customer service representative

direct sales representative

online manager

contract administrator

caregiver

Summitt Energy

Summitt Energy is without a doubt the absolute worst place I have ever worked. Summitt is an energy re-seller, which means they buy gas and electricity from the utility companies at a bulk discount rate, then offer it to their customers at a fixed rate. They also offer some other services which I will provide more details on a little further along.

What makes this company terrible to work at? A number of things, but I'll delve into some of the more pressing issues. First of all, the company has a terrible business model. You must hear from time to time about people getting scammed at the door by sales reps who fraudulently misrepresent themselves as utility workers, and sweet talk their way into getting unsuspecting homeowners to sign water heater rental and fixed rate energy contracts. Not only are these sales tactics morally and ethically wrong, the sales reps are instructed to do this by head office. The contracts have outrageous cancellation fees, and working there day in day out hearing about case after case of poor seniors, immigrants, and housewives being swindled out of their hard earned money was truly heartbreaking. 

My job there was taking re-affirmation calls. This means that when a sales agent has "secured" a sale, they will call in to the call center to have us go through a script of questions to affirm that the customer is fully aware of what they're signing up for and what the stipulations of the contract are. This way is a dispute ever arises, the company can produce a sound file of the recorded call and stand behind the fact that the customer agreed to everything. Problem is, most of the so called customers were either immigrants or elderly people who didn't understand what was happening and were instructed by the rep to just answer yes to our questions. 

Now lets talk about the job itself. The call center was located in a professional office building in Mississauga (I even bumped into Robert Herjavec from Dragon's Den in the elevator once). The dress code was semi-professional and the work environment a pretty typical call center setting with rows of cubicles. The people there (with a few exceptions) were fairly nice and decent to get along with. By the end the group of people i directly worked with our department were practically family. The job paid $14/hr with absolutely no benefits. 

What I didn't really like about this place was the culture of fear they cultivate. They constantly have you worried about losing your job so as to scare you into doing your job correctly. They unnecessarily scrutinize little details to find fault so they can berate you. Summitt masquerades as a professional place to do business but really its a laughably unprofessional and amateur operation. They have multiple departments run by unqualified people simply because they happened to be there when the company was small and stuck around until it got larger. For example HR and Payroll is one lady, who has no real background in this field or any post secondary education. Same with management, and this lack of professional courtesy and corporate etiquette became blatantly obvious. Imagine a corporate office run by high school students that are grown adults and you'll get the idea of what its like. 

I could spend an eternity blasting this company but at the end it wouldn't do any good. All I can do is hope that someone will read this, and not apply to this company. I know you are unemployed, I know you need money. Trust me I've been there. EI running out, rent to pay, but trust me its not worth selling your soul. 2 weeks in and you'll be regretting the worst decision you've ever made. There is so much better out there. Don't apply to Summitt Energy, the worst company ever.

the day starts at the office at 11am for a team meeting to set goals review yesterday's results, prep talk from the boss, and sometimes news articles on energy costs/forecasts will be passed around,
fill up your binder with contracts with terms and conditions, disclosure statements, price comparison forms, receive a map of your territory for the day. go over tactics, strategy, objection handling, etc.. have lunch and depart for your territory. Once you've been dropped in your territory start knocking until 9pm.

 management is dedicated to helping you develop interpersonal skills, as the job requires you to solicit business door to door.

The pitch is broken down into a few steps

Introduction: name, company, reason for being here
Get the Bill
Explain/Expand: where they are, where they're heading, where there going to be
Ask for signatures: go over disclosure and price comparison
Close: 
Hand a filled out business card, copy of contract with terms and conditions, disclosure, price comparison, once signed.
call HQ to input order request, 

Though a lot of people throw this business structure in the scammers category, it most certainly helps develop sales experience for any position. salary is strictly commission based, traveling is a lot of fun, however, it comes out of your own pockets. 

Payout:
Hydro= 75$
Gas= 90$
Carbon offset= 40$
HVAC rentals: 125-200$

incentive program:
you have the potential to receive a paid weeks vacation 
Eg; Bahamas, Amsterdam, Egypt, Spain etc,

each product procures a certain amount of points 
eg: hydro =110pts
HVAC= 200-300pts
to qualify for the excursion, you must accumulate 100'000 pts

The absolutely most horrible place to work. The upper management promises that you will obtain lots of money, and that promise dragged on for months. It was just lie after lie and every employee that works there should STOP WORKING THERE NOW because the upper management don't care about the employees, they only care about themselves, while screwing over the employees. Never ever recommend this place to anyone and please don't for a second think about applying for the job. Most likely, they will hire you, but you will be wasting your time. 

