Company "values" not reflected in their operations
Pros
When I started at EQ3 I was optimistic about working for a Canadian Company that valued timeless design over trends. Some of the products were great and I genuinly believe the designs are more accessible for the general consumer.
Cons
The longer I worked there the more the cracks in the company started to show. One of the biggest issues was communication. The company largely communicates uni-directionally from top down. There is little interest at head office to hear the valid concerns of the store level teams (management and sales staff) who have direct contact with our clients and know their concerns. The company failed over and over on delivering on their promises. Estimated lead times would go from 6 - 8 weeks to upwards of a year in some cases with little concern from the corprate level to addess client frusterations. Order management and custimer service are handled at a store level but many clients concerns were production, logistic or quality/warranty concerns which all have to filter through to the head office teams. Responses from head office would take days to weeks which would add additional frustereations to clients wanting to know the status of their orders. Regularly staff would be updated with information about new fabric and materials coming, and that we can "Sell with confidence" based on the ETAs for incoming products only for those estimated dates to be pushed back months. The sales team then has to communicate that the dates provided were wrong (many clients make purchasing decsions bases on estimated timesline). Management would then say we cannot offer refunds even though the orders had not begun production as the timeline for cancelling had passed. Other areas are concerns are: - Misleading Made in Canada Claims (only EQ3 upholstery is made in Canada) - Little to no marketing to drive traffic - Customer service lacks empathy and tarnishes public reputation - Low Pay - No growth oppourtities - Poor leadership - Poor manufacturing quality (I regular delt with issues that should have been caught during quality control) - Uninspiring leadership - Failure to adapt to remain competative in todays furniture market. I could probably go on listing operational and organizational issues. I believe that the company has potential but the currently leadership lacks innovation, understanding and passion within the furniture industry.
