SmartPak Equine Reviews

There are so many downsides that I'm not really sure where to begin. The Customer Care department should be a different entity than the company itself. The culture that they hold on to so near to their hearts unfortunately does not apply to the customer care team. There is a separation within the company - there is downstairs, and there is upstairs, where the customer care team sets up their ball and chains. You work like a dog, they shove so much information down your throat, tell you it's okay to "not know everything", but when you don't know something, you get reprimanded. Right now, it's a mixture between a sales team and a customer service team, so the trainings are very mixed, and there is so much focus on EVERYTHING that you can't excel at ANYTHING. Most of the benefits that they draw you in to apply do not actually come into play for quite some time. There is actually a wait list to bring your dog to work; downstairs people bring their dogs as they please, even before the 6 month employment period, but upstairs, some people on the customer care team have been waiting for over a year to bring their dog to work. The "stocked" kitchen is mostly empty throughout the week. You're watched like a hawk and have to tell them when you're going to the bathroom, taking a break, etc, and the flexibility and work-life balance is absolutely non-existent. f I was in any other department, it wouldn't be a problem. Also, you have a late shift throughout the week and you also have to work one Saturday a month. Doesn't sound so bad until you actually do it; everyone else in the company gets flexible hours and then there you are, wasting your weekend away. Sometimes your lunches are so late, that by the time you get back, you only have an hour before your shift ends. Supposedly it used to be only 30 minutes for lunch. You could work as hard as you possibly could, talk to your manager about future ideas or projects you'd like to work on, or plan to get ahead, but it most likely will not happen. The pay is so low, that you are forced to take on overtime just to make ends meet for that area, and they even decreased those so there are really not that many overtime hours to go around, so everyone fights to the death for them. The rest of the company separates you from them, lecturing you how to do your job so you can make their lives easier, and then tells you that you are the core of the company because our customer service is so excellent. The brand image that they have created for their customers unfortunately does not apply to employees as a whole, and you continue to feel so undervalued, no matter how hard you try to get your head above water. The comments about sipping the SmartPak Kool-Aid are absolutely true - as well as the irony of numerous high ratings on here being posted the same day. I thought that working for an equine company would be the most amazing thing in the world - and in various ways, I will admit, I have gained tons of opportunities and learned so much more- HOWEVER, there is NO balance whatsoever, barely any extra time to actually RIDE your horse. SmartPak uses their name to lure you in, hires overqualified smart employees, and then drives them to the ground, until they either quit, or they end up working for another company that is actually going to give them what they want. Ironically, over a handful of senior members (more than 10 years) of numerous departments left in less than a 6 month time frame - ironic? You end up feeling guilty because they will periodically tell you "how lucky you are to be here", and "we don't just hire anyone" to make sure you realize how "good" you have it, but in reality, there is more to this life than working at SmartPak. If you're going to take the leap - take the leap somewhere else.

Employees are grossly under-valued, especially in Customer Care. Customer Care gets the worst pay, the least flexible hours, the least opportunity for advancement and has to pick up the pieces and deal with angry customers when any other department messes up. (Which happens quite a bit. Marketing, in particular, seems to constantly make mistakes they don't have to face the consequences for. They also seem to get paid the most and work the least--if you can get into Marketing, go for it!) Pay is very low, especially considering the cost of living in the Plymouth area/compared to other jobs with similar expectations and requirements. "Work hard, play hard" is a euphemism for "don't expect any work-life balance, unless you want to base your entire social life around SmartPak and your co-workers." (Some people do this and are very happy at SmartPak, but it's not for everyone!) There is absolutely no transparency from upper management, especially in Customer Care--promotions seem arbitrary and they absolutely pick favorites. If you're not a favorite, you have little chance for advancement. Upper management refuses to listen to legitimate gripes that employees have. Case in point: many employees felt their salaries were low, so management held a meeting to tell them they were wrong because they have an employee discount (which really only helps you if you have the disposable income to use it); employees complained about lunch times being unexpectedly (sometimes the day of) cut in half and brainstormed possible solutions, only to have management shoot down each one and then move the issue to the back burner until it was forgotten about. Management consistently exploits the fact that their employees are young to undermine their legitimate complaints (e.g., this is your first real job and you just don't know how good you have it). There is almost no diversity--the entire company is full of white, upper-middle class preppy types. Except the warehouse workers. Who don't really get acknowledged or included in company events... There's some weirdness in a company that is 99% women, but all the top-tier positions are held by men (some of whom replaced women who were unexpectedly let go...), and the CFO thinks it's appropriate to make jokes about "not liking to hear no from girls" at team meetings. Long story short--SmartPak absolutely refuses to listen to legitimate constructive criticism. (All the really suspicious glowing reviews posted around the same time should give you an idea of how SmartPak responds to employee concerns. They bury them.) As a result, there's very high employee burnout and turnover. Some people are very happy there, but you have to be totally willing to praise SmartPak, drink the Kool-Aid and center your life around your (not often super rewarding or challenging) work.