Schwan's Employee Reviews for Route Builder

What do you like about working at Schwan's?

"I had control over my work schedule and where I cold-called. My goal was to double the depot's annual sales by December 2012. The depot was operating at a $200k/ year loss. The company closed about 50 non producing depots cross country the last several months. It was unfortunate the Cumberland depot was closed because we were just making headway. Schwan's offers excellent food and service."

Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company?

"Never pre-judge prospects and clients. Know your products and offer your clients products that will benefit their family. Push clients towards pre-orders on-line to more effectively complete sales calls and maximize work hours."

What don't you like about working at Schwan's?

"It was the most inefficient business I have ever worked for. The policies and procedures of the company allowed employees to distort their performance and activity numbers to the point the company's sales were in a constant decline for over five years. The unethical practices among co-workers I came across with were unbelievable. Employees were over worked and taken advantage of for what they were paid and ineffective training did not lend to them being more efficient and productive increasing their sales. There was little management support for drivers/ salesmen during their day to day delivery sales calls."

What suggestions do you have for management?

"I explained my suggestions to HR when the company sent representatives to meet with us upon closure. Training in sales and use of Hand Held Computer needs to be improved for new-hires. More hands on training and more drive time with depot manager needs to take place. Better metrics control of personal achievement needs to be implemented. Clients need to be educated on benefits of pre-ordering product to minimize in-the-home time during deliveries (typical wait time while client flips through catalog while driver is waiting is around 15 minutes, then product has to be pulled from truck)."