Company Culture

Increased sales numbers were the only things of any importance to upper management, leading to alienated employees and customers.

Support from management

Management offered little or no support or guidance.

Teamwork

The sales teams did a reasonably fair job working together.

Freedom to work independently

Must be self-motivated. Set your own hours. Plan your own route. Management didn't offer a lot in the way of guidance.

Internal Communication

The same emails forwarded and re-forwarded by every person in your chain-of-command. Daily.

Gender Equality

They have done a reasonably good job of hiring women.

Attitude towards older colleagues

The company tends to hire younger employees, mostly due to the physical nature of the work.

Career Development

Training is almost non-existent. No career path past sales.

Overall compensation for your work

Commissioned sales. No base salary. When asked about an increase in commission rate, the company's response was "if you want to make more money, sell more product."

Office / Work Environment

Drive your own car. Use your own gas. No reimbursement.

Environmental Friendliness

The company did occasionally encourage charity work, but only by making it a check-the-box portion of the employee's yearly evaluation.

Work-Life Balance

You will work 60 hours or more per week. Usually 6 days per week. Vacation time is planned at the beginning of the year, no exceptions. Sick time is discouraged. You will work late on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and Thanksgiving Eve.

Company Image

Employee morale was very low. Most of the workforce was actively searching for another job.

Job Security

Constantly felt like my job and those around me were going to be eliminated or consolidated.

Handicapped Accessibility

The company was ADA-compliant, as far as I am aware.

Workplace Safety

The company was OSHA-compliant, as far as I am aware.

Challenging Work

Sales goals are almost unattainable. Vast product knowledge required.

Inclusive / Diverse

Employee input is rarely asked for and even more rarely considered. Most departing employees are not given exit interviews.

Suggestions for improvement

• Stop treating the employees as a means to an end. Value their input. Treat them with respect.

What I like about the company

I liked working around wine. I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable about wine, so it seemed like a good fit.

What I dislike about the company

The management structure, pay, working conditions, hours, company attitude, disrespectful managers, company ethics, and double standards.