jobbite
They hire a lot of out of college students. You must have a college degree to work FT at Enterprise in rental. Beware if you are job hunting and looking at working for Enterprise, employees will lie and tell you its the best job in the world. They will tell what you want to hear because they train us to bs. They will advise you to go online and use their name and you will have a better chance of getting hired and working this dream job of renting cars. The reason is if you apply and use their name and you get hired, then that Enterprise employee just got a easy referral bonus of $250-$1000 depending on the need for employees. I know because I've done it! I lied and said I loved my job, I wouldn't want to work any where else blah, blah, blah, but in reality I hated my job! I loved the nice check i would get if they got hired while I was searching for a new job. Recruiters do the same thing of painting this beautiful picture of paradise at Enterprise yet they also get a bonus for every person they hire and they are king and queen of b/s. Plus, they work in a nice comfy office and they don't have to deal with all the crap the people in Rental offices do.
You will work a lot of hours- 53 hrs for new employee and 60-65 hrs for management level employee with no lunch breaks, don't get paid much, you are continously graded on your sales performance. You work your butt off to get promoted to a management position, only to find out that you were making more money as a Trainee. If you are a manager and a person steals a car or totals a car with coverage, you pretty much don't get a commission check which you live for each month. Yes there are stupid people that do rent cars and never bring them back- that term is call a conversion.
cons-long hours, away from family a lot, can cause depression and stress, poor pay, company puts you in situations where it makes you want to lie instead of being honest, a lot of political hiring/promotions, also its a good ol boy type organization, forget being promoted if you are a female
pros- learn to type really fast and bull sh*t with customers, sell, and go marketing. They have a really good training program which looks good on a resume
A few years ago, I was suckered into working at Enterprise like many young college graduates with making $30k right out of college+ benefits. I pretty much turned down a job with an airline to work like a zombie for pennies at Enterprise.
What you don't realize when you first get hired is that you are an hourly employee. You have to work 40 hrs week + 9-13 hrs of OT just to make close to $32k yr. It is mandatory to work overtime to be a full-time employee with them in Rental. So now imagine, being at work everyday Monday-Friday from 7:15am-6:30pm with 1 hour lunch. Plus, you have to work every other Saturday usually from 8:45am-12:30pm realistical hours. Yes, I did say that correctly. Also, if you have a child, you will have to put them in daycare at around 6:30am in order for to be at work by 7:15 am. If you are a single parent, expect your child to stay in daycare from 6:30 am-6:30 pm. I did not want to raise my child in a daycare.
Regardless of your position with the company, by the time you get home, you are so emotionally drained from working (11 hrs +) that you have no energy to spend with your wife or husband, boyfriend or children or no time to date. I have seen this job ruin many relationships. You will work so many hours that you are too tired to do anything, you stay stressed out, you stop hanging out with friends because you have to work 11 hours every day unlike them who work 8-5pm and off on Saturdays. You become depressed, it have seem some friends go crazy, all because you have to deal with this BS every day.
Well what about all the vacation days you get? The first year you get 7 Choice time days. The 2nd year you get 7 Choice time and 10 vacation. However, the catch is you can't take off when you want. It has to be approved by management. You usually NEVER get Mondays and Fridays off because those are the 2 busiest days of the week. Forget about taking the major holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas week. Also, its sad but its the truth, the more you get promoted and longer your with the company the more vacation and Choice time you get. However, since you are now more valuable to the company, you can forget asking off for any vacation time/CT. You can ask any exempt management level employee at Enterprise how many vacation time they have and they will tell you a ton. This is because Upper Management frowns upon anyone requesting to use it. Plus, most will not approve you to take off because it is your duty to run your operation and your branch is your operation and they usually find something wrong why you need to stay and fix it. Upper management uses psychology to make you feel guilty for even asking to take off work.
Also, you are drilled to sell protective packages, and upsell customers to different size cars so management can actually earn a decent paycheck. You get scored on a matrix every day. You are told to over book every deal, only to get bombarded with a ton of reservations, an office full of pissed off customers cussing because you don't have their car they booked 2 months. Enterprise talks about taking ownership in their brand and not over promising but over delivering, but they want you to over promise by overbooking which causes your brand in their ownership to look like Sh*t. It is a double standard. Plus, you have to display great customer service even to customers that don't qualify to rent, customer who return cars smelling like pot, customers who just don't return your car, customers who owe you money, customers who damage your cars, and customers who rent cars for other family members to drive who don't qualify and customers who cuss at you because you don't have the type of car they reserved.
Now the Area Manager manages branches within a city and the Branch Managers report to this person. I have seen awesome city managers that help motivate, coach, and supply cars when their branches are short and help get their employees promoted and I have worked for one that sits on his A$$ and micromanages from his desk and doesn't help employess at all. It really makes you appreciate the good ones you had.
Another thing you might hear is Enterprise is always hiring. Well, it is true because most educated college students realize this is not what they wanted as their career and they quit. Its like there is a revolving door of the new Y generation coming in and saying WTF! I'm not working my A$$ off for this type of work and they find a better paying job working less hours. They Y generation is more focused on family and work life balance than work. Enterprise claims they offer work life balance but but in reality it is far and few. It is true, that Enterprise loves to hire jocks, and sorority girls and type A personalities. Some of the jocks stay, the sorority girls usually quit on because washing a car in a suit is beneath them even though they lied in the interview that they don't have a problem with it but they really do. Who wouldn't really? Now, I have seen a lot of inter office relationships created at Enterprise because you work so many hours with co-workers that you don't have any time to date outside work. However, majority of the relationships doesn't last.
One last note, I've met some great friends working at Enterprise. Some of them have become closer friends since we left Enterprise because we are no longer in a stressful environment all the time. Plus, I have not heard any of them say, they miss working there or they regret quitting. All of them seem happier, they look younger and healthier. Pretty much everyone says what took me so long to quit?!! And what was I thinking dealing with all the b/s for so long??!! Now I'm not one to lie. I'll tell you like it is I have nothing to hide. I served my time and I'm now free!
The pros are 401K and company match at 3%, benefits and the friendships i've made, and the sales, management, marketing and customer service skills i've learned.
The cons are working extremely long hours, extremely poor pay structure, staying stressed out all the time, no help from upper management, NO LUNCH BREAKS for management, NO FLEX schedules for management, being short staffed all the time, depending on great comission checks to make a decent living, greedy Upper Management only caring about their comission checks and not their employees
Salary 30k-41K
For those of you who don't know what a service agent is, let me give you a quick break down. Right before I started with ERAC, there were two seperate positions: Drivers (hired to pick-up and drop off customers as well as help move cars between rental offices) and Car Preps (hired to clean cars). The problem with that set-up was if a branch didn't have a car prep to clean cars, then it was up to the rental agents to clean the cars, not the drivers. I have seen branches where the rental agents are outside on a 90+ degree day in their dress clothes cleaning cars (that means vacuuming, washing, trying to get questionable stains out of upholstery, etc.) while the drivers just sit inside in the AC and do NOTHING!
When I started in October, 2009, drivers were being paid $8.00/hr while the car preps were paid $8.25/hr. The service agent position was created to combine the two positions so now you have one person doing both jobs. When I applied for the service agent position (a position I was told that I was overqualified for; yeah, no kidding), I was told it paid $8.00/hr. What a joke. So I worked at that rate of pay for a while when ERAC finally came to their senses and increased the service agent pay to $8.50/hr since they realized were doing both jobs.
As time went on, I soon proved myself to the area manager, branch managers, assistant mangers, etc., that I was truly a hardworker and earned a reputation as someone who is dependable (I do anything the company requires of me without question) and flexible ( I always worked whatever hours they needed me to as well as working at different branches).
