Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service)’s earns a 1.7-star rating from 2 reviews and 67 complaints, showing that the majority of customers are dissatisfied with delivery service and product quality.
- All
- Reviews only
- Complaints only
- Resolved
- Unresolved
- Replied by the business
- Unreplied
- With attachments
life as a route sales manager (csm)
I'm not going to sling mud, I'm just going to give you facts about life as a Route Sales Manager working for Schwan's (basically being a 'Schwan's Man').
I saw Schwan's advertising their job as a Route Sales Manager and I was intrigued by the $38, 000/yr salary. I filed my application and kind of forgot about it. One month later I had an e-mail from the General Manager of the local depot, he asked me to come in for an interview, so I did.
When I arrived the manager and I spoke about the job. He told me about the "great benefits", the great salary, and the fact that Schwan's had never laid off a driver. His average driver made about $45, 000/yr with salary and commission and his best made $60, 000. He sold it to me as a great opportunity to have a career with great job security. But before I considered working for them he wanted me to go on a ride day and ride along with one of his drivers to get a feel for the job. This sounded great to me. I agreed.
The next week I showed up at the depot at 8am and met the driver I was riding with that day. A nice guy about my age (26). He had already prepped the truck so we were ready to go. As we drove along I quizzed him about the job and asked his thoughts. He told me how great it was and how he loved the freedom. I asked him about the hours and he said that sometimes he has a late night and he is out until 7 or so, but most of the time he's in way before that. He'd only been with the company for a few months, but he was already on track to be a Chairman's Clubber (its what Schwan's calls their top salesman. Its basically an incentive program with three different levels. The highest is Chairman's, very very few drivers get to that level).
We travelled along his route and at 4pm he told me that he was just about done so he was going to drop me off at the depot while he tended to the truck. He said the manager wanted to talk to me before he went home and he always goes home early.
When I got back in the depot the manager was waiting on me. We talked about the day and I said I enjoyed it and I was interested in pursuing the opportunity. He had me fill out forms, go do a drug test and physical, and start 3 weeks later.
Now, keep in mind this was a HUGE decision for me. I had a fairly good job that I had 8 years in. I didn't make a lot of money, but it was pretty good. Just about the same as what Schwan's was paying me. But I talked to my wife and we decided to take the risk. I put in my notice, and two weeks later I was a Schwan's man.
The first day at Schwan's the reality of my situation began to sink in. The job was sold to me by a nice guy, but a liar. The average driver does not make 45K a year at the depot, they make the minimum, 38K. As a matter of fact out of 13 drivers only 3 had been there for a year. The rest were just part of a line in a revoloving door of drivers that is constantly changing due to extremely high turnover.
The hours were much longer than what I had been told. You get to the depot at 8am and you get back to the depot about 9pm. 13 hour days. 5 days a week. And if you get back earlier than 9pm you get in trouble because you're not out selling. You also have a quota, which was not really surprising. But what is surprising is that if you do not make your quota by Friday evening you have to work Saturday to make up the loss. And if you still don't cover your numbers Saturday you get written up. The bad part is the quota is very high. You have to sell $5, 850 a week in product, which is not an easy task. The product is overpriced (but very tasty) and in this economy people are tightening their belts and are not spending the kind of money you need them to so you can make your numbers. Basically everything that Schwan's sells can be bought at Wal-Mart, but it is typically 3 times more expensive at Schwan's than Wal-Mart or Homeland. Trust me, its true. My wife and I did the shopping to see. So basically you're working 60-65 hours Monday through Friday and typically at least 2 Saturdays a month for about 5-8 hours. You put in 70 hours a week!
The benefits just plain suck. The company doesn't cover hardly any of the costs so the burden is on the employee. For my wife and me to have health, vision, and dental it was costing me about $150 every two weeks. However, they do make a nice matching contribution to your 401k.
Holidays off? Nope. Well, kinda. If Christmas is on a Tuesday then you have to work the Saturday before or after to run that route day. So really you're not getting time off, you're just getting the day off and you're making the hours up on a Saturday before or after. Thanksgiving and Christmas are the only two holidays we did this. The other holidays (New Years, July 4th, Memorial Day, and Labor Day) we ran our routes. It was almost embarrassing. When you knock on someone's door on the 4th of July and interrupt their family BBQ to try to sell them Schwan's. Many times they were get upset, and I didn't blame them. But we had to do it.
If you are running your route day and you get done at 7pm you are required to go solicit new customers until 9pm. My manager actually told us we were supposed to be out until 10pm, but no one ever stayed out that late. I, for one, refused to knock on a person's door at 9:30pm. That's bad business and its just plain rude. How would you feel if you had put your kids down to sleep and you're winding down from your long day and the Schwan's man shows up on a Monday or Tuesday night at 9:30pm? Let me tell you, you'd be pissed. So as long as we stayed out until 9 he didn't hassle us.
Quota'd items. Schwan's has what they call News At The Door (NATD) items that they must show to each customer every day. These items are quota'd and if the driver does not sell a minimum number of units every week he gets written up. Most of the times the NATD items (there are always 2 of them) are made up of one new item and one item that isn't selling very well. This is a sells booster strategy. They take the NATD very seriously and I have seen them fire drivers because their quota of 20 wasn't met and they only sold 15. Granted, you get written up twice before you get fired. There were times that I actually bought 5 or 10 of an item just to meet quota. And on top of all of this, the manager at the depot I worked at was a nice guy. I liked him, we all liked him. He didn't make it bad for us, the company made it bad for him and for us. There was nothing he could do to change how the company operates. He had goals he had to meet, just like we did. We were luckier than most. Most depots do not have good managers (at least that is what I gather from talking to so many other drivers). So I guess I was lucky in that sense.
