United Rentals Employee Review

I worked at United Rentals

Pros – The rental industry in general is highly competitive. If you enjoy competition you'll love this industry. Uniteds' benefits generally speaking were in line with other competitors. Massive and never ending turnover even when times were good allowed for advancement.

Cons – The three worst things you can do in this company. 1) Have an original idea 2) disagree with anyone in a position above you no matter how much thought, logic or common sense went into the disagreement. 3) Guaranteed corporate suicide would be to disagree with anyone above you and be right.

Overall this company has performed when times are good and failed beyond belief when times are not. Those that ventured outside Uniteds conventions when times were bad and succeeded were done away with not copied. Most of the damage being done today to united is by the incredible lack of leadership at the mid level by people so afraid and so far over their heads they refuse to make decisions. The rest is done by talented former employees that went to competitors that allowed them to put good ideas into action.

Simply put, getting promoted at United means you don't ever ever listen to anyone below you. There were people in position to know that waved red flags all over the place back in early 2006 predicting the timing and degree of this turndown right to the quarter that it happened and supported it with facts that were demoted and eventually dismissed because of it.

I advise any talented individual considering employment here to look to Uniteds competition instead, in the short run you will have much less fustration and in the long run more happiness and opportunity.

Advice to Senior Management – Its way past time and probably too late to be of any help but you need to spend almost all of your time out of Conneticut and in the field to see whats really happening to you and why it is. Shut up and start seeing and hearing. Quit the bs initiatives and get back to the people that are succeeding in spite of you and see if it can't be duplicated elsewhere. Take a hard look at your mid management and get rid of the ones that are not making decisions, let no one fly under the radar. Learn how the market has changed first hand, see that your sales force has seriously been depleted of talent. Learn from the few good ones left and rebuild with the process that's made them successful. You need to change now!

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend