retail sales associate

production worker

shipping and receiving clerk

maintenance technician

truck driver

Schwebels Baking Company

For several months, I worked the production line.  My schedule was always rotating from week to week.  And, for all of those who aspire to enter the baking industry, your work day generally starts hours before the sun comes up.  Forget about a day off on the weekend, Saturday or Sunday.  The constantly rotating schedule from week to week was very difficult to adjust to.  There also always seemed to be this ever present pressure from management to produce, produce, and produce some more.  While some of the front-line supervisors were able to filter this pressure out before it got to the worker bee, there were others who certainly manifested transferred aggression.  Sadly, it was the little man who would receive the brunt of it in those circumstances.  There always seemed to be some kind of staffing deficiency that created an atmosphere where management was always pleading with you to work that extra couple of hours or a day on weekends.  Nepotism was pervasive.  Training was minimal.  Wages were depressed.  I have to say that it is also the first place I ever worked at where senior management or health and safety would just stand there, staring at you while you worked, "mean mugging" you the entire time (didn't seem like a lot of happy management personnel).  I didn't find it particularly unnerving, but I did find it to be extremely unprofessional.  And, the Union didn't seem to do much for the worker or even seem to care about the worker.  On a final note, I have to hold human resources/the company to task for what appeared to be false advertising.  I answered an advertisement that provided that the wages were $12.00 an hour, but when I showed up for work the first day, it was explained that the wage was $11.00 an hour.  Turnover in production is excessive.  Turnover amongst front-line supervisors was excessive.   

I would like to add that all of the above are my own personal opinions.  Others may have different experiences, though; I would doubt such.  I personally cannot recommend Schwebel's to anyone for employment.

A typical day at work:
Clock in, relieve first shift. Then, rush around to get everything caught up that should have been done upon arrival. Pick up everyone else’s slack because they’re too lazy to actually do their jobs. Freeze to death or overheat because the company won’t bother renovating their building. 

Have I learned anything? 
I’ve learned that this company provides no actual training. If you learn how to do something here, it’s because you figured it out on your own. All of the so-called “trainers” refuse to put any effort in. If you ask a question about how to do something, you’re either yelled at or given zero explanation. They don’t want you to succeed. 

Management:
They’re all leaving. Quite frankly, I don’t blame them. They either get yelled at or don’t get their breaks. Most of them don’t bother helping when someone is struggling, they’d rather just stand and watch. 

Workplace Culture:
Breaks are far too short for the work you have to put in. Often times, you have to wait longer than necessary to take a break.
There are a few nice people here, but it’s not enough to make up for the mass amount of miserable, overdramatic idiots. If you’re not getting yelled at, you’re getting ignored. If you’re not getting ignored, you’re being forced to do someone else’s job. And if you’re not being forced to do someone else’s job, you’re getting harassed or bullied. 
Along with that, people fall asleep on the lines everyday, which makes it even more difficult. 
95% of the people that work here are EXTREMELY LAZY and they get away with it.
Favoritism is definitely present as well - hence the lazy people facing no backlash. 

The hardest part of the job:
Dealing with coworkers! Lazy or rude - no in between 

The most enjoyable part of the job:
The paycheck? 


A typical day at work would be to open/close the store (depending on shift) count the register and maintain a certain amount throughout the day, occassionally track and process cash into a computer system, and put it in the safe. Around noon, shipments come in. Shipments need to be checked, entered into the proper tracking lists, and placed in store. Product needed to be rotated, the front counter needed to be tended to, basic upkeep was needed to keep the store looking clean and professional. The phone needed to be answered and any orders made by customers needed to be put through the proper computer systems and kept track of. Inventory was taken weekly. I learned a lot in time management, communication, multi-tasking, and self-motivation. I gained much experience in operating in stressful environments and situations. Customer Service skills came naturally with handling and communicating with many different types of people throughout the day. My managers (both in-store and regional) were wonderful, helpful, and knowledgable people that helped me along the way. The hardest part of the job I'd say was balancing the work needed to be done in the warehouse and in the store (which was separate) when my co-worker (manager) went home; as I was the only employee left for a good portion of my shift at the end/beginning of the day. The most enjoyable part of the job would have to have been the people. I enjoyed interacting and developing friendly relationships with both the shipment and immeadiate staff, along with the regular customers that came in often.

