Come Back Mike Watts! - Anonymous employee Sunstate Equipment Employee Review

2.0
Feb 6, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Mike Watts was a true visionary and truly believed in the value of people. The culture inspired his employees to give their best. Mike, we miss you and your leadership.

Cons

The culture that Mike Watts built is evaporating. Employees are nothing more than a number. Mid-level leadership hides what they doing and Senior Management turns a blind eye to abuses.

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Sunstate Equipment Response
7y
Agree, we all miss Mike Watts! He is the Founder, a mentor, and yes, a visionary! However, the Core Values are the essence of the Sunstate Culture and, after working with Mike for more than 25 years, I KNOW that the Core Values are in place and in practice every day! Are we perfect? No! But we strive every day to instill the passion and culture into our PEOPLE. We hold management and the EE Teams accountable to high standards, teaching and motivating them when mistakes occur. We ALWAYS have an Open Door policy. If you are experiencing issues, bring those issues to your Manager. If she / he does not / cannot address the issues in a satisfactory manner, bring the issues to their Manager, or to Senior Management. We truly care about PEOPLE and need to hear from you if you believe the Culture is "evaporating"! This is how the Core Values will be fixed and protected for the future. Please provide additional feedback if "evaporation" continues! (feedback@sunstateequip.com)

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5.0
May 16, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Company positioning itself for the future.

Cons

Tough road ahead but opportunities are endless.

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Sunstate Equipment Response
2w
Thank you for your feedback! We share your optimism about the future Sunstate is investing in the capabilities, talent, and strategy needed to strengthen our position in the market, and we're excited about what we can accomplish together. We appreciate your recognition of that momentum and your role in helping shape what comes next.
2.0
Mar 4, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary was very good for market, with decent work-life balance. Branch employees are great coworkers.

Cons

Hard times are back for the construction industry and the Sunstate tech experiment is over. After a couple years of moderate investment in trying to bring their internal and customer tools out of the Stone Age and compete with their major competitors' offerings, Sunstate decided to cut their losses and go back to business as usual rather than make the organizational changes necessary to let their teams do real work. Leaders and executives planning for months to produce vague, unmeasurable goals for the quarter that just flew by should have been the first sign that the end was near, but they limped on for a while before calling it a wrap with multiple rounds of layoffs. This affects roles across the company who rely on increasingly aging and broken tech to do their jobs, and customers who remain fully dependent on their reps to get any reporting or issues fixed. The only technology investments Sunstate is making now is increasingly intense performance monitoring of drivers and technicians in response to their industry-leading turnover numbers. The "we're a family" line was always nonsense but it truly ended after the Wattses exited.

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Sunstate Equipment Response
3mo
Thank you for your feedback and for recognizing the strength of our team, compensation, and work environment. We acknowledge the challenges facing the construction industry and the impact that recent changes have had across the business. Decisions around structure and investment are made with a focus on long-term sustainability and performance, and we understand they can create uncertainty. Technology remains a critical part of our strategy. While our approach continues to evolve, we are committed to investing in tools and systems that improve both the customer experience and how our teams operate day to day. We also recognize the importance of clear, actionable goals and strong communication from leadership. That is an area we continue to focus on as we strengthen alignment and execution across the organization. We appreciate candid feedback and remain committed to building a stronger path forward.
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