After my first year, I got my first raise: .34 cents/hr!!!! (I guess that's the new rate for hard work at ERAC).
I'm not sure if it had anything to do with my yearly evaluation, which is quite a story in itself. I was working a 12pm-6pm shift when my branch manager told me about my evaluation needing to be done. It was about 1 o'clock and not much was going so I suggested we could do the evaluation then. She told me we would get to it later. At about 5 minutes till 6pm, she starts typing up my evaluation super quick and hands it to me for approval. Every category was marked MR (Meets Requirements). When I commented on my early arrival every day (I always come in 15 minutes early) and spotless attendance, she said that if she were to mark anything in the other two columns: ER (Exceeds Requirements) or O (outstanding), then she would have to make specific comments to justify it and she DIDN'T HAVE TIME! By far she was the most counterproductive person I have ever worked for!
Soon after, she quit ERAC due to the threats to her position as branch manager regarding her sales numbers. Sound familiar?
When my next manager arrived, he was only an assistant manager for a month (see kids, you can move up quickly ) at a different branch and given the manager position if agreed to take charge at the branch I worked at which had a reputation of being a low sales branch. Upon meeting him for the first time, his first words to me were "Service Agents are the biggest waste of money in this company." Hey, nice to meet you, too! I knew I had my work cut out for me but like I said before my reputation speaks for itself, so it wasn't too long after that I proved him wrong. Soon after, he began treating me more like an asset than a liability. We got along great but I knew it was too good to be true. He soon jumped ship and took a position as a branch manager at a better location with better sales numbers.
Now I'm working for my third manager in a little over two years, whom I get along with great but with one hitch: she began cutting back my hours as well as the hours of the other service agent that works at our branch at the request of Corporate ERAC. Since things have slowed down, I have gone from working an average of 33-35 hours/week, to now being put On-Call where I would be lucky if I even get 15 hours/week. As a matter of fact, this week Jan. 23- Jan. 28, I'm only getting 5, that's right, 5 hours!!!!!
I'm only making $9.24/hr now, which seems to be cutting into a certain family's multi-billion dollar business. Sorry ERAC, I didn't mean to be such a financial burden to you. How silly of me to think of myself as an asset to this company when ERAC truly sees me as a liability!
Yes, that's right, you guessed it: I am now forced to find another job while they continue to pinch pennies only to turn around and replace me with someone else when things start to pick up.
Even now when my manager calls me to come in, I can't even begin to explain the lack of motivation I have when it comes to doing my job.
ERAC has turned me into someone who used to take pride in what I do into someone who could care less!!!!
In regards to Choice Time that I earned, since my hours have cut down to almost nothing, I was forced to use my Choice Time to add hours to my week but without taking any days off! Isn't that a form of irony? Also, I didn't add anything to the Overall/Salary Ratings. Enough said.
If you look at most of the reviews about ERAC on this site you'll notice that the majority are either glowing endoresements about how great the company is and how much money you can make or they tell you to run like hell if you ever have the misfortune of crossing the path of an Enterprise recruiter. Both perspectives can't be true. ERAC can't be both a cess pool that will drain every ounce of joy you have and a place where you can make six figures, have 21 vacation days and drive a company car (ha!).
In that case, which side of the story is most accurate? Well, to be honest, they're both correct. It just depends on what kind of person you are as to which side will be true for you. So to help the poor lost soul out there who is considering making quite possibly the worst career decision of their life, let me break down the characteristics you will need to possess, the types of things you will have be willing to tolerate, and what exactly you will have to be willing to do in order to increase your chances of success at Enterprise-rent-a-hell. Here they are in no particular order of importance:
a) Be an ex-jock, a former frat boy or a sorority girl. b) Have a low college GPA. c) Have a Type A personality and be willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead including screwing over your customers and back-stabbing your co-workers. d) Love to drink massive amounts of alcohol on a regular basis. e) Be a non-minority (if you are a minority, you're screwed from the get go. You'll never advance in the company past Branch Manager and you'll be lucky to make that). e) Have no sense of self-identity and be willing to conform to whatever your Area Manager and Regional Vice President want you to be. f) Be willing to work 50-55 hrs a week cleaning cars, dealing with irate customers, and selling shady rental coverage for a few dollars more than minimum wage.
g) Be sexually harassed if you're a woman and be subtlety discriminated against and put down if you're a minority. h) Sell your soul. i) Never see your family and friends. j) Gradually lose all faith in humanity and sink into a severe depression. k) Never fully recover from your experience working at Erac even years after you leave the company (and you "will" leave the company. The chances of you sticking it out and getting promoted to Area Manager, RVP, or General Manager were you finally start making the big bucks that they tell you about at the beginning are about the same as you winning the Powerball).
Now I might have missed out on a few things, but that about sums it up. If any or all of the things listed above sounds attractive to you, then by all means, step right up, Enterprise is the place for you! However, if you have any kind of moral decency or sense of self-worth, do not join this God-forsaken company and add yourself to the long list of young men and women who have had their will to live crushed by Enterprise-rent-a-Car. Every day that has occured since I left that place, has been better than the last.
Starting salary: $32,500 (This number however was the beginning of Enterprise's many lies. The actual number, minus performance based bonuses was closer to $30,500 and after tax, more like $27,000).
Vacation time: 10 days with an additional 7 days of choice time. Good luck using your choice time or vacation time if your branch is short staffed. Everything is contingent on management approval.
Rental discounts: Close to 50% off the rate on a rental for employees and family members. One of the few decent perks of working at Enterprise.
All I can say is that this is the worst work enviornment i have EVER been apart of!
Just read the review below mine because it describes exactly what it is like to work at ERAC. Lie and cheat your way to the top of the sales matrix to get promoted while working crazy hours and getting yelled at by customers.
You do get a decent amount of time off however you can not ever use it especially if its on a Monday or Friday.
Trust me when I tell you that you are wasting your time with ERAC.
First of all, I was very skeptical when I first started the position and I really do regret not listening to my intuition. I took the job out of desperation, coming out of college with a BSBA in business I needed a source of income to start paying my student loans. In the beginning they treat you like gold and try to sell you a dream that is utterly impossible. This should serve as a warning sign to any new hire with any company. The company and employee compensation should sell itself. Be prepared to be taken out to lunches and dinners and hear all about being on the "fast track" to a six figure salary within a year. It's almost impossible to stomach the food you are eating because of all the bs they feed you. Whatever you do, do not let them know of any plans to go to school or further yoir education outside of the company. They feel that you might come to you senses and and realize just what a crapchute the job is and leave. You will never (rarely) ever see anyone over the age of 35 working for the company unless they are upper management because they attract young ignorant recent college graduates who have no clue as to how a real company is ran and how employees should be compensated for hard work. You will know a good company when you see older people working there waiting to retire.
Next, be prepared to lie and cheat your way to the top of the Matrix. The Matrix which your sales are graded upon will either make you or bake you and there is no honest way in going about meeting enterprise's high sales expectations. So if you are an honest/morally sound person, this is not the job for you.
Once you are in, it is hard to get out. I have been with the company for over a year now and try every day after work to send out as many resumes/Jon applications as I can. However, it is hard to come up with motivation for doing so after a 12 hr work day so be prepared to have no time for friends or family. I leave home wishing I was doing anything except this sorry excuse for a job. Taking advantage of people, getting yelled at by angry customers and dealing with my incompetent frat boy manager just about send me over the edge on a daily basis.
Ps, I'm sitting at work right now writing this review lol. Whoever reads this: I don't know you, or your career goals, but please stay as far away from this company as possible. PLEASE!!!!
