Sweetwater reviews

4.1

80% would recommend to a friend

(541 total reviews)
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Mike Clem

89% approve of CEO

74% positive business outlook

Sweetwater has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 541 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Sweetwater employee rating is 21% above average for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.4 stars).

Reviews by job title

541 reviews
2.0
Oct 9, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You get to work with some awesome and talented individuals at Sweetwater and you get to work on making the site for a great music retailer better, but unfortunately for me the cons (especially after COVID) really drove me to find employment elsewhere.

Cons

First, the company's COVID response was great...at first. The department I got to work in was able to work from home (as well as many of the other departments in the business). We were setup quite easily to work remotely and our team showed that we were able to produce content and finish work just as well as we did from the office. But after a few months, management decided for some reason they wanted everyone back in the office (in the middle of a pandemic). Reluctantly, I went back and had to wear a mask all day at my desk just to write code...which I can do from anywhere. To put it bluntly, it sucked. It drove me to look for employment elsewhere and I was easily able to find a better paying job that allowed me to work 100% remotely (that is the future of software development). Now that I've left I've heard that there was an outbreak in my department and 2 people have tested positive for COVID with another 8 put in quarantine. It's just plain idiotic that management would allow something like this to go on. It's needless and absolutely reckless. Now I'm sure the CPO will respond to this saying that Sweetwater has followed guidelines, but that is NOT what I saw on a day to day basis. I was always within arms length of my desk mates and saw many people neglecting masks. There was no enforcement of any guideline. I didn't feel safe anymore and had to leave. That should be eye opening (along with various outbreaks) but apparently not. The management should be ashamed of themselves. Chuck Surack always says that we want to follow the scout's motto of doing good. Well is needlessly putting your employees in harm's way "doing good"? Honestly, I wish that was the only reason I left. I also left because there is just no path forward to advance my career at Sweetwater. You're either a developer or a manager. The concept of a senior developer or tech lead is completely foreign to them. There was no yearly salary increase (not without constant badgering). You seem to be expected to work just for the joy of getting to work at Sweetwater. Sorry but I've got bills and a family. Just wish the management showed they cared instead of saying it over and over. Finally, payment was kinda "meh". It meets the state average for the position but with no advancement...you're kinda stuck.

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Sweetwater Response
5y
Thanks for your review. I understand your strong belief in working remotely. Of course, our team is always happy to have conversations and explain our approach that is based on following the guidance of the leading health and medical experts in our community. There are certainly some companies and industries that are set up to work fully remotely for long periods of time but there is some uniqueness to Sweetwater's model that requires our approach to be a bit more nuanced....while still ensuring that we're focused on doing those things that the medical professionals indicate are critical to ensuring everyone's wellbeing. I would like to clarify that it's certainly not accurate that people at Sweetwater (including Chuck or those in management positions) don't care about the well being of our employees. Our leadership team are real people with emotions and families they are caring for and who are working through the challenges of this season right alongside the rest of our team members. They are factoring in information directly from the leading health authorities about how best to protect all aspects of employee health (physical, mental, emotional, and more). They are also ensuring that we have a company that can last for the long-term to continue to recruit new team members, pay salaries, care for our customers, and direct charitable support into the hundreds of community organizations in our region that we help support. You are correct that we are following all CDC and State Department of Health guidelines for our campus. Both state and local health authorities have visited our campus and have repeatedly confirmed that our people are doing everything right to care for each other. However, your statement about an "outbreak" is not accurate. This has not occurred in any way whatsoever. Our processes are working to take care of our people and we are committed to making sure it stays that way. I'm proud of how amazingly all of our team members are taking the responsibility to protect each other's health. I believe in them and their capability to keep making wise choices as they've been doing every day. That's the Sweetwater Difference - our employees standing side-by-side with each other even in the midst of challenging times and continuing to take care of our customers who are counting on us to help them create beautiful music and achieve their musical dreams. If you'd like to talk with me more about any of this, I'd be more than happy to do so. - Jeff Ostermann, Chief People Officer
1.0
Sep 17, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people I closely work with are a good group. Sweetwater is very profitable.

Cons

They do not pay well for this position. I've been here a long time and they are increasing the starting wages to what I'm making. No increase for anyone making over $15 an hour. All the experienced assistants are leaving due to the lack of loyalty from the company. Many others are about to quit soon.

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Sweetwater Response
5y
You are correct that we recently did a special mid-year raise in wages for many of our entry level and early career employees. In the midst of covid when so many people are experiencing additional financial pressures and many companies (not Sweetwater) are laying people off, we thought we'd go the other direction and actually help out many of our team members who could most benefit from a special wage increase. This was in addition to the normal annual raises that occur for virtually all of our team members (including those making over $15/hour) toward the beginning of each year. However, it is not accurate that new hourly employees are making as much as or more than tenured employees. In fact, in the Sales Assistant/Account Coordinator area specifically there is not a single new hire coming who's starting wage will be as high as our tenured employees with multiple years of experience. I'm afraid you may have received some misinformation on this and I'd be happy to speak with you more and provide clarification if you'd find it helpful. We of course value our tenured team members and are regularly evaluating wage levels across all departments to ensure they are appropriately rewarded. In addition, many of our team members achieve even higher pay increases as they work their way up through promotion. Through the end of July, we've had 82 different people promoted into new roles within the company - another sign as to how much trust we put into our tenured team members. Regardless, I'm always happy to talk with someone who has concerns about their level of pay and am happy to connect with you if you'd like to share your concerns directly. - Jeff Ostermann, Chief People Officer
4.0
Sep 14, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

High concentration of like-minded people High hiring standards... Even higher working standards Generally a very positive, extremely passionate environment

Cons

Path of advancement generally requires a move to sales Success requires a full commitment to company's larger mission... There is no gray area Some candidates will need to reset their standards for work-life balance. It can be achieved, but working in a high passion environment can affect your priorities

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Glassdoor has 571 Sweetwater reviews submitted anonymously by Sweetwater employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Sweetwater is right for you.