order picker

packer

software engineer

customer solutions specialist

material handler

WebstaurantStore

Webstaurant was an excellent company to work for at first, but since the layoff everything has gone downhill. They have few workers now, the work is piling up and they’re scraping trying to get bodies back in there. They’ve even gone so far as to hire temps.
I was laid off, rehired 2 months later, and then fired about a month after that. I should have gone with my gut and not went back when they called me. Some lessons you have to learn the hard way.
When I started back they made me go through their 60-day probationary period again which made no sense because I was already a prior employee, and wasn’t separated from the company for that long. They treated me like a brand new employee all over again, but yet conveniently excused the retaking of a background and drug screening though.
You can’t have anymore than 2 occurrences during this probationary period. A third occurrence is automatic separation. I can understand Webstaurant’s rigorous probationary period for new employees, but stop acting like I wasn’t just there a couple of months ago and didn’t prove myself to be a stellar employee. Never received a write up, had an excellent 30 day and 60 day review from management at the time. And was even promoted to another position.
Employees there are now being overworked and burned out from having to work mandatory overtime. Sometimes upwards of close to 60 hours a week depending on where you work in the warehouse.
As a result, I called out 1 time to try to give my body time to recover (that was my 1st occurrence). The other occurrences were the result of me being late by no more than a few minutes, except for one where I was 30 minutes late. That was communicated well in advance to management and thought I was OK, assumed by a response with a thumbs up emoji. So I’m just walking around blind, thinking everything is all right. I even asked on numerous occasions where I currently stood as far as occurrences during this probationary period. In my mind, I’m thinking possibly 2 but wanted confirmation and they wouldn’t give it to me. There was never a straight answer. The response was something along the lines of  “errr-ahhh-ummm. I’ll have to get back to you on that.”
Previous management was alot more competent in this regard. They wouldn’t just sit there in silence, watching you edge closer and closer to a cliff. They put on my separation paperwork that they discussed the attendance policy with me twice. Never said once that being late by a few minutes or so counted as an occurrence. They mentioned things like callouts, no-call/no show, job abandonment, etc. but never lateness. If it was clearly communicated, then I would’ve made steps to improve. That’s just common sense. 
Additionally, the time clocks were moved away from the entrance of the warehouse, to a location much further inside. Now you have to walk an additional five minutes to clock in. If you’re 5 minutes late, now you’re 10 minutes late. I can’t think of any other warehouses in the history of warehouses where they’ve actually REMOVED the time clocks from a convenient entry point into the building. The reason they gave for doing this was because people were clocking in and not immediately walking to their respective departments or spending additional time in the break room. Instead of just holding those individuals accountable, they’d rather punish the entire warehouse. So in reality, I was actually on time a lot more than they gave me credit for. The only way to really be on time now is to show up early, and take that 5 minute unpaid walk to the time clock. When your shift is over, you clock out and take another unpaid 5 minute walk back to the exit. In a two week time span that’s 1 hour and 40 minutes of unpaid time.
During lunch break most people now just stay in their respective departments because it’s too much to walk five minutes to the front of the building and then another five minutes back. That’s 10 minutes of your break gone right there. If you punch back in late from your break, they deduct 30 minutes from your flex time. They treat it the same as if you were to start the beginning of your shift late. So because you’re now low-key forced to stay in your department during break time, you have an area that is limited in capacity in comparison to the official break room at the front of the building. They have people waiting around to use the only two toilets. If you want to heat up your food, there’s currently only one microwave so you have to get in line for that. 
There’s also no climate control in those areas. So you have to eat your food in the cold. Putting on your coat helps. 
Maybe things will get better over time. Just hope they don’t set you up for failure like they did me.

Welcome to the new Webstaurant

Challenging, interesting work that is different every day. Highly collaborative environment, employees make an effort to maintain a strong team-like relationship. Humorous and jovial "Fun" channel and dialed-in work channels. Clearly defined paths to promotion, opportunities for professional growth and skill development. Decent health insurance at a low enough cost to employee. Good PTO, consistent last-minute or same-day availability. "Flex time" policy allows hourly employees to take up to four hours off on any day and make it up during the rest of the week. Team functions well remotely/on a hybrid basis. Many employees are "subject matter experts" and there are routes to specialization in a niche. Management behaves with candor and, while largely unable to affect change, tend to listen and respond apologetically to concerns in my personal experience. Low turnover, employees who do leave often move to different positions within the company or parent company (Clark Associates). Relative lack of bias towards employees with seniority, new hires are encouraged to contribute and jump in/pursue projects as soon as they are out of training. Most team members are transparent and hold themselves accountable. Success generally seems tied to ambition/initiative, personality, communication skills, and critical thinking capabilities.

Dental coverage is not the greatest, information and expectations/standard procedures are poorly documented and you have to make a lot up as you go along. "Taking ownership" mentality leads to many things changing at once without clear direction, as any employee can implement any policy change/feature update/new regular team meeting. No HR. "Wearing many hats" here is taken to an extreme; priorities of leadership are definitely more focused on process improvement and feature development, but constant real-time customer service is also expected while basically rebuilding the systems daily. Favoritism is shown to those who take on a lot of projects, "voluntelling" is very common. Reliance on DiSC personality type test leads to profiling and pigeonholing of employees based on "expected" behaviors. Customer service aspect of job is VERY STRESSFUL: email volume is high and due to the industry we service and how time-sensitive some shipments are, escalation is unfortunately common.

After completing a 4 interview process and feeling this was the right fit, I left my job of over 5 years to join this company in the drop ship Coordinator- vendor specialist team. I was so excited for this new journey and I am writing this still in disbelief over the actions against me by my team leader. I was let go because I did could not align myself with the beginning of a book they promote called "An Ideal Team Player" but I did agree with the core fundamental principles (hungry, humble and smart) that the book ultimately delivers as the universal backbone to a strong candidate and/or current employee. Last week, I was bragging to friends and family about how nice everyone seemed and I felt confident that I could succeed with Web. The culture seemed to click with my core beliefs and I felt like I had a strong team leader that would support, guide and develop all of my skillsets that I already came to them with and also allow me to eventually contribute further once my basic abilities of my new roll were on point with company standards. After only 1 week they let me go. I went into that meeting thinking we were going to go over my future responsibilities and my assessments only to find out that in fact, I had just accepted a meeting into my exit interview. I asked several times what I had done wrong, if we could find a resolution to a misunderstanding and ultimately I entered that meeting not knowing that the decision of my termination had already been made and the only explanation is that I apparently "hated" the book and I offended the idealism of the company by a portion of my opinion of the book when asked. I would have gladly confessed any offenses (not picking up the info quick enough or not trying hard enough, being late, foul language.... ANYTHING) but no... to my utter disbelief, remorse and everything else I am feeling right now... I was let go because I was asked to give my opinion on the book when I advised I had already been introduced to it and most of the trainers hadn't even read yet. I must have offended someone that only heard the beginning of my experience and not the part of my final conclusion of what my take away from the book was. That was it. I was on time every day, had a great report from the trainers, asked questions, kept a smile on and did my best to learn and ask if there was anything I could do better at the end of the day. Honestly I am so beyond ashamed that I got let go over something like this. Never in my career have I been sized up and made to feel so worthless.

