Auto Club of Southern California Reviews

Pros

Your job is relatively stable. You do have opportunities for advancement-- but it may take some time so be prepared. Good training opportunities and learning opportunities.

Cons

There is practically a 5mile walk from the parking lot to the front door. They hardly have any holidays. It is very hard to get time off.

Advice to Senior Management

Make the communication to the employees more clear and transparent, so people are not left guessing what is going on.

Pros

There is definetly a lot of help to succeed from management if you realy want to, how ever if you don't like sale this isnt a good job. Unlike most sales jobs, working at AAA as sales agent is a little bit diferent... members come in to the office all day asking for quotes for auto, home, pup, life and many other products all you have to do is sale them what they came in for. Overall good place to work, but like any other company they can improve in certain areas. Good morals is a must to work here, although once in a while what we call in sales a "shark" or "snake" sneaks in, meaning they steal clients from others, and dont care what they sale as long as it benefits them.

Cons

High Pressure to meet sales goals on a weekly,monthly,quarterly,semi annually, and annually basis. This is a very much "what have you done for me lately" type of job, meaning no matter how good of a month you had last month you better beat it or atleast match it this month or you in trouble.

Advice to Senior Management

Managment needs to realize that we are in a recession and sales goals aren't very easly attainable when people simply just dont have money and cant afford it.

Pros

Paychecks are clockwork with no issues. They have a very strong rep in the So Cal area but I really really do not understand why.

Cons

All of the managers are 50+. Meaning, if you want to become a manager...you will need to wait AT LEAST 15 years. They do hire from outside quite a bit for managers as well which really irks well experienced lifers. Our computer systems are so outdated...they are DOS based. No need for a mouse...I finally know what f2 and f3 are really used for now.

There are MASSIVE issues within different departments to the point we act like different companies. The claims portion and the membership portion do not have any communicate at all. There are plenty of times where this is important. More importantly, different claims offices will dump work upon each other. The yearly bonuses are based on office stats so none of the offices help each other. The easiest example for someone that doesnt know claims is, we do not have tow trucks we can use for claims. Meaning, I have to call and ask the body shop to tow the vehicle which can be a major problem. We only have 1 or 2 tow yards and they charge more than most.

The dress code is a joke. Big time double standard. Plenty of females wear flip-flops and show there tattoos whereas the men are forced to wear ties.

Getting time off is something you need to plan years in advance. The oldtimers get all of the good days off and then its a lottery with whomever is left. The managers get to take time off when they feel like it. Plenty of times were 2 of the 3 managers are gone for more than a 1 day. 1 manager for over 20 adjusters...good idea.

Advice to Senior Management

Need to allow change and actually keep with it. Get a modern system and do something about the very obvious problems instead of just letting them be so someone else also ignore it.

Pros

The Auto Club is a great place where management is understanding and helpful in any situation that may arise with members. The Auto Club also has a terrific training program and great brand recognition.

Cons

One of the most difficult things in my position is getting approved time off. There is always work to do at the Auto Club, and time off is difficult to get.

Advice to Senior Management

I would suggest that the leadership at the Auto Club needs to give more empowerment to their employees about decisions made on everyday basis with members.

Pros

The Auto Club has a very positive culture in many ways, and can be very supportive of employees. It's a bit like working for the company Beaver's dad probably worked for. Job security is excellent, benefits are better than average, and there's decent potential for advancement if you have a modicum of sense and ambition. But...

Cons

...he same things that lead to job security can also result in an inbred approach to change. Senior managers are extremely isolated from everyone but themselves, and information flows very slowly. Pay is well below what you might earn elsewhere, but the combination of job security and somewhat low expectations balance this out if you're just putting in time and aren't out to set the insurance world on fire.

Advice to Senior Management

Walk in through the main doors, not your special entrance; eat lunch in the cafeteria, and just walk around & mingle with the employees. Once they recover, they might have some useful insights.

Pros

Decent pay and benefit packages. There are some opportunities for advancement in other departments. From day one, I was told by coworkers that the best thing about the Auto Club is the people and I really came to believe that too. My coworkers were all awesome and fun to work with.

Cons

Aside from awesome coworkers, I found little about the work, or the organization, fulfilling. Processing the same applications over and over got to be very boring after about week 3. If you have any environmental convictions, this is not the place for you as their business thrives on cars, gas, and more cars. More alarmingly, the cafeteria uses styrofoam and some employees I know would purchase three styrofoam cups a day. They do not encourage recycling or anything 'green'.

Advice to Senior Management

Recognize those who are working hard and producing good results. Respect everyone for their efforts. Most importantly, treat employees like adults and allow them to work autonomously.

Pros

Salary potential, benefits, leads, schedule, comapany sells itself because of the brand name, they give you many lead sources to make money.

Cons

mangement, technology, they are an "old school" company that is sometimes "behind the times" as far as new software or procedures are concerned.

Advice to Senior Management

see more than just numbers and better try to guide agents towards their natural straneghts and not their weeknesses as some do.

Pros

It is a conservative and stable company that has a long history in the state. Everyone is familiar with the company and its products.

Cons

It is about 20 years behind in terms of technology and development. The organization is too set in its ways and stubborn to support new ideas.

Advice to Senior Management

There is a great deal of potential for growth but it is hindered by the lack of communication between senior management and the lower level employees and members. Listen to the employees that are on the front lines everyday and understand the daily operations and needs of customers.

Pros

Stable company, competitive salary and benefits. Large company with great people to work with and certain positions offer opportunity for advancement and exposure to upper level management. Plenty of opportunities for lateral movement within the company to learn various fields of the business.

Cons

Lot's of red tape. Conservative company that takes a long time to make any decisions. Certain necessities are required for the company to catch up with modern times.

Advice to Senior Management

Take more risks by listening to the employees, members, and lower management.

Pros

Great brand. Very focused on quality. competes well in the marketplace. Has gone from declining market share to solid growth. expanding to other states.
Is the leading chapter in the country and sets the pace for all others.
focuses heavily on teamwork and attempts to drive many varied services in a unified fashion. I have been here many years and had many opportunities.
I have seen a lot of change, most of it good, all of it necessary, and it has vastly improved the companies ability to compete and grow.

Cons

Workload can be heavy at times. hard to add staff.
While the teamwork concept is a very good one it is sometimes a struggle to get everyone on the same page and can slow progress.

Advice to Senior Management

You have done a great job making the company strong. We need to know more about how we keep it that way.