Disappointing, lack of advancement opportunities. - Assistant Manager Sherwin-Williams Employee Review

2.0
14 Nov 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good benefits package, compensation is relatively competitive with good bonus plan (dependent on the store however), well respected company

Cons

Hours cut which means less employees; at the same time, upper management continued to assign meaningless sales call goals and promotional activities that you had no time to do. 40% off sales at least once a month but not enough employees to assist during the sale. Price increases and lack of customer service (again to due hour cuts) just led to dissatisfied customers. The glamorized "Management Trainee Program" is just a way for the company to get a bunch of workhorses with college degrees to put in their stores. On a daily basis the job consisted of about 80% physical work - tinting paint, lifting, operating forklifts, etc. with very little time to actually manage (which is what I was told I would be doing when I was interviewed). Very little opportunities for advancement. Expect to work in the store for about 4 or 5 years on average and then get "promoted" to being a sales rep which is just another unrewarding job where you get to deal with more stress. Gave it a year, but couldn't come to terms with having a job that provided absolutely no intellectual stimulation. I didn't go to college to mix paint all day and get chewed out by completely irrational, overemotional, and psychotic customers.

Explore other reviews about Sherwin-Williams

5.0
6 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Successful managers & assistant managers build strong relationships with their customers.

Cons

As a manager of a store, you have to be constantly on call for issues that could arise at your store.

5.0
16 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A positive work environment. The best co-workers I have had so far in my career worked with me at Sherwin. I also worked under an amazing management team. There is a lot of room for career growth. I worked for Sherwin for about 3.5 years. I started as a contracted lab technician, then I was hired full time as an R&D Associate Chemist. I quickly worked my way up to R&D Chemist within a year of being hired full time. The department I worked in was very fast paced, however, I know there are many other groups that move at a much slower pace with longer timelines. This would make it much easier to manage the workload.

Cons

Working with marketing was challenging at times. We would regularly receive big requests a day before they needed something. This would pose a challenge when you had other priorities to attend to. The pay was average. I do think it could have been slightly higher for all of the job responsibilities given to the chemists in my group specifically. The workload was overwhelming at times.

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