I would just like to say that Schwan's has great products. But they treat their drivers very poorly. Life as a Schwan's man is hell. It is hard work and the way the company treats its drivers is pathetic. My wife still buys from our Schwan's man just because we feel sorry for him and can sympathize with his situation. I make her buy a NATD every trip, even if its something we won't eat.
I went to Schwan's with an open mind and very excited. I was very disappointed at all the false statements and down right lies that were told to me before I was hired. The biggest career mistake I ever made was leaving my good job to go to Schwan's. I'm still paying for it all this time later. Luckily my time at Schwan's was over a few months after being hired, I found a different job.
If you are still considering working for Schwan's after all of this, I wish you the best of luck and hope you have a successful career. But, if you think that I'm just a complainer then do two things. 1: go to www.retailreality.net (its a site set up by Schwan's drivers to talk about the company) and 2: go to /link removed/ and search for Schwans and read through the reports there from all the past drivers. If you read those and you still aren't convinced that this is a bad company to work for, then I think you will fit right in at Schwan's.
If you have any specific questions about Schwan's please feel free to e-mail me and I'll answer any questions you have.
[protected]@yahoo.com
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
hit-and-run driving
Last Friday, at 12:30 on a clear, sunny day, in Magnolia, TX the Schwan's driver barreled down my friends narrow dirt country road to deliver an order to a neighbor. He was speeding (approximately 40-50 miles an hour) and talking on his cell phone. My friend's dog was sleeping at the end of their driveway. The driver swerved and hit the dog. The dog screamed so loudly a neighbor three doors down heard it and turned to see the driver speed past and almost hit another neighbor turning onto the street. The dog is in critical condition and may not survive but all Schwan's will say is "sorry." They are refusing any responsiblity and have made no attempt to rectify the situation. My friend is out of work and doesn't have the money for the surgery the dog needs, all they can do is try to keep him comfortable. It seems the least Schwan's could do is pay for the vet bill. There are no sidewalks in this neighborhood and they frequently walk on the streets to visit and help each other. What if this had been a child or one of their elderly neighbors?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
illegal pay practices/slave labor
I was hired in April 09 as a Customer Service Manager Trainee at $32, 000 per year salary. The Customer Service Managers make a Salary of $38, 000 per Year. Everyone is told that they are Salary employees and need to work 12-14 hours per day 5 or 6 days a week to meet their sales goal. Whatever it takes, do it as you are a Salaried manager.
Well in June I suffered heat exaustion while working and took off two days per doctors instructions. Schwans DID NOT pay me for those two days. I called their payroll department and told them that I was a Salary employee and as such should be paid my weekly rate per the U.S. government guidelines for a salary position. The payroll clerk Theresa told me well we pay you guy's by the day, if you don't work five days in the week you only get paid for what you work. I have taken this up with the Depot Management only to get the runaround for the past 3 weeks.
Also I asked the payroll clerk if the pay for the 6th day if you do work 6 days and I was told No, only five days a week.
This company is using the "cover" of Salary to demand their employees work 60-70 hours per week for a small weekly paycheck for their benefit but "Dock" employees if they don't work due to illness. Pretty lowlife type of business Schwans seems to have here.
I have filed a complaint with the U.S. Labor board and will be meeting with a representative in Phoenix this week. They agree that it looks like Schwans is not using the salary position as the U.S. Labor board has set forth. I am not doing this for myself as I am leaving this horid company but for the friends I have left behind that have no choice but to put up with this poor treatment by Schwans of their employees, the true ones that make the company money!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Schwans managers tell you up front that this is what we expect from you. When you accept the job you know what the job is about so stop your complaining. You ###s never should of came to a company where you actually have to work like your grandparents used to work. I work 12-14 hrs a day 5 days a week and make 70, 000 a year and love it. I get paid for the work I do. My wife loves spending the money I bring in too.
My husband works for Schwan's and a lowlife named Doug who manages the Dublin depot. My husband retired from law enforcement and wanted a change and thought Schwan's would be a great company to work for. He works 70 hours a week and his last paycheck for two weeks was around $700 dollars. This company is the absolute worst company in the way they treat employees. They boast how they are a "family oriented" company but they lie. All they worry about is themselves making money while the employee suffer by never seeing their families and getting underpaid. This local depot is always hiring and I see why now. Don't fall for their pay pitches either. It's all a lie! My husband is willing to work all the hours if the pay is what they say it will be...but it isn't anywhere near what they claim! Not only do I not recommend anyone working for Schwan's, I also recommend you not support the company by buying any of their slave labor products.
I can understand all of theses views. I currently work with "said company" you say long hours...You say hard work...Well I don't know many jobs where those are not some sort or requirement. I worked for rentacenter for 4 years. Carrying couches, refridgerators freezers plasma tvs, amoung many other items, the pay at first was great, But then as you progress with the company the "physical strain" lowers and the mental strain greatens. If you honestly take a job and are not ready for long hours and hard work, do work at the crack a jack box they were talking about earlier. I have worked for some of the "biggest" companies in the world, Rentacenter, Walmart, and trust me long hours yes... hard work yes... Its a matter of the indiv. hired weather the long days and hard work is worth the check they recieve. Schwanns is far from "hard work" a masons job is hard work, the hardest part about schwans is climbing in and out of the truck, serioulsy, your carrying pizza ice cream and corn... not "hard work" long hours yes, not long work. As for me I am a husband and a father of 2. my days off weather 1 or 3 in a week goes to them no matter how tired or "exhausted" I am. The man doing this job has to make that sacrifice to make sure his family comes first, I havn't missed much of my kids life and do not plan on it...They are my world, and with out them and my wife I wouldn't be in exsistance...
