Stay away! - Art Director Park West Gallery Employee Review

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We would imagine that the benefits outweighed any perceived negatives for you to have stayed for 15 years! Like any company, we are always trying to improve, so we appreciate the feedback. It is true that the compensation and commission structure changed because after the recession in 2008, client spending changed in the marketplace across all industries. The old compensation structure was acceptable for some of our staff, but not for others. Because of this the entire compensation structure was changed so that every shipboard staff member would earn a fair wage with guaranteed compensation minimums and attainable targets. To say that the commissions were cut by 90% is not accurate as everyone would have quit immediately if that were the case, and we currently have four times as many people working for us on the ships as we did in 2009. It is true that the cruise ship medicals are an expense of the position, as it is for every other position onboard ships, no matter the position or cruise line. Luckily, they are valid for two years and allow you to work on 100+ ships across 6 brands worldwide. This is not a hidden cost and we ensure it is advertised on our website and through our interview process. We encourage candidates to ‘shop around’ for the best price and recently negotiated a better price for these medicals to be done at a clinic in Miami before our training session as another option. It is also true that there are some fines for Auctioneers if they don't follow certain important procedures like offloading sold artwork, etc. All these policies are clearly communicated and warnings are given first. Fines are a last resort to ensure that critical customer service policies are followed. Regarding a portion of the Art Directors commissions being temporarily held back, this is true, but it is not 10%, it is between 1 and 4% depending on targets. This is to ensure that art sales go through, as Park West Gallery offers a return/refund policy to ensure client satisfaction. We absolutely do not keep any commissions if someone quits providing they give proper notice. It is also true that the founder of the company is a religious man and there may have been a time in the past when Bibles were distributed, but this has not been the case for at least 8 years, for reasons that you mentioned- we acknowledge that not everyone is religious and we respect that. We are sorry if this offended you. Regarding the long hours and contracts, there are very strict work and rest rules that every department must follow. These regulations are part of the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention, which is an international agreement of the International Labour Organization. All cruise ship workers in every department, including ours, have to punch in and out for their shifts and the hours are monitored closely by the ships. There are regular audits to ensure these rules are upheld, and we educate our staff on these rules per cruise line regulations. We do acknowledge though that cruise ship work is not easy, nor is it for everyone, and there is of course some turnover. However, to assert that 99% of our staff quit after one contract simply does not make logical or economic sense. We would not, nor would any company, be able to stay in business if that were the case. In our experience, and in the spirit of full disclosure, our average IC stays with us for 2.5 years. This number is considerably higher if we only include the IC's that make it to the Auctioneer position. We are always welcome to ideas of improvement, and if you have anything else to share, please email: recruiters@parkwestgallery.com. Thanks again for sharing and we wish you all the best.