Pros
Good place to go if you’re between jobs, but definitely not for the long term.
Cons
This agency is a case study of why former executive creative directors should not run an ad agency. The owner knows little about running an account the right way, and treats clients poorly. He focuses only on milking them for every dime and using their monies for his own benefit (example: to help him with mergers/acquisitions). Fifty to sixty hour work weeks are normal and god forbid you mention being burned out as the owner will flip out. He cares nothing about work-life balance. Additionally, the owner is known in Detroit for his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde persona, where he is laughing and joking one minute, and then full of doom and gloom and/or freaking out about some drama or issue he’s creating. The owner disparages anyone who leaves for any reason, even though in many (most) cases he’s fabricated something about them. I know as I’ve worked directly with a few of them, and the stories that Steve has told about them definitely didn’t happen the way he said. The offices in Troy are disgusting: a huge room with unfinished drywall, a broken sink and countertop in the kitchen area, and a microwave on cinder blocks. There is no cleaning staff, except for the employees who have to take out the trash or vacuum, and there were no sanitizing measures at all during Covid (except for one employee who would occasionally squirt some sanitizer around and wipe things down). No wonder there have been numerous cases of Covid reported. The large accounts at the agency are unstable and potentially up for review. The smaller accounts are tiny in revenue and the workload is intense. The boss seems to fire and hire based on his mood regarding people, not their performance. I’ve started looking for a job because of this.