For some reason I've been thinking about this and feel that I should write. My father worked for Schwans for about twenty years while I was in high school and in college. My dad was led to believe that hard work would pay off. Unfortunately, living from paycheck to paycheck for years, he finally retired in his sixties. Becasue Schwan's couldn't let him go legally, he hit the pavement for years working 18 hours days, working night shifts as a janitor, and other various laborious jobs. I've grown to resent this place as my father has since incurred heart surgery and much more from his overly physical, long hours, away from home weeks at time to try to make a simple paycheck to support his family. I have no respect for Schwans and would love a mass lawsuit against them for their unorthodox practices. I missed having my dad around for years. I just wish my dad would have left schwans sooner instead of thinking that the values he grew up with like hard work and loyalty would pay off.
I am a wife of someone who works at Schwans and I feel like a single mom. I never see my husband and he has missed all of our child's "firsts." I don't understand how someone who works for this company for 20 years can look back on their life and feel like they have "lived life to the fullest" or honestly lived life at all.
I too was a thirteen year employee. Ten years on routes, a regular chairman's club achiever, or at worst President's club, and three years in middle management. I guess I just have to learn to live with being lazy. Silly me. I thought that I could change some of these things. These people are among the worst. Liars, cheats, and thieves. So you suffered heat exhaustion on the job. Many others have suffered worse, and have been raked over the coals by the company for filing workers' comp claims. Many will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives, and the company will continue to fight every inch of the way to keep from paying those claims.
The pay issues are old news. For years we were paid for attending scheduled meetings that lasted for days, until we were flatly told that would no longer be the practice, and with no explanation, despite the fact that we were required to attend, for the most part having to travel out of town for the duration of those meetings. Vacations, which were hard enough to come by, were once paid at a rate that was the average of what you had been running on routes. That was later reduced to a much lower amount. This is only the most current in the long list of abuses, and there is no end to their creative means to find other ways to cheat you.
As for the company people out there who pledge glassy eyed fealty to the company, they are sad examples of humanity with no worthwhile life, or soulless individuals with an abiding disregard for moral principles, and with profit as their guiding light. They will not stop. Avoid them at all cost.
These people are not about to change. A few people at the top are making a killing, if they have to by killing its rank and file employees.
Ahh. The Amerikan dream.
hey grape push ups how is your relationship with your wife and kids?
I worked at that hole for 1 month before i read through the lines.My friend told me how great the checks were but what he didnt tell me was insane hours and company men as bosses. as for the "not working"comment your a [censor]. what good is a check when you have no time to spend it. the depot managers are at home with their wife and kids by 3pm while laughing at you for being out all night to make your little 55 dollars for the day.
The top producer in the depot here, wife cheats on him, kid barely knows him, he works until 12 am. Its called work not slave labor. Schwans is by far the worst company in the country..
FYI.. I moved back into my career field(thank god they took me back). which is a monday-friday 6-2:30 outside job and make more in one week than your top producer does at schwans in the tucson depot and dont have to stay out until the crows come home to do it and dont have to pressure sale senior citizens into buying over priced frozen pizzas.
Lets to the math grape
you make schwans 1500
your cut is 165 bucks for the whole day
you come in at 7 am-get off at 9 pm
14 hours to make 165 bucks schwans number crunchers would call that 11 an hour.. US dept of Labor would call it BS..
If a jack in the box employee makes 8.50 an hour and works 8 hours makes 68 bucks, if they are really dedicated and work 6 hours overtime at the time and a half rule makes 76.50 for a grand total of 144.50 in a day.
so you have to sell 15oo dollars a day to make more money than a jack in the crack employee does in the same time frame..
You that say you can work 32 hours is a fool. You are required to work at least 12 hours a day no matter what. I had a sales goal of $850 the other day and I did $1250 and came in at 6:30 because I am on "light duty" from a work related injury and I was told I was suppose to stay out the 12 hours. The employee doesn't matter its the money that the LSM and company that matters.
You knew what was required when you got hired. Stop being a big baby and move onto a job where you can work 40 hrs a week . I have been a route manager for 13 years and what I have seen over the years is most of you out there just do not want to work.
Good for you for filing a complaint. I was a route driver for Schwan's in Washington for over a year. I recently quit due to their excessive and required hours with no additional pay. I was working 60+ hours and have filed a claim with WA L&I for 182 unpaid overtime hours. Schwan’s is violating the outside sales exemption law because according to ES.A.9.7 page 4 #8 and #9, employees must be free to regulate their own hours and must be advised that they are overtime-exempt. I was a great employee who loved and was loved by my customers. Their mistreatment and unethical behavior is despicable. Best of luck with your complaint!
scam and cheating
Beware Schwan's employees and future risk takers! Schwan's benefits are not what you think they are. After paying for coverage for over 5 years and being told by the company that they pay for half I have just found out that is not true. I have just purchased a 'family' policy for less than what they charged me for an 'employee' policy. And with much better benefits! If I had signed up for a 'family' plan with Schwan's then I would be paying less than half for a 'family' plan as an individual. Seems like Schwan's is making money off their beloved employees.
Also, and the biggest issue of all; Schwan's LTD (long term disability policy is really short term because it only helps you for a total of 12 months. And at that Standard Insurance Company who under writes the policy does everything they can to avoid paying you your benefits. They will lie, cheat and steal to keep from paying you one red cent. Schwan's doesn't tell their new employee this, ever. All they want you to believe is their benefits are the greatest. That's B.S!
