laboratory technician

machine operator

production

production technician

shift leader

Walman Optical

The primary focus for this company is quantity over quality, price and profit over purpose.

Yes, you will be making glasses for people to help them to see, but they so overburden their employees with an excessive workload that you don't have any sense of the good value in that. All the managers tall about are production quotas, the work that's done and the quality of it are always secondary to the numbers.

While they are raking in $30,000/a day in sales at every branch, they will throw a measly wage at you and expect you to somehow get by. Worker exploitation is common in this country, but this place really takes the cake. Pay growth and opportunities for advancement are extremely slow. You won't see a meaningful wage increase inside of the first three years, guaranteed. No matter how much initiative, interest, and drive you show. There's no such thing as being careful with the work. That's not in the company's interest, ultimately. They don't care about what you break if the numbers are meeting standards, but if they do it's just to harass you for it, unnecessarily.

Management is very poor, non-receptive to employees and any concerns they have, and downright unfriendly in many ways. If you have concerns or problems, they treat you as if you are abnormal. There isn't much understanding going on at this company, not that encourages meaningful employee growth and retention of valuable employees. The only people working for this  company are people that have stuck with it and never changed careers. No wonder they are in the red, losing profits at so many branches. They can't hardly gain new employees and keep them. It's most obvious in the production positions.

The people aren't necessarily bad people, a lot of them I found to be rather kind and caring, but the company culture, and the management is such that they don't encourage this attitude and they don't treat you well. They don't take suggestions well. If you have a problem with a coworker and come forward to them about it, in a proper HR channel, the HR lady is likely to wrongly claim you are sexist, and I think this company actually has an obvious problem with sexism and indecency in the workplace. So often the conversations had there are inappropriate, and you wonder if it's really professional.

This company sold out to Essilor/Luxottica a couple years ago in 2021, and I wouldn't be surprised if they go under and are forced to sell of their assets. Profit is falling and employees are dissatisfied. The corporate side is running the company straight into the ground.


What is the best part of working at the company?
The quality of associates as it relates to being part of ownership has netted the company a strong work ethic, but they sold and now that’s deteriorating.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The good old boy club, think our way or the highway. Additionally, keeping entitled people in positions that clearly have no idea what they are doing. Ready, aim, fire mentality for the non-entitled associates.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Poor, the environment has associates jumping ship like rats, the current leadership has a compass without a needle and a vision without a strategy. Most associates are now holding on for the buy out payout and retire/quit.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I was working for a good company and recruited away, only to be cut loose due to COVID. The upper leadership used this platform and I quote “ we have a golden opportunity to get rid of people we do not like” seize the day.

They pay decent but benefits are horrible. They don’t care about employees, all they care about is production. I got bronchitis that turned into pneumonia and was let go because I missed to much work while in my probation period. I offered notes from the emergency room as well as my doctor and I East told don’t bother bringing it because we don’t accept them. I worked there in the past and never had a write up or anything and always came in on the weekends when they needed people to volunteer but they didn’t care that I had a good track record. The first time I worked there I slipped and fell because of ice in the parking lot and the company manager said “that sucks” no offer to fill out an incident report or ask if I was ok. I ended up having to have surgery on my ankle because of the fall. The only reason I went back is because I was desperate for a job. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The shear amount of discounts available to employees are immeasurable, as well as the medical benefits. They are really quite excellent 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Sticking to a corporate script can be quite stifling and somewhat sleezy.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
 Since I work at the vision center, our little group gets along quite well. I can't really  speak for the rest of the store as my job is limited to the vision center alone.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
My typical day is pretty routine and formulaic. Each individual patient brings their own energy and can make days quite unpredictable, in the most delightful way possible.

If you are a self starter and like to do a good job because you have a good work ethic then this place will run you into the ground. They find that person that actually has character and does a good job and will consistently add jobs to their plate that other people should and could do. They don't have any sort of action for people who are just straight up bad workers because its easier for them to delegate the work to someone else.  Inconsistent rules between shifts and lack of communication between upper management and shift management causing issues and production being stopped several times. Then they force you to work OT to get caught back up but the upper management who is at fault but could never admit it will never help out. They will be at home when you are working OT away from your family. 

Walman feels like it's in decline and trying so hard to stay afloat, but they just end up making their long time employees leave. On a typical day you're overworked because of high turnover and they are slow to refill positions. Not sure if it's because nobody is applying or if people just don't last through the hiring process, which is amazing because they hire just about anybody. Biggest problem recently is the higher ups accepting work from a competitor when we were already struggling with the amount of work we had. Not enough people or resources or working machines to properly handle the amount of work they want us to do but they blame us for not working hard enough when we don't meet goals.

Working at walman you have production goals to hit eveyday to achieve our customers goals of happines. I have learned a lot of hands on skills from trouble shooting wires, plumbing, computers, hydraulics, Air lines, rebuilding machine parts, how to manage a team of 16 and three shifts, writing SOP, Hire and fire emoploee's. For the most part working here at walman it is a great team co working place to be. It's all about production and hitting the numbers every day and Managers are for the most part ok to work for. The hardest part is dealing with machines down and getting them back up with out losing a lot of production time. You can't get that time back and you lose money. Most enjoyable is the coworkers you work with and team building experience you get.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Employee orientated with focused management. Walman Optical is the best optical company to develop your skills. Pay and benefits are excellent.

If I hadn’t retired, I’d still be working for this company. A+

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
If you don’t do your job correctly, then stress will be self induced. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Helpful, focused and management guidance will insure your personal development towards your goals.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Excited to be so greatful to have such an important career that helps people with their vision needs.

Now being an essilux company you can expect to do the labor of 3 people for the price of less than 1. Absolutely one of the lowest paid manufacturing jobs in Dayton with zero training protocols. Management is inept and either playing on their phones all day or so flustered from anxiety they hinder more than help. I've never had to manage my managers this much in my 20 years in this field.
The Corp office will absolutely not help you with any issues they create and will almost always shame you for being negative if brought up. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
My coworkers are what keep me there.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of communication from management and never being a priority as a department. Understaffing.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Our department specifically is either ignored or has tasks dumped on them from other branch. We are separated both in work and space so I can't speak on the company as a whole

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Long and overwhelming. Our 7 person department has been running with 5 for almost a year and have not had a manager for over a year.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Laboratory technician 14 salaries reported	$19.57 per hour
Machine operator 25 salaries reported	$21.40 per hour
Production 5 salaries reported	$17.70 per hour
Production technician 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour
Shift leader 11 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour

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