Who wanted to know what it’s like to work at Mattel? You can tell from reading the posts. If you’re a designer, you’re unhappy, unappreciated, disrespected. Management is totally entitled, self-satisfied, full of snarky comments for there people, the little peons below them. Most of the VPs and alot of directors are catty, unethical, bad people. The meanspirited management comments on this site are the disgusting, mocking the designers who can’t get ideas approved or developed. Oh you whiny not talented people—that’s why you were layed off. You should leave. We’ll replace you in a minute. Funny thing tho – remember when Mattel spent millions suing a designer and mga for stealing there idea for bratz? The idea Mattel supposedly passed on cause it was a terrible idea? Brilliant people running that place. then years of litigation and millions of dollars and then Mattel made everybody sign off all their ideas to the company whether you had the idea at home on a weekend or at work. An idea for anything—a toy, a character, a painting, a movie, a book, a business you are banned from doing anything with your idea. Mattel owns you. You and your ideas that they say are crappy and worthless. And then they treat you like garbage. From what I can tell, this paper they make you sign is not even legal, but Mattel will sue you until you got nothing left, because that’s what there like. That’s what its like to work for Mattel. Itss terrible.
22 replies (most recent on top)
sad but true.
Fisher Price: The toys being put out this year are a joke. They don't look like Fisher Price, they look like millennial bs that people who don't even have kids feel are spot on for kids to like, what a joke! The chair is way too simplistic and the stand up push around thing is a joke. What a sham the company has become! When you walk down the toy aisle you can't tell one company's toys from another, there is no more charm in the Fisher Price line of toys, just sayin'.
You bicker and go back and forth because all the way up to VPs they want to comment on every little thing. That's the main back and forth. There is no such thing as accurate costing. PLM has improved exactly nothing since implemented. If anything costing is even more wildly inaccurate. Markets can never make up their minds. Even if you hit your exfty there's some kind of new cost reduction down the road. Or worse MOA (oops) got the cost wrong. And then you gotta test everything. WHY????? Because the markets and our own internal people don't trust our own experience and would rather rely on a false security blanket woven by 10 kids from Manhattan beach. 50-60% of our time suck is created by our own execs micro managing, PLM,CPI,testing,costing,and internal selling. Imagine if we cut all that out. We'd probably save some damn overhead.
If designing to a business plan or ex factory cost were the only criteria of our job then fine. We could crank out the crap that eventually winds up on shelf from the get go and avoid all of the back and forth cost reductions, meetings, and bickering. But let's be honest here: if we did that we would get slammed by our bosses for not being progressive, pushing the envelope, creative, take your pic. That being said we have to throw everything in, knowing full well that it's all pointless and will get thrown out anyway just to appease the morons above us. That is the honest truth. We know our jobs and the limitations of cost, labor and price point.
I'm sure the designer posting is taking the path that just about every other designer or engineer with an idea does: resign, take six months off and come back and sell your idea to Mattel or hasbro as an inventor and reap the rewards. Then when marketing gets their mitts on it and reduces it to shit they won' t care because they'll still be making bank either way.
Incidentally what soul sucking rationale are you referring to? The fact that you have to design to a business plan? Is it having to work with a certain ex-factory? Perhaps it's that your idea doesn't make sense for other markets? Or is it just the general sense of parameters you have to work under? If you can't be creative under certain parameters you should ask yourself who is more limited. I understand it's difficult to imagine you are not as creative and it's easier to get mad at everyone else. You know Mattel insurance will pay for your therapy if you see someone.
Funny. You are obviously one of those "talented" yet unrecognized individuals. Maybe you feel misunderstood because your so called great ideas are often ignored. It's understandable that you are angry and bitter. Perhaps if you believe yourself as such an overflowing of talent you should open up your own business. I don't think anyone is keeping you at Mattel against your will. Maybe it is time to put your money where your mouth is. Oh but maybe it's easier for you to just complain. You were one of those kids in class that were always "had potential but never applied themselves". Maybe Santa will give you some cheese with your whine this Christmas.
bwahahahahahahaha! Artist Poseur just described all of Marketing! Kudos to you! Now go get your coins for the candy machine from HR. Your comments are the exact soul sucking rationale from an untalented person within our ranks that knows nothing about what they are talking about and has the creative passion o a pet rock.