26,000 a year
I have been with Enterprise since the day I graduated and never looked back. It is an amazing place to work. You pay your dues in the beginning but if you are looking long term, this is the place to be. Since my first day I have had a lot of fun at work. Everyone starts at the bottom and moves up based on how well they do. If you do not perform, you do not move up. Simple as that. Enterprise tells you what you need to do, trains you on how to do it, and it is up to you to get it done. If you are looking for a place to work hard, prove you work and be compensated for it within a few years, this is an excellent place to work. If you are looking for a clerical or or "desk" job, this is not the palce for you.
I started at $33,700 but then got a raise within my first 7 months which brought me to $37,000. As an Assistant Manager and above you get a base plus commission and in my 9 months as an Assistant Manager and 3 months as a Management Assistant I made nearly $60,000. I then rose to the Branch Manager level, got a car, gas card and did not have to pay insurance and made upwards of $70,000. I then became and Area Manager and now will be making over $100,000 this year and I have been with Enterprise for 4 years. Vacation time is good once you pass the first year and EXCELLENT when you are with the company 5+ years (I am looking forward to that). I have the ability to expense many things and treat my employees well. I am very happy with the pay structure and the harder you work the more money you make, simple.
The Management Trainee position is a great place to start. You learn a lot about every aspect of running a business. Enterprise promotes 100% based from within and based on performance. If you are performing well and working hard, you have a lot of opportunities to advance. If you are not performing well and do not have a results driven attitude, then it is not for you. I feel that many people writing poor reviews are probably the people that were not performing well and didnt have anywhere to go. They either realized it wasnt for them and left or maybe were terminated based on their performance. The work you do is hard, however you are rewarded with that hard work by promotions and bonuses. If you want to learn about business, are willing to work hard for promotions, and are someone who likes goals and achieving them then it might be for you.
starting around 35K/ year as a MT. Branch Managers typically make between $50k- $80k in this area depending on how well you run your branch. Great benefits and the option of a company car as a branch manager.
Awesome company!! Work Hard but get rewarded!
This career is not for those that don't have a lot of work ethic and driven to get results. However, I have both of those qualities and they have paid off immensely in my career at Enterprise. I didn't intend on working here and I thought it was a short term til I found something else, but I worked hard and was able to get promoted in less than 6 months increasing my starting salary by $10K by the time I hit my 1 year anniversary. I've learned how to manage a business, market, cut costs, supervise performance of employees, have tough/effective conversations, and so much more. I was promoted again at 1.5 years. I'm not going to say that I didn't work very hard for my first 2 years, but it was worth it. They recognize great performance and rewarded me for exceeding profit, growth, customer service, development goals. I have worked in 2 different states and I have learned that those that complain/don't like the company are those that aren't goal oriented (constantly pushing towards the next step in their careers) and they don't reach out when they aren't getting what they need from their direct manager. We all have managers that we don't like sometimes but it was great to become a manager and be the best I could showing my team how success is attainable. I recently was promoted again 4 months ago. That makes 3 promotions in less than 3 years full-time. I can attest that you drive your career at this company and excuses (short staff, no cars, etc...) don't help anyone succeed. I've always tried to find a solution and worked through the tough situations and it was recognized by my superiors constantly.
starting salary $31,500
current salary- $70,000
Vacation- started year with 24 days
company car
fuel card
bonuses for leads in other divisions that help land accounts/car sales ($150-500)
great benefits
super secure company- GROWTH 10%+ for the past 2 years- record year the past 2 years ($12.6 billion 2010, $14.1 billion 2011)
Working at Enterprise is everything everyone says it is.... It is hard, it is fast paced, the customers are demanding, you need to be able to sell in order to get promoted, you will work harder then you ever thought possible, but you are rewarded for that work. Running your own business is not for everyone, being an euntrapenure is hard! I have met my best friends at this company.
When I started I made less then 30,000 my first year, now I make over 6 figures and have 22 vacation days a year.
Well I started my 'career' at this hell hole in 2009. After moving to a new city with no job this is the first job I interviewed for so I took it, boy do I wish I read this site or failingenterprise.com before I took the job. Pretty much everything everyone says on here is spot on from the short staffed offices, horrendous hours, cocky management, scumbag customers, horrible pay ect, ect. Shady is a word I've read a lot browsing this site and that pretty much hits the nail on the head. You literally get praise for lying to customers to buy DW. One thing that really makes my blood boil is the people who work there and think they are big shots and are making bank. Ever notice how everyone in upper management brags about how much they make or the RVP makes but you never see their paycheck. I've never heard of a place where you brag about everyone elses paycheck except you own. Or how these brain washed fools say 'hey well, people my age may be making more now but in 10 years they will be making the same amount and I will be rolling in the dough.' WHY do these nerds think that no other company promotes people and Enterprise is the only company that rewards hard work...can't tell you how mad that makes me. So after two years I got out and make the same amount of money but am much happier (i would have taken a pay cut to get out of hell). No more Sunday nights worrying about walking into the branch monday morning with 0 cars on the lot, 10 reservations at 730am and 15 different people at different dealerships all over the town to be picked up. BTW this is the first time I really have ever posted a review of anything online but after reading this site for about an hour I couldn't hold back. HERE WE GROW AGAIN
cons- hours, pay, nerds who bleed green, washing cars, scum of the earth customers, unethical on every level selling, cleaning weird dried white staines out of the back seats of cobalts......................
pros- health benifits. the end.
Enterprise Rent-a-car is the best place to launch your career. Everybody starts from the bottom as a Management Trainee, like many other entry level positions the pay is low 31,500 usd a year, however, like many other professions with hard work and the ambition to succeed, you will be driving your career up the hierarchical ladder of Enterprise, thus, increasing your pay.
Yes, you are going to be washing cars, scraping ice, and shoveling snow from the branch lots, but at Enterprise, we do this in the name of Customer Service, would you want to rent a dirty car, of course not. There are some facets of the job that would be easier if you were wearing shorts and a t-shirt, but lets be honest, this is not Avis, Hertz, Dollar, or Budget. Our standards are much higher as we are professionals, we must dress as professionals. Make no mistake, Enterprise Rent-a-car is a sales and marketing company. Whether you are a Management Trainee or a Branch Manager, you will share many of the same responsibilities, because at Enterprise we believe in a team-oriented environment thats fast-paced, competitive and highly entrepreneurial spirited.
Management Trainee $31,500 year, however, this is a trainee starting salary. The goal is to advance your career, there are also some additional incentives like car sale referral bonus, recruitment bonus, etc. that can increase your salary with. Once you are a Assistant Manager you will qualify for commission based on total branch profit and insurance package bonuses. As Branch Manager you will have a company car, and will be receiving a higher percentage of Branch Profit. The career advancements through Enterprise rent-a-car are solely up to your ambition. Your career starts in Rent-a-car, with hard work your career potential could take you around many departments of Enterprise including, Rent-a-truck, Fleet Services, or Car sales, and in some positions you may have unlimited salary potentials. I recommend Enterprise for anybody who has a strong will to succeed.
It is always interesting people are so curious of what it was like working for ERAC. I try never to talk negatively about former employers but for those of you thinking about taking your first job out of college here goes.
-if you do not mind wearing a suit or dress to wash cars. Then ERAC is ok
-if you do not mind low pay with a college degree. Then ERAC is ok
-if you do not mind managing a frat house. Then ERAC is ok
-if you do not mind being in full control of your destiny. Then ERAC is ok
-if you do not mind driving to picking up customers many hours of your day. Then ERAC is ok
-if you do not mind your commissions being tied to the things you cannot control(hoping the customers bring back the rental cars unharmed, having your customers happy with the rental experience after someone else wrecked their car or we sold them insurance coverage!) then ERAC is ok
-if you do not mind having leadership from above not take the time to train you or care about your future with the company. Then ERAC is ok.
