material handler

processor

assembler

quality assurance manager

administrator

Shinola

Shinola is a company without competent leadership. The majority of the workforce is composed of great people who genuinely believe in the company and the products, and there are a lot of excellent people at Shinola, even though they are unappreciated. To get ahead you have to be well-connected, fashionable, or a sycophant. The benefits and salary of corporate positions are decent for the Detroit area, but the pay for hourly positions is insulting, especially considering how much Shinola exploits the images and skills of their craftspeople in their marketing. It's nice to feel like a company appreciates and celebrates your expertise, but then you find out you got a 1% raise. Many of the craftspeople have to work second jobs, which is embarrassing and insulting.

They do not foster excellence from within. They would rather import high-priced leaders from faraway places instead of mentoring or training the talent they already have. Money is misspent in all the wrong places.

The company is led by strong egos, a cool kids club, and passion projects. The history of failed projects and product lines is staggering. There is a long list of failures that enormous resources were poured into only to be dropped like hot potatoes months later. Anyone remember Willy's Detroit, Shinola Pet, Shinola Jewelry, Shinola Audio (which was supposed to "drive" the company forward)? These endless failures sap the energy and willpower of dedicated and loyal employees, because what's the point? All the passion, money, resources, and energy that were devoted to any given project are almost certainly doomed to be meaningless in the near future. The company's line is "we are all one" but that is so far from the truth that it's laughable. The only people that matter are the ones that are friends with the leadership. They try hard to push the "Shinola family" line, but offer zero substance to back it up.

The lack of communication between departments is hilariously bad. People who try to solve the core problems are pushed aside, mocked, and ignored in favor of spending money on consultants and software. A lot of money is spent to solve problems, but nothing ever gets fixed.

Overall, it just feels like the leadership is angling for an eventual buyout. Nobody seems to care about the direction of the entire ship, just their own little part of it.

Learning who to trust is the first challenge you'll face here. Most folks are only interested in looking out for themselves and their "clique." All sorts of cliques form based on different departments, management levels, and such. You are bombarded by pressure to side with someone about something constantly, and people are not afraid to back-stab each other for their own interests.

If you are a "blue-collar" worker, prepare to be the subject of condescension and plastic smiles from the upper management. The level of disconnect was astonishing at times.

Middle management suffers from dealing with the relentless demands from the upper management, and will not hesitate to make those "below" them suffer for it. They also employ an arsenal of absurd and ineffective management techniques that seem to be dictated by upper management.

Over the years myself and many others would be told that a big raise or a promotion or a new position just for you is on its way. So you were told to be patient and just keep working hard, or they would find other ways to placate or distract employees to avoid fairly compensating us.

The company as a whole has mastered the art of being two-faced. One face is perfect and wonderful for the customers, while the other is cruel and inauthentic for the employees.

Hard pass; would never recommend working here to anyone.

Shinola has been great to me. I have had the same treatment from management and co-workers since I started more than 6 months ago. Typical work hours which are good. Health benefits and retirement plans are competitive with other companies. Plenty of opportunity for advancement. So many different skill sets you can learn. 

The atmosphere and culture is what I would say more "new age" for office/factory life than the old fashion office/factory feel. Very diverse as we have employees from all over the world. We get to learn about their culture as they get to learn about ours. There's a lot of interaction between factory and office employees. Open work spaces with cubicals and partitions instead of offices. Factories are structured and clean. There's an upbeat vibe there. I noticed that when I interviewed. Coworkers can play ping pong on their breaks, rent out bikes to go for a ride on lunch breaks. They even have scooters you can take a stroll around the office on! 

Our employees have created a REACH team that supports the community. We participate in the greening of Detroit, support local schools with tutoring assistance, and adopt families during the holiday season. 

Overall I have enjoyed my job and my coworkers at Shinola. I am proud to say that I am on the Shinola team.

