Pros
Let me preface this by saying when you first see the job application, you're blown away. Bring your dog to work, a kitchen stocked with food every week, "work hard, play hard" mindset with a great culture, and on top of that, a company that sells horse products? Count me in. They are looking for the best of the best, and I knew that I was someone they would want. I was ecstatic to get an interview and even more thrilled when I got offered the position. The pay seemed great at the time, and the training seemed out of this world awesome. Everything was new and exciting. The people seemed genuinely happy to work for the company, and they really made it seem like you could quickly make your way up the totem pole. The people that work there are great and really friendly, and it genuinely seems like an awesome company with great products and a creative future.
Kontras
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.