Summit Retail Solutions Reviews

Corporate culture of lies and deceit It starts with the ad for employment. In the ads, as I'm sure you know, it is stated that the job is 40 hours a week, Thursday through Sunday. Upon being hired, you have training over the phone on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. All of which is unpaid. Your in-store training starts on Friday and lasts until the end of the show on Sunday. After the day ends on Sunday, however, you are expected to help the Rep dismantle the display, and again this is to be done off the clock. Then paperwork needs to be filled out and submitted by 10pm that night, again not paid off. If you are lucky, they will approve an inventory transfer, but don't count on it. Instead, what you will have to do is take the boxes of merchandise and somehow fit them in your car, making you personally responsible for the inventory. A completely unnecessary stress on the employee in this age of advanced logistics, but whether out of greed, or simply not caring about the employees, you become the supply chain. Finally, Monday comes, a day off, right? Wrong. There's a mandatory conference call you have to be on and when you do something for work, it is not a day off. So far, you have worked seven days and been paid for three. Let's start week two, shall we? This is where it really gets fun. Tuesday starts with, you guessed it, another conference call and it gets better from there. Remember the ad said Thursday through Sunday, but shows start on Wednesdays in many stores. That means, on Tuesday night, you have to go into the store to set up your display for the start of your show on Wednesday, off the clock. Now, you have to work a full day Wednesday through Sunday with conference calls on most days. You wind up being on the clock for more than 40 hours, though it is highly discouraged to actually say you worked more than 40 hours and taking the time and a half could potentially cause too high a draw and lead to negative commissions. That's only one example, there are many more. For instance, these statements made by the company in response to someone else's glassdoor review: "We give guidelines regarding set up/ prep time but it is AGAINST company policy to tell a rep told not to log the correct hours." This is incorrect, giving the context. Everyone I spoke to within the company said numerous times that conference calls, compliance paperwork, and prep/dismantling were not to be put on the time card. There is one slight problem with the response from the company. See, the reviewer complained about being told what is considering working hours. Now, the company responded by saying it is against company policy to tell a rep not to log CORRECT hours (since the company put emphasis on against, I'll do the same with correct, for the same reason). They say it is AGAINST company policy to tell a rep to log incorrect hours. What they fail to mention is, based on what management says, it's also AGAINST company policy to add time spent on conference calls (unless already in the store), compliance paperwork, and of course, prep/dismantling to your time card. That basically means it would be INCORRECT to add the hours spent working that the reviewer complained were unpaid to your time sheet. So yes, you are told not to log hours spent working because it is AGAINST company policy to log them in the first place, so if you did, you would be INCORRECTLY logging your hours. So, to invalidate the complaint made by the reviewer, the company lied in its response by only giving you half the information and saying the complaint was untrue, when, in fact, it is true. I was told not to log the hours in question by everyone in the company, more times than I can count. They told you it is against company policy to tell a rep not to log correct hours, except they told you what the correct hours are. They are only the hours spent inside the store in front of customers, that’s it. Everything else is done on your time, not theirs. Then there is this, “NO REP IS EVER “docked” pay. Any pay changes are done with advance notice giving the rep the option to choose not to work.” How this was written with a straight face is beyond me. First off, to put the word docked in quotation marks, when the reviewer did not use the word is immature and arrogant and makes the company look childish and petty. Second, the statement above shows a very poor understanding of the English language. The word, dock, according to the Oxford dictionary, means “to take away part of someone’s wages, etc.” Now, the reviewer made mention of the possibility that if you are not compliant your hourly is reduced from $14 an hour down to $8. In other words, they take away part of your wages, which is the literal definition of the word, docked. The fact that they give notice has no bearing on whether pay is docked or not, all that matters is that part of the wage is taken away. Third, since “docked” was the company’s word, and not the reviewer’s, that shows they know the meaning of the word. Yet, they clearly say no rep is ever docked pay, but reducing base pay from $14 to $8 an hour for non-compliance is taking away part of someone’s wages. To put it another way, the company DOCKS pay for non-compliance. The company goes on to say that any pay changes are done with advanced notice in order to give the rep a choice not to work. Of course, that’s really just a nice way of saying, “We’re going to pay you a lot less money, if don’t like it, you’re fired.” That’s the choice the company is talking about either dealing with it, or quit. This is a company to stay away from; there is no need for this level of dishonesty. Why would you want to work for a company that uses lies, deceit, and manipulation to attract and retain employees? Pay close attention to the five star reviews. Most of them reveal nothing about the company, or they call other people lazy with no work ethic, if they say anything bad about the company. In fact, most sound eerily similar, as if they told what to say. Strange, don’t you think? Also, look at how formal the writing style is in many of those five star reviews. Remember this is a company that preys on college students, and I don’t know too many that would write so formal on something like this without being told. That leads me to believe they are fake, especially the ones that say nothing and give the company five stars.