Where do I begin, I would say to any new employees to not leave your old jobs. This company thrives on turnover which is why you’ll always see them on the job boards. The grounds operation manager continuously asked in group and one on one meetings why we don’t have more turn over. I was told numerous times how lazy he thinks the work force in Albany Ga is along with the racist and homophobic jokes that he continuously tells.  He is completely incompetent to manage front-line managers and lack of social skills shows during meetings and walking around the warehouse. During tough conversations you will see him back pedaling and also show facial frustrations because every move he makes  is prescripted by the director of the building, when questioned he huffs and puffs like you just insulted him and it’s because he doesn’t know how to answer the question. All of his managers laugh behind his back because at this point it is a joke to everyone.   The hiring team is probably the worst I have seen, 2/3 of the building grew up with or is family of the “benefits coordinator” or her assistant.  We go through a training class where the CEO explains not to lead by fear yet the managers who do continue to excel in this environment. It is astonishing to most managers when they figure out that the operation manager does favors for the director like mows his lawn and watches his kids and yet we wonder why with the lack of management ability he is still there. 
Future associates this is by far the most toxic environment I have ever seen. They have a great sales pitch to get you into the door but expect that the lower rated comments are true; I experienced this first hand and should have stayed at my other company. In my time working at web there have been 10 managers turned in just as many months, does that sound like a place that knows what they are doing? You’ll see on the bottom of this some scripted out generic message about how they take all feedback serious well they don’t…

From my experience This is a place to use as a stepping stone but in no way is job security. The pay is good but the penalties set in place could prevent you from getting your 6 month raise. Life happens and I don’t feel like it’s considered. There is talk on culture and it sounds inviting but I don’t believe they’re using in its literal term and really it’s just another warehouse job to pump out loads and make them money. The interview and orientation energy was fantastic but completely different as soon as it was over. They will tell you they like suggestions but really don’t. It’s not to have a career, based on the structure of the company. I don’t feel like they value their employees and you can see if you sit through orientation and read the policies.  It would be great if they didn’t say how much they cared and show they don’t. You’re pretty much threatened by occurrences and pts so that you’ll put the job first. You walk pass a screen of how much they make a day (smack in the face), but won’t consider weekly pay let alone maybe the accumulation of sick time so that ppl can build a career here as they encouraged in orientation. I believe that a employee could have mental ease if their job wasn’t at jeopardy for everything especially people with children. If they had proper management and/or management skills it could work. I feel They require of you what they don’t require of themselves, sounds like bad parenting right? If you get sick you may as well began looking for a new job. The turn over rate is high and I believe it’s because of the management or the lack there of. I have several suggestions but again it’s not a career company so I’ll save my money and leave when I can no longer accept it. Good luck. And remember put God first put yourself next. A job will fire you today and fill your position tomorrow. Mental health is everything and it starts with peace of mind. 

I am an experienced professional with over 20 years in logistic and operations roles and I am advising any other intelligent, professional job seekers to avoid working for this company unless you have no other options.

The position I applied for, Logistics Specialist, was later changed after I was hired and I discovered that many of the tasks that were advertised on Indeed were not part of the position I accepted. Not only that, but my title also changed to Stock Order Coordinator (3 days later I see they have posted falsely again). When I asked my hiring manager why this took place, he advised me "we change the title to make it more appealing to those external candidates who apply".

After coming on board I was subjected to their grade school level training program where myself, and the others in my training group, were constantly spoken to as if we were children incapable of making our own decisions. The "trainers" exuded camp counselor like attitudes and consistently gave you the impress that you were simple-minded and beneath them. As a professional and as an adult I do not believe I have ever been treated more shabbily or rudely as an employee.

Current employees at this office barely speak and the impression I was left with was one of a call center like environment where everyone is afraid of losing their jobs or getting noticed.

The negative reviews from other employees, even at other locations, is not false or over dramatized. Read those reviews and you will have a perfect understanding of the type of culture and mentality you will be dealing with if you decide to work for this company. I have never been more embarrassed and disgusted for a group of people than those who currently oversee the Tampa office. You have no shame or morals.

If you're looking for and easy job this likely isn't for you. Upper Management creates a rigorous, metric-focused work environment and new managers are expected to immediately hold their team to the same standard. The 4-6 month Manager training program teaches you the hard and soft skills necessary to step into a leadership role. A huge emphasis is placed on company culture. Everyone from the director of operations to the janitor is expected to be a "great employee." 

Where most employees and managers fail is in the ability to give and receive feedback freely, adapt to the company culture, and deal with ambiguity of responsibilities. Successful managers/ employees hold their direct reports, peers, and managers accountable, can communicate clearly (with a high level of EQ), take ownership of their responsibilities, and think creatively. 

