Best place to work retail - Guide Cotopaxi Employee Review

5.0
Jun 14, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of companies throw around buzzwords about how they're a great place to work at, but Cotopaxi actually lives up to its "Do Good" motto. Employees are treated with respect and compassion. When life happens, they're willing to work with you to accommodate. While other retailers separate their retail staff from their corporate staff, Cotopaxi treats everyone the same. And you have a voice. Your manager listens to you, and the leadership team does not exist in a bubble. The Slack includes everyone, so you can reach leadership if you need. Similarly, you're also privy to company strategy, new products, and events. In other words, you matter, and so does your input. In regards to salary, the hourly wages for retail guides are competitive and while it's not commissioned-based, there are incentives for performing at a top level. You also get a steep discount on all merch, which, considering that most Coto employees were fans first before employees, is a huge perk. Discounts to other outdoor retailers are also offered. On top of that, retail guides are offered a 401k. The benefits are good, not great, but there is room for advancement to corporate, which is maybe the best reason to work here. It's not uncommon for employees to spend a year or so in retail before making a move up the ladder. Employees have first dibs on job openings, so you have a big advantage over non-employees. As long as you have marketable skills that can benefit the company, working for corporate is a possibility. To summarize, it's a great place to work at.

Cons

There's no health insurance offered to retail guides, but that's about it.

Explore other reviews about Cotopaxi

5.0
Apr 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Cotopaxi provides a strong sense of purpose that genuinely connects to day-to-day operations. The company empowers teams to build structure, improve performance, and drive meaningful change. ring my time here, Changes that have been made: strengthen team stability, elevate accountability, and implement processes that improved SLA performance, and enhanced safety. Leadership supports growth, and there is a real emphasis on building people and promoting from within.

Cons

The company is in the midst of a meaningful culture evolution toward stronger accountability and performance. As with any change, not everyone adapts at the same pace, which can create short-term challenges in team alignment.

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Cotopaxi Response
2mo
Thank you for sharing this, and for the specific callouts around accountability, team stability, and promoting from within. Those aren't small things, and it's meaningful to hear they're showing up in your experience. Change is rarely seamless, and we appreciate the honest framing of that. Building a culture of strong performance and accountability while bringing people along at the same time is real work and feedback like this helps us stay focused on doing it well. Thanks for being part of driving that forward!
5.0
Mar 22, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I've worked at a number of companies throughout my career and having seen a number of different cultures and working styles, feel very fortunate to have landed at Cotopaxi. I felt like I should make a post here after a friend of mine pointed out our Glassdoor rating when I said I was having a great time so far. The people and team I work with are excellent. It's a healthy positive culture, there's no politics, information hoarding, or some of the other baggage that you can find. It's genuinely a great group of people trying to do great things for the customer and the company. The management team is accessible and generally very nice. I've worked with mercurial CEOs and crony executive teams who kept everyone on eggshells and would jump on people any chance they had. Cotopaxi is very, very definitely not that place. They seem thoughtful and try to do the right things but I also know that there have been some hard decisions made in the past year, and not everyone has been happy about them. My exec team member has been very open to hearing feedback and it seems like they're listening. So overall a great experience thus far and look forward to being here for much, much longer.

Cons

Honestly, the management team could be a bit more organized in planning more than a few weeks ahead to help everyone have time to do their best work, but this is one of the things that they're listening to and I feel like it's getting better.

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Cotopaxi Response
2mo
This just made our day! Thank you for sharing it. We know the Glassdoor rating doesn't always capture what it actually feels like to work here day-to-day, so we're really glad you took the time to write it out. The culture you're describing - people who genuinely care, leadership that listens - is something we work hard to maintain as we grow. It's not always easy, but it matters to us deeply. We're lucky to have you on the team. Here's to many more months ahead!
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