God for bid, but if you are ever injured while working, look out. Even if the injury is the companies fault such as faulty equipment, etc. Specialty Risk Services is the Company you get to have ruin your life. And I mean this literally! They are just as crooked as the rest of them. Schwans is not interested in their employees. Schwan's has very few veterans left as compared to new employees. I know, I was a veteran employee.
Good luck to current Schwan's employees but beware. The company will screw you some how, some way and anyway they can. And for the left-over veterans who aren't qualified to work anywhere else I say good luck your turn is next.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I've been at schwans for about 11 years. I have been a csm the hole time. If you have been at schwans for a period of time, and you are not making any money, it is your own fault. I am now over 70 thousand a year. If you don't believe me, look for me in the corporate papers. My name is Lyle Schnowske. Put some effort into what you are doing, and then you will make the money. I think enough has been said. Effort or nothing. For all you complainers, I guess I won't be seeing you at the banquet.
So you are insulting customers? Well that explains why the service has gone down. My parents always would buy through Schwans and I even did before we moved. I tried ordering again and 3 times rescheduled without reasons. Your attitude screams why several customers are complaining. Hope you enjoy your banquet.
I have gout and am now being told, after a year of blood, sweat and tears of building my route that they are eliminating my truck and dividing it up. I am doing better than most all of the other drivers.
They do not want to fire me yet, because they don't want to lose my customers. They lost more than 100 people when they fired the last guy.
awful place to work in
Looking back on the three months I was employed with Schwan's, I realize how it was absolute insane what I did there under poor conditions that the average person would never tolerate. After reading the other postings about Schwan's, and realizing what this company is all about, I am almost ashamed of myself for enduring what I had to do week to week to earn a bare minimum wage paycheck, and call it a job. When I was hired in December of 2008, I was assured that would be no week-end hours.
Week-ends are for family time I was assured. Therein was the first major hidden clause, because what they fail to say is if your numbers are not up to par for the week, or if you are off for any reason whatsoever during the week, you need to come in on Saturday and work to make up for the poor numbers, or missed day. However, there was also a hidden clause that if the manager person of the depot decided that the overall numbers for the week were not up to par for the entire depot, then everyone need to come in on Saturday ! She pulled that on all of us one Wednesday morning, when we were all there getting ready for the day. Because of overall numbers being poor, we were told to come in on Saturday. There were a couple guys who had already made plans for the week-end, and as a result they were quite upset.
IN conclusion, Schwan's seems to have a problem keeping potentially good employees and the reason is quite clear. The $32000 starting salary sounds decent at the onset, but when you sit down and realize the hours you are required to put in Monday thru Friday, the numbers work out to be about $12.00 an hour ! I think a greeter at WalMart does better than that, and at least your not busting your ### in and out of a truck 10 or 12 hours a day.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Schwans Treats there Employee's like they are nothing, And works them Like Dogs
My husband was working 92 hours a week, and barely cleared 1000.00 every two weeks
When he found a new Job a Better Job, and we are talking about someone who did 10 years in Infantry
They sent him a nasty Letter talking about honest. Personally it is none of there Business if and when we get a new job, If he has an interview it was none of there Business,
If you dont agree with them, they will then Treat you like crap.
This company is Full of Immature Bosses, and The CEO should do something
because you do not send your Old employee's nasty Letters, because they found something better
This company has been around 20 years and they go threw Drivers like Panties.
Maybe the management should be looked at and the way they treat there "so-Called" employees
The Army Treated my Husband really good, just sad we retired out due to injury and went to a [censor] Place like this to work ...We got smart one day and quit to return to School on a GI bill
It is not $38, 000 to start out with. They tell you you will get that, but you have to make a certain amount of money for them in order to get that $38, 000 a year. I just asked my husband about this last night and he has worked there going on 14 years.
Schwans is a HORRIBLE place to work!
I currently work a 8 day route system for Schwans which is four days a week, Monday through Thursday, granted I do work 12-13 hours daily I make over $50, 000.00 a year, which by my calculations does not add up to $12.00 a hour. In my experience the ones who complain were not very good at it, and by the way the starting salary is $38, 00.00 a year.
deceptive hiring practices
To those of you considering a career with Schwan's, DON'T DO IT! This a copy of a letter I recently sent, and I can assure you it is all TRUE.
Alfred Schwan, Chairman of the Board
The Schwan Food Company
115 West College Dr.
Marshall, MN 56258
Dear Mr. Schwan,
I am writing in regard to your employment and employee practices in depots in Harmony, PA, and Titusville, PA. In June of this year, I began speaking with, LGM for the Harmony depot regarding employment. I was told of the potential to make 50-60, 000 first year even though the position was commission based. I told him I was interested, however, I would not be able to start until the school year began. He stated that this was no problem, that he would be hiring all summer long.
In late August we began speaking again, and started the necessary steps to come on board (drug test, physical, background check). On or about September 22nd, I was offered the position and told my start date would be October 2nd, and to report to the depot in Obetz, Ohio, to begin New Employee Orientation. I promptly put in notice with my employer that September 29th would be my last day. I arrived the evening of October 1st and checked into The Sleep Inn.
I began the NEO training the next day, and at one point the class was told that during your mentor training it was a requirement that you sign up 140 new customers in the six week period. This was the first time I had heard of such a thing. A classmate asked what would happen if that goal was not achieved. The instructor stated that you would be let go, but not to worry, everyone gets there. I was somewhat concerned, but I had no choice but to stick with it because I had left my previous employer.
After dismissal for the day, I went back to the motel to change clothes and head out for a bite to eat. I returned at approximately 8pm, and found that my key would not work. I went to the front desk to inquire, and the clerk told me I had to check out immediately, that Schwan's was not going to pay for me to stay there. When I asked why, he said he did not know. He reactivated my card so I could get my things, and having no place to go, I spent the night. At eight the next morning, the clerk is calling the room and once again stated that I needed to check out immediately. I did so, and reported to class.