ERAC really has a great business model but their is a reason why everyone you see inside the company are so young. I can only imagine the turnover expense related to employees leaving. I excelled quickly and rose to management but I decided to leave so I could control my destiny. I've now been in medical sales for 7 years and been a top performer but I do wish things could have worked out better with ERAC. Just be aware of what your getting into....
$27k as mt
$40k as assistant manager
I saw too many MTs and CSRs posting negative reviews of ERAC so I decided that we needed some managerial point of view. I was a manager of several home-city and airport locations and I believe that it can be a great opportunity for those people who like the fast-paced atmosphere and aggressive sales. Really, you can be rewarded quickly for good sales and in the end I didn't know any other 24 year olds making the kind of money our guys were making.
I'm not a fan of the high level of stress and the long hours because at some point you have to go home to your family and leave work behind. At the airports you are always getting phone calls at all hours of the day and night, especially on weekends.
Want to make good money and you know how to treat customers well? This job's for you.
Started at $31k and last year I made $52k. Vacation and personal days totals to four paid weeks. Managers get a company vehicle to and from work or during off hours for $200/month.
The easiest way to sum up my experiences with ERAC is watch your back at all moments. Recently they fired my Area Manager after eight years of making that company a hefty profit over the years. They brought in a kiss ass witch (You know what I mean), and eventually she got rid of 3 managers and 4 assistant managers in her area stores (she was in charge of 5 stores. She fired my manager because his ESQI score was falling monthly. She would not assist us in getting cars and the cars we aquired from different branches usually were dirty, in need of service or just having things broken on them. The Managers and AM were set up to fail - she wanted her own people running things. She bitched us out for not trying to get $120 per day on full size cars that go out for $45 per day.
My first Manager was great at his job; it was a larger store and we all went out for a beer and wings a few times a week and got along pretty good. The Area Manager threw a happy hour for the stores in our area. It just so happened that my Manager and the Area Manager's wife attended college together and dated for awhile. The manager was fired less than two weeks later.
Well I have been out for some time because I fell on a frozen wash bay floor which was a result of a dealership sending over five customers at closing time. My manager was "In a Meeting" while I was calling other branches for cars, waiting to get the cars, writing contracts, ripping people off by selling protection, washing the cars, showing these morons how to use the radio, windshield wipers, etc. I was working may ass off running inside to take care of business and running to the wash bay to clean frozen cars on a frozen wash bay floor, slipped and hurt myself pretty badly. I had to go on Worker's Comp and since then all the higher ups started treating me like SH*T in hopes that I would just quit. I am still employed by ERAC, but have not been to work for some time because they have THREE lawfirms fighting me because I just want to get the surgery needed, get back to work and quit.
IF ANY OTHER EMPLOYEE OR EX EMPLOYEE GOT INJURED A WASHBAY, POST IT HERE, I AM LOOKING FOR A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FOR AN UNSAFE WORK ENVIROMENT.
All in all I made a few friends, a little money, learned how to rip people off and still sleep at night and met a life's worth of A-Holes
at one time worked 60 to 70 hours per 6 day work week, you figure it out
BRainwash to work for 12.94 an hour.
10 hours a day minimum required, washing cars in suit and tie,,,run run run
CONS-Pyramid scheme type bureaucracy, mixed with long, long hours and pathetic compensation. The work-life balance is horrid, and after three months of dressing in a monkey suit washing god-knows-what out of junked out rental vehicles would make any college grad(the only people they higher) wonder why they even went to school in the first place.
Pros- you learn how to talk to almost every type low-life imaginable.
Worked for Enterprise for 2 years and 3 Months
Work itself is awful. You will be overworked in an environment where customers and supervisors treat you in a negative and disrespectful manner. Also, this will occur while your area is constantly understaffed.
Pay is not good. After you work 40 hours and 8-10 hours of mandatory overtime each week you will earn about $1,900 each month. Bonuses are based on your sales and whether your office received satisfactory customer service scores. Too bad yourself and your coworkers used shady sales techniques and picked people up 2 hours late. So after making ERAC some extra revenue, your office's survey results will keep you from earning a sales bonus.
When I gave notice I was leaving at the end of the month, my area manager told me not to come back the next day(terminated for quitting lol). I now happily work part time 25 hours a week and get unemployment as well. I still make $1900 a month and can take more classes and finish my graduate degree quicker.
My advice to all potential job seekers is to look elsewhere. Working daily rental for Enterprise Rent-A-Car is simply not worth it. There are better opportunities out there and companies that will actually treat you like a human being. Do not let the big green E-monster consume you or make you compromise your pride or integrity.
I got a dui and couldnt work there anymore and it sounds ridiculous but it was the best thing that ever happened to me, I thank god everyday I do not have to go there. I never got a good answer for the question that burned in my brain while I was there "Where are all the older people looking to retire?" they are not there, they never were. If you stayed at Enterprise long enough to retire you would retire your brain with a bullet instead. I am convinced the company does not hire older people because they do not want them poisoning the green water well. When the old person says, "well at my old job we made sure we had the right tools for the job, we also had heat in the winter, and we didnt have to lie to customers, and we worked in a safe environment" These are the people the company avoids at all costs, or these people get hired, realize how poorly they are being treated in comparison to previous jobs and leave. Enterprise hires new graduates because they dont know how a company is supposed to treat you. I work for one of the biggest science companies in the world and I run a crew of guys in an R & D lab. I am 25 years old. The reason I got the job wasnt because Enterprise looked good on my resume. It was because I am phenominal in an interview, I am a hard worker and I actually used examples of unsafe work practices at Enterprise that I disagreed with and did not practice because I know my companies unparralelled safety record. I finally found the old guys. The ones looking to retire and have nothing bad to say about the company they have worked for. I build something everyday with intelligent people and its because I left my poor work practices at enterprise. If any of the people currently at Enterprise are reading this. Get out of there, your better than that place. I know you had no idea what you wanted to do, but I can't imagine it was that. Let the **** (Area Manager) and Snelgrove's (Regional Vice President) of the world have their huge paychecks, when they get toward the end of their life they have to come to terms with the things they did let them come to terms with it. I hated that job and company so much that I will rent with Enterprise and request rides just so I can convince the workers on those long drives to get out of there. I will tell them my story and I will try to save as many caged up employees as humanly possible. I will even buy DUBs because I can afford it now, because I am not making 11$ an hour. For me, my paycheck is bigger, my company looks out for me, and I whistle on the way into work, and out. I am convinced the company has HR people post fake job reviews on sites like this to prevent people like me from revealing the sharade. If you are at enterprise now, or thinking about it, when you go to an office try to find somebody who is above the age of 30. I went to 20 offices in my time there and never found them. Even in the corporate offices. The first sign of a good job is that you see people that have been there long enough to retire. Younger the people, the higher the turnover.
Honestly I dont know how to react to the reviews here. Ive been with Enteprise for about a month now and the work really isnt that hard with lots of down time, especially on Saturdays. Im at an Airport Branch and from what I hear we are far more busy then Home City. My Branch Manager, all my MAs and MTs as well as my City Manager are some of the coolest people I know and they help me whenever I need it. I had my first one on one yesterday and was told my sales need to improve but I wasnt degraded at all, my Branch Manager set goals for me and basically said "Try your best".
After only a month with ERAC, I really want to stay with the company and move up the ladder. Even if it gets harder, longer hours and more disgruntled customers I could care less, Im renting cars for a living which is freaking sweet and not flipping burgers.
$11.00/hr and happy with it cause I know it will always go up.
