Typical day , tinting and selling paint, and selling paint supplies , interfacing with retail and commercial customers, taking and filling orders for paint over the phone and inputing orders into the computer, receiving and putting stock away that requires some heavy lifting ( 50lb plus pails of paint).
Sherwin-Williams manufacturers and sells paint in North America and world wide. It's a huge company with over 4000 stores and headquartered in Cleveland USA. Therein lies the problem for Canadians who are subject to the American style corporate philosophy, that is sell sell sell, and work hard for low wages. About half the work force at the retail level are part timers that the company take full advantage of, paying well below average Canadian retail wage levels. It's not like your flipping burgers, given your responsibility level, and what you're expected to do, wages are well below that responsibility level. A mistake in an order can cost the company several hundred to potentially thousands of dollars. And you're doing all this in a challenging retail environment, and when busy, phones ringing, impatient customers waiting to be served, tinting paint etc and everybody always dickering for the lowest price, that can be exceedingly annoying and stressful. Unfortunately all the glory goes to manager level and above, including the Paint Reps. They get to go to an all expense paid annual meeting in Cleveland for 4 days, about 10,000 people attend this meeting. Managers wh
Points positifssome advancement opportunities
Points négatifslow wages generally, especially for part timers, high attrition rate, uncaring and unappreciative upper management, inadequate training on product and equipment
Its a great company to work with, only if you are a part time sales associate. The crazy ride to nowhere begins the moment you become an Assistant Manager. You will be doing things that make no sense and have little to no impact on growing the business. They, like any other generic corporate, say that the store is your business and you are the ones responsible for making it a success and then they ask you to step down if the business is not doing as well as they imagined while opening the store. Every sales based company works on lead generation, but they take it to next level by asking you to do anywhere between 40 to 150 lead gen phone calls every week on top of doing your daily store tasks while not giving you enough people to work with.
The lead generation non-sense is so ingrained in the district management that their dreams consist of reprimanding employees for not meeting the desired targets. District Management for Lower mainland and Vancouver area is filled with spineless creatures who are good at kissing higher management's back side. They are good at manipulating the sales budget for the store at the last moment, especially once you have hit the desired target, they change it to something else and you end up losing your quarterly bonus. Then They bring all this to you and pin it on you and fudge the numbers on your yearly appraisal so that they don't have to give you a raised salary.
Working as a Part time employee, all you have to do is show up and do nothi
I had worked for Sherwin Williams for 2 years and had nothing but trouble. The Management lies constantly to you buy dangling career advancements in your face and telling you that you need to do certain tasks to get those positions. Once you've over work yourself to complete the tasks given, the job opportunity never happens. They will hire an unqualified employee above you (for the same position you've applied for) and then you will have to train that person. In my experience the company never told any of the interview candidates that they did not receive a position, you would just see the new employee start working in your store and it created a lot of hostility towards the new co worker. The Management of the store I was in would be too open with customers and they would let the customers know the inside operations of the business as well as information about employees work behavior and personal life. The contractors at Sherwin were way to involved in the company "Drama" and "Politics" it is like nothing I have ever seen before. After leaving Sherwin Williams I still to this day hear false rumors being spread about me by the store Management, members or the Sales Team and other Store Employees. The Management has the team brain washed into thinking something that is far from the truth. If you ever going to apply for this company all I have to say is Good Luck or RUN as fast as you can. I'm glad I had left this company when I did.
Points positifsClose to home.
Points négatifsBad Management. No Full Time positions. False promises. Minimum pay for the hard work you do.
The opportunity to work with oe of the best companies in the industry.
Being the largest paint company in the world meant something to be proud of working with Sherwin-Williams. A typical day at work is more of the same from my previous work employment in that everyone has the responsibility to come to work on-time and as-scheduled because coverage in this kind business is very important inorder to meet customers demand, their expectations and the consistency of the quality of work that one should produce and deliver including the products to be sold to customers.
I learned that focus, respect, helping one another and having fun every time when in the work place with co-workers are the keys to a successful team.The culture at the work place is the respect being embodied by each workers with one another - helping one another to get the job done right every time and all the time regardless of the size of the project. With everyone involved in the process, it pride themselves that they are part of it, and with the end in mind that this satisfaction is derived when we collectively pulled together to common goal, and everything is done by team effort which drives positive results every time.
