Aug 10, 2015
Park West Gallery Response
6yWe are very sorry to hear that you feel you were treated poorly.
We acknowledge that working on ships can be challenging, and the shore side managers do our best to provide support for those at sea. Since your review we have hired no less than a dozen managers to help provide further support.
Regarding the fine for not getting a customer’s email that purchases art, this does not apply if the customer does not have an email or they do not wish to provide one. And this fine is only levied on the Auctioneer and not the rest of the team members. The reason for this fine is to ensure proper customer service and delivery of their artwork. It is very difficult these days to reach anyone on the phone and that is why we need the email in order to confirm with the client when the artwork has shipped, etc.
Auctioneers do receive commissions, but there is also an income guarantee. Because the Auctioneers are the most skilled member of the team, they earn the most. If they have a less successful month, they are guaranteed to earn at minimum what a Gallery Director would earn, who also has an income guarantee. No one ever gets a bill at the end of the month. We also have updated our payment frequency and our team members are now paid twice a month.
Shipboard medicals are required for this and every positions on ships, and can be $700 here in the US, but tend to be less expensive when done in other parts of the world.
Every company has turnover, but if ours were 99%, we would not be able to operate. Our average tenure across all positions is 2.5 years, so we do have to hire as people leave to live life on land again. This is very normal for any position onboards ships.
We hope that you are doing well in wherever your experience has taken you.