I reported the previous evening's incident to the instructor, who told me to get with the receptionist for alternate accommodations. She told me she would try to secure a room for me at the Comfort Inn and it would be with a roommate. I told her this was unacceptable, that I did not wish to share a room with a total stranger.
That's the way Schwan's does things, I was told. I stated that this was still unacceptable, and she said she would see what she could do. I checked in, discovered I had a roommate, turned in my key and made accommodations of my own. I finished the NEO the next day and drove back to Pittsburgh.
I drove to the depot in Harmony the next day October 5th, was given a couple of uniforms and told to come back Monday October 9th to pick up directions and a schedule. I did so and drove to Titusville to begin mentor training. I reported to the LGM. He gave me a quick rundown and told me to drive into Townville, where I would meet the driver; he stated that this would not be my mentor, this was just for the day, and that my mentor would be X.
I began riding with X that week. One day we pulled into one of his stops, which he referred to as “### ville", stating that the place was full of ###s, and he had even wrote it in the route book that way. It was part of the Gertrude Barber Center for handicapped individuals, which my brother attended as a child. I informed X of this, and his response was “Aren't I mean?"
The next day I informed LGM of his comments and I requested to be changed to another mentor. He stated that he would take care of it and address the issue with X. I remained with X.The next week, LGM asked how things were progressing. I told him not well. I was getting no time behind the wheel of the truck, because X, in his own words, liked to be in control. Also, I was not receiving any training on the HHC. I once again requested a change of mentor to LGM. I remained with X.
Meanwhile, new customers are not being signed up, there isn't any route building being done, and I'm getting nowhere near my goal. LGM has not spent any time training me, yet my concerns fall on deaf ears. In the middle of the fifth week, X, district manager, is at the depot and tells me I am not on track, and if I don't get there that he is going to “cut me loose". He states that if I get to 110 new customers by the end of the sixth week, that they would bring me back for a seventh to get the additional 30. LGM, states that it is partially his fault because he has had no time to spend with me. I once again bring up that I am not being trained properly.
Keep knocking on doors I'm told.
In the last week, I'm still riding with X. During that week, I witnessed illegal drug use and possession in the form of marijuana by X. It was also offered to me in the form of a cigarette to take back to my hotel room. I declined.
By the end of the sixth week, Friday, November 10th, I had reached 107 new customers, 3 short of the 110. LGM had told me that morning to report back on Tuesday November 14th, because he would be off on Monday. I drove the 2 hours Tuesday morning and was promptly fired by LGM, and now had to drive the 2 hours back. The following morning, Wednesday, I drove to the Harmony depot to turn in my uniforms. I spoke to LGM and voiced my concerns over the drug activity. Where it went from there I don't know. I also called the compliance and ethics hotline.
Mr. Schwan, I know these are serious accusations and I sound like a disgruntled employee, and in a way I am. I left my job of three and a half years to come on board with you, and I cannot go back. Now the holidays are right around the corner and with 2 children to support, I haven't got a job. If certain things had been disclosed upfront, I may have had second thoughts and now would not be in this position. I hope that you take this letter seriously. Should you have any questions you may contact me directly.
CC: M. Lenny Pippin, Chief Executive Officer
Bernadette Kruk, VP of Human Resources
John Beadle, Chief Operating Officer
Jim
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
My husband recently interviewed with them and is waiting to hear back. He lost his 10+ year job with Pepsi slmo7a year ago and folks I can tell you pepsi is a HORRIBLE company to work for. Their HR people have no integrity and allow Supervisors to text the sales team 24/7 when they already work 3 or 4 am to 5, 6 or 7 pm. Then they never back them if a store such as walmart harassed the sales or merchandising staff. All the way up to CEO'S office they could care less. My husband was treated so badly and worked so hard for them. So now I'm concerned about this job. Although I have to say they seem not to care at Schwan's about keeping their word even at this point. On 2 occasions they said the recruiter would call after he spent 12 hours of his own time on a ride along, and a week or two later they finally call after he followed up. That says alot and concerns me. I don't want him to work for another employer like pepsi..
I work for Schwans and I work 4 days a week. I built my routes from the routes they gave me. Im doing pretty good its a job you have to give yourself too or you will not suceed.
I am a wife of an employee driver. He's worked there for over 8 years. We have no life, as they require 70 hours+ . I have practically raised our daughter alone. Any work at home is done by me because when he gets home after midnight the majority of the time, with no energy most of the time not even energy to eat. They go up and down up and down with his pay changing the pay structure seems like weekly.
Worst of all no family life (this has affected his family unbelievably) so worse of all they pay next to nothing. We have lost our home at once our vehicle because we can never depend on his pay. They basically treat them like puppets, garbage, crap, whatever you want to call it.
As A Wife Of A driver I have suffered unbelievably. Even health problems aquired by stress and depression. Too much to even explain. All this while the executive staff in MN are probably sitting in there Mercedes Benz. I feel like we should be compensated for all the heart ache.
He is not just a ordinary worker he has put his ALL into his job
Just to again and again go through disapointment ..
Kim
Thanks for posting this, I got an email to interview for the Sales position. After reading all of complaints from former employees this does not appear to be a good company to work for. I will continue to work at my job that I am at, will not want to quit and fall a victim working for these people.
Yup, schwans is hard work...oh wait you don't know what that is? The only people who do poorly at schwans are lazy ###s.