I actually enjoy this job quite a bit. For many, the 9 to 5, Monday through Friday routine is what they're used to, but for me, the 3-day, 12-hour shift (7 PM to 7 AM, with an occasional Friday shift) is ideal. If anything, I would suggest slight schedule adjustments to give each shift 4 days off in a row consistently, with Wednesday available for downtime and maintenance. This would help with both efficiency and work-life balance.

The work itself has a learning curve, especially early on. Many employees seem to go through the motions without a deeper understanding of the equipment or processes, and few take initiative to improve. Teamwork is minimal — it really becomes what you make of it. Depending on the product run, operator experience, and daily management, it can sometimes get chaotic.

There is a fair amount of micromanagement from leadership, often making decisions or adjustments without much collaboration with the team on the floor, which creates some unnecessary challenges. Most of the management and crew on my shift are still fairly new and learning as they go.

The pay is decent — not necessarily high enough to keep pace with cost of living increases, but I meet my financial needs and bills. Overall, though, I enjoy both the management and team I work with. There seems to be a fairly high turnover; some of it is understandable, but a lot of it comes from people not being comfortable with the 12-hour shift format.

If I had known about this schedule earlier, I would have applied much sooner.

A typical day at work is random, sometimes there are good days and sometimes not, In a factory like this you may sometimes have to do jobs not in your department.
 I have learned allot from Schwebel's, including how to drive and operate a forklift, sky-jack,  receiving , porter and production work. etc.
       As for Management, I am sorry to say it is very poor, That is a MAIN problem in the plant.There is no real supervision on the floor and when there is it is sporadic , some employee's work very hard and some walk around and do nothing while supervisors sit in meetings all day doing nothing to ensure fair work policy is taking place and jobs are getting done. Safety in the plant is also an issue as supervisors take into consideration what they think is an important issue and not what the employee's do, i.e. ordering stop signs for forklifts and not fixing a single small issue for harmful employment in six months when a red painted warning line would have suffused.( No person has been hit by a forklift in the history  of Schwebel's as far as I know.)
 The hardest part of the job is not being able to do do it because everyone wants you to do what they want(management, in diff departments) and not your job.
      Workplace culture, doesn't exist, there is no unity in this company, at one time they may have been good but I fear it is to late for them to recover, no one cares anymore, though I try my hardest to do what I can. :(
       The most enjoyable part of the job is to be left alone and just do it.:)

I had my share of good times at Schwebel's, which makes it hard to review the company in the state it is today. The company is failing, was just laid off with no notice- the day they came in to tell the manager and I was my last day. Hours were slashed to absolutely nothing, beforehand- 10 hours a week. Do not be fooled by the high rate of pay- you won't make enough to live at this job.

Communication in this company is abysmal. Projects would be started, then bailed on at the very first sign of not being profitable, leaving a bunch unusable promotional material laying around. No department knew what the other was doing. Managers did not communicate- we had vendors pull out that our regional manager did not know about until after they stopped servicing us. 

Quality control was not good- Schwebel's has good quality bread, for the most part, but employees throw product away because it is incorrectly packaged, dated, or just shipped to us looking like it has been through the wringer. When you are on a tight budget, that adds up.

Mismanagement will absolutely be the death of the company, but the higher ups they handed it over to will stuff their pockets before they leave.

As for the actual work, it is quite easy- sorting bread, stocking, and pulling old dates. Policy enforcement is spotty. All the employees are pretty nice on their own, but the higher up you get, the more complacent they are in the mismanagement and lack of communication in the company. Even if they are trying their best in their own department, it is hard to ignore that behavior.

