about enterprise, imagine that ;). Need help quick!

ok, i am not biased by this site yet, I don't hate enterprise. HOwever, I do have a few questions about actually working at enterprise.

1. What are the 4 immediate positions above the management trainee position?

2. How long does it typically take to reach each one?

3. How much does each pay?

3b. Are you typically transferred throughout the country upon promotion? So say, if as a management Intern I start in stl, that by the time i am one of the higher level managers I should expect to be in puerto rico(just crazy example).

4. How much travel is involved for a typical enterprise worker?

5. I know management trainees work about 50 hours a week. HOw much do the higher positions on average work?

6. Give me 3 good and 3 bad things about working for enterprise.

7. Is it true that by August of 2009 Enterprise is fully integrating with National and Alamo?

[whatdude]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

ok, i am not biased by this site yet, I don't hate enterprise. HOwever, I do have a few questions about actually working at enterprise.

1. What are the 4 immediate positions above the management trainee position?

2. How long does it typically take to reach each one?

3. How much does each pay?

3b. Are you typically transferred throughout the country upon promotion? So say, if as a management Intern I start in stl, that by the time i am one of the higher level managers I should expect to be in puerto rico(just crazy example).

4. How much travel is involved for a typical enterprise worker?

5. I know management trainees work about 50 hours a week. How much do the higher positions on average work?

6. Give me 3 good and 3 bad things about working for enterprise.

7. Is it true that by August of 2009 Enterprise is fully integrating with National and Alamo?

1. Management Assistant, Assistant Manager, Branch Manager, Area Manager

2. Depends on a couple things. If you're decent at sales and do what you have to do, expect to be an MA in the 8 - 12 month range. Assistant Manager follows pretty shortly after that. In my experience most people are only MA's for a month or two, but it can take longer. It gets a little more complicated after that, but figure you'll probably be an Assistant Manger for at least 4-6 months or more depending on your region. That's not set in stone though, I've seen 2 month AM's get promoted to be Branch Manager's and I've seen people stuck as Assistant Managers for 2 years +. Depends on how willing you are to move or how far you are willing to drive to work, how many managers in your region either quit or get promoted (most likely quit) and how friendly you are with the Area Manager that's doing the interviewing.
Getting to the Area Manager level is a complete crapshoot and there's really no way to put a timeline on that. There are so many things that go into getting promoted to that level - if you're in the right place at the right time and you know the right people, it could take as little as 2 or 3 years. If you're not, you're screwed. I've seen really good branch managers that bleed green be stuck for years. Literally, years, as in they were at ERAC for 6,7, even 10 years and put up solid numbers and were still BM's.

3. a.) Base pay depends on where you live, but figure MT/MA will be low 30K range, AM and higher is a base salary + commission. Base salary is usually high 20's low 30's, then figure in commission. Assistants can make anywhere from low/mid 30's to low/mid 40's. Branch managers, realistically, make low 40's to mid 50's, some can get to ~60K+. Area Managers depend on who you talk to. ERAC will tell you ARM's make upwards of $100K. It's possible and I'm sure some do, but majority don't. Figure probably 60-80K average.
b.) Technically, you'll never be forced to move anywhere. That said, if you wanna move up quickly you better be ready to either move or drive a long way to work.

4.) Depends on where you live and the size of your region/group. They'll usually start you at an office that's within 15-20 minutes of where you live, but once you get going expect that drive to keep getting longer. I started with a 5 minute drive and when I left I was driving 45 minutes each way.

5.) The hours never go down. If anything, they increase. Assistant Managers probably work closer to 55 or 60, some more than that. The only way to cut back hours is to make a move to Admin.

6.) 3 good - 1. It's experience to put on your resume. It'll help with getting a pharm sales job if that's your goal. 2. You meet a lot of people your age, in your position and you get a lot of free alcohol at happy hours, company parties and such. 3. If (big if) things go your way, you can make a good amount of money in a short amount of time.
3 bad - (not sure I can keep this to 3 but I'll try). 1.) You have absolutely no work/life balance whatsoever. To some people that doesn't matter, but personally I couldn't deal with it. You go to work, you hang out with people you work with after work (because they're the only people who understand what you go through and who you can bitch to), and when you're not at work you're probably going to be thinking about work and the shitty situation that awaits you when you go back. 2.) You will probably gain weight. Some people don't, but the combo of long hours, short unhealthy lunches and lack of energy after work to do things is usually a recipe for waistline expansion. 3.) You get shit on, all day, every day by customers, body shops/dealerships and management. Never in my professional life have I experienced more bullshit than at Enterprise, especially being told to do something by one person and then getting yelled at by another person for the exact same thing.

7. I have no clue.

In summary - if it's your only option for work after graduating from college, it's not a bad place to be. Go in with realistic expectations and get what you want out of the experience. Have a plan and stick to it. Enterprise will try their hardest to sell you the dream that you are the future of the company, that someday you will be making big money as the RVP of a group. The reality is that that will only be the case for a very, very small percentage of people and if you're one of them, you'll know it. My personal advice - See it for what it is, a place to get experience when you don't have any. Go in, work your ass off, get your experience and get out. Enterprise isn't the horrible cult some people try to make it out to be, but believe me there are much, much more rewarding careers out there both personally and financially once you have some experience behind you.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

ok, i am not biased by this site yet, I don't hate enterprise. HOwever, I do have a few questions about actually working at enterprise.

