tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845919943360449516.post4873750808587803491..comments2007-05-03T10:20:51.051-07:00funadvicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18058708246453920318noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5845919943360449516.post-41665514812045770782007-05-03T09:45:00.000-07:002007-05-03T09:45:00.000-07:00I was one of the original designers/developers for the Webkinz project. They (Ganz) are a funny company...they wring their hands over the smallest detail (like how many hairs should appear on each virtual pet) but they use some pretty ruthless business practices when getting their product out.<BR/>For anyone out there who's interested, the company international headquarters is at: <BR/><BR/>1 Pearce Road<BR/>Woodbridge, Ontario<BR/>Canada<BR/><BR/>It's about the bleakest industrial area you could imagine...a real sh*t hole. The owner is Howard Ganz and the company has been family run since the early days (1950s I believe). I don't mind giving out this info because they tend to treat their employees like garbage. They definitely don't pay standard rates for anything and people working there their entire lives are dismissed without so much as a "goodbye" from Howard. <BR/><BR/>I was the second person on the project and I basically ran the show for about a year. It was a great experience in how *not* to run a company and treat employees. The lack of leadership and direction was stunning. It was close to three years before anything was actually developed for this project and it was, IMHO, simple incompetence. Can you imagine the person in charge saying, "I can't tell you what I like, but I can tell you what I don't like, and THAT'S IT!". I'm glad to be out of there!patrickbayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12271939945347841652noreply@blogger.com