A hostile environment where Ego and Politics take precedence over Performance
Pros
You do have the opportunity to be promoted into a managerial role of you perform well and are well liked. Large organization. Well known brand. Large presence in the local dealership world. Promote from within.
Cons
You are liable to being transferred to an undesirable dealership if you clash with upper management regardless of your performance. In all sincerity, this is how significant politics are within DARCARS. If you are personal friends with upper management, even if you are the worst performer, you will see more cash come your way along with promotions to positions that you may not even be able of performing in! So frequently employees within DARCARS are promoted to a level beyond their greatest competency. As a matter of fact, I've seen that the best way to get promoted is to threaten to quit. This is how employees with the company move up. If there is a better offer elsewhere, DARCARS will call u p the individual who has the chance to get out and promote them. Sounds alright until you consider the fact this individual may not be qualified or have any variety of seniority. Creates stress among coworkers. The fact that underperformers can be promoted is one thing but the fact that strong performers can be let go is another thing altogether. I have seen individuals transferred (essentially telling the individual they are no longer valued) who have performed INCREDIBLY well. Overacheivers. Let go. This means you do not exactly feel job security. You better be in good with upper management. This is a theme. Ego games are ridiculous. If you act in any manner or make any decisions that aren't strictly in line with ownership ideals, regardless of whether they help increase business or not, you will be either ousted or chastised. Individual thought is not tolerated well. The level of maturity is very low. Objective discussions involving proposals or suggestions to improve business are a rarity. To this end, the decision making process involving a new direction takes an eternity. General managers don't even bother to bring change up because of the amount of red tape necessary to go through to get anything accomplished. You have to go through about 3 or 4 different managers above you to get anything done. GM's are not given freedom to do their jobs. Micromanagement is prevalent. Always focusing on the wrong areas for improvement (these generally have little to do with selling cars). Lastly, the accounting department has been trained to hold every penny they can from you. They will find every kind of deduction possible to take from your check. The payplans for sales consultants are not strong compared to other dealer groups. One last thing: you have an assigned schedule for a minimum of 52 hours. If you work just your schedule, you will be chastised. You are pressed to work bell to bell, 9AM until 9PM. There is no concern about your work/life balance.