I always enjoy my co-workers and I showed that to each and everyone in my team that I appreciate them and it inspire everyone to work with with honesty and care.
Points positifsScheduled sports events, gatherings and trips.
Points négatifsPart time workers are mostly not covered by the benefits as the full time workers does..
Extremely corporate culture, which may turn some people off. The location I worked at had a really awesome crew, but not all stores are built the same.
Pay is typically lower than competitors, and they are not very concerned about retaining/paying for talent. But there are opportunities for growth, as long as you are open to moving to new locations (sometimes in the middle of nowhere).
There can be infighting across stores for the same pool of contractors, as bonuses for the managers/assistant managers are not co-operative friendly, leading to embarrassing moments of customers getting caught between the bickering of two locations!
Even though it's retail, it doesn't feel like the kind of retail you find in a mall. You will be seeing the same contractors almost every day, so you have opportunities to build connections and relationships, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on the contractor. In Canada, Sherwin is still tiny compared to the competition, so most locations are contractor heavy (more than 90%). Sherwin is much bigger in the States, so this may not apply there.
Overall, if you want to work for Sherwin in the long term, you have to be very sales focused, as working your way up the chain is all about being a salesman.
Heavy favoritism and inappropriateness in the workplace, mostly sales focused
All this company cares about is sales. You are a salesperson, no matter your title. The management has no problem leaving one person in 3 roles for months at a time. I've seen people that were there for 6 months put in charge of a retail store alone, and asked to work 55 hours a week to accomplish this.
To add on to this, there are constant examples of favoritism. If you are in the in group, you will get promoted fast. If not, you will be given the worst jobs and actively made fun of, both in person and behind your back. There are also constant relationships in the workplace, including between managers and their direct subordinates, managers and their trainees, upper management and lower management, and sales reps and the managers they work for. This makes it extremely uncomfortable when having to work with these relationships, and many times promotions are given based on a managers current relationship wanting a promotion.
Do not work for this company. Unless you can work some serious sales magic, you will burn out fast.
Points positifsBenefits are good for retail
Points négatifsRead the review - most toxic culture I've ever seen.
The company is large and popular for a reason. They do happen to push their employees very hard and expect 110% every day. They do seem to care about employees, but when there are problems, they are seldom resolved. The pay grade is lower than average in the industry, but the benefits make up for it a bit.
Management in Canada is not mature nor is it experienced. The feeling of being thrown in a fire and expecting to get yourself doused is very appropriate when you start a new role here. Whether it be a beginner position or a management slot.
Therefore, the morale is low and the expectation for revenue is high. There's clearly something missing here. Senior managers paint on facades with smiles as they shake hands flying from facility to facility across the country. Sales people are constantly saying how unhappy they are with management and their customers. Facility and operations management are unhappy and stressed by their managers expecting more. Production staff are tired and have no personality.
I should not like to work here.
Points positifsInvestment matching, benefits.
Points négatifsLower wages, long Hours, work expectations too high
Let me start by saying that it is extremely hard to get a full time position for this company. I have heard rumors that this was a great company to work for. You can only hired as a temp with promise of 8 months and temps on priduction floor last between 1 day and 3 months on average. Personally I work in the lab and my co workers, most management are great to work with and very compliant although my direct manager has been completely ignorant to myself and almost every other employee. She has gone as far as saying "Who cares about your kids" When asked if i could switch shifts 3 weeks in advance because of a child care issue. Her excuses for anything i have asked have been absolutely ridiculous and i have always got a "No". Being a temp is hard and it seems like management does not care that they have an ignorant and completely unqualified manager amongst them. I could go on about this particular manager but there is no need. I am grateful for the experience and happy working with my co workers and will probably be more grateful when my time comes to an end.
Training has a lot of interesting things to learn except ...
Your job success depends on the biases and values of who you get training from and who their regional manager is. The company promotes inclusion and diversity but in reality, some of the lower level employees/managers are again, biased and unfair, discriminating, and has favoritism.
