Pros
- Many of your coworkers are extremely nice people and genuinely fun to be around. - For your 1st few months you get to work with people so you're not alone. If you get paired with someone you enjoy, then your day goes by MUCH faster. - Working with your hands is great. If you're not naturally a handy person, this job will turn you into one no matter where your proficiency lies. - All the tool you need are (eventually) provided for you. And if you decide to buy your own tools, you're reimbursed for them <-- this is something many other companies do not do. - Holiday Party: The holiday parties here are normally pretty cool. A free night of drinking with some cool coworkers is good for morale.
Cons
Get ready... - TIME OFF: This company refused to give ANY of us 2 days off in a row. You got one weekend day and then a random day off during the week. Have kids? Doesn't matter. Need 2 days off in a row? They could care less. The most nonsensical policy ever. - TRAINING: takes too long. The company promises they you'll be done with training in 60 days. Meanwhile you're making anywhere from $11-$13/hr during that entire duration. Thats very little money to make while they drag you through the mud for what will end up being close to 3-4 months. - JOB ENVIRONMENT: Its a handyman job. You're working in the FREEZING COLD and extreme heat. Snow in the forecast? Doesnt matter if its negative 13 degrees and 3 ft of snow coming, they are sending you out to work a near full day with ZERO regard to your safety or whether you'll be able to make it home or not. - OFFICE ENVIRONMENT: *Some* of the upper managers (and unfortunately the most important ones) are deceptive, condescending, childish, and just plain unprofessional. They like to give out speeches on how to carry yourself and the business but anyone who's spent even the shortest bit of time at a real company can tell that these guys have never done anything else. - There are snakes everywhere. Yes you'll have many cool coworkers but there are just as many snakes in the grass that will rat you out or belittle you to management whenever they get the chance just to try and move ahead. - Everyone is constantly scared of management and losing their jobs at the drop of a dime. This place is so quick to let you go or fire you for absolutely no reason. I've seen some of the nicest employees here get let go for the smallest mistakes. - PAY: The pay here is low and getting lower every single year. The installers make around $40k-50k/yr with very few possible bonuses (based on a # of factors). The salesman here have the highest potential to make money ranging from as low as $40k to as high as $120k (the latter of which rapidly disappearing). If you talk to some of the OG employees here, they will tell you their paychecks have gone down by as much as 30% over the last decade.