It is sad to see so many young professionals waste their lives getting brainwashed by this company ... If you want a job to run your life, this is for you... If you have a degree, use it!!! this company is filled with managers who carry an arrogance about the car rental world! This company teaches you how to run a business, but no need to be a slave any longer than a year!!
I am from a middle class background. All of my grandparents came from other countries (parents are first generation Americans) so hard work, commitment and loyalty are qualities I pride myself on. I been working since I was 16 (I am 24 now) and my parents have instilled that you bust your ass at work and the rest will take care of itself. I have taken this message to every job I've had, retail, restaurant, landscaping, officiating, tutoring, and never I have been more unappericated and disrespected than I have been at ERAC. Every review is on the money; they told me I would be working 48 hours a week (worked 55+), I would make $33,000-$35,000 and would have "choice time." I throw quotation marks on choice time because it was when management choose when to give you time off. I covered one day because I knew we were understaffed, a problem that is not exclusive to my particular branch, so my manager (who didn't train me more than saying where to go or which car to pick-up or clean) promised me I would be out by 11am. Mind you, this was my off day that I requested nearly 2 months in advance because I had a hotel room booked in AC for my sister's birthday. Well, by the time it was nearly 3pm, he finally decided to let me head out to the day. He didn't even thank me but at least my Assistant Manager realized how much of a favor I did. And I realize sales you have to stretch the truth or tell people what they want to hear, but this was another level all together. Lying to old ladies who are renting a car for 2 weeks that have a $100 deductible and telling them $19.99/day for our "protection products" makes more sense than your insurance that you pay for annually isn't my idea of appeasing my conscience. Another shady practice is that their stance on lunch is that it is a privelege and no employee is necessarily entitled to it. I have gone a whole week (6 days with over 60 hours) with no lunch. Your manager will buy you pizza to scraf down in about 5 minutes. They expected my branch to do the work of 8-10 people, given our size is what we needed, with only 5 people. If you like long hours, poor compensation, grabbing your ankles with a smile on your face and washing cars while dressed like a clone, then ERAC is for you.
Peanuts get your peanuts (see above review)!
Over several years of work with this company, I have seen some of the most underhanded and despicable actions I have ever witnessed at any company I have ever worked with. Your told from the start that you will grab the brass ring and climb the ladder to success because you have a degree.
A degree is great to have, but if it leads you to Enterprise then you have lost out in the short AND long run. The culture is degrading to women and minorities, and to everyone that the company comes into contact with that does not have a business degree. The way the employees talk about shops, mechanics, drivers and prep's is positively degrading and demeaning. Your told you will hit "6 figures in 6 years", and only 2 % of employees ever come anywhere close to a good income. If you have a family, or are engaged or just want a family, then this is NOT, I repeat NOT the company for you. Your hours will be long and filled with screaming customers, money hungry management, and everyone above you will expect you to do 2 hours of work in 15 min. IF you get a lunch at all, it will be from a gas station and last about 20 min at best, and then you will be expected to show up at a drunken frat style get together called a "happy hour" that night. You will be exhausted from your 10 to 12 hour day, ready to eat and relax. You won't.
You will be expected to drink with what seems to be qualified alcoholics until late and then you, and your co-workers will be expected to drive drunk just to get home, (you cant fly can you?) The next morning, providing your not charged with a D.U.I, will be full of the same screaming customers and pushy management again. ....IT NEVER STOPS. I realize that the economy stinks and there is not very much out there, believe me. You are a human being and deserve to be thought of as such, and with the cult/company of Enterprise, you won't be. Do yourself, your family, and your friends a favor and keep looking. I know to many former ERACers that are still trying to recover from working here.
The only pro I can think of is the health insurance. ONLY if you wear a tie with the company tho. Everyone else is not permitted to be a part of the health insurance plan. You get vacation time, but just try to use it. You'll get a B.S story every time you try to get time off and if you do get it, be prepared to hear smart ***** comments from management. Bonuses.....Are you kidding??
Reimbursements are a joke and take MONTH'S to come back to you.
Having only been an employee of Enterprise RAC for a little under seven months, I will preface this review by saying that I am still something of a "greenhorn". That being said, I still believe my experiences to be valid.
ERAC is a car rental company that was started by the Taylors over 60 years ago and has since remained a family-owned business. Every employee begins as a Management Trainee (MT), and through a learning/training process that should normally last between 9 to 12 months, becomes a Management Assistant. Upon reaching this point an employee must have demonstrated successful retention of business principles, a fairly comprehensive understanding of the ins and outs of running a branch, and an ability to sell well. An MA is now eligible for promotion and may apply for Assistant Branch Manager positions. After this level I do not feel qualified to speak on further advanced positions in ERAC since I am still at the MT level.
ERAC is for sure a rough-and-tough job. You will deal with angry customers and extremely difficult, delicate situations. You will experience fatigue after a 60+ hour week. Nevertheless, understand that ERAC is a CAR RENTING COMPANY. If you've ever had a job with ERAC and thought that it would be anything different, you are a fool. Of course it's not glitzy or glamorous. Nevertheless, if you can humble yourself and be grateful for the opportunity given you, you have an open door to learn savvy business principles from professional, intelligent, successful teachers. Simply put-- if you aren't afraid to work hard, open your mind and learn, and be willing to sacrifice, ERAC can work for you. Otherwise, keep looking. Your time--and ERAC's--will have been better spent.
On a side note, there are way too many self-entitled complainers on these review sites. I can't stand that sentiment. Be thankful if you are employed, and don't ever take anything for granted. And for heaven's sake, NOBODY owes you ANYTHING.
Time off: 8 days. After first anniversary, 18 days.
MT salary: $35K. Assist. Man. salary: $40-50K
Great work experience if you get the right managers and understand the job quick. Long hours and very nerve racking, if you are not comfortable with openly lying to customers on a daily basis. If you understand the system and make good decisions for your income, and are able to suck up the guilt of selling pointless extra insurance to an elderly woman that doesn't know any better, then this job is for you. It really is for the cut throat and the kiss-ass, as well as the intelligent.
I worked there for just under a year, was given my own satellite branch to run. I was on the fast track to manegement and I doubled the size of the branch in the first year I was out there, trying to get moved to a city or airport branch. I could sell very well (unfortunaltely, I was able to suck up the guilt) and proved I could manage a fleet of around 40 cars by myself within the first year, as well as doubling the satellite branchs income in the first 8 months I was there. However I wouldn't be moved because there was nobody to take my place, or maybe my higher ups just liked the increased paychecks and wanted to soak me dry for as long as they could (it wouldn't surprise me, although they would never admit it, aka very shady people). For the last 5 months I was there I asked numorous times for a second driver (I had one 95 year old man on Mondays and Fridays, who washed one car per hour and didn't cut it for the amount of foot traffic that came in and out of the office). Then, because we couldn't accomidate everyone all the time, I got a poor ESQi score and was yelled at for it, even though I wasn't offered ANY extra help after increasing a branch's size 50%. The last month I was there, I was eventually terminated over ridiculious accusations.
The company policy is to not change customer phone numbers in contracts if they're upset about something so that the customer could not recieve a customer service ESQi followup call. Understandable. But what they don't tell you is that if you change one digit in a phone number, for the benefit of the customer that gave me a different number halfway through the rental, you will get terminated no questions asked. The could not provide proof of the allegation, they could not find any other instances of subordination, and they didn't even think about the fact that they did not find a replacement to take over the satellite branch (leaving my maneger and AM with both the main branch and satellite branch, BY THEMSELVES, for who knows how long now). Both my managers said in the future they are willing to write me latters of reccomendation, because they realize my termination was BS.
