Suburban Propane Reviews

Pros

Pay, training, focus on the P&L process, employees, customers, the ever changing atmosphere that never gets boring or stale, technology

Cons

No respect for customers or employees, one side view of what is happening, always raising margins and losing customers, arrogance

Advice to Senior Management

Put yourself in your employee's shoes. You have a warped sense of what goes on in the markets that you serve

Pros

good benifits, good pay and nice trucks

Cons

i was a driver for suburban propane for over 6 years. As a driver i got a torn rotator cuff and needed surgery and when i got ready to go back to work, they said they did not need me anymore.
So be careful and not get hut.

Pros

There aren't a lot of pros for this company. Worked here for a few years and the benefits are pretty good. 401k match based on company performance.

Cons

All this information is coming from an employee who has never had any disciplinary problems and has received high reviews each year I have been here. Work is never appreciated it, job functions are vague at best. Company keeps forcing higher margins while losing customers left and right. Upper management is poor at best. Their ability to see that being double to market rate on a product you can buy anywhere is the reason we are losing customers. Salaries are always low compared to other positions. Ask for a salary range based on zone and see if they will provide this to you. It exists. Bonuses are a joke. If you can make budget it, it would be a miracle. You are told that you are lucky to have a job considering the current market.

Advice to Senior Management

If you are looking for a manager job I suggest you look elsewhere. You are required to be on call 24/7/365. Average calls from After hours center is between 10-15 calls per week. Pay is extremely low for amount of work and stress compared to other manager positions.

Pros

Fair benefits, great people, customers who value our service.

Cons

Competitive market with less consumer value for service.

Advice to Senior Management

Doing the same things and expecting different results leads to a slow death.

Pros

I liked the feeling of independence of running my route.The friendships I forged with the customers meant a great deal to me also. The manager was always communicated the company's policies and expectations to the employee's was ready to work with us with any issues we may have had.

Cons

The yearly reviews were seemingly designed to keep one at certain level of pay or position. Benefits were to expensive for the coverage.The driver efficiency rating system did not ,at times, give a fair representation of His/Her performance.

Advice to Senior Management

Try not to show favoritism to any individual(s).If your an individual who has not come -up through the propane industry , try to be more proactive (Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty).

Pros

Decent pay and a crew of wonderful people with a wealth of knowledge and well above average work ethic. Teamwork. Interesting work, good vehicles.

Cons

Management will not listen to employee"s concerns and ideas about the business. Far too much micro-managing. Three times the paperwork that is needed. Ordering system. Parts take far too long to receive. Placing raw management with no idea of the energy business.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to, and trust your senior employees. Let a Manager manage his people. Promote from within. A manager should know the business. Lower prices get more customers.

Pros

Coworkers become family and friends. It also makes you feel needed when you have to assist a customer whether they are past due or fallen on hard times...Challenges your ability to solve problems and get them worked out. The Sr Mgr was the greatest!

Cons

High stress level and irate customers...

Pros

Benefits, Nice equiptment to work with, Training

Cons

I was promised a raise and still havent seen it 3 months later

Advice to Senior Management

Are management is great Im just tired of being told things and then it never happening. Not being able to compete because are price is rediculous compared to competition

Pros

There is a lot of training to ensure you do your job properly. All Suburban Propane cities do the same thing and use the same practices. You could go anywhere and you would know what to do.

Cons

Most jobs are very demanding as it is a demanding business. Phone calls are very heavy and can give you little time to do other work. A lot is expected and it doesn't seem like there is a lot of time to do it.

Advice to Senior Management

none

Pros

Some of the people are nice.

Cons

It's a nightmare to work here. The raises are very small, they cram to much work into an 8 hour day, the higher ups treat you badly and the office is old and dirty!

Advice to Senior Management

Learn how to deal with your employees! Perhaps a class on anger management?