I'm sorry but the good designers are respected by both marketing and design. If you're a designer and think you're too good for feedback from anyone then you're only good in your own head. And guess what that means? A big pile of nothing. Design is an answer to a problem not your own personal endeavor. If you want to do personal stuff then do it on your own time. You're paid to do a job. Not to make your own personal art. If you can't separate that you're not a designer. You're an artist poseur.
BTW, designers are generally more in tune to what a child wants to play with. It's the childless twenty nothings in marketing that THINK they know what a child wants because they listened to 50 year old house fraus expunge their thoughts at a mom talk and think they have the inside scoop. Pathetic.
To the last posters point, some of it IS spot on. In NYC we have a crop of lifer designers who churn out the same useless crap year after year, now you could look at this as upper mgmt.'s fault for either not relocating them to another division or excessing them for fresh new talent. The flip side is that the yahoo's above them (marketing, upper mgmt) have their balls in a vice when it comes to cost reductions so of course they shoot for the moon and add everything plus the kitchen sink into their designs because if they don't their bosses will get on them for not pushing the envelope, yet they know full well the electronics will go the play value is out the window and all that is left is a 2 inch root molded pice of shit in an oversize $9.99 box, so when they whine and complain it's the sound of their resignation to the constant defeat of not being able to bring something magical to market. Of course when it doesn't sell they'll (design/marketing) blame the packaging department for not selling through the concept. This is a prime example of a lack of accountability that is the work culture of mattel. BTW, AH was let go from marketing this year while pregnant so the last poster was off on that point.
Hey dude. Sometimes what you think is a good idea is only in your head. Designers love to make things complicated and expensive because they design what "they" like and not what a kid would buy. I've worked with enough of these so called talented "designers". And they're like children who pout and whine when they don't get their way. If someone critiques their idea it's mean spirited. Everything's so damn personal. And no pregnant women don't get fired. Mattel is practically a baby factory. What conscience? Mattel doesn't make firearms or medical equipment. They make toys. There's no moral gulf crossed every time you make a hot wheels car. Cease your melodramatics. Indeed some of your ideas are crappy and worthless. Accept. You don't crap gold everyday otherwise you wouldn't be working here. Grow up. There is no Willy Wonka and this isn't Santa's workshop.
iPhone killed Mattel. OK, iPhone and iPad.
Mattel is a dinosaur. Lumbering, slow, top-heavy. Plodding along doing whatever its tiny brain (management) likes to do. Oblivious to approaching asteroids and coming ice ages. Ironic since its cheap plastic products come from fossil fuels. History repeats itself.
Mattel treats their employees like a baby treats a diaper. They just make you feel better about it by letting you leave early on friday even though you work off the extra time by adding a half hour to the remaining days.
They don't replace people who quit. They see it as an opportunity. The remaining team is left to absorb the work. As long as you leave on time each day, you won't be the sucker. Otherwise, you're just watching your hourly rate decrease for each job you're taking on while the people at the top pat each other on the back for saving money. Don't forget to leave on time and leave the stress at work. Then the pay can still be considered ok.
In general working at Mattel is unnecessarily stressful if you have a conscience. The pay is good and there are some amazing people here but there are some real dopes who are in management as well. If you are looking for a paycheck and know how to leave the job at work, Mattel is ok. A big problem is that I don't see this place lasting in it's current form for long. Too much overhead. Can't afford to put anything of substance in the boxes we sell. I'm going to quit after the first of the year so there will be one more seat to fill in this crazy place if anyone wants to sign up
Yeah I heard 2 or 3 pregnant women let go this past year? Really?
Hey if you're pregnant, they're sure to fire you. So they've got that going for them!
Yeah, you can tell which of the upper mismanagement comments are here pretty easily. All the talented designers all I know left on their own as soon as they had the chance, myself included........ I've never been happier & so are they. The place just went south. They purge upper management, then worse/even stupider evil people replace them. Those who stay are just riding it out, hoping for the best. The place pays decent & if they can keep from getting laid off they'll just ride it out, can't beat the 1:00 Fridays & plenty of vacation days, the in house gym & super expensive day care if you can afford it. Happy Halloween :)
That is why most designers and engineers leave unexpectedly and then re-emerge 6-8 months later at an inventor's conference of a crowd sourcing site to get capital for there ideas. The smart ones keep their mouths shut and leave then return with their ideas ready to sell. The only person I knew of that made money off mattel with her ideas was an old VP GS who came up with the knows-your-name concept before she started with the company and made a nice little windfall off the company when the line went into production.
It is not just design being treated poorly. That is why our glass door website rating is now below 3.