Hypocritical Company - Anonymous employee Altar'd State Employee Review

Upper management, hours,unrealistic expectations, flip-flopping policies and values, CEO, I began working here under the pretense that this was a outstanding company that really cared about giving back and had real Christian values. I quickly realized that this was simply not the case. I had hoped that the founders would be as genuine as their website bios made them out to be, but they turned out to be some of the worst and most greedy individuals I've ever come across. Money is the absolute bottom line here, everything else is just a tactic to drive sales. They wanted to find a niche of customers that would appreciate a unique retailer; a retailer that actually cared about good true values, wanted to give back to the community, and one that acknowledged a Christian atmosphere and the importance of a real relationship with our Lord and Savior. So they put all sorts of flashy messages and promoted "giveback" brands and played christian music in the stores to draw these folks in. They made sure to be closed on Sundays, for "a day of rest", claiming that this was a time to be with families and give folks the opportunity to go to church. But little by little, these values are disappearing from our stores. We are now open on Sundays, we are told to push sales to an uncomfortable extent, we receive countless emails from upper management belittling stores and employees, and we are worked to the bone for minimum wage. Employees are told that they need not wear altar'd state brand clothing, but are constantly pushed to buy and wear the brand. On at least a dozen occasions I have seen our identical articles of clothing being sold at other retailers for less than half of the ticket price that you will find at Altar'd State. Frankly, it's just embarrassing when a customer comes in to return over $200 of merchandise because they found the same things at TJMaxx... This company had the potential to be something truly extraordinary. It breaks my heart that the reality is nothing like the pretty picture they try to sell the general public. I wish the founders would take a good hard look in the mirror and evaluate where this company is now and where it is headed. If this is what you really had in mind, than by all means, return to your private jet, angry, greed driven ways. But if you actually wanted to set yourself apart from other retailers, it doesn't have to be too late to change your company's ways.