explorer

warehouse associate

kitchen manager

field sales representative

driver

Southern States Cooperative

Most of this review involves the work that was done while at the Corporate Headquarters. The positiom at the store level was a complete new environment for me and the training did not seem adquate to me. I had gone from the corporate world into the retail side of the corporation and I knew every little if anything about the retail side. My training was extremely helpful but the computer program that I was trained on was very out dated as well as the computers themselves. I was not very comfrtable in the bookkeeper position from the beginning and by the time I was starting to get a better feel for the overall position it was totally wiped out. The people I worked with on a daily basis at the corporate office were enjoyable to be around. Most of them were very friendly and had good work ethics. I answered questions regarding DOT requirements for company drivers, entered new driver information into the computer as well as processing authorization forms for DOT new hire drug test and physicals. Handled the sending out of paperwork to be completed by new hires for filing in company & store files as required by DOT. Maintained and processed all of the required paperwork and results for random drug tests on a quarterly basis. improved my knowledge of Excel and Outlook for sending emails regarding driver paperwork and updates to store locations on required cargo tank inspections reports. Management on the department level and store level were very supportive. Management above the departent level was not as supportive. The hardest part of my job was keeping the filing up to date on some 1,400 drivers. The enjoyable part of my job was be able to help not only the store mangers but the drivers themselves to stay in compliance with DOT rules and regulations. I felt as if I was there to make sure that everything went right for them and if there was a problem it was my job to make sure that it got corrected.

If you apply to be a propane driver or service tech beware. They don't hire enough employees to handle the load of work so If you were like me I was on call 24-7 everyday. But was told when I started that on call would get rotated between 5 people. Two of us was promised a raised after 60 days and that never happened. I asked management about the raise and told, that wouldn't be a problem I would see in my check soon, I never saw. The other guy never got his either. They will tell that insurance starts from day one but I didn't have insurance from 2 months. There is one over all manager for the entire propane department he will interview you but you will never see him after that unless numbers are down. Most problems you will haveto figure out on your own because there is no one to train you. It is the most unorganized company I have ever worked for. Most address, phone numbers and info on tickets are wrong or out of date. They give you 17 days of PTO time when you start but don't tell you that you haven't really earned till the end of the year. If you don't use them you will lose them. You can get paid out for them but at 60% so you don't get paid for the full day. And if you use all your days before October and change jobs they will charge you for them so you might owe the company when you quit. Don't waste your time with this company. KEEP LOOKING!!! They are also in a lot of money trouble so they might not be around much longer anyway.

My experience at the Amelia location of Southern States revealed several areas needing improvement. The work environment often felt unstructured, with inconsistent communication and unclear expectations. Policies did not always appear to be applied uniformly, which affected team morale and created perceptions of favoritism.

There were noticeable gaps in leadership knowledge and operational support. Greater transparency around compensation practices would help address concerns about pay disparities among employees in similar roles. The onboarding process could also be improved, as new hires were not consistently provided with the basic tools and resources needed to succeed.

In addition, HR and payroll processes sometimes lacked efficiency, leading to avoidable confusion. With stronger leadership development, improved communication, and more consistent internal systems, this location has the potential to provide a much more supportive and professional work environment.

You’ll most likely go in through a staffing company, and have an interview with some balding haired manager who uses hair gel to morph his insecurities. He’ll promise you around 14/hr once hired on through the company, but that’s not true, and you’ll start off at 12/hr, don’t even think about bringing up your “promised raise” even after youve worked their as a temp for longer than the promised “3 months”, or they’ll threaten to fire you. Management is a joke, the lead takes his job too seriously, and power trips like he is so important. They stack pallets of dog food on top of one of another 3 layers high....OSHA would shut that place down so fast. The turn around rate is ridiculous. You work 12-14 hour shifts with 2 ten minute breaks, 1 30 minute lunch. They have cats running around urinating on everything, and a huge rat infestation. Warehouse is old, dusty, hard to breath in. I got fired because I parked in someone else’s space even though the warehouse lead told me to, and then lied about it when I told the main manager. Ive seen multiple people get hurt on the job, and management tells them to walk it off. The employees I worked with hated the management there. It’s gotten to the point where even surrounding establishments know that place is horrible.