1. What are the 4 immediate positions above the management trainee position?

2. How long does it typically take to reach each one?

3. How much does each pay?

3b. Are you typically transferred throughout the country upon promotion? So say, if as a management Intern I start in stl, that by the time i am one of the higher level managers I should expect to be in puerto rico(just crazy example).

4. How much travel is involved for a typical enterprise worker?

5. I know management trainees work about 50 hours a week. HOw much do the higher positions on average work?

6. Give me 3 good and 3 bad things about working for enterprise.

7. Is it true that by August of 2009 Enterprise is fully integrating with National and Alamo?

You are not biased yet?? Then you DESERVE Enterprise. Please, do us a favor and work there for a few months. Include before and after snapshots.

Hmm....well thanks for giving me honesty. I like to cut the shit propogranda and hear the facts and you did that for me.

A few more ?s....
1. I heard that after being a branch managers there are options for careers with Enterprise like car sales and a bunch of other positions that have nothing to do with working at a franchise...what's the deal with that and how hard are those positions to obtain?

2. I am interested in learning the more business side(meaning the financial, operations, strategic parts) of the whole equation. Sure sales is business, but as an assistant manager and branch manager do I get a lot of opportunity to do less sales and more of what i mentioned?

3. I didn't really get what you were saying about being an assistant manager, you said you are promoted to branch manager really quickly like 2 months then it seems like you said it can take 6. If the hours really suck for assistant manager but you are promoted in 2 months it doesn't seem that bad.

4. How much would you estimate the branch manager works at Enterprise, meaning hours per week?

5. How is the intial interview process, I hear there are 4 interviews in total-short phone, long phone, branch interview, and final interview. Is that true for you all? How does that work, do they usually offer you the job on the 3rd or 4th? What about the pay, is that negotiable at all?

In summary, it sounds like the reason people hate enterprise is because you work a lot and don't get paid great and you get unrealistic pressure. To me that is valid criticism. And on the consumer side, because the salespeople lie, although honestly I don't think that is different from any business.

[Branch$$$isaloser]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hmm....well thanks for giving me honesty. I like to cut the shit propogranda and hear the facts and you did that for me.

A few more ?s....
1. I heard that after being a branch managers there are options for careers with Enterprise like car sales and a bunch of other positions that have nothing to do with working at a franchise...what's the deal with that and how hard are those positions to obtain?

2. I am interested in learning the more business side(meaning the financial, operations, strategic parts) of the whole equation. Sure sales is business, but as an assistant manager and branch manager do I get a lot of opportunity to do less sales and more of what i mentioned?

3. I didn't really get what you were saying about being an assistant manager, you said you are promoted to branch manager really quickly like 2 months then it seems like you said it can take 6. If the hours really suck for assistant manager but you are promoted in 2 months it doesn't seem that bad.

4. How much would you estimate the branch manager works at Enterprise, meaning hours per week?

5. How is the intial interview process, I hear there are 4 interviews in total-short phone, long phone, branch interview, and final interview. Is that true for you all? How does that work, do they usually offer you the job on the 3rd or 4th? What about the pay, is that negotiable at all?

In summary, it sounds like the reason people hate enterprise is because you work a lot and don't get paid great and you get unrealistic pressure. To me that is valid criticism. And on the consumer side, because the salespeople lie, although honestly I don't think that is different from any business.

Let me take a stab at some of these:

1. It's all numbers. Enterprise is driven by them. If you have numbers and are a team player you can make the move to car sales, remarketing or whatever. But, you will have to put your time in at a branch and at least make it to assistant manager. But then you are just a used car salesman, so really?

2. Sales consists of taking a box of donuts and some coozies and pens to the body shop that uses you anyway and putting in some face time. Basically when you get to an office they will have accounts that use them. They will have some that don't. Typically if a shop doesn't use them it's for a reason, ERAC screwed them or their customer, or both. But in reality it is not like professional sales calls. You may be lucky to get 5 minutes with an account to talk.

3. Manager Assistant and Assistant manager are 2 seperate positions. You become an MA after 9-12 months when you take your Grill. Basically you will stay in the same office and wait for an assistant manager spot to open. The AM is probably the worst position in ERAC. You get all the bullshit and have to deal with everything while the BM is on "sales calls" or lunches with the ARM. AM positions open frequently because they are always quitting.

4. Branch manager hours, depends on the office. I worked roughly 55-60 hours a week. However, I never took lunch, and even when I was off I would still get calls and stuff. You are expected to be the first in and last to leave everyday. If it snows, be prepared to be there extra early to clear off cars and shovel.

5. The interviews are basically a way for the ecruiters to see if you'd be a fit with the company. If you say your goals are to be a financial analyst or pharm sales rep don't expect to get an offer because they know you will not be around long. If you are married, kids, a bit older, don't expect to get an offer because you will be perceived as a person who will not be a team player and go to happy hours and stuff. pay is not negotiable. Not ever. It's take it or leave it. ERAC is a revolving door of people, if you want more you have to earn it. And they'll tell you, get promoted, send in car sale leads and employee leads.