art teacher

handler

store manager

artist

food service worker

Muse Paintbar

A TYPICAL DAY AT WORK:
If you are LEADING a class, you demonstrate how to reconstruct the master painting. You walk them through brushes, brush strokes, color theory, layout, perspective. 
If you are ASSISTING a class, you serve as a personal assistant for anywhere from 10 to upwards of potentially 80+ people, walking among them to help in ways as myriad as offering polite encouragement to actually having to paint some of the painting for them. You are also required to bartend, play DJ when the WiFi is acting up (often), serve food in a waitstaff capacity, clean, restock bathrooms, clean spills, clean occasional bodily fluids.
If you are COOKING (Yes, it's REQUIRED of everyone despite the fact that they make it seem like its optional in the interview) you are standing alone in a kitchen that is too small with inefficient ovens reheating frozen, overpriced food items of inferior quality.
If the class is not the last one of the day, you're given a short amount of time to clean the brushes, clean tables, refill the paint bottles, empty garbages, clean the bathroom, restock the fridges, and reset the brushes and easels before the doors open for the next class, which is likely happening roughly an hour after the last of the class leaves. If the class IS the last one, you are expected to do all of the above in addition to washing the tables and letting them dry before resetting the brushes at each station, washing the sink, sweeping and occasionally mopping the floor, setting up paintings for the next day's class, and taking garbage to the dumpster, among other things. 
You sometimes don't get any tips because you're not allowed to have a tip cup, jar, hat, bucket, or any other thing for people to put money into other than your hand.
+++++

WHAT I BELIEVE I'VE LEARNED:
I learned techniques from my fellow artists that I did not know.
I learned better methods of communicating with the public.
I learned to have a little more self-confidence.

My opinions on MANAGEMENT:
Two management members were amazing. I have yet to encounter a third member of the management team who has made me think this company isn't engaged in cartoon-levels of supervillainy and ineptitude. 
They do not take complaints of harassment seriously. Employee comfort is a minor concern, at BEST.
Scheduling is seemingly done with little to no regard of requested days off. They sometimes cut shifts a few minutes before a session based off low attendance, but will often fail to schedule workers when attendance goes back up to high capacity, requiring assists to cover multiple rooms. They sometimes scheduled me for a morning shift and a late shift with a four hour un-paid gap in between and did not understand why I felt frustrated. They scheduled me for a triple shift and often did not leave me enough time for a break without inconveniencing my co-workers and not understand why I felt overworked.
They use corporate jargon to describe everything. It's honestly as bad as you are imagining. I got reprimanded for using the word "silly" in a survey in which they solicited my opinion.
They swing from being brazenly absentee and ineffective to micromanaging even the tiniest tasks.
They seemingly promote or hire only "yes men," rather than based on merit.

My opinions on WORKPLACE CULTURE:
Toxic. My immediate co-workers were my only allies, like loving siblings in a family where parents, grand-parents, aunts and uncles are all toxic. Survivor bonding was rampant.

HARDEST PART:
Justifying to friends and family why I was still working for a company that was actively toxic to me and my fellow artists. Suffering through the managements ineptitude, ignorance, and apathy towards the safety and comfort of my coworkers. Customers harassing the staff is not treated with importance.

MOST ENJOYABLE PART:
I got to teach painting with other artists who loved the craft. I got to see the look in someone's eyes when a specific technique or style suddenly clicked in their mind. I got to be immersed in art from talented artists.

Coming into work on a daily basis is a pleasure. The people you work with every day become so much more than just your co-workers, they quickly become your friends and inspirations that drive you closer to becoming the artist you want to be. The work can be challenging, especially on sold-out nights and long weekends working 12+ hours on your feet, but it's also very rewarding. The artists are compensated nicely in shift pay and the hours are great if you have a day job or are in school, or even both - outside of weekends, you have quite a bit of freedom in designating your availability. 

The only complaint about this job is the disconnect between the higher-ups and studio staff. The company is transparent about their concern for finances. Most company policies that trickle down to staff are about saving as much money as possible. While it's more than understandable that a company should keep its own interests (especially finances) at heart, it's painful when it begins to affect the income of studio staff. Studio staff who have been employed for several years have not received any raise, and have also witnessed the company remove opportunities to earn additional money and change shift policy so they receive the same pay for working more hours. This is worrisome because it isn't clear where these changes will stop or how it will affect the bottom line of what is, for most staff, a necessary second or even third source of income.

All communication from higher-ups is handled through a group-chat app which is handled very casually, causing some confusion (tone often misread). Regardless of this and the above, company policies don't reflect the individuals that have to enforce them. Regional managers and other higher-ups who are not regularly in-studio do respect us as individuals, hear our complaints, and regularly acknowledge our efforts & teamwork.

Muse is one of the most unrealistic companies I've worked for. It used to be so fun and genuinely rewarding, but they've cut so many corners and have been continuing to scale back in a way that is permanently damaging artist and customer relations. Shorter class times, less paint, smaller canvases. They recently forced lead artists to take down tip signs, reducing our income severely. If you voice this concern to management, they treat you like a spoiled child. 
There's constant shortages in hours, poor workplace performance, and a lack of care for the artists who keep the place running. Managers are expected to work almost half of the month's classes for some reason, so if you have an issue and need their help while they're teaching... good luck. They've simply overhired, to keep artists part time. To work at Muse you need teaching, painting, and customer service skills, a combination that many artists just don't have. If you do have it, don't expect a ton of gratitude, because the management team is so disconnected from the studio that they honestly do not care about you on a personal level. That would be fine if they didn't expect you to get so attached and overly involved in studio affairs despite giving us each around 10-15 hours a week. Frequent slack messages require emoji reactions and the fakest of niceties. Management frequently belittles and patronizes the artists, assists, and cooks. If you expect to rise in the ranks and become a manager or a full time artist, don't. it doesn't happen unless you're a personal favorite of management, something you can only achieve by not reporting genuine issues in the studio. You will burn out, and they will wait for you to, so that they can gaslight you about your performance. It's so sad, because most of us have such a passion for teaching, and you can tell the team is losing their love for it the more management runs the place like a retail store. 

