then volunteer for everything they ask for. If you do not because of your work load you are publicly ridiculed for not volunteering for the task then forced to volunteer for the task. Management blames others on your team for not knowing every single thing the team members do and how much each person's workload is. And management is not willing to look into it themselves since they are the ones with the ability to see each employees work while other team members are not able to. Even as just a customer service agent you are required to do inventory in warehouse, marketing, catalog proofing, embroidery, create website details and cover a receptionist position while helping create a ERP system from scratch. These are all done by you while you have to do your own work, these are each in different locations and you are only paid minimum wage. Even with these tasks you are required to do there are no raises or bonuses for the 3 years i have been there. The culture is stressful and over worked and you are told unreasonable rules such as no talking to the people next to you, and no getting up from your seat unless you are on break or lunch, and if you are on break or lunch you have to be away from your desk and in another room. if you do ask for a raise or bonus they take it as you complaining and will tell you that you do not do enough anyway and you need to do more to ask for a raise and then take everything you told them you enjoyed away. whether that was cross training in other departments, team building activities, even team lunches. they retaliate against there employees until they quit. once they quit from the bad treatment by the company the company sends out a letter saying how that person was to blame for all the negative energy. Management also will talk about other employees in the middle of the office room with no regard of who is around them or can see them, THey are very unprofessional and they do not own u to their mistakes. Since they treat the employees so poorly even supervisors and directors have quite and moved on due to this environment.

A typical day at GK, ranged from being super busy with design quotes and orders, to having three to none quotes/orders come in to complete. Whenever a quote would come down from a customer, I would log it for my files, read through it fully, and then start creating exactly or something close to what the customer requested, in either the program Gem Master or Adobe Illustrator. Sometimes there were quotes that could simply could not be done and had to be sent back to customer service, explaining why it could not be done. When a customer approved of the design created, a final order would go through, and once I received the paperwork, I would check to see what sizes the design would have to be graded. The size ranges where from CXS-A4XL for the uniforms and leotards. Once the designs where sized, the paperwork and printouts would go to the production floor where the logos will be heat transferred onto the fabric, and would move on to from there. Unless there was a problem with the design itself, once the order paperwork is out of my hands, the production artist process was finished (for that order), and then started over again with new quotes.

The most enjoyable part was having 5 coworkers who, for the most part, got along and made the workday easier to get through, with jokes and music. 

The hardest part of the job is trying not to fall behind in work and not missing deadlines, especially during busy season. I'd have 50+ orders on my desk at a time, plus quotes to work on, and having 5 other people with the same amount of work in that department, it got a little overwhelming. Having unlimited overtime during that time really helped. 

However, the workplace itself I felt was unsatisfactory. It was a warehouse environment, and since the company was growing, its workspace for the graphics department was always shoved aside. The department as whole was always put down and there was always so much finger pointing within the whole company. There was such a bad atmosphere there, I'm glad to have left the company.

Despite being labeled a "Customer Service Rep," it is extremely difficult to assist any customers. Orders are never on time and although GK boasts on its Quality, there were CONSTANT errors made on uniforms, especially if they weren't big-named teams. Whenever an order was late or incorrect, there was almost nothing that you could do as a CSRep to actually help your customer. You were required to get upper management approval on practically everything you did, even when it was GK Elite's fault. There were no incentives I could give them, and oftentimes orders were WEEKS behind (even orders that had additional money put down on them in order to receive garments on time). In addition to being a CSRep where you were in charge of phone calls and emails (basically a verbal punching bag and a determent from actually speaking with anyone who can correct the problem), we were also responsible for processing orders. We processed orders that Territory Account Managers sent us. The TAMs received a nice cut of these orders since they were directly assisting customers. However, not every customer was in a TAM Territory, so many customers went right through us in Customer Service. We did everything that the TAMs did and more, however, we received no comission from the orders we assisted and processed. Not once did we see a bonus check or even a "Thank You." (Mind you, these orders are expensive, full gyms could easily total thousands of dollars.) Internal processes also needed to be streamlined better because it took way too long to get anything done. When things were mentioned to Management, or possible suggestions, Management was nice enough and smiled big enough, but it was quite evident they had no actual interest in their employees. They were also tired and overworked and severely underpaid, I'm sure.

