maintenance person

superintendent

customer service representative

utility worker

electrical technician

California Water Service

The good:
- you can leave work at work
- variation in work load. Some weeks will be crazy (gazillion main breaks, not enough servicepeople working that day, field crew people cranky because they're tired and have too much work, customers mad because they won't have water for 6-8 hours, can't get in contact with other offices) and some weeks are very slow, which gives you time to catch up on paperwork or chatting with your coworkers from your cubicle.. WHILE WORKING of course because we are not slackers.
- not ALL the managers were terrible. Our DM was usually MIA but competent! So professional! ADM was kind! Superintendents were nice and relaxed! They answer your questions! They want you to succeed and feel welcomed!
- everyone is friendly! Amazing! You're introduced to everyone on your first day! People who have been here longer also introduce themselves to you! So nice!!! 
- the pay scale! you start at this pay rate, in 6 months you get a pay increase (very small, like 3%), in 12 months another pay increase, then at 18 months, the biggest pay jump of them all. You get paid just enough money to breathe and not feel like you're below poverty level in the very expensive golden state of California. 

my least favorite parts:
- awkward relationship with direct managers, and I was not the only one who had this issue.  CSMs pretty much were there to do their job or receive important information from you. I think on the self-performance review or exit interview/survey, they asked if you feel your manager cares about your career goals?? They are literally so busy with their own tasks 
- a lot of important communication was through email (maybe due to COVID) and sometimes did not get passed down from CSMs to CSRs, or maybe an email would be sent and we'd read it then forget because there are so!! many!! emails!! 
- CSR knowledge is not uniform and different offices have different practices and you learn to ask *that* office before doing certain things, when I think this info should be out in the open because you may take phone calls for *that office* eventually.. a lot of useful information is just not out in the open, frankly. The company thinks everything you need is on the company home page or you'll know where to look for XYZ but it could've been recently added without notice
- people are more overworked than not, because that district or department is understaffed 

company temp vs perm employees: you start out hired thru a temp agency, then become a CWS temp, then a perm employee. As an agency temp, you're paid by the agency, then as company temp, you're paid by them directly. Perm employees will get nice bonuses while (company) temps get thrown a bone or none at all. I always thought the distinction was very weird because it's not like temps are choosing to stay temps for 2+ years, plus this was a common pathway into the company. You can apply for permanent positions but there's still a chance you won't get the job even if you're doing the same exact work. If you enter the company as an agency temp, I would advise leaving after your contract or when you secure your dream job. Your coworkers are nice and you get a comfortable ergonomic chair and desk but you're just expendable labor. They laid off CSRs to establish a call center and on a zoom call notifying us of impeding layoffs, execs were basically like, we've *told* you customer service is becoming redundant, the data blah blah blah.. Ok, man.

I worked here for several years at Bayshore. It’s an extremely toxic environment and unsafe, management treats you like garbage and there is no leadership, you’re just an employee number to them. They use employees and exploit them in a program called “continuous improvement”, you basically are giving them ideas to sell and you gain no profit or value from it. Anyone can be a supervisor or manager there with no field experience. The vehicles and equipment are not capable of doing the repairs needed out in the field and they are unsafe and out of date. The corporate office seems detached from reality and they look down on the people who do the real work in the field. 

The work can be intense....working with the public on a customer service level to provide water to their homes can get pretty emotional.  But on a whole the customers were so nice and being able to help them feels really good.  The other team members are incredible humans and fun to work with.  The perks such as coffee and little give always just add to the enjoyment!  I loved this place!!!

Management is extremely unprofessional, they cannot comprehend their day to day tasks, high management does not have an idea on how to run the company.  They are more focused on becoming a corporation they forgot we serve the community.  They mismanage funds which in result is passed onto the customer in rate increases. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Poor HR and work culture.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of clear direction and training.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Poor. The people are not good.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful due to poor communication and leadership.

Great job. Starting out as a temp can be miserable some days but if you stick it out long enough and get a permanent position eventually the work becomes easier. This is a union company so almost every aspect is run by seniority. The pay and benefits are by far the best in the water industry and a lot of overtime is offered.

Managers do not care about their employees. Too many middle managers. Dysfunctional team. Very toxic  work environment, lots of politics. Managers will take credit for your ideas. They are more focused on their careers rather than the team's success.

Quite a few managers in company that do their own thing and show little regard for the people they manage.  Fortunately they are balanced out by the few really good managers that take the time and energy to care for the people they manage.

California Water Service is a great place for steady long term careers. The work environment can be slow but everyone is happy with their work and is productive nonetheless. Great pension options as well.

Very friendly, supportive staff and management. I think the most difficult part of this job is working for a Water Utilities Company.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Maintenance person 19 salaries reported	$33.59 per hour
Superintendent 5 salaries reported	$135,300 per year
Customer service representative 6 salaries reported	$26.92 per hour
Utility worker 5 salaries reported	$44.24 per hour
Electrical technician 4 salaries reported	$59.83 per hour

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