I too used to work at Schwans, only as a refrigeration technician at their Florence, KY plant. That is where they make Freschetta, Red Baron, and Tony's pizzas as well as some for the Schwans name. I personally witnessed an ice machine (used to cool the dough as it is being processed so the yeast doesn't rise prematurely) that had eaten a hole in itself. My supervisor made a comment about "Good thing it's edible fiberglass". Unfortunately, no such thing exists! When I turned in my two-weeks notice, they promptly fired me. I called the HR manager the next day and found that I wasn't "fired". I was merely "let go" because they chose not to honor my notice. I had no idea there was a difference between the two! I will never work for this company again, nor will I eat any of their products. They obviously could care less about the customers they serve, but would instead rather "get the numbers out".
I am a Schwans driver. I can tell you first hand that this is the absolute worst company I have ever worked with and, along with 70% of all Schwans employees, I am seeking other employment. I would encourage any and every customer to boycott this company immediately.
Crooked Schwan's Fraud Company. Overpriced food, over worked drivers, don't waste your money supporting this scam.
hey people don't believe the schwans ### about their so great. they treat all route managers like ### we are company ###s so the brass gets their bonus off our sweat.
sounds like a ### lgm.
terrible experience
Beware Schwan's employees and future risk takers! Schwan's benefits are not what you think they are. After paying for coverage for over 5 years and being told by the company that they pay for half I have just found out that is not true. I have just purchased a 'family' policy for less than what they charged me for an 'employee' policy. And with much better benefits! If I had signed up for a 'family' plan with Schwan's then I would be paying less than half for a 'family' plan as an individual. Seems like Schwan's is making money off their beloved employees.
Also, and the biggest issue of all; Schwan's LTD (long term disability policy is really short term because it only helps you for a total of 12 months. And at that Standard Insurance Company who under writes the policy does everything they can to avoid paying you your benefits. They will lie, cheat and steal to keep from paying you one red cent. Schwan's doesn't tell their new employee this, ever. All they want you to believe is their benefits are the greatest. That's B.S!
God for bid, but if you are ever injured while working, look out. Even if the injury is the companies fault such as faulty equipment, etc. Specialty Risk Services is the Company you get to have ruin your life. And I mean this literally! They are just as crooked as the rest of them. Schwans is not interested in their employees. Schwan's has very few veterans left as compared to new employees. I know, I was a veteran employee.
Good luck to current Schwan's employees but beware. The company will screw you some how, some way and anyway they can. And for the left-over veterans who aren't qualified to work anywhere else I say good luck your turn is next.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
For example, i ordered a bag of teriyaki "chicken wings"
I knew from the first bite that it didn't taste good at all.
It only has trace amounts of chicken and the rest of soy and wheat fillers and toxic additives like carmel additives.
I paid 14.00 for junk. I will never order from this company again.
Consumers beware. This is over-prices garbage
Same thing happened to me. I injured myself and was in the process of going on short term disability and was terminated. I was a manager and had worked for Schwan's for over 12 years. Schwan's is good at the old scare tactics and threatening its workers. We are in tough times and Schwan's is not a neccessity, most people are trying to save money and upper management does not want to hear this. They want you to push items onto your customers or you will be terminated. After working 65 hours plus a week, if the CSM's didn't hit their projected number for the week, we were told to threaten them into working on Saturday. Along with them working on Saturday, the local managers had to work on Saturday. It's time Schwan's realizes there needs to be a good balance between work and family. Its time that someone in Marshall wakes up and realizes what district managers are doing is not working. When you go to meetings and your are told to give your manager a list of people you plan on terminating, or as they call it, "a planned turn", that is just wrong. When I started with the company I would have fought for them and what they where about, but since Marvin passed away it, it has went down hill with the crap- managers they have running some of these districts. Wake-up Scott McNair!
So true! My husband is a 14 year old veteran and yep, Schwans will suck you dry and spit you out. My husband works in warehouse and they are treated EVEN WORSE!
Overview of Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) complaint handling
-
Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) Contacts
-
Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) phone numbers+1 (888) 724-9267+1 (888) 724-9267Click up if you have successfully reached Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) by calling +1 (888) 724-9267 phone number 15 15 users reported that they have successfully reached Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) by calling +1 (888) 724-9267 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) by calling +1 (888) 724-9267 phone number 36 36 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) by calling +1 (888) 724-9267 phone numberCustomer Service
-
Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) emailsquestions@schwans.com100%Confidence score: 100%Support
-
Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) address115 West College Drive, Marshall, Minnesota, 56258, United States
-
Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) social media
-
Checked and verified by Laura This contact information is personally checked and verified by the ComplaintsBoard representative. Learn moreJun 30, 2025 - View all Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) contacts
![I Want One Of Those [IWOOT]](/images/business/48-48/127518/i-want-one-of-those-iwoot.jpg){kind=small}
Most discussed Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) complaints
enslave employeeRecent comments about Yelloh (formerly Schwan's Home Service) company
enslave employee
MyDeal AU
10 reviews
Top Online Bargains
1 review
Shopbop
27 reviews
Moniker Privacy Services
1 review
Life Healthcare LLC
1 review
Our Commitment
We make sure all complaints and reviews are from real people sharing genuine experiences.
We offer easy tools for businesses and reviewers to solve issues together. Learn how it works.
We support and promote the right for reviewers to express their opinions and ideas freely without censorship or restrictions, as long as it's respectful and within our Terms and Conditions, of course ;)
Our rating system is open and honest, ensuring unbiased evaluations for all businesses on the platform. Learn more.
Personal details of reviewers are strictly confidential and hidden from everyone.
Our website is designed to be user-friendly, accessible, and absolutely free for everyone to use.
