I am positively laughing at these other reviews, because I know exactly who posted them. Begrudging former employee’s who were both lazy and socially inept. Let me be real with you, some kids come up to Alaska, their first time leaving mommy and daddies house, never having held down a real job before, and below is the result. I worked for and lived at the Denali Gift Company housing for 3 summers, and they were some of the best of my life. Firstly, yes, this is a BUSINESS, so yes, you are expected to work when scheduled – That gets translates by the CHILDREN who come up into *Waaaaa I can’t sit on my phone or talk all day while everyone else works, discrimination* I’m sure we’ve all worked with a few like this. No the owner does not discriminate against you based on looks, he ain’t much of a looker himself, he’s an old man with a grumpy exterior but a heart of gold (we all know one) who offers one of the best experiences to young people that I have come across, if you don’t treat the opportunity he gives you like a summer vacation or his businesses like a spa where you can relax all day and collect a check, he will go out of his way to do right by you and give you any opportunities he can. Unfortunately Kevin and Linda have to deal with a lot of screwups that get really vindictive when they get fired for something well deserved (one of the kids below stole food and items from the store to get fired, and would eat the candy we sell on the clock on camera without paying for it for example) so they have learned to kind of be reserved and careful. There are three Gift Shops, run by Garret the GM, and Martin and Em, the managers, that are extremely well set up for a retail environment in this isolated of a place, the first (Canyon) is very large, a few thousand sq feet of every T-Shirt, hoodie, trinket, etc that you could imagine that relates to Alaska, the next two are much smaller, a few hundred sq feet, all located on business strip at the park entrance nicknamed *Glitter Gulch*, situated at the base of Mt.Healy and a beautiful canyon and river, it’s one of the most majestic places you’ll ever travel in your life. The early season is really busy as the full season’s merchandise comes in by truck delivery and the whole team helps to set it up in the warehouse, then everything calms down into the day to day retail environment where you’re just cleaning up and putting out items etc. You get to meet and interact with people from all over the country and earth which is pretty cool, and the majority of the employee’s who get hired will end up being your friends for life (there are normally only one or two bad apples in the bunch each year out of 20-25 people). The housing area, especially since Jeff the new camp manager and maintenance man took over, is AWESOME, we call it "Shanty Town" because of the cabins all situated together in a rustic little town set up, you’ll get your own cabin to share with a roommate, they are situated in the forest of the Alaskan wilderness about 10 min from where you work. Firstly there is a trash truck, a large orange open roof trailer with ten foot high walls and doors and a garage overhanging it that acts as the dumpster for the town which Jeff dumps whenever it is half full, so any nonsense about trash blowing around town is pure fantasy, its better than many of the trash pickups I’ve had at many of my apartment buildings. Next the main house where everyone cooks and socializes is well kept and a cleaning rotation of everyone in camp happens regularly and is watched by Jeff, so it is never dirty or trashed more than a day before Jeff takes care of it. As to the "mouse droppings" we didn’t have any issues the first two years I was there, and then the third year, this same kid who steals and eats candy, leaves unwrapped food out in the house no matter how many times he was asked, and dirty dishes out, so we did get two mice, Jeff set up traps and had them gone within the week, we live in the forest in Alaska so idk what this kid expected. The town will give you some of the best memories of your life as you drink and hangout and adventure in the park and surrounding areas with some of the best friends you will ever meet. The Park itself is indescribable, vast untouched beauty and mountains and lakes and rivers filled with Caribou and Moose and Bears with endless hiking and beauty for you to see and experience, it touched my soul in ways I will carry with me till I die. Then there are numerous local festivals like "Augtober Fest" that take place throughout the season that are an absolute blast. The local brewery for late night adventures with friends is where they hold all the festivals, and Rose’s Cafe is the BEST BREAKFAST YOU WILL EVER EAT, especially after a night out. All in all, between the people, and the area you get to explore for a season, this will be one of the best experiences of your life!
Denali Gift Companies, Inc.
