Reynolds American Reviews

Former Employee – worked at Reynolds American full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – Great benefits, company car for personal use (spouse can use), Good vacation. Freedom to have personal time off (doctors appointments, etc..). Work life balance. Not micro managed.

Cons – The employees that play the game w/ upper management get moved up. Favoritism is shown to the employee that worships the DM and director. Doesn't matter how hard the employee works. Salary maxes out after a few years at Senior Territory Manager (TM III). Doesn't matter how hard you work.

Advice to Senior Management – Listen to your employees. Send out the 360 survey on the DMs at least once a year. Don't preach "push back" your manager. The DM and Region Directors will hold grudges. The DMs expect the tenured TMs to train the new employees instead of doing it themselves. I was originally with RJRT before the merger w/ B & W. RJRT had a great training program! After the merger new employees did not get trained. The DMs put their own spin on things w/ the new employees to make themselves look good. DMs tell their "favorites" what to do and when evaluation time comes around the DM tells the panel "look what my employee did." This makes the DM look good, not the TM. I never understood the miscommunication from home office to the field. The problem is home office sends out objectives for the field. The directors have a meeting with the DMs and put their spin on the that objective and what should done. Then the DM has a meeting and puts their spin on the said objective. It's tobacco not rocket science. The objective should be consistent between the DMs. Each DM holds their people to their own standards and their own "ideas". So people are evaluated based on what the DM wants/wanted. Then when panel time comes around each DM spins everything in their favor instead of company objectives.The TM/DM that is full of it and talks the most moves on up the ladder.

The DMs hold TMs to different standards. I understand that new employees can't be held to the same standards as the TM that have been around for 5+ years but after a year or two the so called new TM should know what they are doing and be held accountable, not coddled. But by the time the new TM has somewhat learned what RJRT wants they get promoted and are clueless on the overall category and how to talk to chains. This weakens the company. The Account Managers have at the most 10 chains. So they are definitely not overworked. They like to work with the TMs and tell "them" what they should be doing, but cannot execute in their own chains.

Also when interviewing candidates you should not tell the potential TM they will be promoted in a certain time frame. Everyone knows it is not how hard you work or the numbers. It is favoritism from the DM. I consistently had above average numbers and above expectations but it never mattered how well I did.

Overall the company needs to treat people fairly quit complaining about $.02-$.03 difference in pricing. When a consumer is buying a product this amount of money does not matter. Look at your brands. I know you can't go back and change things but after the merger, Salem (being on discount) did better than Kool (I was in an area that Salem was never on discount until right before the merger. Which is the best thing Andrew Schindler did to push up the stock price so BAT couldn't take majority ownership). Yet the B & W management was too proud to push more than one brand of RJRT's (Camel). Doral was bigger than Pall Mall but yet you chose to push Pall Mall. Pall Mall should have been the EDLP brand. My gut feeling since the merger was (and is) that BAT wants to slowly take over more of RJRT. The RJRT Management (B & W) seems to destroy the brands and not doing anything that makes sense. I believe that BAT is buying more shares. RJRT is buying back their shares. More and more people on the board and in the home office roles are going to the BAT/B & W employees.

I really did enjoy my time with RJRT. The meetings are fun. I made a lot of friends and it was educational. Everything is first class. But post merger everything became more political than it was when I started. DMs should be held to a higher standard and be punished for their actions. In 9+ year career I had to meet with a Director and an HR Rep about a DM. I had two phone calls from HR on two other DMs (I had five my entire career). Two of the three should have been let go. Only one did get let go. I recently heard that a male Strategic Account Executive got let go for harassing a new female TM. Which is fine. But I don't understand why when a female DM got drunk and couldn't keep her lips to herself did she not get fired? She got flown to Winston and spoke w/ VP of Sales about it and nothing happened other than ANOTHER warning. Double standards! After seeing the stupid games and favoritism I chose to leave the company, leaving behind the "good retirement" I had gotten grandfathered into. The company didn't have a real plan to grow.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Reynolds American full-time

Pros – Good pay and benefits if you want to live in Winston-Salem, NC. Other companies are matching because RAI continues to reduce benefits except for their executives.

Cons – Declining business, poor leadership, trying new ideas tried by the previous management. Throwing ideas against the wall and hope something sticks. Core cigarette business that generated the profits in decline. RAI focusing on smokeless and spit less products that will never generate the profits that the cigarette category previously generated.