They want you to do everything. You will work and be responsible for not just your training but partly as a Store Manager+Assistant Manager+SalesAssociate+KeyHolder+DeliveryManager+Stocker.
It is not training, it is to stress you during training. You'll be destroyed and they will not be supportive.
Product knowledge is the only thing that is great from their training managers. It is essential but anyone can acquire it with time.
Points positifsproducts, tinting and mixing paint, customers & clients are interesting & motivating
Points négatifspersonalities and culture are not good, unprofessional, biased, discriminating, unrealistic responsibilities & duties
Good Learning Opportunity for Development of Customer Service Skills and Sales Experience
When working at Sherwin Williams, I have managed to learn a lot about dealing with customer needs, getting a feel for what customers want, as well as how to service them in a professional manner. During a regular days work I'd service about 10-20 customers which is quite enjoyable because it allows me to help people with their needs. I would make some lead generation calls, converse with fellow employees, and tint and mix paint. Overall, everyday was always very much enjoyable. The hardest part of the job was that because we were a small store of 4 staff members, there are times where there is only one of us working at a time, and we would get a rush of 4+ customers. It's then your responsibility to service all of them as quickly and as effectively as you can which can be quite difficult.
Points positifsGreat staff, Free lunches from time to time
All of these reviews are written in a manner that the author is anticipating management to be reading their comments! Perhaps, they are going to be sure to make it known that they posted here! The posts zing with glowing reviews of a worker's paradise and "look at me" puffery of how smart and capable they are as they bestow their ability to "promote" the company to success by their very presence. Surely, this is done with the hope that it will be instrumental in the advancement of their career! The top of this food chain is throwing their heads back with laughter! Unless you are in your 20's and fresh out of college, this is a horrible company to work for!! The manager who posted that you are just a number with this company told the truth! If you get on with this company as a part-timer or just a regular full time employee, don't plan on advancing with the company! Trust me! I have witnessed employees work over 10 years before getting promoted to asst. manager and it was rare at that! This company recruits wide-eyed youth, fresh out of college, and quickly slaps them into the position of an asst. manager with a mandatory 44 hour work week, paying 35k with benefits. Does anyone ever have their adrenaline slow down enough to ponder why? You will more than earn every red cent of it! It is a win-win situation for SW! You are nothing more than a STRONG warm body; a grunt to get out and roll out paint....as much of it as inhumanly possible! This is not a typo. I said, "inhumanly".
Points positifskeep working hard and you will keep your job, smart move for a college student looking for a management position on a their resume, great temporary position with excellent pay while seeking desired job
Points négatifsextremely physical and psychologically draining work, low pay for those not in management
Day in and day out things revolve solely around store staffing. Good store managers that are true leaders are generally successful depending on their ability to connect with their team. Upper management is continually shifting and there are rough patches with each transition. Ultimately the team mentality and respect for your fellow co-worker is what gets everyone through the day, but your entire work/life balance hangs by a thread. The job isn't your typical retail job-it requires a lot of hands on activities and account/customer management. It can be extremely overwhelming for new employees because of a monumental learning curve when it comes to products and application. The consequences of an improper recommendation from a single employee can literally mean thousands of dollars in complaints (which comes out of the pocket of the manager and assistant manager). Despite this learning curve, there is little to no formal training except for outdated computer courses which focus mainly on workplace safety, and are essentially useless as training modules for sales. The true training comes from absorbing information from seasoned employees and regurgitating your version of a sales pitch to customers until you have developed your own "selling style". Because it isn't a typical retail environment, turnover is typically very high. As a result, I have personally seen and experienced short staffed store managers and assistant managers working 70 plus hours a week for multiple weeks in
Points positifsQuarterly and year end bonus, vacation and benefits, work place relationships
Points négatifsWork/Life balance, Company Culture, Lack of training
Bachelor's degree for a blue-collar job - don't get that desperate!
I found Sherwin-Williams at the Career Fair at my university and began my short career with them in their Management Training Program as an MTP at first, then as Assistant Manager in a store over 100 miles from my home. I told the recruiter, who would also be my District Manager, that I had signed a contract two months earlier to purchase a home in Fort Worth and he promised I would be placed locally.