I was the intern for the company's higher ups. The CEO and CFO were absolutely amazing people who seemed like they cared about the company. Other than that, all the executives treated regular workers so terribly and fought with each other about expenses. They laid off a significant amount of people making slightly above minimum wage but had no problem spending thousands for ridiculous reasons such as $3000 on lunches, thousands for hotel rooms, personal shopping while using company cards etc. I saw so many hard working people spending their precious time getting underpaid heavily by the industry standard while continuing to work 50+ hours a week. Management does not care about workers very much and do not expect a raise that is more than a few cents if you are working here. The raises they give do not even cover the cost of living increases in the surrounding area. I truly feel bad for all the workers in this company. They deserve better and should strive to get a different position elsewhere. As an intern, I learned virtually nothing related to anything I would need in the workplace. My plea to all people reading reviews on Elite; DO NOT GO HERE FOR AN INTERNSHIP! All the other interns I worked with either quit, walked out or left within 3 months. They either pay you barely above minimum wage or give you unpaid work in exchange for their signature for the a college internship program. As a regular worker, their benefits are virtually nonexistent, and their health insurance policy is a disgrace.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Being able to work a hybrid schedule

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Having to follow the directions of the leadership team when they inform you they have no intention of paying the suppliers in a timely manner and honoring the business relationships. They take advantage of suppliers that have committed to the organization.  The CFO has implanted this culture as acceptable. Paying suppliers at 180 days versus the agreed to 30 days is unprofessional and disrespectful.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Leadership tries to intimidate the employees, they attempt to manage by fear. Workers do not respect the leadership team and majority of employees are looking for new roles. There is a definite bias against older employees.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
The defined roles when performed are constantly questioned with little to no support from the leadership team.

Management is very belittling! There's a difference between constructive criticism & just plain rude. Some even talk over you or act like you're not even there. Very biased & weird people. If you're not part of the clique, best believe you'll know it. I wouldn't recommend any business here, not even a dog to model. There's so much going on behind the scenes, I don't know how this company is still standing. Employee turnover rate is high! This does not apply just to my position. This is all departments. Don't waste your time here. Please take this review as a sign. This is good if you already have a set of friends in the place. Yet again, there's hardly any room for advancement. If you're looking for career growth, you're better off taking out a tuition loan. I stand on that!! I should've known that anything in this city is literally garbage in every aspect.

Fear based culture, no real advancement or support. Building conditions are disgusting, mice everywhere including the kitchen area, despite multiple complaints by employees, chemical smells they make you work through, many occasions of bathrooms out of order for hours, dirty old offices and hallways. Employees are not appreciated, there is no real care or concern. Chaotic environment of multiple companies thrown together without truly understanding any of the businesses. Worst health insurance and 401K offerings I have every had. The company used to be a better place to work for before it was bought out by an investment company.

A typical day involves dealing with production stoppages from the day/weekend previous, fixing bad practices from predecessors, and attempting to cleanup existing processes. The latter proves to be a challenge and certain people are control-freaks who act like they own Elite Sportswear (spoiler: it's private equity so they don't). HR and Management are making an effort to turn things around but others beneath them either skate by without significant contributions or cause the issues they are trying to fix without a care in the world about being reprimanded (or in 1 case, actually being fired). Interdepartmental communication also sucks.

I enjoy working at Elite Sportwear. I appreciate the opportunities for advancement. My day flies by. I love challenges and problem solving and I enjoy helping people. I am proud to see world champions wear our apparel. Our employees are valuable to us and they work very hard, especially in busy season.  I appreciate my employees and encourage them to do their best. I will do whatever I can to help them grow within the company. I am proud of my team for always working together to help whenever needed. We are one company, several brands, many different departments, but we work together as ONE TEAM to succeed.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Machine operator 12 salaries reported	$16.29 per hour
Warehouse worker 1 salary reported	$14.50 per hour
Senior machine operator 10 salaries reported	$17.50 per hour
Seamstress 2 salaries reported	$16.25 per hour
Seasonal associate 5 salaries reported	$14.20 per hour

Working at Elite Sportswear: Company Overview and Reviews

Elite Sportswear

Elite Sportswear Ratings

Popular jobs at Elite Sportswear

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected