Pros
Your direct coworkers are great, and you form bonds with them really quickly. You also have the opportunity to use the studio space and materials, which can be helpful! The pay is above average, but that is something that I will go further in depth with shortly.
Cons
I started at Muse Paintbar because it combined my love of teaching with my appreciation for art. From what I had seen, not only before I got the job but also during my first few weeks, was positive. It seemed like a fast paced, exciting environment with fun coworkers. My experience at the very beginning was overwhelmingly great, which is why I am so disappointed to say that this job turned into a nightmare very quickly. This is going to be a long one, so strap in. Upper Management is the root cause for all of the issues at Muse Paintbar. I'm sure you have seen this from the other reviews posted, but they are extremely disconnected from what is happening on a studio level. When they are not releasing borderline insulting "art tips" (corporate if you are reading this, the Grid Technique from the weekly memos last month were incredibly unhelpful- I have it screenshotted and will look at it when I need a good laugh) they are micromanaging the studios and making changes that end up making things worse. They do not offer raises unless you've been working there for more than a year, which never really happens because the turnover rate is so high. If there is any semblance of unrest, they will send in one of their corporate clowns to sit us all down and tell us how to be better at our jobs, even though only a handful of them have physically worked in the paintbar. They want to keep consistency across all locations, but that is to everyone's detriment. Nothing was sadder to me than seeing all of the creativity and love that the artists put into customizing the studio be stripped away and replaced with corporate nonsense. Tragic! Working at the paintbar physically is a mentally draining endeavor. During busy days, you are stuck working multiple sessions in a row with no breaks, and are scrutinized when you do so much as take a break to eat a bite of food. You must constantly be "on" and any attempt to rest will be met with a passive aggressive slack message two days after the fact. Muse is dedicated to running as many sessions as they can during the weekends, which means crammed classes back to back. There is no room for human error, which includes late session start times and the ability to actually interact with customers. In many cases, you were stuck teaching an incredibly complicated painting to a bunch of people who don't paint on a regular basis, and you only have 90 minutes to complete it. Don't even think about trying to go over time, because the turnaround is so fast that as soon as you finish, the next round of customers is already on their way to the doors. If classes get canceled, you are not paid for the time scheduled. During the busy season, you get reprimanded for going over the allotted hours, hours that were APPROVED by multiple people while making the monthly schedule. Corporate and upper management will never own up to mistakes unless it has a direct impact on their customer facing image. We are not allowed to speak out against issues within the studio without being met with some half assed corporate jargon that basically tells us to shut up and deal with it. Muse is not a "family" as they describe on their website. It is a greedy group of individuals at the top who take advantage of artists desperate for money. Master copies are also an issue in their own right. You are only compensated 25 dollars per painting you make, which you have to do outside of work. They expect you to only take an hour, which is an absolutely ridiculous ask. Some paintings take much longer, especially if they want it to look exactly like the one on the website. It is hilarious because the ones they post on the website are SO edited that it is a nearly impossible task to get the colors correctly! I am so saddened to have to write this review, as I have never done this for any other job before. It is unbelievable how much of a sour taste this has left in my mouth. Seeing so many people in the same position I was in while simultaneously seeing members of corporate celebrate their own mediocrity is sickening. This was one of the most hostile, fake-positive, emotionally draining environments I have ever worked in. My heart aches for the people applying to this company, because I know they will get taken advantage of. If you are thinking of working here, my answer is find a different opportunity.