Upper management has a lot of issues. They never seem to have it together and send mixed communications. Store-level managers in general are pretty good and do their best for their store. If you aren't a store-level manager, don't expect to get a ton of hours. You might get slotted in for a 10-12 hour shift on Saturday or Sunday, but you'll never get much higher than 25 hours a week. The managers get guaranteed full-time, so if classes drop off the manager will still be good while you can go a long time without getting assigned a class to teach. The inconsistent hours can be really rough, even for a part time position. Additionally, the hours will tend to take up all day of the weekends so if you plan to have freetime on weekends for friends or family, unfortunately that's when you will be busiest. When those days come that you have to teach 3 or 4 classes in a row, you will be working for 12 hours with no breaks. As soon as you finish one class, you will be busy prepping for the next. Oftentimes the classes are REALLY close together so if you get assigned a painting that takes a long time for the class to paint, the class can run over its slotted time and push into your prep time for the next class.

My time as a Lead Sip and Paint Instructor at Muse had its ups and downs, mostly due to poor management. The company's high turnover is because they expect part-time employees to work full-time hours without benefits. The Master guides in their catalogue that they provided for instructors were often wrong or incomplete, so I had to spend a lot of unpaid time preparing for sessions.

Management was often absent, which I've never experienced before at any other job. This meant important safety and operational issues were neglected, and communication during emergencies was poor.

The CEO's leadership style is passive-aggressive and doesn't listen well, making it hard to communicate with her. This could explain why upper management has a hard time standing up for their employee's feedback or also follow in that style of management. Not very effective. 

There's not much room for career growth at Muse, and they don't give much of a pay raise even after years. Feedback was usually met with passive-aggressive responses, which didn't help.

While the job lets you be creative, I wouldn't recommend working at Muse because of their management problems. As an artist, I think it's better to look for other opportunities.

The MUSE business model is shoving as many people they can squeeze into cramped and inconvenient spaces making it unenjoyable for both customer and employee alike. Prices per session soar astronomically while quality of materials, food and space consistently decreases. They prey on naive college students and with a schedule that constantly changes making it an impossible work balance life. You have to do work outside of work even on days off. You have to work in the kitchen despite the company advertising the position as teaching. Their aesthetic and design is poorly conceived and they have no idea how to market to anyone other than millennials. There was a time when regulars would come as a small confidence boost or for a therapeutic act of self love- however familiar faces have dwindled to nothing and newcomers are visibly displeased.  Due all this and more this company will fade into a passing trend and run further towards the embarrassing reality they have built for themselves. 

Worked here for 4 years, unfortunately watched the company turn from wine to vinegar pretty quickly. First real problems arose when the company did not have the funds to pay employees for over 3 weeks and lied saying it was the payroll company's fault. The company later brought in a new VP who manages through bullying and scare tactics, she couldn't care less about talent or job ability but prefers to promote based on how much an employee sucks up to her. Watched numerous incredibly talented longtime employees get black listed for speaking out against her. Upper management does not understand the meaning of transparency and often ignores problems and situations within the studios until they escalate to the point where studios have to close due to said issues (i.e. a broken toilet was ignored until it flooded the entire studio). Overall this company is not worth the headache, they care so little about staff it is overwhelming.

Outside of being a great part-time gig for college students, Muse is not one of the more sustainable options career-wise. Muse can be a great job for additional income; however, there is very limited flexibility to their scheduling needs, leaving workers strapped for free time. It is very limited career advancement within the company as they prioritize existing upper management. The company is run by young professionals leaving much room for improvement regarding their leadership. Despite the high of teaching a painting to a crowd of students, one of the challenges most artists in the studio face is burnout from various tasks throughout the day. The job's most enjoyable part is the students' completed painting and gratitude for your time after a session.

It's not all bad (lots of flexibility with availability, generally creative environment, and the employees at my specific studio are all amazing), but the way that upper management conducts itself/constrains the studios is really frustrating. They're constantly penny pinching (affecting both customers--smaller canvasses, paying more for less food, etc.--as well as the employees--not compensated well enough for painting masters, as well as not getting raises), and they're trying to standardize every studio as much as possible, leading to policies that make the employees not feel appreciated as individuals (leading to a really high turnover rate)! The hourly rate is okay, but classes are very inconsistent--okay as a supplemental income source, but not as your main (unless you're a manager, which its nearly impossible to do so). They're focused on expanding as widely as possible instead of putting care and attention back into the studios that keep them afloat. 

The management of the company leaves much to be desired. Favoritism is rampant when it comes to getting shifts and promotions. You often bounce between being over-burdened with work and not getting as many shifts as you are promised. In general, promises that operations, pay, and managing factors will be improved are broken. Experienced multiple instances of not being paid on time or correctly. 

Leading classes is in and of itself enjoyable and a good experience if you are looking to improve your teaching/communication skills. However, be aware that this company historically has had enormous financial and management issues.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Art teacher 786 salaries reported	$19.44 per hour
Handler 73 salaries reported	$18.36 per hour
Store manager 77 salaries reported	$25.81 per hour
Artist 52 salaries reported	$19.27 per hour
Food service worker 56 salaries reported	$18.43 per hour

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