After my training, the DM surprised me with two "choices" of stores to transfer to, both in Texas but both located over 100 miles from my home. Either one required me to rent a place to stay and pay utilities, which reduced my salary considerably. The relocation program never paid me back for the moving expenses.
The company is only interested in selling paint, regardless of what they say. They "say" you will be managing the profitability of the store you go to, but the reality is they are always monitoring and calling, taking micromanagement to new heights.
The manager of the store I ended up at (the lesser of two evils) did not have a degree and had bumped her head up against the ceiling (no degree prevented her from advancing) at the company for 12 years. The two part-time employees, also without college degrees, were disappointed when a newcomer was "placed" in the Assistant Manager position (just because I had a degree), the job each of them was vying for and a position I was thrust into (by virtue of being an MTP with a college degree). They both felt they were more qu
Points positifsGood training about paint through the corporate office
Points négatifsYou have to move to wherever they send you, you have to break your lease when they transfer you, customers who treat you badly, company puts the customer above you
1,0
Customer Service Representative | Sheffield | 3 avr. 2022
Helicopter Management, Unaccommodating, Constantly Taken For Granted, Welcome to Sherwin-Williams
I worked in the customer service department. I dealt with calls from consumers. These would typically be complaints about the products from end users.
I learned a lot about the industry, but I did this through my own initiative. I received no training. I had no interview and just walked into the job from an agency. Staff turn over rates are exceptionally high. The higher ups made some attempt to understand and appreciate the work we did, but this was, at best, superficial and hollow. My colleagues were lovely. I felt that our opinions and customer feedback about product performance were constantly overlooked by the company. They would rather sell through product than listen to consumer feedback to improve.
Regularly, they would change product lines and not inform us. It made us feel underappreciated and stupid. Customers would ring us for advice about products that we had never heard of. It felt neglectful and put us in a position of scrambling to learn new things without the proper support.
The management was often cold, distant, unfriendly, though I expect this was not intentional. Efforts were made, though often missed the mark considerably.
Often the general outlook of management was to find ways to increase employee workload without increasing pay.
We were given pensions and a roll of other benefits, but for the most part, we were unaware of them. After years of working there, for example, I only realised towards the end that there were medical benefits which I coul
Points positifsGood Colleagues, Work is not too hard technically
Points négatifsDisrespectful Management, Poor Attitude to Wellbeing of Staff, Dismissive of Continuous Feedback, Arrogant and Incompetent Departmental Heads, Punitive and Arbitrary Punishments
5,0
Inside Sales Representative | Henderson, KY | 8 oct. 2013
A great company to work for!
A typical day at Sherwin Williams revolves greatly around working together as team. It is essential to work together to insure all orders are filled and all customers are assisted. Here your day begins and ends with providing customer service. You will interact with retail customers inside the store as well as contractors and property owners. You assist in picking out colors, wall papers, boarders, flooring that will compliment each other in housing. You will fill those orders that are already in store and place orders with vendors for out of store orders. At time you will deliver orders and may demonstrate how product is used. You will make sales calls to up coming projects for future business and call on complaints as well to find the best solution for the customer and Sherwin Williams. You will keep up monthly paper work. Process transactions and payments for account holders. You will call on past due accounts and place credit apps for new accounts.
You learn great customer service skills in dealing with retail customers and account holders along with earning their trust in a business aspect as often you enter the homes and personal lives. You learn to work well with you team members as it takes involvement from each staff member to ensure customer quality.
You will learn more than just dealing with customers and accounts as you will often deal with outside vendors and members from other store and regional management. You will work in weekly inventory control
Points positifsNice breaks and lunces, closed major holidays with holiday pay, sick time, works with you on your schedule and family.
Points négatifsOpen some major holidays for sales, meeting goal, inventory is on halloween
3,0
Retail Assistant Manager | Saginaw, MI | 5 nov. 2020
Coworkers make all the difference
Let me say first that the store you are at makes a huge difference in your experience. The store I am at is both contractor and retail DIY based, so we do a bit of everything. My current manager is looking to scale down the DIY and turn the store into a commercial store that fits more to contractors than homeowners.
