Pros
- Great colleagues from all over the world. - Monthly parties and quarterly team outings - Nice office, located in a nice area of London - Decent salary, with quarterly bonuses depending on your performance (however, your bonus will depend on your TL, so it's not about the numbers, but his/her very personal opinion of you) - Many benefits (from health insurance to glasses allowance, canteen with ok food) - Free coffee, fresh fruits and drinks. - Opportunity to learn a lot about the travel industry (on your own, but the knowledge is there for the taking) - Globally speaking, the company is great - Some good TLs (the exception to the rule)
Cons
Booking.com is a company that has everything it needs to be a GREAT place to work, but sadly is anything but, at least at the London office (and particularly if you're a customer service agent) The problem stems from management. When I joined the company, I was lucky to have an extremely professional TL (there are very few left in London). This person was organised, hardworking, very supportive of her agents and kept everything professional. The rest of the TLs on that area behaved in a similar way, so I spent 6 months in relative peace, learning everything I could about the job. My TL motivated me and my colleagues to go the extra mile and supported our development within the company. However, my TL was re-assigned to another department, I changed my shift-pattern and that's when things started to go downhill. I realized many TLs were barely qualified to lead. No empathy, no real knowledge of the procedures, not helpful when dealing with HR matters, and many passive-aggressive ways of communicating news or changes. They are basically glorified nannies, who think less of their agents just for being agents. Also, some had an unspoken agreement to cover each other's backs. While agents worked non-stop answering calls (afraid of not hitting the targets, constantly being yelled at by angry customers) many TLs would do the bare minimum. A lot of them befriended or dated their agents outside of the office (something strictly prohibited, since the TLs have way too much power over agent's performance evaluations, bonuses and career progression). There have been several sexual scandals, many linked to favouritism or simply things that should be reported to the authorities. Some shift patterns will affect your physical and mental health (weekends or 10-hour shifts for example). So, if you want a stable job for a couple of months (just first job in London, for example) I'd recommend Booking. Do you want a career and progression? apply somewhere else. They want you to stay on the phone/chat as long as they can.
