Hello everyone,
I’m Ting, the founder of Marais Home (yes, the very opinionated one whom everyone else just needs to follow) (but if you don’t have strong opinions, you really shouldn’t start a business). I originally didn’t want to respond to these comments, since so much time has passed. But recently, a new employee hesitated because of the comments here, which made me feel that I had to take responsibility and write a public post, so that people interested in Marais Home can think and make their own judgment.
I’m not here to deny everything or curse at the people who left the comments. In fact, some of what they said is true, including late labor and health insurance enrollment and incorrectly calculated salaries. But I swear this first: even during Marais Home’s most difficult times,
we never paid salaries even one day late. And throughout our six years in business, even when we were operating at a loss, the office still paid out two months’ year-end bonuses, because I know that it’s impossible to have a good New Year without money.
What I want to say is that startups are not easy. Few companies have dedicated HR, legal, or professional finance roles in their early stages. When these responsibilities are handled by people without professional expertise, it’s difficult to avoid mistakes. All we can do is make adjustments after mistakes happen, issue back pay, make up the labor and health insurance contributions, learn from the experience, and work hard to improve—just as we have done throughout our time as a startup: stay flexible, and fix our mistakes.
As for the unclear division of responsibilities, emotional managers, messages sent on weekends, and the small office, I have to take responsibility for these issues. In the year when we came closest to shutting down, I hired a professional manager who had worked at a large company, thinking that the systems and structure of a large company might make Marais Home better and more complete. But the timing, circumstances, and people were all wrong, resulting in frequent personnel changes and turmoil at the company that year. The comments here all came from colleagues who left us during that year. (What I actually want to say is: you worked hard, and I’m sorry I couldn’t provide you with a better environment at the time.)
But I was lucky: Marais Home made it through. After undergoing changes and restructuring, we worked very hard to stabilize the brand. Our revenue has doubled for two consecutive years (the office has also gotten bigger, and next year we’ll redesign it to make it more comfortable). Our workload has increased, we have more professionals, responsibilities are more clearly divided, and of course we now also have HR and finance (so salaries and labor and health insurance won’t be calculated incorrectly again).
I won’t say that we’re perfect, but I can guarantee that we’re a good company. Marais Home has been around for six years, and 40% of our employees have worked here for more than three years. We’re not a “big family”—that would be too cringey—but we work hard toward a common goal. When we make mistakes, we discuss and adjust together. And we’re still growing, so there are always new challenges and a sense of accomplishment. After working hard all year, we eat and get drunk together.
That’s all I wanted to say. I hope more people will join us and grow together. If you’re interested in interviewing or have already interviewed, and you have my contact information, feel free to ask me questions at any time. I’ll be happy to explain everything!
Quite a lot! We stay flexible and fix our mistakes!
Employee discounts
Employees work overtime but do not receive the overtime pay required by the Labor Standards Act.
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Marketing is easy, as long as you know how to write and understand the products.
Design is simple; you only need to know how to arrange layouts.
The boss has strong opinions—you just follow his instructions and get things done.
Lunch is free, so just wait at your desk for it to arrive.
Working hours are flexible: start at 10:30 a.m., and your leaving time depends on your luck.
Whether there is a make-up workday or not, just take the day off regardless of whether the government says there should be one.
The company trip is to France—turns out, I wasn't included.
Work is a lot of fun; everyone laughs and jokes around happily.
It's quite suitable for taking it easy: the work is relaxed and stress-free (just turn off LINE after work).
Any situation encountered in e-commerce will also be encountered here.
The salary is a bit low (let's spare the supervisor who forgot to help with the insurance and payroll for now).
Two meals a day
I worked in the back of house at Mariage Frères & Berlin Tea House for about half a month.
1. During the interview, they said that overtime could be exchanged for compensatory leave. After I started working, I often had to work overtime every day, and there was no guarantee that I would actually receive the compensatory leave.
2. Holidays were given on red-letter days. The amount of leave seemed generous, but when there was a staff shortage, even if you were entitled to 11 days, only 8 days could be scheduled. Then they would tell you that the remaining days would be made up the following month.
3. The mid-shift was from 11:00 to 20:00. There was no evening shift. If there were many customers at 20:00 when your shift ended, you could expect to work overtime until closing.
4. It was only after resigning that I discovered I had not been enrolled in labor and health insurance until the day I left. I had not been insured during the more than ten days I had already worked, but deductions were still made from my paycheck.
Some things are pretty good
Poor work environment
A bunch of people crammed into a small workspace
Lack of respect for professionalism
They’re simply exploiting you
They give you one and expect you to produce ten
Employees can get staff discounts
1. The company provides lunch, but employees are also pressured to keep up with work progress while eating, so they can only eat while working.
2. Supervisors send LINE messages late at night and on holidays.
3. There is an emotional supervisor who throws things and bangs on the keyboard while sitting next to employees, affecting the work atmosphere.
Employees can purchase company products at staff prices
1. Repeatedly failed to enroll new employees in labor and health insurance
2. Repeatedly issued incorrect paychecks or failed to issue paychecks
The colleagues are very talented
1. The job description and what was said in the interview are misleading; the actual division of responsibilities is unclear and can change without warning at any time depending on the manager’s mood.
2. Frequent late payments and habitual salary payment errors in violation of the Labor Standards Act.
3. Ignores the salary agreed upon in the employment contract signed by both parties, unilaterally adjusts it, and then directly requires employees to sign a new contract.