great if you have a brown nose - Customer Service Representative Penn Foster Group Employee Review

1.0
25 Nov 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

ample amount of time off, including extra days around holidays, free coffee and tea if you drink it.

Cons

most extreme micro management, play favorites, more concerned with production than actually caring for students, demand unreasonable call times, they contract work out of the country which is un-american, they dont hire enough teachers, if students knew the small amount of actual teachers there are, they would never pick this school. they ask employees to tell them your disabilities without hr knowing which is against the law. they force you to ask people to pay their tuition in full on every call, even to students with financial issues, which is inhumane and against a persons personal morals. no refrigerators in break room to even store your lunch because their cleaning staff scoff at maintaining it. stingy with office parties, they dont like to provide food, instead make everything potluck! during customer service appreciation week, we had to bring our own food to celebrate which was absurd. certain staff like to find every mistake people make by listening to every call instead of listening to random calls which is industryy standard. i worked with someone who now holds a high position at another business where they gave me they task of reviewing every single call this person took and was asked to find things wrong with them so they could be let go. i used honor and integrity and found the person did a good job and found no problems and reported this back and the manager was dismayed because they wanted to fire them and they wanted to fire them because the person had a disability, he spoke slow and seemed a little odd, however he was very thorough, kind and dependable, he did not deserve to be targeted by this. it gave me a glimpse of what management was really like behind the scenes and penn foster is a place i warn others to pass over. you will never be treated fairly. you can choose to believe or disbelieve but i know what i have experienced and i take the risk of sharing behind closed doors knowledge because i wish i knew what i knew now before i ever worked there and gave my heart and soul in dedication to them because i cared about making a difference for students. also other employees are backstabbers so be careful in voicing your concerns, keep your worries to yourself. their turn around of employees shows what i say is true. cube mates here today, gone tomorrow.

Explore other reviews about Penn Foster Group

5.0
16 Oct 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great leadership, smart and ambitious team members.

Cons

Work load can be a lot if you're a part of the smaller teams

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Penn Foster Group Response
8mo
Thank you for your feedback and for recognizing our leadership and talented team members! We are continually evaluating workload distribution to ensure employees feel supported and set up for success. We appreciate you sharing your perspective as we work to maintain a balanced and collaborative work environment for all.
1.0
1 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexibility PTO No Weekends or Late Nights Free Education though it may not be useful elsewhere Occasional Overtime Megan is the best manager and most knowledgeable fire everyone else!

Cons

Working at Penn Foster is like being in a high school… bratty cliques filled with drama and bullying. Management won’t do much until ish hits the fan which is what they clearly want to happen. Pay is outdated and doesn’t reflect current real world economy. for instance I’ve worked here for 2 years and throughout my duration I’ve always had to work a second job because they don’t pay us enough to pay our bills! Therefore causing exhaustion and burnout. The promotions/raises we were promised we didn’t receive. Then the excuse became we didn’t guarantee that we could do them in December… okay so the entire department of LSAs are lying? Got it lol. Management is clueless and they don’t listen we know what’s needed to make the company and our department better for students but they still choose to do what they want. We receive useless updates to things that no one asks for which then breaks something else that wasn’t broken! Either listen to the people on the frontlines or go bankrupt and out of business! Bereavement time is not long enough 3 days to deal with the death of an extremely close loved one. 3 days to try to prevent yourself from crying or having breakdowns. I’ve been here 2 Years and have lost two loved ones and still showed up not just for the company, my coworkers but for the students also. That needs to change. Outsourcing to save costs. We’ve started outsourcing work to the Philippines to help with costs. The downside is they speak broken English as it’s not their first language, students call in our chat in and they think they’re being scammed and they’ll literally call in again until they get an American and this is feedback from the students directly! Not only are we outsourcing, but it’s us LSA’s who now have to train them (no additional pay or incentives) for what seems like probably taking our job. We have brought this up to management every Department meeting that we’ve had and they say the same thing, but no one believes that our jobs are not threatened for the cheaper labor. As the previous Department before hours was created, was literally dismantled for our department to be created. Resulting in layoffs of pretty much the entire department so with us having that knowledge, we don’t believe that our jobs are safe, and if you are looking at applying, neither should you. If you have anxiety or any mental health issues, this is also not the place for you if you make HR aware of it, they will do what they can but at the end of the day you will usually still get written up, etc. I have anxiety disorder, and I have had anxiety disorder for years however, this job has contributed to me having more anxiety. For the last two years, I have literally poured my soul & entire being into this job into being someone in this company within this company, and I used to feel like people understood that but then I felt like it fell on deaf ears. There have literally been nights where I have come home and I just cry because I’m so frustrated with things at work, the changes at work, or the lack of listening at work and that’s when I know it’s time for me to go when I am no longer happy clocking into work and ready to help students every day. It went from a passion to just a job. Being looked over at work for special projects, etc. Getting iced out by management where they don’t even mention things to you in a conversation things that they know you would be interested in, but instead they have favoritism so they don’t even choose you or even mention you when it comes to projects because they already have it made up in the back of your mind. Who’s their number two or go to person is going to be.

1
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Penn Foster Group Response
1mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and for the dedication you brought to supporting our learners during your time with Penn Foster Group. We recognize the passion our team members bring to their work, and we appreciate hearing feedback from employees who have invested so much of themselves in our mission. We're glad to hear that aspects of the employee experience, including flexibility and educational benefits, were meaningful to you. At the same time, we're disappointed to learn that your overall experience did not meet your expectations. We are committed to fostering a workplace where employees feel heard, respected, and supported. We welcome feedback and encourage open dialogue between employees and their leaders so that concerns, ideas, and opportunities for improvement can be discussed constructively. We appreciate the contributions you made during your time with Penn Foster Group and wish you the very best in your future endeavors.
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