Bottom line, this company is great for experience (I now have a lot more confidence in my business management knowledge and experience), but NOTHING more. The corporate employees are all cloned jackasses, all of which are either divorced or single because they have no time for their real life, and the company is very amateurly managed and ran. Some of the people at higher up positions were some of the dumbest people I think I've ever encountered in a professional setting. My branch and personal management team was good in most regards, and it DID luckily give me something positive to take away from it, but if you don't have the balls or work ethic to stick out a really really really crappy and stress enducing job, then don't even bother applying... you will regret it.
PS. Don't fall for the hotel room and the restaurants and lunch's you are exposed to on an almost daily basis when you first start- they DO go away after about 3-5 months of being employed, almost never to be seen again.
Great work experience/knowledge and good benefits (only pros), pretty crappy salary for the amount of work they havr you do, poorly managed, no time for real life, and just an overall shady work enviornment.
i started out as a MT and quickly moved to assistant in 5 months and manager in 11 months. the work was hard and frustrating at times. at that time i hated my job but i continued doing it because there is potential for the guys who can sell and train. I had a great mentor, and a pretty cool area maanger at the time. looking back i wouldnt change a thing, the knowledge you gain is worth the headache, since i left my job about 12 years ago there has been nothing "hard", enterprise groomed you for the real world period!!! i was recruited by budget group to run new jersey and help start there premiere rental car divsion which did fail eventually. Enterprise has a niche market , very hard to compete with them. bottom line great experience but workign there does take a mental toll on you. i was a superstar at enterprise and left for a better opportunity which i do not regret.
starting about 30k firsy year and then made over 50k
I've been with the company for almost a year, hopefully about to be promoted. You get roughly 1000 or less every 2 weeks. There are some bonuses available. If your motivated and driven by sales you will do great. If you can deal with some of the "high on their Soap box" assistant managers. Upper management is supportive for the most part. The money and benefits of working for enterprise may take a few years to kick in full speed. But it's worth the wait.
A
Long hours. Destroy nice cloths. Great promotion ability.
Enterprise is a great company if you are a young white male with no kids or responsibilities besides yourself. This company does differ depending on your region. But in my area its all about whos butt you kiss and please please do not stand up for what is right. I work there now and it is terrible. Im telling you it is a rock solid company but they will not support family structure. You will not get promoted no matter how well you do unless you kiss butt and be quiet. Lastly a direct quote from one of the former regional rental managers" be more vanilla and less black".
salary is not bad but definitely over worked and under paid.
I worked at Enterprise for a little over a year, and still to this day I wake up with my heart racing sometimes thinking that I have to go work in that wretched place. As soon as I come to and realize that I am no longer an employee of the "Green Machine" I look back and realize that it was the worst job I ever had, period. This is the ONLY site that I have found with truthful reveiws not doctored by recruiters. The pay starts at 12 dollars and hour, and you will be working 55 plus hours a week, with unrealistic sales goals, all while dealing with the worst customers you could ever imagine. You will also be required to clean cars no matter if it is 100 degrees or 5. You are out there cleaning and scrubbing vehicles that people treat like dirt. To meet sales goals you will have to be shady, cut corners and lie to customers. The training is minimal, but the discipline is harsch if you mess up, you are just a heartbeat to the company and they could care less if leave which is obvious by the awful retention rates. I have seen whole branches quit within a few weeks time, the only long term employees they have, never worked anywhere else and are blind to the fact that there are other opportunities out there. I have delivered pizza, worked in fast food, was a waiter, and I was in sales and I would rather go back to any of those positions before even considering enterprise.
12 hour, 2 weeks vacation(good luck using it they block the summer off) no bonuses, no reimbursements, only positive is good health care.
Most af these posts are acurate, I woked for a fortune 500 Company before coming to Enterprise, My last job I simply good burned out, I was in the public Relations Field, So I was really on the road almost 3/4 days a week, This wasnt very good for my family life, I quit that job and took off for over a year, I simply got board,and wanted to get back in the workforce, So I came to Enterprise it took me 9 years to get promoted to a Branch Manager, Are you kidding me, I had so much more work expierence then anyone in my entire area,and it took me that long? I was always was told go to this branch and fix the income,or ESQI, or the sales piece, Everytime I did what they asked, Then promotion would come around and I was told "You dont qualify" You need to go to this Branch, I tollerated this crap for far to long, Upper Mangement doesnt care you work 12+hours a day, And Yes 7 days a week, This job destroyed my family, and I'd had enough, When I fianally got promoted they would always send new MT's to my branch for training, I did everything I could do to help them suceed, I felt like a baby sitter, When your Regional Vice President,and GM are younger then you, You have a problem, The last day I was there I flushed all the keys down the toliet and left,Plain and simple, DONT FALL FOR THE CUT-TROAT GAMES
Vacation Time-14 days (could never use) Area never had anyone to cover your branch, $47,000 yr
I worked for Enterprise for one month and it has taken me a year to recover and I'm not convinced I am completely healed. Like many others, I graduated college in a bad economy, so I needed the job. I wish I never took it. Before I graduated college I worked in fast food, retail, and waitressing and I still have NEVER had a job that was as horrifying as this. They don't train you...at all. You are thrown into the fire without a clue as to what is going on, but you can bet that if you mess something up, they will freak out. In my second week there, they would leave me by myself at the counter with absolutely no help. I didn't know the system and customers would become so angry with me because of this. Then, my manager would have the nerve to get irritated with me because I didn't know what to do. We never had the cars people needed, we never were able to keep our promises or reservations, the manager was strict about their "yes" policy and made us give cars to people who didn't even have a reservation. Then, we would have to tell the person who reserved a mini-van two weeks ago- "Oh, I'm sorry, there is no longer a mini-van available. Here, take this PT Cruiser instead." And then I had to take the heat from the customer even though it was my manager's decision to do it. You are too good for this job and so was I. It makes me sick to even think about working there. Even if you are desperate- DO NOT TAKE THIS JOB. It will ruin you! Over 60 hours a week for $11/hr? No thanks.
Like most people I graduate from college and can’t find a job and after about 3 months I decided to work at enterprise. Next thing I know almost 4 years went by and this nightmare is finally over. I started as an MT and went through what they called a fast track program skilled in 3 months and grilled in 6 and became an AM on my 8th month, I thought the first 8 months were bad but it was no match for what I was going to get as an AM. As an AM you pretty much running the branch and not a day goes by that I don’t get a email from either my area manger or the RVP telling me that ends with “if you don’t do this I’m going to fire you”, its not like I had a bad branch. I had a branch with 250 cars and an ESQi of 93%. Finally after about a year of been an AM I decided to go work at the corporate office in the accounting department. Not knowing that they were going to cut my pay by Ten Thousand Dollars, I only found out about this pay cut 2 weeks after I started working in the corporate office and by this time it was too late to return to my old job. So for the next two years I worked in the accounting department, first I was happy to work the 40hr weeks which was a big difference from my 65hr weeks as an AM. In the last two years I received 2 rises one for $0.39 per hour and the last one for $0.45 per hour, fortunately I received a job offer from a CPA firm for twice the salary I was making at enterprise the same day I got my last rise. I turned in my two weeks the next day. After nearly 4 years of service at enterprise my ending salary was $15.84 per hour. Trust me this is not a company you want to work for.
