Thus Far

Hello Everyone,

I stumbled upon this message board while trying to do a little further research into this company before committing to anything. I have stumbled upon similar boards for other companies that I have research so while I certainly am taking in as much input and experiences as possible I do not intend to base my decision on this and this alone. If I do decide upon joining the organization hopefully some of the things I have read here will allow me to avoid some of the chaos, or if not I will at least know what to expect. My situation is this, I am currently managing a service related company and in this role I have frequent dealings with the local branch of Enterprise. My visits are/have been so frequent that I am on a first name basis with all members of the branch. Just for the record and to go along with the 'prototypical employee', all of employees are young, clean cut and attractive. The branch manager has visited my place of work several times on corporate sales followups and we have exchanged war stories of varying natures however the makeup of the company did seem somewhat fascinating. I thought to myself then that if something happened in which I no longer wished to continue my current employment that I would seriously consider looking into Enterprise a little further. So I researched the website and decided to apply just to see what would come about. Within 2 days I had a phone call from the area recruiter. This was approximately 10 minutes in length and she went over some of the basics and tried to get a feel for me. Two days later I had another interview with the recruiter. She had approximately 10 minutes worth of questions and I had about 25 minutes worth bringing this one to 35 minutes. Next I had an interview with the Area Manager. This lasted about an hour and had many of the same questions I have asked my own prospective employees. This lasted just over an hour and at this point she scheduled an interview for me with the branch manager. Again this lasted about an hour with much from the same line of questioning. Next up I have an interview with the District Manager scheduled for next week and this I am told is the final step before a decision is made. I do expect to receive a job offer granting I do not attend the final interview with a hangover and then it will simply be a matter of trying to decipher how many of the promises are simply a smokescreen and what is realistically achieveable as far as a career path is concerned. What I am looking for are some positives with regards to either advancement within the company or simply how well the company acts as a stepping stone outside of just the pharmaceutical industry. Also I am interested in starting my own business a few years down the road. Are there any members on this board who have done so and if so has listing your experience with the company aided you in acquiring starting capital from lenders?

Thank you very much for your time everyone

ED

Ed

From your post, you sound like an intelligent fellow. Right there is why you won't fit in with ERAC, you're intelligent. They hate intelligence at ERAC. That why they recruit frat boys from third tier universities with C averages.

Now to be serious. DO NOT WORK AT ERAC!!! It will be the biggest mistake you could ever make. I can go on and on why you shouldn't work here but this is what this website is for.

Ed
Go ahead and do it. It sounds to me like something you are very serious about and if you go into it with the right attitude, you will be successful. I gave it 7 1/2 years, and I finally realised it was not for me. As you can tell from this board, it is not for everyone. The thing to keep in mind, is that there is potential to make very good money. Yes, you will work long hours and it will take over your life. For some people, that is ok, it worked for me. Treat the branch that you work at as if it is YOUR own business. If you have that attitude in everything you do, you will succeed. I know I sound like I drank too much of the green kool-aid, as people like to say on here, but the reality is, every employee I ever worked with who really set their goals to do well, did do well. I worked with MT's who remained Mt's for 3 years, and others who were MT's for less than 9 months. It is all about what you put into it. If you dwell on the negatives, you will fail, I can promise you that. I hope this helps. As Wayne Gretzky said, "in hockey, you miss all of the shots that you never take." The same holds true in life.

Just to go along with what I had originally wrote, something occured to me this morning when I received calls from two managers within the branch to move my final interview up to this week. I learned of the job from the branch manager and when asked the question during the interview with the Area Manager of where I heard about the job I stated this. If I am correct then, this branch manager stands to gain a fairly nice referral bonus if they make an offer and I accept. Perhaps I have stumbled onto a nice trick to make sure at least one manager is pulling for me.

Ed

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Just to go along with what I had originally wrote, something occured to me this morning when I received calls from two managers within the branch to move my final interview up to this week. I learned of the job from the branch manager and when asked the question during the interview with the Area Manager of where I heard about the job I stated this. If I am correct then, this branch manager stands to gain a fairly nice referral bonus if they make an offer and I accept. Perhaps I have stumbled onto a nice trick to make sure at least one manager is pulling for me.

Ed

In my old region they would get $1000.

Ed,

You have a chance that most of us never got. You can avoid the agony that is working for ERAC. They are already trying to use you before you even work there. Imagine if you actually work there, how bad they would use you. DO NOT WORK FOR ERAC. I worked there 1 1/2 years, got up to assistant, and would not do it again if I had the chance to do it all over. If you need proof:

1. this website
2. www.jobvent.com (where ERAC is the 3rd worst company to work for)
3. the overwhelming majority of new employees quit within the first 9 months, not just majojrity, OVERWHELMING MAJORITY. What does that tell you about a company.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

In my old region they would get $1000.

