The Pampered Chef Employer Reviews

If you are approached to interview for this company, RUN AWAY! I have worked in IT for over 15 years and have a very strong skill set with an excellent track record. I have never been fired from a job in my life and the treatment I received at Pampered Chef was deplorable! I would love to sit with Warren Buffett and tell him how much money he is wasting – more... on this company. The culture is very woman-focused in a bad way (I’m female). It’s catty and annoying. My manager was uncomfortable with me as I would make suggestions to help improve business processes and make things run more smoothly. She hated me for that. She was also too low skilled to understand that not everyone needs to write down EVERYTHING said in a meeting. She would scribble down everything that was said, even if it was in the requirements document, and expected me to do the same. I spent HOURS writing documentation, creating business use cases, and working with the team who needed the application – I knew what was in the requirements! I would work late, stay late to be more convenient for the senior management, work until 10:30pm, and come in early at times. I was polite, worked well with my team, and VERY dedicated. I made EVERY deadline. I was fired because I “didn't take enough notes” (despite knowing exactly what was being requested)!! REALLY! I was given this pathetic excuse IN WRITING!

I’d describe the Pampered Chef experience as chaotic, disorganized, and downright hostile. Sometimes, chaos is good if there is an overall strategy and the company is focused on resolving issues - not the case here. This company needs better leadership at the CIO level and senior management needs to communicate with each other. At the time I was there, they had three huge projects going at once and no one from the project teams talked to each other. Their PMO is practically non-existent. I was hired to be a Project Manager but my official paperwork called me a Business Analyst. I am a PMP and they do not follow PMBOK at all! I was also told that they are an Agile shop. This is not true. Labeling a status meeting as a scrum meeting is not Agile.

The senior management, despite saying that they want to get things done, will accept your meeting invites and then not show up to the meeting! This happened to me 3 times in one day! They will change their requirements on you (sometimes late at night!!) and not tell you for days. And like I said, they don’t show up for meetings, respond to phone calls, or answer emails so it’s hard to know when changes are made. You have to hunt them down if you want anything. This was a daily occurrence. I took my laptop into the hallway sometimes just to catch them!! If they worked in another company, they’d be fired on the spot.

Their Oracle database is a mess and they can’t integrate old data to the website. (The Lifetime warranty is worthless if you don’t have your order number btw. And, if you bought your product off of eBay, they will not live up to their warranty.) The beta website and new portal for consultants was supposed to be rolled out at the beginning of 2012 and it still is in beta. I remember the night it “went live.” The management team worked overnight for several days. It was ridiculous! How do you rollout a site when you KNOW it isn't ready? Dare to point this fact out and you lose your job.

Besides having no strategic leadership, the other root cause of their IT issues is that the company bends over backward to keep their sales consultants, and that includes breaking rules that make writing code and designing a database impossible. One thing that really annoyed me is that they always seemed to want us to purchase their products. It’s one thing to give us a discount but quite another to be pushy about it. If you didn't buy the products, you were looked down upon. I was asked why I didn't want to have a home party or become a consultant!

Also, your employment is conditional for 3 months. During the time I was there, I saw 5 people quit. I have also noticed that the same jobs keep appearing over and over again. You can’t invest in the retirement plan until you've been there for about 6 months. I remember the medical insurance starting fairly quickly. – less

About every other month, this company is advertising for the same jobs....high turnover rate, which is an excellent indicator of bad management. Do not read into the 5-star reviews because those are writtten by paid managers at the company so the company does not look as bad as it really it is.

Bottom line: stay away from this company unless you only – more... want a job for about a month. – less

This is a poorly run company. The leadership team does not understand basic strategy as noted by the lack of a multi-year strategic plan and a 7 year declining revenue trend. Berkshire Hathaway will never admit they purchased a lemon, so they will continue to bury the declining company performance deep in their annual reports. Many will read the glowing – more... reviews from the independent consultants who say they love the company, because they really just love the pyramid style sales structure. The product prices are inflated and the products are lack-luster when compared to competitive items from World Kitchen (OXO, Pyrex, Etc.) This company won’t be around in 15 years. – less

This is an excellent job for many types of people. You can go as far into the company as you want but you have to put in the work to get there. If you do not want to climb to the top but just want to network and make a little extra on the side you can do that too.

I love working with a company that allows me to work on my schedule and not have deadlines to meet.

I work for myself selling The Pampered Chef products. I get out of it what I put into it. I have strong work ethics and not afraid to jump in with both feet to get done whatever is needed. The other consultants that I work with are always full of energy and very enjoyable to be around. I have learned that no matter what the price is, if the product – more... is well made, it can be sold. My typical workday consists of my calling potential hosts and making follow-up calls to customers. The hardest part of my job - there is not really one, the most enjoyable is working with people who truly love being in the kitchen and enjoy eating. – less

This was a part time job. I loved that i could grow my business at my own speed.

The Pampered Chef is a Y.O.B. instead of a JOB. Your own business instead of a job. You work when you want, not when someone tells you you have to.

The Company offers all expense paid vacations for you and your family and it's also offers a car allowance once you are an Executive Director. You can also pay for health insurance using the funds you earn.

Pampered – more... Chef is a wonderful company to work for, and it's always a Party! – less

I learned how to learn what the customer is looking for in the products. The team trainings are a way to hone the skills necessaary to do so. The hardest part is trying to convince people to have a party but once they do, it isn't hard to convince them to buy the product.

Though they hire very talented individuals, there is no freedom to exercise talent and expertise. Turnover rate is very high. Expectations to put family life on hold extends to regular late nights and weekends.

At a typical day of work I show up about two to three hours early to set up for the party I am consulting for my host so I have time to layout everything and go over the basics of the party with the Host. I learned how to become more outgoing and more independent. I am able to manage myself and my own business. The hardest part of the job is getting – more... people to buy the product. The most enjoyable part of the job is meeting the different people and hearing their stories whether it's about the products or about their personal lives. I really enjoy being around people. – less

Love the products, fellow independent consultants, and the incentives!

Great Company! Independent Contractor...responsible for sales, training and recruiting of sales force.

work from home
work around your family
incentives
earn trips
earn free products