Most contractors are decent to deal with. They know what they want, what color it needs to be in, and how much they need. You go get it, tint it, and shake it, ring them out, and help them take it to the vehicle if you're able. Some contractors are awesome to deal with and are really personable and fun to talk to. It's like you automatically made a new friend, cool uncle, or older brother you never had. A few contractors are horrible to work with though. I have been degraded, stereotyped, yelled at, argued with, been hit on and propositioned by them, and verbally fought with these types.
Homeowners are scattered everywhere. They don't know anything, know some of what they want, or know exactly what they want. Some you have to take them through every single possible step of the way through the process and explain every single aspect to them, and some you just need to look at the photo they have on their phone and copy it. Some need help picking colors and you have to guess what they're thinking and how their house looks and what their personality is to even narrow down some of the options. Some homeowners you have to argue with because they liked the color in the
Points positifsHeavy employee discount on paint and supplies, coworkers (in my experience), fair working hours
Points négatifsStereotyped by gender (females are hit on and males are expected to know everything), constant heavy lifting, constant scripting in sales pitches and ringing people out, point of sale system needs a major update
Some heavy lifting involved with little supervision or training.
A typical day of work involves answering the phone, writing down the paint and supplies order, finding the product on the shelf, coloring it if needed. As far as coloring the paint goes, most of the time for latex based paint, the computer puts in the appropriate amount of color. You just have to select which paint color you want. But for oil based paint, you have to manually add the color using a separate machine. You also have to put away inventory whenever a truck comes in. I didn't learn how to handle the forklift machine that lifts the palette of paint but if I stay much longer with this job, I'll eventually pick it up. Inventory management is where the heavy lifting comes into play. Some of the paint is stuffed in there on the shelves really tight. Sometimes you have to climb on top of buckets of paint in order to reach the paint or the box of masking tape or whatever on the top shelf. There is some risk of falling and so the job is potentially dangerous. One of the hardest parts of the job is when someone is placing an order over the phone but the jargon they're using doesn't make sense because they're giving you incomplete info. The most enjoyable part of the job IMO (and this will vary depending on your taste) is preparing paint samples for customers. The samples are small and lightweight, therefore, they're easy to handle. The management provided very little training and they are nice in the beginning but they will get crabby if you've been there for a few mon
Points positifsMost of the guys I worked with were really cool and calm under pressure.
Points négatifsThe one woman I worked with ended up being verbally abusive, yelling at me, demeaning me and making me feel incompetent.
Freedom to see the world and let your true self shine
Typical work as an auditor starts with risk-based planning of facilities to be audited and then making the appropriate travel arrangements (reserve parking, calling uber, flights, hotels, etc).
A typical day at a store includes reviewing financial statements and
inventory analysis to identify high risk areas, making sure the store is operating according to Policy and Procedures, and that the store adheres to State and Federal regulations.
You are almost always on your own, having to think/act independently. You see your supervisor every 3 months, see your colleagues every 6 months. How diligent you work when without supervision and the decisions you make everyday all adds up in the end.
Even though nobody sees anybody, everyone chats with each other everyday for help, to collaborate on projects, etc. There is probably more communication going on between colleagues than other places where people work in the same office everyday. Always can find someone to talk to when needed.
I've enjoyed every aspect of my job, including sometimes when going to audit an away store, I'd have to get there the night before. This ends up taking a lot of personal time (drive could be 3-5 hours, or need to fly), but it's all part of the free-roaming and being on my own that I enjoy. I've gotten to explore a lot of cool places, tried different foods, and gotten to Platinum Elite on IHG and Gold (reaching Diamond soon) on Hilton, all expenses paid.
