Culture of fear
Focus on reporting & administrative tasks rather than the actual job
Limited independence to do job creatively
“Corrective Action Process” – The biggest joke in the company
No inspiration to grow professionally – focus instead on survival
• I feel compelled to warn any prospective employee of this company to stay away at all costs. Have you ever read a review for a dirty hotel filled with cockroaches, soiled sheets, and no hot water? If so, I’m sure you chose not to stay there. Well, Rain Bird is the “dirty hotel” of corporate America. STAY AWAY!
• You will spend the majority of your time writing reports and justifying your own existence in the company rather than working to move the business forward.
• Employees are ranked by thirds – the top third being the “all-stars,” the middle third being “satisfactory,” and the dreadful BOTTOM THIRD being the ones that need to be “moved out.” As each “bottom-dweller” is moved out, it makes that much more room for everyone else to move down a notch. You can also go from hero to zero overnight. It’s happened many, many times. So, at any given time, 1/3 of all employees are in fear of losing their jobs, another 1/3 is in fear of being moved to the “bottom third,” and the final 1/3 are the “yes” men who are implementing this policy so that they can look good to their superiors.
• Middle managers are not creatively-thinking business leaders who focus on growing the company’s business, but can rather best be described as “henchmen.” They are all “yes” men who are tasked to implement company policies. So, instead of waking up every morning and thinking about what they can do to move the business forward, they wake up and think about how they can best get rid of 1/3 of their subordinates so that they can impress their superiors and move up the dysfunctional corporate ladder. That is the only way to move up in this company.
• When you get into the bottom 1/3 – and you will (I don’t care how smart, talented, or experienced you may be because this has nothing at all to do with any of that) – they will put you in the “corrective action” process. This is just another way of saying that they’re building the case to move you out. They are not trying to correct anything - they are simply getting rid of you. Again, only the “yes” men and their “suck-ups” avoid this, but not forever. Almost everyone ends up here sooner or later.
• They will tell you that they only hire the best – and they do hire many talented, high quality people. Once you’re hired though, all they want to do is burn you and churn you. You will not be given any freedom to do your job creatively. To be clear, there is only one decision maker at Rain Bird, and that is Tony LaFetra, the owner. Anyone and everyone below him is a “yes” man or woman. You have to be a “yes” man in order to move up in the company. Those who get out of line are quickly removed.
• If you are weighing the potential of working at Rain Bird vs. working anywhere else, by all means choose any other alternative that you might have. If your only other alternative is standing in line everyday in a soup kitchen, choose the soup kitchen - you will end up with more dignity than you would working for this company.
• I’ve heard it said that the comments posted on this site regarding Rain Bird are all “sour grapes.” If you believe that may be the case, I would encourage you to do the following: 1) Go to the Rain Bird website and search for a local Rain Bird distributor in your area. Stop in and see what they say about the company. These are Rain Bird’s customers! 2) Ask any employee that you might run across during the interview process about the company’s reputation as described in the postings on this site. Watch how they squirm at the question! 3) Ask about the company’s reputation for high turnover – more squirming! 4) Ask your hiring manager how long he or she has been with the company? 5) Check out the comments for Hunter, Rain Bird’s largest competitor. Ask yourself why they are getting such positive reviews from their employees compared to so many negative reviews for Rain Bird. It is a terrible place to work.
• All I can say is that when I was finally fortunate enough to get out of this company, I felt like 10-year-old Linda Blair at the end of the Exorcist. I was metaphorically lying on the floor - crying and rocking back and forth – traumatized, but completely relieved to be finally free of the demon that had possessed me for so long. Work somewhere else – life is too short to waste it at the Bird.
