OpenTable reviews

Are you an engineer? Are you looking to use your talents to build great products, and receive recognition and reward for your hard work? Then you'd better look elsewhere. Go to Google, Facebook, or countless other technology companies which value their engineers. These are fundamentally technology driven companies, OpenTable is a sales/marketing driven organization. Engineers are simply cogs in the wheel, and are easily replaceable in the eyes of management. They just don't do performance-based compensation at all. Sure, management has received about $20 million each in stock option based compensation, but the rules are different for everyone else within the company. Even for the engineers who actually create the product that is making management so extraordinarily wealthy. There is no individual recognition whatsoever, unless you make a mistake which costs the company money. Then they will hold an all hands meeting to place blame on the engineer who made the mistake. If you create a product which generates millions in revenue, not a word is said. There is no bonus structure at all. Work as hard as you possibly can, still no bonus. There is absolutely no incentive at all for hard work within this organization. You work your butt off and management gets rich, that's pretty much how it works around here. There is no opportunity to advance within the Engineering department either. All the team leads have been there 6+ years and aren't going anywhere. Promotions and even recognition are not lacking in any other department within the company, but they are an extreme rarity within Engineering. I want to reiterate to any talented engineers out there -- if you want to see your talents appreciated and rewarded, you are better off looking elsewhere.

1. Poor Leadership: I was the only female on a small team of three. When I asked my manager for help retrieving data that wasn’t available in our system, I was ridiculed and undermined. Despite querying data not being part of my role, my manager had suggested it, only to respond dismissively when I kindly requested his assistance. His response was, “I thought you had an MBA. Don’t they teach you that in an MBA?” For context, I don’t have an MBA, but I do hold a master’s degree in a related field, which wasn’t a requirement for my position at OpenTable. Ultimately, I was fired and replaced by a male colleague. My manager was also absent for 75% of my probation period. OpenTable needs to prioritize hiring leaders, not just managers. 2. Unfair Advantage for Those in Office: During my interview process, OpenTable was fully remote, aligning with the company’s mission of promoting travel and flexibility. However, it quickly became apparent that employees with access to an office were given preferential treatment, advancing faster in their careers than those who worked remotely. Four months into my role, the company shifted to a hybrid model, which further widened the gap, creating an even more competitive environment for career growth. 3. Outdated Technology; OpenTable faces significant challenges when it comes to innovation and technological advancement. The company’s outdated tech infrastructure creates barriers to creativity, new ideas, and modern design, severely limiting its potential to evolve. 4. Slack: Surprisingly, for a company of this size, Slack is the primary communication tool. While effective for smaller teams, this reliance feels lacklustre for a global organization.