Employees are treated like high school students - supervisors act like hall monitors & discourage use of mobile phones (which are required for the fast paced work). Turnover is high and morale is generally very low throughout most departments. Office supplies are kept under lock and key by one of the Wasserstrom family members and that is the only person who has access to distribution of these items (highlighters, whiteout, notepads, post-its, etc...) Requested office supplies often take weeks to be provided, and if that person is out sick or on vacation you are out of luck. Promotions/raises are typically offered when an employee gives notice that they are leaving. They do not hire adequate staff to keep up with the work they accept from clients. N. Wasserstrom & Sons is located in a very heavy traffic area and next to a train rail that has no set schedule, which causes delays to employees regularly. They are also located in an area that is heavy on industrial traffic (dump trucks full of gravel all over the place) which cause numerous flat tires and cracked windshields. There is also quite a lot of crime in the surrounding area. The employee parking lot is not closed off or protected (or even monitored closely), which results in several car break-ins & car-parts stolen from employee's vehicles. Despite all of this, their attendance policy is extremely rigid and demerits are given for every late instance and also when their time-card system doesn't respond correctly. The only exception to this is when 20+ employees experience the same error & everyone of them notifies HR. Also, they have an over-reaching non-compete clause which is hidden in a non-disclosure agreement you are required to sign when you are hired. They rush you to sign this document in the hopes that you won't catch the limitations if you should choose to work elsewhere. The non-compete clause consists of two non-consecutive sentences within the non-disclosure document & it states that you may not work for any similar company within 100 miles of any Wasserstrom location for 1 year from the last date of employment with a Wasserstrom company. They are also highly litigious and will not negotiate these terms unless it financially benefits their company in some way. They threaten legal action when questioned about this & claim to have prosecuted numerous former employees, however searches by an actual lawyer will show that this is not true. This company is also very nepotistic - brothers, wives, kids, and in some cases whole families work together and hire each other. The larger group you belong to increases your advancement opportunities. They are very concerned with making sure that people in certain "roles" do not make more money than they believe is appropriate for their position. As a salesman, if you generate a very high amount in commission than they believe is not appropriate for your "role" they will cut your commission - thus removing the incentive to sell, which is another reason why turnover is high.