Advice to Senior Management – Get advice from the previous RJ Reynolds management, premerger RJRT was number 2 in the market and Brown Williamson was number 3.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Reynolds American full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – There are few companies that offer what RJRT offers today, especially for recent college grads. You get a fully paid car, insurance, maintenance and fuel (even for personal driving). In addition, they cover your internet and cell phone bill while providing you with a laptop. The benefits include excellent health insurance, dental and 401K. Vacation time builds after a few years from 2-4 weeks.

The pay is fairly decent for a new employee and climbs relatively fast based on your rating. You are pretty much guaranteed an annual salary and bonus increase unless you are basically inept. A new employee can expect to clear about 45-50K (give or take) without the expense of a car and gas, plus the random compensation of things listed above. After being with the company for about 5 years with no promotion, you can expect around 65-70K. Not bad. You receive a new Ford Fusion or Ford Escape every 3 years or 90K miles.

This is a great company to build your resume and then move on. The sales training and skills you learn are outstanding and prepare you for almost any other career in sales, marketing, etc. When you are prepared to move on, most companies recognize that you are well trained and you are highly sought after.

I must say, having worked for several fortune 500 companies, this company knows how to show employees a good time for their hard work. When you are traveling for business trips and training workshops, you receive nice meals, lodging, and plenty of drinks and entertainment.

Most of the territory manager (entry level position) sales force are good, hard working people whom you are happy to call your peers. They come from all different ages and backgrounds, and each has something to offer you in the area of development and most are willing to help. There is a good feeling of camaraderie with most teams. You are also largely left alone and not micromanaged. If you are seeking a promotion, then this puts you under the microscope.

The workload is realistic (almost easy) for about 7-8 months out of the year and ballistic for the other 4-5. There is no definite season for these times due to random price changes, tax increases, brand launches and strategy implementation.

Cons – This is a decent company, but it is not without its faults and it could be much better. For starters, initial training is something left to be desired. There is much to learn, especially in the first 6-12 months, and there is not much in the way of structured training. These include a complex (and inefficient) computer program, steps of a basic call, an ever changing pricing structure, brands and merchandising, certifications, administrative duties, etc. Much of this is left to your peers to train you. On the plus side, management does provide you with ample time to learn these things before holding you accountable for your performance.

Most of the senior management that I have dealt with are actually competent people, but most of them are slaves to foolish corporate strategies. Once you have been around long enough to learn the business, you can start to see what will work and what is a bad idea. Half of management seems to have lost touch in this area. The other half forces a smile as they attempt to convince everyone how awesome the new (bad) ideas will be even when they know that we will soon be falling flat on our faces and scrambling to undo 3 months of pointless hard work in 80-120 outlets.

I gave the CEO a thumbs down because while he is EXTREMELY intelligent, he and his counterparts are out of touch with what can be realistically achieved in the field to achieve sales growth and market share. The old CEO had the corporate strategy of "simple, bold, and focused" and we saw legitimate growth in the company for the first time in decades in this dieing industry due to smart and efficient decisions. When the new CEO took the reigns it was back to business as usual. This includes spinning our wheels while trying to implicate too many ideas at the same time which spreads our time in the field too thin. Much of this is spawns from following our competition (Philip Morris) around like puppy dogs, even when they are slowly dooming themselves to bankruptcy in the name of minimal market share gain.

Be informed that we are known throughout the industry as the "whiny" company. Prepare yourself to put up a giant fuss over pennies or a product facing with all of your customers. There are 3 big players in this industry: Altria (Philip Morris), RJRT, and Lorillard. Altria is the king of the market, so they set many of the trends, they are very demanding, and they can get away with whatever they want because the industry needs them. Lorillard is in third place with mostly stagnant business having only one winning brand (Newport), and they are happy just being included in a business strategy. RJRT is stuck in the middle at a distant number two fighting tooth and nail for things that matter very little, and we end up making most large accounts so frustrated that they refuse to work with us.

Promotion and company advancement are very possible, but not without jumping through multiple hoops and being charged with double standards. The company wants you to be an innovator and share new ideas and thoughts, but only if they coincide with whatever the corporate strategy happens to be at the time. Also, be prepared to be relocate and not end up where you ultimately wish to be. The good locations are often occupied by employees who want to remain where they are, so not much opens up except areas that are in the less desirable places in the country. The most you can realistically hope for is to be somewhat close to a desired atmosphere or your family. This is fine for an adventurous young graduate, but not for many others. On the plus side, the company does pay for you to move and provides you with a relocation bonus, even when you start. Upon your first promotion, they do the former plus cover any expenses of selling a house or breaking a lease.