I have worked as a permanent, part-time employee on production for over 3 months now. I am looking forward to going full-time as soon as it is available. The work is monotonous, yes, but there are many wonderful coworkers. There is almost always an opportunity to get more hours. The pay is very good, and (as I have heard from many LONG-TERM employees) the benefits are very comprehensive. 
Many reviews here complain about schedules and favoritism. Schedules for part -timers, such as myself, are easier to set more steady schedules, however, fulltimers who have not been awarded a bid position can have fluctuating hours and assignments. This can be changed after you establish some seniority and bidding for a position. Seniority is also the explanation for the so-called favoritism. You work side by side with people who have called Schwebel's "home" for decades!!! To see so many employees that have been there longer than I have been alive (and I'm no spring chicken!) is encouraging. Yes, the turnover rate is high. One and only reason: Expect to actually work. If you are looking for an easy paycheck, look elsewhere. Show up as scheduled, and work. End of story.

Poor Management, disingenuous. They came across as professional but was not in the least, they actually were the main culprit to spreading gossip and creating a hostile environment that led to very poor crew leader training. It took 3 weeks to train on a time frame that could of been met in a week if properly given a fair chance to learn and work hands on to correct any deficit.This store lacked culture, no diversity in many factors that left a click among employees.Therefore, no room for future career advancement. Work hours not guaranteed, unpredictable. Pay is totally unfair, only minimum salary wage After 10 months of employment you can get a $2.00 increase per hour as long as you decline benefits (ex. medical, dental, vision). This is a Union job, so expect $44.00 per month to come out of your wages plus initiation fee of $150.00. YOU are paying them to work their.The crew trainers were rude, unfriendly, leading to many controversies. It takes no brains to shuffle bread all day, the nightly banking needs were confusing with a very out-dated long processing technique. This store had a Sesame Street, Romper room mentality. STAY AWAY!!

Mediocre job made worst by some of the worst management ever.  This company tends to go out of its way to spend a dollar to save a buck.  The lead management leads by threats and harassment, which as we all know is the backbone of any prosperous company. Company used to be great until the morons in charge decided a change was in order, and expanding the companies footprint was the thing to do.   Not only do the company almost go bankrupt, in the process of cutting labor to offset their screw ups, we also lost 2 bakeries.  Because obviously if you want to expand, much less keep your existing customer base happy  you cut labor, product, support, equipment, and all the things needed in this type of business. It’s only a matter of time now, that this once powerful and successful company is gone, all because of poor management, being reactive instead of proactive, and treating the most important asset they have, people poorly.  If you really need a job, it’ll do, but the hours are crazy, and the work is back breaking.  Not exactly the type of job most millennials or snowflakes could handle.

If you are hired in as a summer employee, but told your job isn't temporary as long as you do what your supposed to and don't call off.  Of course, that was a BIG FAT LIE!!!!  ALSO, as a Summer employee, you have to pay the initial fee for joining the union and union dues, but you are told by the company and union reps that, YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO BE REPRESENTED BY THE UNION UNTIL YOU'RE HIRED IN PERMANENTLY!!!!  Then, you shouldn't be paying anything into the union until such time!!!!  Also if you're hired as summer employee, make sure you look at the Summer employee schedule as well as the department schedule they schedule you in, because the asset. Building Superintendent is the one who makes schedules and she'll have you schedule for one shift on one schedule and another shift on that departments schedule, then they will be looking at you all kinds of crazy trying to say you pulled a no show.  ALWAYS TAKE PUCTURWS OF YOUR SCHEDULE SO YOU HAVE PROOF, THEY WILL ALSO CHANGE IT WITHOUT NOTIFICATION!!!!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Retail sales associate 7 salaries reported	$13.74 per hour
Production worker 17 salaries reported	$19.26 per hour
Shipping and receiving clerk 13 salaries reported	$17.55 per hour
Maintenance technician 15 salaries reported	$28.00 per hour
Truck driver 3 salaries reported	$29.13 per hour

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