As a former Schwan's Man and Sales Manager I have some experience when I speak about the job a Schwan's Man does. I worked for Schwan's for 8 years, starting as a builder, then Route Salesman and lastly a Salesmanager. The life of a Schwan's Man is not easy but it does pay well, if you work hard and pursue success as if it was your own business. It has been a while since I was employed by Schwan's but when I did, I earned in the mid 50's to low 60's in the 1990's. Yes, I worked long hours easily 70-80 hours a week. I definitely concede who your Salesmanager is has a direct effect on the money you can earn. I worked for three, and two helped me and one did not. Since leaving Schwan's I have earned a BS and Masters in education. I am in my 7th year as a teacher and just topped 50K last year, which includes coaching two sports and many extra pay positions. Schwan's Home Delivery service is a unique business and requires dedication from it's employees to earn a good living. In my opinion, Scwhan's offers excellent products. Products a person can stand behind. I had no problem selling their products and would do so again if my career as an educator played out due to budget cuts. I have heard some people have a problem with Schwan's delivery charge and I can understand their complaint. However, I think many of the complaints would not have been if their route salesman would have been forthright in making their customers aware of the change in policy. I wish all those Schwan's Men and Women the best out there and hope the current leadership at Schwan's figures out a way to meet the needs of their customers and their front line employee the Schwan's Man and Women.
I agree totally if you have a family this job isn't for you.not that I have kids or anything but they have my fiance bouncing depot to Depot due to lack of salesman. We usually have to drive to a different town every two weeks and stay in hotels that Schwans provides for us.he goes in at 9 in the morning an has not gotten home at one time till 1 am in the morning due to all the stops he has to make.I'm not a happy gal right now but where we live jobs are scarce. If your a Schwans wife be prepared. Plus the little time you do have he will be wore out to spend time with you
Ive read the previous postings. First of all, sometimes a depot DOES have a sales pro that exceeds and does well, as Numbersgamer mentioned. This is the exception though. You would have to have a good route with potential to build, as well as be willing to work extremely long hours, route-build, and be allright with knocking on people's doors as late as 9 or 10 pm. Then you have to wait at least a year just to start earning decent to good commissions. Not to mention all the food you would have to buy just to be qualified on their hundreds of offerrings.
Keep in mind that even though Schwan's has good food, it is high priced. No matter what Positive Reinforcement says above, we are still in a down economy and most people have to drive to the grocery store at least for milk, eggs, and beverages. Why not pay less for what they want at the store, and not have to wait for a "time window" you are slotted. Most of the times as a sales trainee, we didn't make it to the customer during their slotted time window. And one of my training days was spent with people constantly telling us they couldn't afford to order, or just couldn't wait for the 2 week cycle to come around to order.
Remember that when Schwan's started in 1952, the American landscape and family was very different. We are living in society where both mother and father work, kids have extra-curricular activites and weekend soccer games. It is harder today to catch customers at home, even with specified time windows, and especially with 60-100 customers per day. On top of that, we have a more fast-paced, mobile society where it's easy to get around, Wal-Mart and super markets are within a reasonable drive, and Sam's Club and Costco offer incredible prices!
Schwan's has a 70% employee turnover ratio. One of the reasons I quit after 2 weeks training was that I was able to review the last year's sales numbers by route, posted by the bathroom in the depot. Each open route in the depot I had a possibility of being placed on was weak. The routes were running $500-600 daily, well below the $900 mark to even start making commissions. I figured with my sales experience, my hard work, and my love to meet new people, I could greatly improve on the route. But even if I doubled the production of the best open route, I would still be making a little over $40K a year for my 80 hours a week. And that $40K feels like 40 cents when you take into account the loss of family time, loss of personal life, increased stress, and always being miserable.
All of what Gussy82 says above is true! Even the false info I was fed to get me hired. And I was also told I was NEVER required to work Saturdays. But the first week of training, a message was posted in the depot that it was MANDATORY for EVERYONE to work the next Saturday (also St. Patrick's Day when everyone is out) as an extra route day. The employees were also treated poorly. My first few days on the job were spent listening to the sales and facilities managers degrade all the employees over my training videos. Besides that, the depot manager had to sleep either in his office or on a fellow employee's couch because the company wouldn't let him keep charging a hotel room, after they moved him from another state to that location. They weren't even allowed to order uniforms for several months, leaving me to dig through old worn and dirty uniforms of ex-employees to equip myself for the job. I had to wear pants that were 2 sizes too big, and a jacket that was 3 times too big.
Users like The Motivated Schwans Man speaking of the money invested in our training and telling people to grow up, and Positive Reinforcement calling everyone failures must be Schwans management or execs. It's the same kind of BS I experienced there. When the people that mean the most to you tell you they miss you and haven't seen you in weeks, who cares about what the company invested in training? After all, it's a system that works for the company, not a career for the hard working or smart individual. If you still aren't sure who is on the level here, make sure to read the post from above by SchwanmanWife2 and tell me you would change places with them.
I have been workig for Schwans for 4 years, 2 of the 4 were spent in the warehouse.. once i turned 21 i jumped on routes.. The first year was hard, i wrked 12 hrs a day 5 SOMETIMES 6 days a week, finally got established... Was on those route days for 2 yeats then the depot optimization came in and cut my route apart.. it hurt havibg to start over from scratch, but i did... Its been 6 months since then ive since went to 4 day wrk week, i love it i wrk wed-sat 12 hrs a day and am on track to make 46k this year... Schwans has there issues yes, when u start out the hours suck, the pay sucks, the overall responsibilities you get sucks... But bc of schwans i have made so many great accomplishments... Ive never chairman clubed been close 2 years in a row... If ur not a sales driven person, with the ability to set and accomplish goals... Then why would you come to wrk for a sales company... Schwans cant build ur routes for you... My route was averaging 500$ per day... Ive since grown one of the said to be hardest routes to run up to a 1500$ dollar avg... Thats 1000$ a week wrkin 4 days... So i have to say dont hate the company just because it wasnt for u... Grow up and move on believe me schwans did... Afterall they invested time and money into ur training and it didnt last..