A typical work day would be that I enter into the call center, and cold call for a couple hours, asking to speak to the person in charge of utilities. After that, I book the appointment for my outside rep to speak with them, and they close. Once they close, I get a pay check. However, I NEVER got paid and if the outside rep fails at his job, you still dont get paid even if you successfully booked the appointment. I learned from this company not to trust anyone's words and let action speak for them, no what how convincing they sound, especially sales people. My co-workers were nice, but the upper management needs to pay attention to the needs of the employees. Whoever applies for the job, you will most likely get it. But you will also most likely not make any money. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend finding another job.

Typical day is coming in the evening logging in and making phone calls to the US customers.
I have learned that being honest in this company can get your fired. Because a few of my co-workers are always late for work and slack off by using their phones while working and a couple of people went to report this and a few months later they were fired for trying to report people.
The management is really under skilled.  people are leaving because the place is not being managed properly.
the hardest part of my job is knowing that I am smarter than the management and learning to keep my mouth shut when they are providing a poor and unrealistic way of doing things.
the best part of my job is i get to enjoy the benefits of coming in late and taking longer lunch period.  the evening supervisor leaves before his shift and we don't complain on his therefore he doesn't mind us breaking the rules either.

Minimum salary, no benefits nor sick days nor paid vacation. Not incentives nor rewards, nor good or healthy environment.
Full of gossiping and envying.
Terrible training (two to three days reading manuals is all you get).
Not decent protocols to follow, management is abusive.
You can't talk, drink water, go to the bathroom, or socialize. 
Pressure,  threats and  complains never stop. They ask for more and more with same payment and not benefits. Everyone hates that place and are looking for something else. Plus, everyone hates the services they provide, not employees are users. 
 Dirty office, smelly kitchen, trash cleaned one a week and floors once a month. Eww.
Terrible environment. Lunch space is too small and smelly too. 
Every employee is responsible to clean their spaces.

I have worked at Summitt for over 2 years and so far I am really enjoying it. I started as a Marketing Coordinator and recently got promoted to Marketing Analyst. Management has been very supportive in my growth and even paid for a weekend course for me to develop my skills in Adobe InDesign. Coworkers are great- very helpful and friendly. 

Since the company is growing so fast there are always multiple projects on the go which can get stressful but there are always people willing to help you out.

Almost 3 years working at Summitt.
this was my first job in the energy industry and I am know confident to say that I have learned so much. It is a wonderful company to work for, great workplace culture, and a excellent work/life balance. They are very flexible in accommodating employee needs and can be a great place for advancement. It is a very fast paced, high energy job.
My position offers me lots of opportunity to learn and expand my knowledge professionally while working. It's truly the best company I've had the opportunity to be a part of, and I look forward to many years at Summitt Energy

On a typical day at Summitt Energy I would come in review my spreadsheets and work on the accounts that have yet to be completed. The type of accounts that would come to my desk would be expiring accounts that either need updating or renewal.

Management and employees were very co-operative and engaged and on a scale of 1 - 10 I would definitely give them a 7.5.

Nothing about the job was too difficult but I would say one of the more tedious parts of the position was trying to locate customers who have numbers that were outdated and have moved from there addresses that we had on file.

Working at Summitt was definitely fun because of the other employees and incentives they would sometimes have available.

From day one, I knew Summitt Energy was where I wanted to be. I was very impressed with the people I met during the interview process, and my respect for the Summitt Energy team has increased over time. The opportunity to make a difference each day and contribute to the overall success of the company is deeply rewarding. The people I get to work with are the most enjoyable part of my position. We have a diverse team with a wealth of experience and subject matter experience. My position affords me every opportunity to learn and grow professionally while working. It's truly the best company I've had the opportunity to be a part of, and I look forward to many years at Summitt Energy.

Summitt Energy is an independently owned energy company. You work with the owners so your contribution matters. With only 60 CSR's and 90 other employees, it's a huge company run by a few people. 

Benefits are good for full time salaried employees. Social events include free food truck, potlucks, jays game, boat cruise and Christmas party.

The Directors do a great job leading their teams, however, executive management should provide more direction and transparency into how the company is doing and what the vision is.

It is a very friendly culture overall. The building is beautiful with very nice views.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Customer service representative 3 salaries reported	$41,667 per year
Direct sales representative 2 salaries reported	$1,450 per week
Online manager 1 salary reported	$70,000 per year
Contract administrator 1 salary reported	$70,730 per year
Caregiver 1 salary reported	$950 per week

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