Ed,

You have a chance that most of us never got. You can avoid the agony that is working for ERAC. They are already trying to use you before you even work there. Imagine if you actually work there, how bad they would use you. DO NOT WORK FOR ERAC. I worked there 1 1/2 years, got up to assistant, and would not do it again if I had the chance to do it all over. If you need proof:

1. this website
2. www.jobvent.com (where ERAC is the 3rd worst company to work for)
3. the overwhelming majority of new employees quit within the first 9 months, not just majojrity, OVERWHELMING MAJORITY. What does that tell you about a company.

http://www.jobvent.com/companyBrowse...=103&PageNum=1

[smartgirl]

Ed, only you can make that fateful decision to work for ERAC. I was in Erac for almost 6 years. Consider that you will not be working in the branch of your choice. Enterprise shuffles you around to different branches. My first branch of 3 months was a local branch and fun to work in. I then worked at the an airport doing the 2pm to midnight shift or the 5am until 2pm shift. Then I worked in Eracs inside dealerships---they are the worst kind of customers to service. You will be doing a lot of happy hours and coming home tired after working 10-12 hours a day.

I just got a job making $20,000 a year than working ERAC. I work 8 hours a day and get a lunch. Its been unsual for me to come home work early. I called some of my friends still working at ERAC and they were still at work! One was out of breath from running around, the other got off late. I asked her why she didn't leave ERAC and get another job. She said it was because she doesn't have a college degree and doesn't think she could make the money she is making now somewhere else. I too was brainwashed into thinking I could never leave ERAC and make more $$. Its also scary leaving your comfort zone.

If you do decide to work at ERAC, my sugestion is to work 6 months to a year only. Use it as a reference for a company that will pay you more. The billion dollar company I now work for told me they heard nothing good about ERAC, except that they work you long and hard. Companies will hire you because they know you did "time" and know you will work hard for them too.

I took the leap after graduating from college and the following year and a half was a study in misery. When I told one of my buddies I was hired by ERAC, he laughed in my face. He told me his older brother "worked for those clowns for 7 months and bailed". I was not deterred because I was going to make things happen and make a career at ERAC.

The reality was no matter how hard I worked, how much waiver I sold, or that I made Branch Manager in 11 months, there was always way too much shit to deal with for the joke they called a paycheck. On top of running a branch, I had to be an employee baby sitter, a psychologist, a referee, a marriage counselor and a taxi driver for the drunks at the after hours seminars.

I finally saw the light after 14 months and started job hunting. Two months later I got a good job offer, quit the next day and never looked back. Now I work reasonable hours, get paid accordingly and just not have to worry about things I have no control over.

I am much happier now than I ever was at ERAC.

Good Luck

[LUCKY7]

I Worked At Erac For Nearly A Decade. I Know, I Know, I Am An Idiot. But Now That We Got That Off The Table. I Have To Admit This Idiot Was Involved In Many Levels Of Management From Ncs Orders, To Dx Repairs To Marketing. Every Department Has Major Issues Among Them Is Their Lack Of Communication. Ox's In Gp36 Is Over $40/car For The Year. Retention Is Below 60% And Sinking. Ncs Orders Are Slowing Down Because Esqi Is In The Tank. But Most Notable Is Admins Lack Of Involvement

Originally Posted by smartgirl

Ed, only you can make that fateful decision to work for ERAC. I was in Erac for almost 6 years. Consider that you will not be working in the branch of your choice. Enterprise shuffles you around to different branches. My first branch of 3 months was a local branch and fun to work in. I then worked at the an airport doing the 2pm to midnight shift or the 5am until 2pm shift. Then I worked in Eracs inside dealerships---they are the worst kind of customers to service. You will be doing a lot of happy hours and coming home tired after working 10-12 hours a day.




WHOA WAIT A MIN HERE.... 2PM to MIDNIGHT @ ERAC????
ERACS HRS are 7:30 - 6

NOT MIDNIGHT!!!


but unless you had the airport job, then i can see why, but most brances that i work at... are 7:30 - 6 sometimes 7pm ((if you need to get cars from other branches))



I just got a job making $20,000 a year than working ERAC. I work 8 hours a day and get a lunch. Its been unsual for me to come home work early. I called some of my friends still working at ERAC and they were still at work! One was out of breath from running around, the other got off late. I asked her why she didn't leave ERAC and get another job. She said it was because she doesn't have a college degree and doesn't think she could make the money she is making now somewhere else. I too was brainwashed into thinking I could never leave ERAC and make more $$. Its also scary leaving your comfort zone.

If you do decide to work at ERAC, my sugestion is to work 6 months to a year only. Use it as a reference for a company that will pay you more. The billion dollar company I now work for told me they heard nothing good about ERAC, except that they work you long and hard. Companies will hire you because they know you did "time" and know you will work hard for them too.

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