Sherwin-Williams Reviews

Pros

Your job ends when you clock out... you dont have to think about work during your off time

Cons

No sense of fullfillment when all your doing is mixing paint

Pros

My time i have spent with the company has been great, both my manager and assistant manager are awesome, close knit feeling at the store. I am getting paid quiet well for a part time position in the town, my managers are great about feed back both positive and negative but they don't come down hard on a person the just make sure you know what happened and how you should do it next time or fix it. plenty of room for advancement, and the stores are generally a lot of fun to work in.

Cons

I can't understand some policies that senior management has in place, we are a high quality paint store do we really need to be open on the day after thanksgiving and Christmas REALLY!!!!? who is going to come buy paint in the middle of winter in northern Minnesota the day after Christmas or thanksgiving.

Advice to Senior Management

i can understand wanting to compete with bigger stores, but do you really have to tick off a ton of your workers by having us work these stupid days, during which a store might and i do mean might make $100 dollars in sales, how does that make any sense?

Pros

Good people to work with. Safety is stressed, as is housekeeping. A clean, safe manufacturing facility. Good benefits. Lots of overseas business, so job stability and growth should be good in the long term.

Cons

Pay is mediocre to start. The scuttlebutt is one has to 'pay one's dues' for a few years before pay is raised to a level above average. Training for new operators is spotty and sometimes unclear. I spend a fair bit of time clarifying key points of my job so I don't screw something up.

Pros

Great work atmosphere. Family like feel, makes work enjoyable.

Cons

There seems to be some disconnect between hourly and salary employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Get more employee involvement. In the past hourly employees said that they were valued more and work was actually fun.

Pros

Sherwin Williams is a good company to work for right out of college. They offer good benefits and great 401k options.

Cons

Not a lot of opportunity to move up after becoming store manager or sales rep, unless you are able to relocate.

Pros

Reliable company, consistent stock prices
Opportunity for advancement (if you relocate)
Good training
Decent medical coverage, good retirement

Cons

Never the same schedule (12 hour work days, weekends, holidays, denied vacation days)
Too many "upper" management positions to answer to, as a store employee you are generating profit but have City Managers, District Managers, VPs and more constantly to answer to
Raises are insulting 1-5% no matter cost of living and mostly based on sales budget (ie: economy is bad all around, no raises for 3+ years)
Stores are short staffed. A store open 7 days a week, 75+ hours with 2 FT and 1 PT (15-20 hrs/wk) is common
Expected to be on call constantly, contractors call you on weekends, evenings, etc
Corporate issues selling strategies with leads given to you that you are forced to dedicate time on doing (ie: sales calls to hotels); when they don't generate sales you are the one who is responsible for them not working
Flip flop of what the actual goals are. One quarter it is sell gallons (volume), next quarter it is make the most profit, next quarter it is be competitive do whatever it takes. Most of the times you don't know what the 'goal' is until its over. Upper management (VPs of Sales) changes every 2 years and comes in with new policies that are a 180 degree turn from what you had been doing.

Advice to Senior Management

Your store employees are your money makers. We are the ones selling the paint not only to make stock holders happy, but to pay distribution centers, drivers, etc. When you break down and belittle your employees on a day to day basis it doesn't motivate them.

Pros

Starting pay is decent out of college
Great benefits package
At times can have lots of opportunities for growth
Employees are good people

Cons

Retail hours, 12 hour workdays frequent, weekends
No work/life balance
Supposed to work 48 hrs/week but usually work more off the clock, because you get yelled at for overtime
Sales goals are unattainable without huge amounts of luck
Dealing with the general public, which means you will get talked down to constantly
Constant price increases

Advice to Senior Management

Quit trying to become a big box store. This is not the foundation that SW was founded on. Reduce store hours and you will see profit increases

Pros

-Benefits package is outstanding
-Supportive women network
-possible help with college
-okay compensation for the market
-hours aren't too bad for retail
-there is definitely the ability to move up if you can stand it
-Training (ongoing)

Cons

-district management set unrealistic expectations
-you have to pick up product from random stores and drive all over the district
-very physical job, prepare to be very bruised from stocking and moving the truck
-not a glamorous job, at all
-weekend work
-the crap trickles down, when the pressure is on management, they tend to treat their assistants that way and their part timers
-the level of class you deal with on a day to day basis (contractors) starts to get to you
-happiness is completely dependent on your manager, and in my case, its not going so well

Advice to Senior Management

The economy is in ruins, know that its going to limit what we sell, adjust goals accordingly. When my manager is crying on a daily basis there is obvious real problems. Wake up and smell the recession. I've only been with the company 6 months, but I know I'm looking elsewhere to work.

Pros

Supportive management. Promotion opportunities always available if you show drive and work hard.

Cons

Quick promotions require ability to relocate.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep developing talent, especially women & minorities. Thanks for a great career start!

Pros

Benefits
Training
Upper management
laid back
friendly work atmosphere

Cons

Open on public holidays.
44hr work week
Low pay
No reward for hard work
Mico management
Impossible sales goals
All promotions are chosen before job postings
Incompetent life long managers who could care less and are comfortable
Almost impossibe to advance unless you relocate
You can be an assistant for 3 years before you become a manager while more experienced, and sometimes worthless assistance are chosen because they have more years under their belt.
Upper management has no idea which assistants will be better managers because they are not in the store. The interview process does not work. I have seen great assistants get passed by because they did not have 5 yrs under their belt.
Open christmas eve...really?
You can work extremely hard and reap zero benefits.
Constant price increases and budget increases.
Almost impossible to make bonus
only 2-4% salary increases a year
Constant whining from customers about price
Stores are open about 12 hrs a day with 2FT and 1PT...calculate those hrs.
Managers work 48hrs per week with minimal salary increase from assistants

Advice to Senior Management

Get rid of incompetent managers and create some movement. Do not expect to have sales increases with managers who get comfortable and do not care. DO NOT OPEN STORES ON HOLIDAYS.