Here is an honest review for those considering a position with Summit Retail Solutions. If you’re curious what exactly you are applying for, I will tell you it is nothing more than a SALES position. Those involved in the interview process are highly skilled sales professionals whose #1 product is Summit. They are masters at over glorifying a job that’s no more prestigious than any-other entry-level position. This product will be sold to you the moment the interview begins with them telling you you’re one of the lucky few. The truth is the revolving door is always spinning. They will use industry buzz words that create impulse like marketing professional or event specialist to deflect when questioned if,it's this a sales job. They will tell you the are promoters and are focused on growing the brand awareness for their clients when in fact, they own or have the rights to many of the products themselves. They will make grand promises of opportunity, career advancement and income, when in reality there is very little to be gained. The reality is these opportunities are available to only a select few that are willing to do whatever it takes and become a slave of the company, an obedient employee willing to sacrifice their entire life for the company. In fact, the Team Managers and Market Managers lose more money than the field reps. As managers, they are skillfully sold that they are “partners” with the company and that they are “investing” in their team. These managers, pay training for new employees they train and any that their team trains. They also are responsible financially for the poor performance of their teams.. Managers are also billed weekly for “under-performers”. This means if a team member has a rough week, the manager pays the negative balance out of their personal commission. This is said to be a way that you are held “accountable” for your team which ultimately results in the rep (you) getting demoted and having your pay docked. You remember I said the managers pay out training pay? Well the field rep doing the training also pays a portion of this out of their commission. They’ll paint a beautiful picture as to why this is great and how this makes you take accountability for your trainee... However the reality of it is they’re just taking money from you that they should be paying out themselves. They will also sell you on the “flexible schedule” but what they mean is you must be flexible for them - randomly working extra days, and working for free on days off and holiday - sending you to pick up inventory from stores, ship displays and excess product through fedex, because “THE SHOW MUST GO ON!” and of course the conference calls (which they will tell you to log - pay you a lower pay rate - and the dock from your commissions before you have even sold anything). Those who refuse are anonymously berated on national Conference calls for not being a team player. The same happens if you’re out sick and miss a show day. You will be told to get sick on your days off. Then of course there are “special retailer” shows that are presented as a tremendous “opportunity”. You are told your sales will triple from other retailers. Which is true, but your commission won’t. The commission rates for this specific “retail partner” are far lower than any other stores. They’ll make it sound like someone selling $3000 a day worth of product is making huge sums of money when in reality they barely break even, or lose money for the week. If you run a food show in the “retail partner” - you better prepare yourself to work 12hrs+ per day with no breaks. Because this “retail partner” will not allow a display to be unstaffed for any period of time. Which is why they are mandatory two rep shows, however due to the enormous turnover, you will end up running shows solo a majority of the time, 5-11 days straight by the way. If in the unlikely event they do send a second Rep, they’re usually someone who’s on their way out for poor performance, or has the IQ of a rock, who more than likely takes a break and decides not to come back. Oh and by the way, their pay fully comes out of your commission, (in case you were wondering how they get paid). This is just a taste of what you’re getting into if you decide to work here. I’m sure Summit will tell you I have a negative attitude. That this isn’t for everyone or maybe that I’m weak. That maybe I didn’t understand how things worked or it was explained incorrectly. But the is the harsh reality of the job.- no one and I mean no one had a clearer picture than me. If your willing to drink the Kool-Aid, and bathe in it every day (which the VP will encourage you to do - not with malicious intent, but rather ignorance to negative connotation of the act),and then get ready to tune your life over and become a market manager losing money hand over fist, because you are exactly what they are looking for. Just make sure you get ready to chase a dangling carrot for years to come. Only problem is more often than not, that carrot turns out to be a Dog Turd painted orange