Denali Gift Companies, Inc. Review
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Christeen Tarpy
First I want to state that I’m submitting this anonymously because the owners, Kevin and Linda, can be vindictive. I’ve seen them attack and go after employees simply based off of what they’ve seen on their security cameras (usually the employee is just sitting or sending a text). When I say attack, I mean they do so behind the scenes by first defaming character followed by firing. I’m also just sending this report now because I happened upon their website while searching for another summer job. I have worked multiple summer jobs in multiple states and this, by far, was the worst experience I’ve had. Now I did make a lot of great friends, Alaska is a beautiful place, and I am grateful I went but I wish I had worked for another company. To address a few things mentioned in kevins rebuttal and the previous report: The employee housing is nasty! We were told the previous years employees cleaned at the end of the season but it doesn’t look like it. Trash is everywhere. Not only that but no one would even touch the bathroom til it had been soaked in bleach. And the worst part is the mice droppings. They are everywhere! And that problem doesn’t go away. The mice infiltrate the kitchen all summer long. When there’s 20-30 people cooking in one tiny kitchen I understand there will be a problem with dishes and trash but the mice are just nasty. The individual cabins aren’t much better. Two or more people are housed in each and it gets cramped. Especially after we are expected to keep all our food, clothes, dishes, hiking gear, etc, inside the cabin. The cabins are heated but with a space heater, some only have lights through lamps, and some have to keep their fridges outside because either there’s no room inside or the fridge would not fit through the door. On the same property a giant orange dump trailer is kept for us to toss our trash in which is fine until the wind blows or the Ravens find it. Then trash gets EVERYWHERE! I’ve been stopped by neighbors who, some not so nicely, asked us to clean up the trash that has blown down the road. Apparently that has been a problem for years. The last thing I want to say about the housing is that it’s loud! The night shift gets home around 11, and usually wakes the morning shift employees. They aren’t trying to by any means but with how the cabins are set up its inevitable. Same with the morning shift, they usually wake the night shift just by getting up and getting ready for work. Now onto the work situation. You are told you WILL get 40 hrs but not every week. I’ve overheard Kevin stressing out over payroll multiple times so most of the time you won’t get 40 hrs. You might be scheduled for it but he’ll either make you take a lunch break (unpaid) or he’ll send you home early. Also he’ll change the schedule at a drop of a dime. I’ve gone to bed thinking I had the next day off only to get a phone call the next morning asking where I was because the schedule was changed the night before! Or I’ll be working where I thought I was scheduled to work (one of his 3 stores) only to get reprimanded by Kevin or his wife Linda (who is never never nice) again because of a last minute schedule change. I will say however that I’ve always gotten paid on time, Kevin is correct in his rebuttal with that but only that! Also I know for a fact because I’ve seen it, that when Kevin isn’t in the store he is in his house staring at his computer watching, obsessing over the security cameras. If he sees someone sit down for a second, stand idly for a minute, be in the bathroom too long, etc, he will call the store and rudely demand why that employee isn’t working. He expects to pay us minimally yet we must work like slaves. I’m not exaggerating. And it’s all on his or Linda’s terms. Once when it was cold the employees carrying in 50 plus pound boxes of merchandise had to open the back door each time to come in because Kevin was standing at the computer close by and he was cold. Also watch out if you are overweight or slightly unattractive. He will want you working more behind the scenes and/or he will look for a reason to fire you. This goes for men as well. ive heard him make comments about overweight employees and their ability to move quickly enough or fit into the shuttle van (which is disgusting too.., we had to pile the days trash in the back everyday and a lot of the time it leaked and smelled!) Lastly, the 50% off sale is a scam. This didn’t affect the employees so much other than dealing with mad customers but since it was mentioned i will expound upon it. Yes there are signs posted everywhere but what he doesn’t tell you is he has some employees change the prices on the products before the sale. For example, if a book is priced all season at 5.99, he’ll change that price to 10.99 days before the sale. There are many other violations but I just don’t have the time to elaborate. I think I’ve made my point. Don’t work for this company! You can make more money and be better respected somewhere else in the area.