It does get repetitive rather quick
This employer is not ideal unless you work in management, but even that is worthy of debate. Sherwin Williams (henceforth SW) has phased out the majority of full-time positions. Should you interview for a job at SW they will assure you that they only promote from within the company and that is true in the loosest sense. Over a decade ago they imposed a policy that requires an employee to have a college education - it doesn't matter what kind - in order to be eligible for any position beyond entry level. The result is a system where they hire graduates - who, more often than not, know nothing or don't care about the industry - at a part-time basis, then promote them within just a few months. Its a system that bypasses dedicated, experienced employees that have developed a rapport with a returning customer base. That sounds like a good deal for the graduate, except that salaries tend to be low for managers, too. Experience, gender, friends in the company all factor into a salary that hasn't exceeded 45k per year since the 1990's (roughly). The real incentives are the bonuses offered based on your profits which are largely determined by the location of the store you manage. If your regional manager is not also your friend, then you will likely be stationed at a low traffic, low grossing store and you won't see any bonuses. Should you have favor within the company, you can make an easy six figures a year while your part-timers struggle to do all the labor. The hard part of that s
Points positifsDowntime leaves plenty of space for employees to do just about anything they want at the stores.
Points négatifsLiterally everything else.
4,0
New Home Sales Consultant | Houston, TX | 31 oct. 2018
Great Company
Typical work day: I set my own schedule, customers are booked in my calendar and I go assist them with color pallets for their project: whether it is a home or business property.
What I learned: My position is very fun, learned a lot about paints, stains, how much work goes into our products from the quality perks, to the testing each bristle of a brush goes through before we put it in our stores. I also had the opportunity to get a little designer experience and exposure to different styles and traditions of homes. It's amazing how colors work, how they can transform a room and make someone feel.
Hardest part of the job: For me it is finding a balance: time management with limited hours, without forgetting to give yourself a break. It can be overwhelming at times to always have two phones. Or when the slow period comes around and consultations aren't being booked as frequently, so you have to take them as they come and you end up working 7+ days straight in order to meet the minimum requirement. However, I enjoy most they people I meet doing my job. People from all different walks of life, you get to hear their backgrounds, stories, what they've been through, their dreams & visions for their current project, and I get to help in the process of making it happen.
Sherwin-Williams is honestly a great company. I love my position, only problem is, its only part-time and the opportunities to advance didn't interest me because I would loose the perks of the job I love; t
Points positifsmeetings are fun and informative, team bonding, volunteering projects, district meetings, traveling, meeting new people, 401k investment & matching
Points négatifspart-time position, no health benefits, wear & tear on personal car, taking work home with you, slow periods and time/hour limits
Questions et réponses au sujet de l'entreprise Sherwin-Williams
Comment fonctionne le processus de promotions chez Sherwin-Williams?
Posée le 28 oct. 2018
You don't get anything, if you ever want to make more it will take years and they will make sure to not give you alot. Only to managers get big raises
Réponse du 13 févr. 2020
Usually once per year, after your yearly appraisal. Wage increases are essential at the inflation rate. So a real raise is rare, especially for part-timers and even full timers.
Réponse du 21 nov. 2019
Quels sont les horaires de travail chez Sherwin-Williams?
Posée le 1 mai 2017
8 hours a day; strictly adhering to exact time each day otherwise disciplined. No 15 minute breaks. 30 minute unpaid lunch.
Réponse du 28 juin 2021
Employees work 8-10 hours per day straight through. You are told from day one that you do not get a 30 minute break. If you are in the middle of eating lunch and customers walk in, you have to stop eating and serve the customers.
Réponse du 15 mars 2021
Comment bien se préparer pour un entretien chez Sherwin-Williams?
Posée le 12 mars 2017
I prepare to answer with all accuracy and frankness
Réponse du 26 août 2019
Do your homework study the company and ask people for help in your department dont guess. Safety is a big issue so be aware that we all have to help each other be safe. If you are hired never ever miss work or be late.
Réponse du 2 août 2018
Que choisiseriez-vous d'améliorer chez Sherwin-Williams?
Posée le 23 févr. 2019
Build a positive atmosphere for staff, instead of segregating them. Pay your employees more.
Réponse du 24 juill. 2020
Fire the terrible managers that treat people like nothing and only care about themselves
Réponse du 13 févr. 2020
Comment décririez-vous le rythme de travail chez Sherwin-Williams?
Posée le 18 janv. 2019
No respect for employees, a very toxic and stressful environment
Réponse du 28 mars 2022
The worst case in the world, they will drive you to the point of stress exhaustion that you want to go to the hospital and not go back there ever again