Warehouse department managers are responsible for teams as small as 3 or 4 employees, or as many as 50+ (depends on the department and warehouse size). Culture at any time can be slightly different from building to building, but the core values remain the same. Much of my time is spent working with assistant managers and team leads; making sure they're growing professionally and doing the right thing day to day. As long as my team is at or above expectation and I have reports, evaluations, and projects done on time I am free to manage my team how I think is best. Upper managers tend to not micromanage as long as work is being done well. 

From day one you will be sold on how they focus on a culture there that promotes a friendly work environment. One where hard work will always be rewarding and will lead to advancement. That is however not the case. The upper management there is horrible. They pick and choose who will get promotions within the company based on your D.I.S.C. score (personality test). If you do apply there make sure your results show you to be a high D and high C or you have zero chance of promotion there. This is factual from the time the new operations manager took over. You can look up everyone in the company's results and only those results get promoted. If for any reason the upper management there puts you in the class of people they do not like you will be fired shortly after. The turnover rate there is horrendous. Overall it is not a place you want to work if you are looking to start a job somewhere and be there very long. You will be asked from the beginning to always voice your opinion and that it will always be much appreciated. Ask around and you will find out that every single "opinionated" person that says anything against upper management has their days numbered from then on. Definitely would not recommend as a place of employment for a friend or to anyone else for that matter. Oh and on that note, the refer a friend pitch they will give you, you'll never see that money unless you are in the "in" crowd. They will give you excuse after excuse as to why your instance didn't qualify. 

Recruiters, team leaders, managers advertise this job as a place to grow and become an entrepreneur, well that is simply not the case. Training is all of 5 days, within those 5 days, you have to complete apprenticeship style task to prove you are capable of embracing the craze. Our team had to research a competitor and present findings, writing an essay why we love webstaurant store, learn how carriers and shipment works, learn the lingo of the company and learn their systems. By day 4 I was chatting with live customers, taking 5 calls and answering 25+ emails. Keep in mind, this is only the 4th day. You are monitored on those task and if they are not satisfactory, you are terminated. Culture is a big theme around there but what that really means is that if you do not look like us, believe like us, act like us, you are not us. The company only had 4 people of color working there and none in leadership positions. Nepotism is the love language.  After you've been released into production, you are expected to take 80+ chats daily, answer 50+ calls daily and answer approximately 40 emails. This sounds easy but it is not, you are constantly typing, researching and failing. Management will intimidate you with hints about firings and terminations if stats are not met, meanwhile they sit on their cell phones and play all day.

This warehouse used to care about its employees. Six years ago, management went out of their way to make sure their employees were happy and had everything they needed to be successful.

Many of the management now have never worked for Webstaurant and it shows!

By the numbers is their management style. You can achieve every goal placed before you; however, if you do not reach your packing goals, you will soon begin getting write ups and eventually end up on a final warning and soon be out the door.

There is no HR to speak of, only a useless "employee experience representative"  who is in corporate's back pocket.

When you are hired, it is at a nice hourly wage for one job description. Once you begin, it will not be long before you are forced to "flex out" into other positions where you need to learn more but will not be paid for your knowledge.

The workers do NOT trust leadership as they are constantly being lied too and information is rarely distributed to all employees.

Different shifts run in different ways. For example, first shift is more stringent in regard to rules and regulations of productivity than other shifts.

Finally, certain items are required to be packed in certain manners. These are called, "SOPs". These instructions show on your computer screen at your pack station.  They change often and required time to read and perform them correctly. All of this takes extra time; however, the quota is never lowered to accommodate the packer which sets them up to fail.

I will personally steer ANYONE away from this company unless a union enters.

 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Order picker 18 salaries reported	$21.44 per hour
Packer 13 salaries reported	$22.19 per hour
Software engineer 3 salaries reported	$86,000 per year
Customer solutions specialist 5 salaries reported	$25.86 per hour
Material handler 4 salaries reported	$18.50 per hour

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