CARQUEST Reviews

I have worked at big companies, small companies, top places to work and struggling start ups. I have never seen a culture this broken. It all starts with the CEO, holed up in a fortress of executive suites. That's right, don't think as a manager you could just walk over and have a discussion. In my 2 years here, he has spoken to the corporate team twice and both were very negative. People are an expense here and the majority are old timers, under qualified for their jobs but also underpaid for what they do. Many have few options. Long hours are the norm. Layoffs over the last 5 years have been common with many departments less than half their former size which was admittedly bloated. Money is hard to come by for training, technology, etc. When projects or head count are approved it is almost random, bound up in the emotion of the moment. Spending approval levels are the lowest of my career. Almost all projects require president and CEO approval. Managers have no authority here, but you can guess where the blame goes. The tools to do your job are very antiquated, desktops still run windows XP and average 6-8 years old. The CEO has been quoted many times with lines like "I drive an 8 year old car". Benefits are horrible. Worst of my career. I took a huge pay cut to come here, thinking I could fix my teams struggles. It costs money to fix, maintain and improve. My mistake. It is a tough pill to swallow when profits are at an all time high, morale is at an all time low, and people are just cogs in a machine. Most old timers are hanging on till retirement and senior management is positioning for a sale. Take the money and run. Gen Y and millennials are hard to find here and will find the ultra conservative 1950s business culture as stale and oppressive.

- Management cared about management. - Good ol' boy club. The Bubba is strong in this one. - Compensation and benefits are not good and shrinking every year.