Also for those people here saying that this is a great company to work for, the employee retention rate is around 45%. For those of you who do not know what this mean, “over have of all employees that enterprise hires quit in the first year”.
starting salary $11.00 per hour
ending salary $15.84
It starts out great for everyone...they promise this and you're dazzled by the End Of Month get togethers where they pay for all your drinks and you get taken out for lunch by a mentor and the higher ups...but once you do your Skills Test after about three months...you're on your own baby. Your mentor? Gone! Your Area Manager? You won't see him unless he just got yelled at by his boss and he needs to yell at someone to feel better. It's a male dominated company that preaches "work life balance", while making you work a minimum 50 hour week? Sure, you get lots of vacation time, but try and use it...denied! So after bouncing around a few different brancehs and getting to the postion of Branch Manager, you get to be in charge of minimal staff, a fleet that's trashed (but don't put anything into a shop because you won't be able to rent it!) with little to no support from your Area Manager or City Manager. (who usually get promoted because they kiss the right butts, and know how to play the game...meaning they're shady and make their numbers look good while knowing absolutely nothing about the business). Your Vehicle Repair department will hoop you when you try to get something repaired. The Remarketing department pulls your best vehicles at the worst times and sells them. The Acquisitions department buys the wrong cars at the wrong times so you won't have what your customers want. (who wants Economy cars in the winter and nothing but trucks and suvs all summer?) If you're a young person that's single and likes to pee in the company pool...this is the company for you. When you put that many A-Typer personalities together and feed them a bunch of booze every month...of course they're going to fraternize. (which is against the rules by the way) You get to wear a white shirt and tie for the rest of your life...no color, no facial hair at all, you're a clone.
Starting salary is now $40k/year on a 50 hour work week. After 7 years, I'm making $65k...and have been told that there's no way that I'll make more. (I'm capped for my position) Two weeks vacation, with another week of "choice time", but you won't get the chance to use it. No bonuses. When you're a Manager you get to take a car home at night. (not an option...you have to pay a monthly fee for the priviledge of driving a damaged cargo van or something that's smaller than a full size car) No retreats to go on, you get an email from the president of the company when you hit five years. Yep, an email. Not even a pen.
I have worked for this company for over a year, and though I now have a great resume because of this job there is a lot people should know.
It's not just about renting cars, if you aren't the type to step on peoples toes to get ahead then this isn't the job for you. I have worked my ass of proving to this company that I am a desired employee but nothing seems good enough.
Yes, this is a business that thrives on customer service but sometimes the customer isn't always right. But, managers feel the need to kiss ass to everyone that comes in, instead of just providing friendly, honest service.
A gentleman came in one day, on a dealership rental because his car was being worked on at FORD. Well it was a Friday, so our weekend specials were going on. Instead of giving the gentleman the FORD rate which was about 40 dollars a day. I offered him a weekend special, I remind you this man was in his 60s, reminded me of my dad. So i was just doing the right thing and helping the man out, behing HONEST. Well i was in trouble for giving the man a deal because the extra money wasn't going into my managers pocket.
Its things like this that make me sick, and realize that there needs to be changes in the corporate world.
Also, be prepared to wash cars in your nice work attire. To make a point I stopped wearing my nice attire because it was just getting ruined. We pay car washers to have these cars washed, and because they cant do their jobs, we are responsible. I didnt go to college to wash cars.
Another thing, the hours are crazy, the branch I work at, employees work about 12 hours a day, 5 to 6 days a week. Yeah some people work longer but the start off money could be better.
Just watch yourself and know that if you aren't on your game you will be walked on.
I have never worked for a company that was so dysfunctional. The business is about renting cars of which they never have enough. The management is all about making the numbers for their bonuses, period. Upper management does not have time to manage the staff of the part time help and the asst. managers are just kids themselves that have no clue how to run a business or manage people. It got so bad last year that corporate sent upper management to conduct emergency meetings with staff, but nothing changed. They award employees of the month with a $25.00 gift card and you have to banter them for weeks to get it. They promise bonuses to all staff for meeting goals and then say only full time employees will get the bonus. Their actions are unethical and when you call them on it, the get defensive and go into denial.
Pros-none Cons-see above
This position is about learning how to run a business. So if you're only interested in being the man behind the office tapping away on the computer and making money, this isn't the job for you. Running the business means you work your butt off, get yelled at, wash a lot of cars and not get paid anything.
People need to realize that if you ever want to be successful you have to take the not so easy road. Sure there are lots of other jobs that pay more initially, but opportunity is only available if someone rolls over and dies or if you're related to the owner.
It's hard and often times frustrating, but I run my business so much better because of what I learned.
This position only works if you are not intimidated by hard work. Otherwise keep walking.
Started out making $24k and ended up making close to $110k
Being a recent immigrant, I didn't know slavery still existed in this country, it's just more structured under the name of enterprise. The worst job ever, they paint a golden picture for you when you enter, and they tell you that the harder you work the more money and opportunity you get. And you fall pray to the "dream" you wash cars OUTSIDE in heat and in freezing cold, you clear snow from the sidewalk, you vacuum the branch, you clean the bathroom, you vacuum cars, you inhale gallons of cleaning products used to scrub the cars, you drive their cars, but if somebody hits you they put it on your own policy... all this you have to do wearing a white shirt business shoes and a tie. They tell you you get paid 35k, but you never do, because they calculate in it hypothetical sales, and car sales and bonuses from contests, which you never see, so my first year my W2 shows 28k!!!
Then you are harassed by your manager for sales and to hurry up, by everyone above you, and you have to deal with angry customers every single day, because the company's policy regarding reservations, is take it even if your branch doesn't have cars, so when the customer shows up and their car is not available, they get mad at you because you took the reservation and confirmed it, while the manager disappears in the back, you get to hear it from the customers, who sometimes will call corporate to complain, and you get a call from your area manager, to tell you you have to adhere to delivering high customer service!!!
If you make it to assistant manager, it gets even worse, they tell you you go on salary and a profit percentage from the branch, it only means you start working about 60 hours a week, for less money, because they can change your percentage at any time, which is so low to begin with (about 2%) then if any car in your branch gets damaged or stolen, the value of that car comes out of your branch's income, which lowers your percentage even more, my manager received about $20 paycheck for 3 months, because 2 cars got stolen!!! I watched as every minority employee got fired for some idiotic reason, for example they tell you you can charge wherever you want for renting cars, then you give a customer a good discount, they use that to fire you, saying you are not putting the company's interest in perspective!
so add racism to the equation.
Then you have to deal with your conscience, because they push you to over charge and price gouge all the time.
To sum it up, if you want to experience a heart attack and die young and poor, go for the job...
I will start by saying that Enterprise is not for everyone. The hire-in position for Enterprise has about a 60% turn over rate. For people that are competitive in nature, not only against other people, but against themselves, Enterprise is a great place to work, get experience and climb the ladder. It does take dedication, it does take the ability to work long hours, and it does take the ability to do the "dirty" jobs of washing cars. But, if you are patient, work hard and do a good job, you WILL get recognized and promoted. I think alot of the people giving negative reviews are not a good fit for the job. I have worked for the company for going on 3 years and I am a Branch Manager. No, I am not making incredible money-decent, yes...but my goal is not to be Branch Manager. My goal is to continue to work hard, put in my time and get to the next step and the next...etc. I think alot of people these days, especially young people, expect everything to be given to them on a platter and lack work ethic. Yes, they may get a cushy job making what I make now..but that is probably all they will be making in 10 years. In 10 years, I fully expect that I will have advanced in Enterprise and be making at minimum triple what I am making now. And if not, I have the good reputation of working my way up in Enterprise, to add to my resume. Oh and for anyone that says the insurance is "useless", you obviously havn't been in an accident in one of our cars without having taken it. If you DO take it you have the freedom of walking away and not having to worry about any deductible or financial issues.
Cons: Long hours, washing cars, dealing with negative customers
Pros: Reward for hard work, advancement, bonuses based on sales performance, bonuses based on customer satisfaction, bonuses based on sales leads. Standard vacation, sick time, etc. Starting salary is about $25k-within 3 years advancing as you should, about $55k
My job consists of making decisions in an office, picking people up while driving a nice car and rocking out to satellite radio and selling. Yes, there is pressure to perform in protection and upgrades. It's a job and they would hire anyone if you just went through the motions. 50 hours a week happens because it is an MBA packed into 10 months. Wouldn't trade it.
