Valpak reviews

Nepotism runs deep. An insane amount of workers here are married couples who supervise their own spouse. During orientation, they claim your schedule is set a year in advance. They print fake little schedules that claim you will know your days off for the entire year. Then, after you start working, they sneak in "mandatory overtime," meaning your so-called "days off" don't exist. You're forced to work 12 hour shifts for 5 or 6 days in a row. It can add up to good money, but it's not worth it when you realize you have no time to do laundry or cook food, let alone sleep or wipe yourself. They deliberately keep the "mandatory overtime" schedule a secret (or wait until the very last minute) until the day before you have to be there again. Even if you thought you were about to have a day off, they use the "attendance policy" as an excuse to penalize you for not being available to them 24/7. They also put it on YOU to staff the company, having people walk around and beg each other to take shifts, like it's a small-time restaurant. The most tacky practices I've seen anywhere in the corporate world. Break times are TEN MINUTES. Lunch time is TWENTY minutes. I have never worked anywhere where a break is less than 30 minutes. The spouses of management get to take 30+ minute breaks with impunity though, because that's the kind of culture this company has. During your first week, you will only have 5 days to learn complicated robotic apparatus and weirdo policies. After the 5th day of training, they literally just stop teaching anything, and expect you to fend for yourself not knowing anything. They will move you around to random other areas where you don't even know how to use the machines, since all of the machines are wildly different. The employees working there who've survived a while are rude and awkward to deal with, they're all obsessed with creating fake workplace drama and will snitch on someone for made up reasons, probably to secure their own spot in this hellscape. The so-called "Leads" are weirdos who make up lies about worker performance, and will stare over your shoulder to pick out something you did wrong, even if you did everything exactly as it was explained in your first 5 days of so-called training. Every single one of the "Leads" has their own set of rules, and they are constantly changing day to day, and they WILL tell you about it in the most dehumanizing and rude way possible. Every "policy" they have is also a lie. They use whatever they want as an excuse to play games with people for 12 hours straight. The most insane thing: They have a Fake "referral" program, where they claim you get paid $1,000 for referring someone to work there, as long as they last 90 days. Sounds nice, but it's FAKE. They were running a promotion where it was doubled to $2,000. They always fire the person before they reach 90 days so they don't have to pay you out. Or even if the person did last 90 days, they fire you once your payout is due. If you get injured on the job due to the carelessness of the staff, you're on your own. They will fire you too for getting hurt thanks to their garbage logistics. The "maintenance" people walk around (or drive around on carts recklessly) and are allowed to wear dangling earrings even though the safety policy states you can't wear anything that will get caught in a machine. Grown man walking around with a dangling earring because he thinks he looks like Bad Bunny. Meanwhile hoodies are banned. The entire company is one big scam, it's almost like a Sweat Shop. There is absolutely no integrity anywhere in this organization. Everyone is spineless. There are no ethics anywhere in this business. I will be flooding Wells Fargo and Chase with information about how this company operates. Those 2 companies are propping up this glorified spam advertisement operation. They produce so much waste and trash, the product is literally garbage that nobody wants or needs.

I worked as an outside sales representative at Valpak Clipp for over 20 years. While the role once offered solid potential with an established book of business, things have deteriorated significantly, especially after the 2023 AmatoMartin acquisition and integration with Clipp. Base pay was reduced to levels that make it difficult to sustain yourself, commissions were significantly lowered and restructured in confusing ways, and there were periods where 401k contributions were suspended. Leadership, including rumored comments attributed to owner John Amato, framed these changes around sales reps supposedly “stealing” from the company by not constantly working—creating a toxic, demotivating atmosphere of distrust and micromanagement. Expectations became unrealistic, with quotas few reps actually hit, weak inbound leads redirected to inside sales, poor training, and heavy administrative burdens eating into selling time. Direct mail is a tougher sell these days amid digital competition, leading to high churn and frustration. Ongoing layoffs, outsourcing, and shifting priorities have left many long-tenured employees feeling undervalued after years of building client relationships. Work-life balance suffered, and the culture turned stressful with little positive reinforcement. On the positive side, the schedule had some flexibility, and top performers with strong territories could still earn decent money—but for most, it’s high pressure with diminishing returns. If you’re considering a sales role here, go in with eyes wide open, especially in the current structure. I’d recommend exploring independent opportunities if you have industry experience.