The bonus structure enrages most of the employees as well. For instance, corporate strategy for the past 4 years has been to kill off certain brands which are no longer seen as having growth potential. This means that we no longer promote them or provide these brands with any level of discounting. Fine, agreed. However, when these brands lose sales and market share (as they are intended to do) then our bonuses reflect on those losses and employees lose bonus money for performing what we were instructed to do.

All in all, I would recommend this company to just about anyone looking to build their resume. If you are fine posting up anywhere to start over and grow your salary, you will also be happy. However, be prepared to relocate to an undesirable location, scratch your head at your monthly assignments, smile and nod, and be randomly disappointed with your bonus.

content with the job at the moment because of the scarcity of other opportunities, and I have it good here overall, but a few changes would make all the difference.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Reynolds American full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Perks, company vehicle, health plan, 401k and overall daily work load.

Cons – Dying industry, non achievable demands and delusional corporate strategy.

Advice to Senior Management – There are way to many of you.. Downsizing would be a great idea.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Reynolds American full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – The pay and benefits are great, no doubt about that. While in the field it's a great company in that you get a company car and some autonomy/less micro-management.

Cons – In the Home Office there are constant political games and backstabbing going on. All the managers are jockeying for position and the rest of the workers are just trying to hang on. There are CONSTANT changes in what Senior Management claims they are trying to do and, in reality, they usually have no idea as to what is going on below them. The moral is exceptionally bad and the chances for promotion are very, very poor unless you become a favourite of some manager, look good, are young (new grad preferably)...and preferably all of the above.
There is little, if any, respect for Senior Management as they have no idea at all just how poor the moral is or how hopeless a great many of the employees actually feel.

Advice to Senior Management – Pay attention to what is happening in your own company instead of just focusing on your next six or seven figure bonus.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Reynolds American

Pros – Company car and great benefits.

Cons – Management likes to micromanage and it's a dieing industry.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Reynolds American

Pros – Good salary, benefits, and community to live in.

Cons – No future, no leadership. The current management is caretakers; the cigarette volume continues to decline the management is hoping the smokeless business will offset the decline in the cigarette volume. For the senior management to continue to receive their bonuses they will need to continue squeeze cost and that translates to continue to outsource and eliminate jobs. The only hope is for British American Tobacco to take the company private when the ownership restrictions from the merger expire.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep squeezing the cost and eliminate as many people as you need to make the stock an attractive purchase.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Reynolds American

Pros – Some regions operate like a family, they make sure that all of their people are in a position to succeed.
- Benefits
- Car
- People (Excluding Denver Team)
- Bonus
- Training

Cons – These were my negative experiences working with the Denver Region:
- No coaching
- No positive feedback
- Minimal Development
- Incompetent Upper Management
- Unrealistic Expectations from Upper Management
- Have to be 100% mobile for promotions
- Rule by fear
- Micro-managing
- (3 AM's in 3 months quit in 2011)

Advice to Senior Management – Take a look at some of the people you have in Region Director and Senior Management positions. My experience in other regions was much more positive than in Denver.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Reynolds American

Pros – Benefits and opportunities are very good. They will challenge you. You may have to go elsewhere to get a promotion but you will get the work experience here.

Cons – The outsourcing of certain functions has entiled a new level of acceptable risk.

Advice to Senior Management – Be careful of who you are picking to implement your plans. You need to check back on their performance once in a while.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Reynolds American

Pros – Great money.
Pride in company.
Fair.
Great benefits.
Reward hard work.

Cons – Since the merge the company says that the joint workforce is one happy family. RJR employees are disappearing and former B&W employees are being kept even though some are not qualified to be in the positions that they are in. The company wants you to be a "china breaker" and proactive, yet if your ideas differ from the person you report to, you are berated and not heard. They want you to do your job and what your manager tells you to do. Don't different ideas and opinions end up brining the best results? If you keep trying to bring up your ideas in a positive manner for purely the right reasons,(most efficient, proven, respected, credible) they will make you disappear because you look more intelligent then your boss. Then once you leave they wil take your ideas and call them their own.

Advice to Senior Management – Excellent company if you are applying for an entry level position. Great pay, benefits and ability to gain experience in a difficult business. Get all you can and then move on within 5 years. Goal oriented, not people oriented.