From an outsiders view, people believe Shinola to be an awesome place to work, until you get into corporate and see how unorganized and messed up this place really is. Management within most departments of corporate are TERRIBLE. You sit there an wonder if these individuals are even qualified and how they got hired. Directors and upper management are snotty and believe they are too good for most. Everyone around is trying to fit in to the "hipster" look, which is quite sad. The company is not performing well anymore due to consumers being bored of the products and the story. They are struggling to keep this brand alive, as most outsiders do not see. Store managers and employees from the retail standpoint see management from corporate as a joke because they are so unorganized. Also, metal watch bands come into stores with "Made In China" on them, which is opposite of what this brand tries to stand for. Miscommunication between individuals is an everyday issue and nobody really knows there place/role because there is so much cross over. Management needs to be wiped clean in many departments within corporate. I'v never seen a more terrible, unorganized and unknowledgeable set of people within one company.

I worked a day and a half at shinola, I made it through day one of training and I was told I had a good eye for imperfection on the product. The work environment is very quiet and everyone works at there own station, once you know your job well your able to listen to music with headphones. They tried to make the work environment comfortable when it comes to chairs, lighting and anything you need to do the job. The lunch rooms are very clean and well organize and they even provide a clean refrigerator to store your food. So I didnt care for management I was told by day to I seemed less interested and this job maynt be for me. This to me was crazy because your not able to talk and I really dont know what a interest person behaves like and I worked for general motors and that environment is more fast pace and could cost someone there life. Than you have to listen to all the back history of Shinola and how Willie from detroit knows everything and blah blah. For the most part there is alot of unnecessary things that comes with having and keeping the job. So if invited to stay be prepared foe the nonsense with management.

As a Sales Associate, Shinola does not want you to hound customers for sales, hence an hourly pay rate instead of commission. I prefer this because instead of competing with coworkers and treating customers solely as a transaction, you can actually establish relationships with those you work with and customers who come in. People are generally friendly because they are passionate about the brand and excited to buy a product/gift. When not selling, there is always product organizing to do, service orders to take in, and other things to keep me busy when it is a slower day. I am always learning about the product, brand, and other people. If you are passionate about Detroit or the brand, Shinola makes you feel right at home.

While the company does provide us with a beautiful work space, great lunch room with ping pong tables and shuffleboards, and even gas cards for low income employees, I can't really say working there is great. 
The pay is terrible. You're starting at 12 an hour, and if you manage to make it beyond the 90 day training period you're only brought up to 13 an hour. This is to assemble, sew, stitch, or build a variety of products that sell for literally thousands of dollars. You're also treated like a prisoner. You can't talk, you have to ask for permission to use the bathroom and people are fired for minor infractions at the drop of a hat.
I also have to complain about the management. They're more concerned with marketing and the company image than things like inventory and building maintenance. I've never worked with a company so disorganized and mismanaged.

Shinola is a horrible company to work for. They portray themselves to look like a nice company to work with but, thats far from the truth. Management is very disorganized,dishonest and unprofessional all of them lack skills to be a leader. There is no open door policy or growth yet expectations are so high for little pay. Company still very young but has many bad issues their turnover in employees is huge.They already went under investigation from the FTC too because of complaints on their marketing and misleading consumers on where the actual watch is made just for financial gain. I wouldn't recommend anyone work from them. Shinola doesn't value or appreciate their employees!!!!

Seriously, it's not what it appears. Once you get inside, you realize that Shinola is a struggling brand, penny pinching every dime they make in an effort to make a profit, which they haven't yet in their decade plus history. They under pay sales and lower management FAR, FAR below other "luxury" retailers. Corporate makes excuses for their under payment and creates circular arguments and opposition when asking for even more payroll and help running business. Very little room for advancement and by the time you've been there long enough to be recognized for your efforts, you're probably months behind on rent from their pitiful salaries. You'll make more being a drive thru cashier at Taco Bell. It won't look as trendy but you'll deal with less headaches. 

Despite a total bittersweet experience working for the brand, there are some really great people (in all the offices and stores) working for this brand. 

From a company mission perspective, I feel the brand has lost its way from its original "bringing back American Manufacturing and cultivating living-wage jobs" to "we make fancy things." That said, the products are still stellar, most of the leadership is competent and approachable. There are just some real good dudes and dudettes.

 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Material handler 1 salary reported	$16.50 per hour
Processor 2 salaries reported	$15.50 per hour
Assembler 3 salaries reported	$15.08 per hour
Quality assurance manager 2 salaries reported	$21.50 per hour
Administrator 2 salaries reported	$106,500 per year

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