Frito-Lay Reviews

Pros

Pay is better than most DSD companies
Benefits are still pretty good
Long-term relationships built with co-workers and customers
Security of a nationally known company with good products
Competitive environment

Cons

Work/life balance is preached but not readily seen
Working every holiday except for Thanksgiving and Christmas cause a lot of missed family gatherings
Benefits are declining from what they were years ago
Expectations are unrealistic at times in role-responsible for many thing out of control span
Changing culture to expand talent pool has limited promotional opportunities from within
Pay while better than most DSD companies does not equate to responsibilities and time invested
Everyone above DSL role has their priorities that are dumped off on DSL and field

Advice to Senior Management

Everyone above DSL role needs to take a step back and work with a DSL or RSR for a week and realize what is being asked of the field. Working with the field is the only way to truly understand how to fix a role that the whole company readily admits is broken. Leadership also needs to realize the strain that their 180 degree turns in merchandising creates on the plants and the field. Let decisions run their course before making constant u-turns in the middle of the interstate

Pros

Compensation seems competitve. There is job security with the company as a whole but certain sites always seem to be worried about closing.

Cons

Work life balance is poor at best. The company as a whole is decent but depending on the site leadership it can be very poor.

Pros

Decent pay- but could be better in comparison to what you reps are making
Good benifits
Big company- Big brands so an easy sell
Plenty of opportunity if you want tyo stick around and be a DSL for several years

Cons

Forced to be a DSL to get anywhere in the company- Guess what not eeryone wants or is good at being a manager but could be vey good at other positions within the large company
The DSL position should be changed to a Glorified babysitter of whining children!
Work life quality sucks!!! Always on call and work is always on you mind
Your a mananger, but really have no say what is actually best for your employees

Advice to Senior Management

DSL position is meant for very specific people, and there is no reason why anyone that wants to get anywhere within the company shoud be forced to go through such a terriable management position to actually do something their good at within the company.

Pros

Stability, Training, great resources, industry leader.

Cons

Long hours, demanding environment, large amount of responsibility, not a good work life balanace.

Advice to Senior Management

Give employees more praise for their wins.

Pros

Large company that hires from within
Incredible amounts of tenure throughout ranks
Culture was very supportive and willing to help
Extensive training program for new hires
First line management gets own office

Cons

Incredibly scorecard driven - unless called out, this will take priority over what is right for employees
Work/life balance is non-existent - work is your life (65 hr work weeks, hours that fluctuate, working weekends and holidays)
There's so many tasks to be done in any given week, its difficult to feel a sense of accomplishment

Advice to Senior Management

Both HR and Training admitted that they knew the DSL position was broken within the company during my exit interviews. Find a way to streamline the responsibilities and make it less of a catchall. This would promote the work/life balance that is always talks about, increase feelings of accomplishment, and improve performance.

Pros

Pay is good
Some benefits are okay
Frito Lay has great name recognition
Great products
Locations are all over the world

Cons

Too much attention is paid to making the numbers at all costs.
Lot of talk about work life balance, but do think you are going to get it.
Managers change way to often
Promotions are based on scorecards not on best candidates. H/R receives bonuses based on diversity, so what else would you expect.

Advice to Senior Management

Get back to the basics
Treat employees like you expect to be treated
Respect those that are actually doing the work, ask their opinions

Pros

Full time, pay is just about enough to survive on, with not much more. You act as your own boss (only in stores you merchandise). Keeps you in shape, cause you cannot ever stop moving.

Cons

Don't trust them. They make promises they do not keep. Long hours, pushed constantly, lots of unhappy workers who are afraid to say anything. Okay pay, just enough to survive. I would not recommend to work there, unless you plan to find something else down the road with the experience you have gotten from working there.
When working full time they pay strictly $8 an hour overtime from 40-47 hours, after that it cuts down to $5 per hour strictly (not salary +, just plain $8 or 5 per hour for each hour worked) Called Chinese overtime. And you will be working overtime always. Long hours. NOT worth it.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep your promises. Remember you had to start at the bottom. Of course, once you move up, you want to keep your job, so you keep your mouth shut too, rather than take care of your workers. Things need to change, employees are no longer slaves. Unhappy people who keep their mouths shut cause they have to feed their families and pay their mortgages.

Pros

Recognized name, was once a respectable place to work, used to offer good benefits for employees (but only employees, not contractors), some departments are organized

Cons

No respect for contractors, overworked and underpaid. In a particular lab that only employs contractors there is no level of respect from management. Job duties are not clearly defined. Management in that lab is based on emotions and unprofessionalism. Employees in that lab have. Low morale and no sense of worth. They will break you down and push you to your limit, then reprimand you in front of other coworkers for mistakes THEY made, only to feel like they have power. If management feels threatened by an employee who skills for possible advancement, they will make sure it does not happen. The managers here are on a powertrip, and their superiors have no idea what is going on behind closed doors in this lab.

Advice to Senior Management

Check in on your contractors who are in a lab that is secluded and easily forgotten about. Allow contractors to have a voice in expressing wrongful treatment from their supervisor without fear of retaliation. Stop turning a blind eye and put someone else in a manager position is better suited for the job. Give contractors some of the benefits that the permanent employees receive, seeing as how they are usually the ones who work the hardest. Have upper management stop by the labs to evaluate the lab managers. When employees or contractors hear their superiors complain non stop about the company, it makes us want to have nothing to do with Frito Lay. The managers here are ruining the reputation of this company that was once a highly desired placed to work.

Pros

Talented and smart employees
Big muscular brands
Fast-paced work environment
Opportunities to learn from different assignments
Rotated frequently
Determined employees

Cons

Limited meaningful innovation
Cut-throat environment
NO work-life balance
Sales driven organization
Expected to put in extra hours on projects that are not relevant to business performance

Pros

Decent Pay
Time Does go by Fast

Cons

When working in the Warehouser Frito Lay expects way to much out of you, and treats you like you are at the bottom of the foodchain

Advice to Senior Management

Stop caring so much about productivity so much and focus on other aspects of the job