Archstone Reviews

Yes, a lot of companies want you to buy into their values and ideas (especially like Apple), but I have never seen anything as extreme as THIS! Serious back-stabbing, lying to get people fired and take their positions, hypocrisy running rampant is all here at Archstone. They THINK they are a leader in property management, when NO ONE has really heard of them. They compare themselves to RITZ CARLTON and want to brand ARCHSTONE as a household name, but you can't do that when the majority of the US hates your company because of how they were treated as residents. I didn't realize how hated this company was until a recruiter told me that she hesitated to even call me back because I worked for Archstone for so long and they are notrious for being backstabbing and fake and that she couldn't sleep at night knowing that she had hired someone who was like that. Everything is left to the discretion of the Community Manager. If your Community Manager is harassing you, it is known company wide that if you call HR you will be fired on the spot. If you are lucky to survive it, you will know that your Community Manager was already called with your concern that you called HR with. They recently sent out "anonymous" surveys (from corporate) that you were supposed to fill out and basically give them your "honest" opinion of how working on site is. It was then sent directly to your Community Manager for them to read -- knowing that it would be easy to pick out who wrote what. They are a standardized company. That means everything you do is already scripted for you and everything that you use must have an Archstone logo on it. They wouldn't even let us hang a calendar in the office until we branded it with Archstone's name like a elementary school project. Living at an Archstone is even worse if you are an employee. Forget about enjoying any of the amenities or even trying to put in service requests because you are an employee and don't have that convenience. At the end of my career there, they then told me that even if I left the company in good standing that I still might not be able to stay in my apartment after credit qualifying for it on my own and going through the application process before being an Archstone employee. They said it was up to an Operations Manager to decide. They take your personality away and make you a robot. "Slenderella" model-looking blond women move up quickly. If you don't look like that then you will be fired. I have watched it happen to way too many. If you are black you will never be a community manager. There's only one in this whole region... (It is sad I'm white and I noticed this) They have an Abercrombie and Fitch approach to hiring/firing-- you are attractive your in, you aren't your not getting in or they are phasing you out. Senior Vice-President's send out emails on places to get discounts on blouses...guess they have nothing better to do. Should you work for this company? You decide.

Archstone has been devastated by its ill-conceived and disastrous partnerships with Lehman Brothers (out of business) and Bank of America (huge Federal government bail out). While other companies are expanding, building and acquiring properties and new buildings, Archstone is trying to sell off properties, which is causing poor morale within the company, especially those at buildings that have been on the market. Management does not want to promise employees will be part of Archstone when the buildings are sold. If you want a future, work for a company that is expanding. If you question the VERY questionable decisions made throughout every level of the company, you will quickly learn how little they want you to stay. Worst of all, Archstone is committed to building a workforce that views itself as retail instead of professional. Those with a brain and a heart need not apply.