Smith Optics reviews

2.8

32% would recommend to a friend

(43 total reviews)
avatar

Angelo Trocchia

6% approve of CEO

26% positive business outlook

Smith Optics has an employee rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars, based on 43 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Smith Optics employee rating is 21% below average for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

43 reviews
1.0
Dec 19, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Friendly employees at the peer level Exposure to manufacturing operations and cost accounting processes PTO policy is generous on paper

Cons

Work/life balance is significantly misrepresented during interviews Frequent last-minute deadlines and reactive culture make it difficult to plan workload Hybrid work flexibility is inconsistent and subject to frequent, short-notice changes Leadership frequently arrived late to meetings or was unavailable, despite teams being expected to be fully available and responsive at all times. This inconsistency undermined accountability, made already high-pressure workloads more difficult to manage, and left teams to navigate high-pressure decisions with minimal guidance Culture appears to reward constant availability, including after hours and during PTO (Manufacturing in Clearfield, Corporate in Portland/NJ, and ownership level) Burnout is common and openly acknowledged, yet structural changes are not made

2.0
Jul 8, 2025

They don't pay a living wage.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Nice people. Like, really nice people.. Easy location, cool building. Great discounts on outdoor sports gear.

Cons

Most hourly workers are paid 15-20% above minimum wage, which is about 30% BELOW a living wage for their location. Even some department managers are not paid a living wage. Everyone here has a weird job or a dual income family. It's ridiculous for a company that takes so much pride in their company culture. But we're afraid to complain for fear of losing our jobs or worse, having them move operations to somewhere cheaper. Once again, workers get screwed while stockholders get paid. I wish the executives cared, but they only want to see smiles and nods and are not at all open to real worker feedback. They shrivel and harden at any negative feedback.

3.0
May 3, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Working with all the folks at Smith that actually do the work is a pleasure. They are all hard working, solution oriented, and customer centric people who will get the job done.

Cons

The entire leadership team is a joke that has no idea what they're doing. The only reason this company does as well as they do is because the leadership team knows how to hire the type of employees that they know are hard working dedicated people that they then proceed to burnout so that they can beat the previous quarter/years sales growth. Setting unattainable goals that you can never reach and setting their employees up for failure so that they don't have to ever pay out for it. In a downturning economy that's heading for a recession, they are expecting double digit growth and they don't care what that will do to the people trying to make it happen. The worst part about the leadership team is that they don't see the potential in their employees to grow the company for them and instead dictate downward.

Viewing 4 - 6 of 43 Reviews

Glassdoor has 45 Smith Optics reviews submitted anonymously by Smith Optics employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Smith Optics is right for you.