Southern Wine & Spirits of America Reviews | Glassdoor
Southern Wine & Spirits of America Reviews
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    Southern Wine & Spirits of America Reviews

    Updated March 7, 2018
    391 reviews

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    Full-timePart-time
    3.2
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    Southern Wine & Spirits of America Chairman and CEO Harvey R. Chaplin
    Harvey R. Chaplin
    170 Ratings

    391 Employee Reviews

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    Pros

    • "Good benefits if you are in the union and you will never go thirsty" (in 23 reviews)

    • "What a great company to work for" (in 13 reviews)

    Cons

    • "Upper management treats you like a number" (in 21 reviews)

    • "Not a lot of room for advancement and sometimes unrealistic supplier goals" (in 6 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. "Pricing Manager"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook

      I worked at Southern Wine & Spirits of America full-time

      Pros

      Great company with a lot of opportunities.

      Cons

      You do not get vacation until after a full year. Negotiate vacation ahead of time.

    2. "Customer Service"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Customer Service in Syosset, NY
      Former Employee - Customer Service in Syosset, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Southern Wine & Spirits of America full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Opportunity and potential for career growth is there if you want it and a lot of perks available to you. Real ability to network and build cont ya within the industry.

      Cons

      Management seemed to be hired based on who they know from previous employer, not necessarily any skill pertaining to the job they’re hired for. New hire training can lack any real depth or time allotted for it.

      Advice to Management

      At the end of the day, there is more to your business than the bottom line sometimes. Utilize employees to their strengths and listen more to suggestions being made.

    3. "Stay Away If You Can"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Chain Sales Merchandiser
      Former Employee - Chain Sales Merchandiser
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Southern Wine & Spirits of America full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Learn quickly to overcome rejection.

      Cons

      Terrible room for advancement. All the great positions are held for years.
      Early hours. Very little recognition. Upper management treats you like a number. Not an individual.

    4. Helpful (1)

      "sales representative"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Comp & Benefits
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      No opinion of CEO

      Pros

      probably the best overall wine and spirits book in the industry. Built by the reputable Lauber team.

      Cons

      Micro managed. The philosophy and practice of personal relationship building business skills one on one has been replaced by a " pushing out boxes en masse.. " dictator style management that has ruined, in my humble opinion, the entire atmosphere in the most important and prestigious wine markets worldwide. In short, SWS came in and removed knowledgeable, caring consultants and replaced them with box pushing foot soldiers for the most part. They've ruined the cultural aspects of our beloved wine industry.

      Advice to Management

      Attitude is reflective of leadership.

    5. "Key Account Specialist"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Southern Wine & Spirits of America full-time

      Pros

      Great team, manager, perks, and work/life balance

      Cons

      Sales pressure, lots of driving, will calls

    6. Helpful (4)

      "The free liquor made it easier to drown your sorrows from a bad job"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Chain Territory Manager in Cerritos, CA
      Former Employee - Chain Territory Manager in Cerritos, CA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at Southern Wine & Spirits of America full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Free wine and spirits. You could create your own schedule as long as you start by 6:00am. If you got on a good team you could reap from the benefits of the sales in their territory.

      Cons

      Bonuses were unrealistic in most territories. You had to lie to meet your quotas, which your manager instructed you to do, and you usually didn't get your bonus unless you lied. Management also had you go to stores that were 80%+ EBT and most of their liquor left the store with a five finger discount. The compensation you got for driving doesn't cover the expenses from the driving. There were a lot of promises from the Recruiters that turned out to be unobtainable or nonexistent.

      Advice to Management

      Make goals reasonable and obtainable. Do not force the territory managers to go to stores that are a waste of time. Compensate your employees better. If the VP can drive a $120k+ car and get carpool violations and act like he is just getting a burger from McDonalds, something isn't right with that equation.

    7. "Very Smart Company"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - DSM in New York, NY
      Former Employee - DSM in New York, NY
      Doesn't Recommend
      Positive Outlook

      I worked at Southern Wine & Spirits of America full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Lots of brands to work with

      Cons

      Too many masters to work for

      Advice to Management

      share the love

    8. "Don't do it"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook

      I worked at Southern Wine & Spirits of America (More than 8 years)

      Pros

      Once you become union the benefits and job security are good

      Cons

      Lack of leadership
      Team work
      HR DPT and GM is by far the worst, EVER!
      Under staffed on all shifts
      Runs employees into the ground

      Advice to Management

      Hygiene is a must
      Keep relationships professional inside of the company
      Learn to have better work ethics/ Stop putting blame on others
      Treat employees like you'd want to be treated

    9. "Overnight shift"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      Pros

      Good pay and easy work. Nice family environment. Gives a good amount of breaks.

      Cons

      Slave work. Hard work. Overnight shift is killer. I had to take public transportation so the time traveling to and from work affected my performance

      Advice to Management

      Learn that the people is the most important asset

    10. "Zero Value Placed On Existing Relationships"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Sales Representative in Boise, ID
      Former Employee - Sales Representative in Boise, ID
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Southern Wine & Spirits of America full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Flexibility, typically a fun working environment, freebies, expense account, customer base is friendly, pretty good benefits, company paid phone, car allowance

      Cons

      "Regional" management 2 time zones away?!?! Said management had ZERO clue about markets outside of their home state. Also, there was far too much paperwork and reporting - spent more time on conference calls and spreadsheets than I did out selling.

      Advice to Management

      There is a guy in Ohio who would sell his first-born down the road to advance his own career. QUIT PROMOTING HIM!

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