They did not want to pay38, 000 what makes you think they are happy paying you 50 or 60 grand? doing the same job? you are not thinking so you will be back on 11 percent comission.
I understand the complaints completely. As a new job for someone with a family this is probably the wrong career path to choose. If your personality is not a go-getter type then you will fail so do not waste your time. If you don't have a 4 year degree, are single, and have the drive to earn a nice income then you have no reason not to try it. Most drivers are classified as CSMT's when they come in, do not have a route and have to "wait their turn" to get on an open route. I have been there 4 years and seen probably 35 or 40 people come and go, but their talent level and what it takes to do the job were not a match. It is long hours but there are ways to make it work. I have been there 4 years and was one of the lucky ones to fall in to a flex system working 8 hours a day when I first started. My first year I made $4100 in a little over 8 months. Second year $58, 000, third year $63, 000 and this year on pace to hit even higher with the new compensation plan in place. The job now rewards those of us that run a high daily number instead of everybody. It's truly a pay for performing type of compensation. I love it. I love my job and I love all the people I see every 2 weeks. I have made some great friends, some great contacts and great resources should I ever decide to leave the company for other endeavors. If you want a desk job a desk job this is not. You need to be in relatively good physical condition and you have to have a strong desire to succeed and sell. You have to make friends easily and have a bubbly fun type of personality. Economy is not an excuse, people always eat and they will pay more for good food. If you or someone you know failed at this job then they need to take a look in the mirror, chances are this wasn't the first or last time they failed. You can make $60k plus on this job within 2 or 3 years with effort or you can go flip burgers at McDonalds for $7.50 and hour. Don't be haters.
My husband has worked for Schwans for years... we now are in our 30s and have 2 children. One 2 and one 2 months... my husband THE SCHWAN MAN leaves our house just before 9am and gets home 11pm or after. If he gets home earlier, I am shocked... He makes around $60K a year... he has always been in the chairman's club... I used to be so proud of his efforts and the fact that he was in the top 4% of the region... but now it is a HARD HARD life now that we have 2 kids. I never see him, and I am ALWAYS mad at him. I am basically a SINGLE mom. Of course on the weekends he is home, but that is when we have to catch up on EVERYTHING... and he usually is exhausted. He usually works Monday - Thursday, but lately he has been taking on fundraisers... on the weekends... which takes him away for about 70 hours per week. It has been EXTREMELY hard on our marriage... and as the kids get older and into sports it will be more and more challenging. The loves it because the people LOVE him... and he gets a satisfaction from being on top... but SOMEDAY he will realize what he missed...
If your looking for a "job", steer clear. If you have been 1099 and have independent sales experience or previous business development/ownership and understand what it means to build a client book through the numbers game of prospecting, this is a no brainer. My first year was 70-80 hour weeks - $54k. My second year - $67k. This year I'm working four days per week (m-th) 48-50 hours and on pace for $80k+ with the new comp plan. Word to the business minded who may be considering, Schwan's is filled with employee minds like the one above. This is a money maker for producers focused on the numbers game involved with prospecting. Now that my route is 90+ stops per day with referrals coming in, I'm on my way to six figures within 24 months. I arrive at the depot each morning at 9am (Monday's 8am for meeting) and I get back to the depot at 9:45pm - 10pm. I move quickly through each day and from 5pm - 9pm this means that I'm usually running. By the way, I've lost 37 pounds since starting the "job". It hasn't been easy but I have worked much harder in the past with much riskier results. Schwan's knows that if I leave this route, odds are, business will be lost because of the low grade human resources pool at their disposal. So, it's nice to be appreciated although I spend 95% of my working time solo on route. Also, I made $1400 in Holiday tips this past season which was as nice as it was unexpected. It's a business and the only one's succeeded treat their route as a business. Thanks to all the failures for forcing the company to change the complain recently, I got a very nice raise.
Your complaint is so perfectly written, exactly what I went through with my short employment of 47 working days, 60 calendar days. Although I was fortunate to just get my health insurance and use it quickly before it expired I did still pay my share for using it. I was a women driver and yes the same applies to a women driver. I put in my notice to terminate my employment 3 or 4 weeks in advance and they terminated me shortly after submitting my termination, then told me all my mistakes and I was no longer needed to finish my original time to terminate employment. I won a lousey 2 weeks unemployment from the two weeks they terminated my employment early but I won't believe it until I actually see the money in my account. You are 100% right on what you have written. I was working until 11 PM to midnight most nights. There was no 7:30 PM, maybe somewhere during training in the first two weeks. They are very deceptive and do lie to get out of paying unemployment for lying in the first place. I left a good job with the US Census and gave up unemployment that I was already guarenteed to get for 6 months. I think it is very sad how they rob driver's of their lives. If you figure 70 hours a week you are only making 7-9/hr. More driver's should submitt complaints directly to the company and BBB so they stop the mistreatment of their driver's. You know someone is getting rich when they bring in $60, 000 or more a week at a depot. The driver's aren't getting rich and they are losing their lives and health at the same time to earn a false salary. I give Schwan's a grade "F"
I completely agree with everything you have said, my husband has worked there for almost 2 years and he is always gone, they do not care about your family to them Schwans is your top priority. My daughter gets really sick easily and when he has had to call in they make him come in later after we are done at the ER or he has to come in on saturdays. I feel bad like you said so we still buy but I really hope this economy changes so my husband can change jobs.