Successful company, not a great place to work in Operations Management - Operations Manager CarMax Employee Review

2.0
20 Jan 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Successful company Great business idea Nice employees Many locations

Cons

As a Salary Exempt employee, there is very little work/life balance. Salary Exempt employees/managers are expected to work 60-70 hours/week. It's mandatory to work a minimum of 11 hour days and normally that ends up being 13 hour days. At least once per month you have to work 6 days/week without getting any other days off the following week. They only observe 3 holidays/year so managers only get 3 holidays off each year. All other holidays are mandatory to work. No accrual policy. It's communicated that it's on an "as needed" basis which means whatever upper management feels you should have. I've been there several years and I'm lucky to get 2 weeks off each year.

Explore other reviews about CarMax

5.0
31 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Everything is great I love how it is ran

Cons

Everything is great the way it is

4.0
13 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The perks of working at CarMax are quite extensive. Associates are offered an aggressive 401k program, Stock Purchasing Plan, in store discounts on sales and service, access to the CarMax Wholesale system, excellent healthcare, plenty of PTO, and at my location we are given as much OT as we want. My coworkers are generally good people, that I enjoy being able to work along side day in and day out. Management is very understanding in regards to calling out sick family emergencies, and schedule requests.

Cons

Despite doing the work of 5 people, and very politely asking for a raise management will not give me more than my 3% annual raise which is the single biggest let down. The bonus change of 2025 being labeled as "exciting" was straight corporate gaslighting unlike anything I've ever seen. Since the start of 2026, as of this review being written we have lost 7 associates largely due to pay, and I am soon to join those associates. Management from the store level up to corporate needs to understand that to retain their top performers they need to be compensated like a top performer. Some members of management are cliquey and moody which is very frustrating to deal with. Quality of Management varies wildly from store to store as well

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All