When I first started to work for southern states I had the up most respect for the company . Even before I was employed at the company I loved to visit the stores . Unfortunately working there has  killed the shopping experience . I loved going to southern states before because they used to have local products and the best customer service . But unloading transport twice a week I soon realized they functioned like every other modern American company , getting most of there products from over seas . 
   When you talk to the older members of the company on the retail level , you get the picture that the glory days of southern states is coming to a end . The only thing positive I can say about southern states in its current condition is that it still has best customer service . I myself would probable still work there if the compensation was right . At the end of my employment I found myself doing three jobs and getting paid the same wage I got hired for , which in my mind was ludicrous . I was not a slacker at my job by any means , It was just to political for my taste to get a raise in that job environment .

Over the years I am proud to have been a part of Southern States growth and advancement in best business practices and technology.  The Southern States Cooperative is a 95+-year-old company that is on the cutting edge of technology.  They spared no cost in increasing the technical knowledge of their staff by implementing new cost-efficient systems, software applications, and promoting social media, modern-day training methods.  

Sometimes to reign in cost, best practices, efficiency, and excessive overhead, they had to make tough choices by laying off workers.  I'm glad to say that I was afforded every opportunity to partake in deploying effective change through the development of effective instructional materials and support.

If you have a superior work ethic, a team player, and willing to put in an honest day work, you can get good five, maybe more, fun and rewarding solid years out of Southern State.

Typical day's work's from the moment sitting at your desk, checking to see who hadn't run end of days work, or perhaps month or even if system has crashed or maybe even having dsl issues. So this is a typical work in the offical day. Phones are ringing needless to say working out all these issues but having to resolve issues with the department as well. Adding new users, resetting passwords, rebuilding profiles. I've learned to do all of the above because I came from doing Collections which had been my field for numerous years so this was indeed a challenge for me, however a learning advantage in th Computer Field. Managment was good not always fair as fair was what the guys could do opposing as to what the ladies could or could not do, so we had a problem with that. The job itself was never easy but we made it easy because we all got along well we made it fun as much as possible, on a quiet wonder we would chit chat and make the most of what time we had and say all is good.

I started out loving this job, but quickly realized it depends on who you're "in" with. If management favors you you will get away with murder, but they will come up with reasons to replace (aka fire) you if they don't personally like you. Poor management seems to be a theme with this company, trickling all the way down from corporate. There are no hard/fast policies and no communication. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Customer service is very very poor for this (in addition to many other) reason(s). No one is held to their positions. The Merchandise Coordinator works the register, while the Head Cashier functions as the manager's pet/assistant. The cashiers have a checklist of chores, while the warehouse people sit in the office with the managers, shopping online and playing on their phones. The store manager comes in from the weekend and watches the security cameras, but won't personally address any issues with employees (instead the entire group gets in trouble or the assistant manager is asked to "deal with it"). Need I go on?

The last few years have really been a struggle for Southern States Cooperative.  It doesn't seem like there is going to be a way to rebound.  Divisions have been sold or dissolved, the Georgia and Florida stores were sold as well. They are slow to advance with technology.  However those are not the real issues that are killing the company.  Management is the biggest issue.  Turnover has been exceptionally high because managers has created an environment that is tense and stressful and hateful. They treat most employees like they are not important. And pick and choose who they want to promote, without interviewing, while others are overlooked. They act like they are elite and skip out, while leaving their team behind to churn and burn. No other company would accept what they have done. Executives seem to be oblivious what is happening right in front of them, but then again an executive is part of the problem as well.

A typical day at work included customer sales and assistance, watering and caring for garden center products, and maintaining cleanliness and organization in the store. I learned about the different feeds and agricultural products that were available and how to communicate with the customers on a personal and professional level. The manager was very involved with the customers and employees. They were willing to work with everyone schedules and was always understanding of personal matters of employees. The hardest part of the job was remembering all of the product ID numbers for sales. The most enjoyable part of the job was the friendships made with the other employees and the customers. I also enjoyed the customer appreciations days that we were able to put on.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Explorer 10 salaries reported	$14.00 per hour
Warehouse associate 2 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Kitchen manager 3 salaries reported	$42,153 per year
Field sales representative 3 salaries reported	$55,736 per year
Driver 3 salaries reported	$21.50 per hour

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