DS Waters Reviews

Pros

Management helps you with good feedback. Plenty of independence. Bonuses were attainable. I would recommend anyone working here as it is a very good environment.

Cons

The hours are longer than most jobs. You will be expected to talk with every employee every day about there performance.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep the employees motivated through training and goal setting. Match employees to their abilities in certain situations. Keep staffing as a top priority.

Pros

-Excellent pay
-The frontline (route drivers) are great people
-Good benefits

Cons

-Sales managers have no idea what they are doing. They have never been in a sales position in their lives and have no clue about the sales cycle.
-No one wants water coolers in their offices/homes anymore, only filtration.
-There are too few filtration techs to service the huge territories they have.
-Too much "proccess" in place to try to get pricing to a customer. Takes days, sometimes weeks before you can get them an answer.
-Completely unattainable sales quotas.
-If you do not get the numbers, you are constantly on disciplinary action
-Seasoned rep's will not help you. Some are great people but they have seen the revolving door of KAM's and choose not to get close.
-They tell you that coffee brewers will count toward your placements; however, coffee is the stepchild at this company and there is never any brewers when you are ready to set the company up.
-God forbid if you land a large account!! Your contract will sit in legal for months waiting to be approved, you will not have the equipment to place, you only get half of your commission and that isn't until "the plug is in the wall".

Advice to Senior Management

Nothing is going to save this company from itself but a complete reorganization from the top-down. Middle management must be replaced with people who have been in sales positions. Commission structure and quota's must get overhauled. The competition is much more organized.

Pros

- You do get paid bonuses for meeting goals in promotions
- Commission Pay everything you sell you get money for

Cons

-Extremely long hours
-Work weekends regardless if you have a personal life
-Always pushing you to sell

Pros

Management lets you operate independently. You spend most of the day on route and dealing with your clients. No cold calling.

Cons

There is rarely a opportunity to advance in your region. The shifts start very early in the a m. Some weekend work is required.

Pros

flexibility in sales. lots of opportunity to increase income without need for promotion

Cons

rigid pay structure, sink or swim mentality when training employees and improving worker performance.

Advice to Senior Management

Take more advice from the small people, they know a great deal about how to do their job. Plan projects more carefully and use feedback as a way to improve your business model rather than view it as criticism.

Pros

Front line could make more money than lower Management

Cons

My way or the highway mentality

Pros

Have a job that pays a salary

Cons

Working at ds waters was terrible

Advice to Senior Management

Treat people better

Pros

*Fantastic benefits
*Friendly co-workers
*Job relatively easy to perform
*Management understanding for missed time due to injury or illness
*Opportunities to earn more money by signing new accounts
*Good work-life balance.

Cons

*Management displays no passion for the job, product or customers
*Poor training and follow up.
*Pay for job is below industry scale
*Owned by a water company, it is related that coffee is not the companies priority (red headed step-child) so web-site for coffee, etc. is 2nd rate.
*Water drivers are now delivering coffee and are given double the commission of the coffee drivers for delivering the same product with no explanation given as to why. Water drivers are also paid weekly while coffee is bi-weekly.

Advice to Senior Management

*Show true leadership, take ownership for mistakes.
*Provide proper training and education for all facets of job to ensure that your employees are trained and equipped to deliver on the results you are asking for.
*Provide more consistent praise and recognition.
*Step up and demand equality between water and coffee divisions.
*Follow the rules you set (smoking in vehicles, changing out and cleaning equipment, proper rotation, etc.)
*Invest in new equipment.

Pros

Decent pay, good benifits,fairly stable place to work. Manigment easy to work for. Large corporation owned by private investors have no problem spending money improving equiptment. Gave out 2 percent raise this year.

Cons

If manigment does not like you see ya your gone. Work weird hours starting very early in the morning. When they get rid of someone others have to pick up the slack.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire more people you can't expect others to do more then they aready are doing in their own department. Hire a sales force, delivery drivers do not make very good sales people.

Pros

The pay is good, not great, just good. The insurance is better than most. Weekends off.

Cons

Very long hours. If you come back before 5pm you get accused of skipping stops. If you come back after 5pm, management will try to find that one thing you did wrong, and overlook the 50+ things you did right. There is no respect for the hard work or long hours you put in daily. Management knows all and does not listen to your advice or ideas. Management wants to have full control over you and your route. For the past 17 years, no one has EVERY had a raise at this location. The company has taken away any kind of real cash bonus, and replaced it with a $25 Walmart gift card that is taxed. Contest rules and give aways have changed at the drop of a hat to benefit the company. No contest is put in to writing per companies Legal office. Goals are unatainable. Not a growing company, cause Stewart E. Allen does not have the knowledge to grow it. Keep sweating Stew, we've joined the Teamsters, and the Union is here to stay.

Advice to Senior Management

Respect your employees!! Your drivers are the ones who are on the front line and making contact with the customers first hand. They are the ones who are delivering the product in extreme heat, the bitter cold, rain, snow, in all kinds of weather. The water is heavy and climbing steps and walking long distances, makes it even harder. This is a very physical job and takes a toll on the body after a few years. Respect and listen to your employees, they are trying to help management and the company. After all, our future is at stake here too!