I would tell you so many terrible things about this company if I didn't get sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Listen I know you got to start out small and all but this, well this ain't worth it. Two years of my life I will always look back on as the absolute worst I have ever lived, and I put up good numbers. You should see the sorry bastards who struggle. Just do something else. Anything else.
Salary Terrible, Vaca Time okay after first year but you are gonna be working Saturday's and 60 hours a week so it won't even out (oh and you ain't getting to use any of that vacation time during the holidays), reimwhatments?, no perks unless you jack a gas card every now and then.
One of the worst experience of my life. If you like to lie to people sell them
unnecessary insurance. get no vacation work 6 days a week then this is the
perfect for you to work. I have never ever seen a company like this. they fool these young college graduates into working for them. Next thing you
know you are working 50+ hours a week and getting paid 12 dollars an hour.
what a joke. Most of your co-workers and managers do drugs and specially
pot before they come to work. you see lots of employees drinking coffee and
energy drinks to stay awake!
Once you work there enterprise basically becomes your life. you go out drinking with your co-workers and bosses 3-4 times a week.
the more insurance you sell and the more you cheat the customers the more rewards and promotions you get.
12/hour
Look.....Anything anyone has to say that is good about Erac is completely false. Enterprise is a terrible place to work. I have worked in places I thought were bad, but Enterprise has taken the cake as the worst place I have ever worked.
Please, Please, Please, save yourself the emotional and physical stress that this job can cause. Don't do it. They prey on young college students who do not no better, and trick them into believing the hot garbage they spew from thier mouths. I could write a book on how much B.S. Enterprise feeds its employees.
no pros
all cons
If thier is a way to sum up Enterprise with one word it would be........unethical. They tricked me into working into an environment that was supposed to be a "Meritocracy". A place where if you work hard you get great rewards. Truth of the matter is, all you get is duped. You get duped into be a phony business-person with an inflated ego. You get duped into using ALL of your free time to work at place where you are NOT fairly compensated. You are duped into believeing in a phony dream that may have once been attainable in 1960, but in no way could possibly pan out in the company today. It is a trap, and the worst soul-sucking experience I have ever had. I can't believe I was fooled by them so LONG! Stay away from this place.....it is just plain awful.
Peanuts, no vacation time.....it is called CHOICE TIME. It is your "choice" to get strep throat and take a day! Pure unadulterated GARBAGE.
The whole company is based off of lies. The way they get you in there is a lie. "You'll get to see how a company operates and get good marketing experience."... you don't get any marketing experience. But you will get experience in washing cars all day, and tricking customers into buying insurance.
They work you too hard for what you get. Long hours with crappy pay. Very unprofessional environment.
$8/hour
Vacation time- lol, it's the car rental business, you work on christmas, thanksgiving, and any other busy holiday.
I wish I had anything good to say, but unfortunately I do not. This is a terrible place to work. I started working as an Accountant, unlike lot of others who begin as MT. But there is a common theme, it is still a horrible company to work for. They are understaffed, they do not train you and expect to know how to do things such as operate DOS. Unless you work in an office with doors, you are a nobody. There is lack of respect, and you will be forced to work Saturdays at least once a month after you have already put in about 45 hours of work week. Not only that, there is a lack of ethics. They tell a college graduate that their MT program is equivalent to having an MBA. Anyone outside of Enterprise doesn't think so, and neither should you. I do not have a single good thing to say about this company. Not worth the time, STAY AWAY AT ALL CAUSES.
Salary $40,000
Vacation - 7 days a year
Yes it's a tough job with long hours and average pay but I got a lot out of my experience and it helped me move on to better things. I don't agree with all of the reviews here.
everything that everyone has posted here is true, except for that freak who put this company was worth it, notice there is only one person. I fell into depression working here, 60+ hrs per week. There is no such thing as flex time, usually it was 5 o clock and she would be like go home your flexing now. There is no such thing as a lunch break, they make you go to happy hours and drink and then wonder why you feel like crap the next morning at 7 am.
There is no pros. None. Seriously, you don't learn how to run a business, manage people. You learn how to take money away from people, lie, and wash cars. You get no vacation time, no sick days. Nothing. I hate this company more than anything.
Truth be told, no one cares if you satisfy the customer, they care if you sell insurance. Once you get in the company the area managers will tell you this all the time. Expect to spend 12 hours or more and several days at the branch. You will wash cars, if this is a problem then you should move on. It is not uncommon for your assistant manager to "cherry pick" easy insurance sells, which leaves you in the cold in terms of promotion.
I think some employers like that you can handle high stress and ever changing conditions, but it isn't the gold medal on the resume that ERAC makes it out to be. You can gain this experience elsewhere and not have to worry with all the hassle.
Pay is low, but you work overtime so you do ok. Bonuses don't apply until you make it to management. The only other "perk" I can think of is that managers get to take branch cars home with them. Big whoop!
I worked at Enterprise for little less than a year and I think it has taken three years to recover. We had to work 12 hour days, then go to "Happy Hours" where they would pour on the liquor and expect you to get yourself home and get to work by 7:00 a.m. the next day. It reminded me a bit of a cult, they wanted almost ALL of your free time. Not to mention that I gained NO management experience as I was stuck at a Cadillac dealership all day where people who had real jobs looked at me like scum because I would try to sell them insurance they didn't need and were too smart to buy. Again I know the job market in Detroit is really bad right now but I honestly think you could gain more experience in management running a McDonald's.
I think my paycheck was like $900 every two weeks. I didn't get any vacation (I wasn't there long enough) and "flex time" is a freaking joke. I also have to say that the two or three times I had to call into work ( I was really sick!) I got a major guilt trip and had my manager calling my house not checking on me, but making sure I would be in the next day.
Unless you want to stay in the car rental business look elsewhere. You can get more relevant management experience working for a major retailer.
The hours and culture at Enterprise were just too rough for me, I got burned out real quick I will say though that coming out of college I did develop patience and some very good customer service skills.
Low but you can move up and then earn decent bonuses but it still may be too low.
Working at Enterprise was mistake. Don’t expect for the ‘management” experience to have any value anywhere else. You are going to learn a lot about the car rental business and not much else.
You are held liable for many things which are out of your control at Enterprise. Let me explain, a big part of the enterprise pay is a bonus which is based on how much money your store makes. If someone doesn’t return a car or damages a car your store makes less money and so do you. What happens when someone doesn’t return a car? Do you declare it stolen? No. You must knock the door of the person who rented it and ask for the keys back. Even if you have a key and you see the car in their parking lot you must knock on the door of the person who didn’t return the car and ask for the keys. I happened to be in inner-city Atlanta so this occurred often and it never went well. I feared for my safety. It’s a ridiculous policy. This is just one example of some of the unpleasant things you will go through at Enterprise.
You do have the opportunity to move up to branch manager rather quickly but opportunities get slim after that. You will be working extremely long hours. 7-7 on Saturdays is the norm. Unless you are fascinated by renting cars I would avoid this company.
Enterprise was a great place to gain knowledge of the business world. Most people think Enterprise is just a place where employees only rent cars. It is so much more the company teaches you how to run a business while maintaining customer satisfaction.
It is true the hours are long and the work is tideous at times, but for those who can look past the grind of the workplace will have a great experience. ERAC thought me how to market, grow my business, accounting, managerial duties, customer relations, sales techniques, and how to motivate people around me. The best part of it all is I got paid to do it.
For those of you thinking about working at Enterprise you will be asked to do alot and work long hours, but the rewards are worth it.
