Lastar Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Lastar full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – The people are energetic, dedicated, and colorful. The company is profitable and growing. Upper management is ethical and honest. Employees are valued and the company invests in them. Compensation package isn't best-in-class, but it's reasonable considering the local economy.

Cons – The company is in a commodity market and struggling to innovate and find (or create) competitive advantages. The size of the company and low rate of turnover makes moving up a long-term commitment. Middle management is spotty and not well integrated which results in confusion and struggles when working toward strategic goals.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Lastar full-time for more than a year

Pros – only pro I can think of is the co-workers who are on the same level as you.

Cons – This company underpays their employees while still making them work as if they're getting twice the pay. Lastar makes you feel as if they are doing you a favor by giving you a low pay job and getting a promotion for production people is near to impossible. If you are good where you are at, then they keep you there never letting you get additional training to get a higher pay. They try and act as if they care by putting on monthly meetings and showing if you're doing a good job or costing the the company money. Certain supervisors will find any reason to fire you is they just don't like you that much though you're doing more than everything asked of you.

Advice to Senior Management – If you want your employees to be better workers, stop pretending you care and actually do something about it. Maybe the management team is happy but i can honestly say 90% of your production workers are not happy with their job.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Lastar

Pros – There are a lot of good people at Lastar/Cables To Go.

Cons – A few years ago, I enjoyed coming to work here. Sadly the whole atmosphere has changed. Management micro manages and you are made to feel that no matter what you do, it isn't enough. I used to be in sales. I met my quotas, but what I found out was that they randomly change everyone's accounts at the end of every year. They stress customer service and establishing strong relationships with customers, but they pull the rug out from under you every January and you basically start over. You might get to keep a few accounts, but growing sales year after year at Lastar is not rewarded. Kind of weird, but you are better off if you hit 90-99% of your quota. Because what they do is raise your quotas by anywhere from 25%-75% (depending on how good you are doing) and then they lower your gross profit payback percentage. So you could actually make less money if you sell more. They have two tactics for sales: (1) keep mixing accounts up so that no one rep can form long-term relationships. They want all accounts to be "house" accounts. Every January reps have to call accounts and explain that they are the new rep. Then the customer asks, "What happened to _________". Obviously the customer wants their old rep. Then the Cables To Go rep gives a management prepared response to the customer explaining that even though their old rep is still there, it is better off this way because________. The second tactic is to limit sales rep pay. They don't expect reps to last more than 3 years. They figure that they can get a new recruit, pay them less. Turn over doesn't really matter because accounts will be shifted every January anyway.

Advice to Senior Management – Just be honest with your employees. Tell them that their pay has a ceiling. No one but executives have a chance to make money. If a person can be in management and go through their career at Cables To Go WITHOUT lying to their direct reports, it would be...well I don't think it can be done.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Lastar

Pros – There are alot of opportunities for professional growth. They do support continued education and will pay for professional certifications.

Cons – They try and make do with minimal resources so you tend to be given a healthy workload. Depending on your department you can sometimes be in a position to wear multiple hats

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Lastar

Pros – One of the pros of working at Lastar is the flexibility; supervisors are very willing to support employees with personal days/time off. There are decent lines of open communication, especially the open door policy that everyone seems to follow.

Cons – Sales training at Lastar is not very good. The lack of knowledge and competence that management seems to have has a direct and negative impact on all aspects of the company.

Advice to Senior Management – Implement better training! Not only for beginners, but very much so for supervisor and director-level employees as there is a lack of competency and logic. There is a lack of advancement opportunities company wide (especially in sales). Communication is often times terrible between departments and even amongst departments.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Lastar

Pros – * Great training
* Very comfortable work environment
* Good communication from ownership and top management
* Work with a lot of smart, enthusiastic people
* Good opportunities for advancement
* Outstanding benefits
* Leadership cares and respects rank-and-file employees

Cons – * Pay is lower
* There is an "inner circle" that can be hard to break into
* They may be focused on a industry that isn't poised for continuous growth

Advice to Senior Management – Continue to keep up the good communication with employees. Consider paying a little bit more. If possible, look at diversifying into something beyond just cables.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Lastar

Pros – They do a good job of being flexible with personal time and commitments vs work.

Cons – The inner circle of management makes it very hard to make progress in this company. Peopl are promoted more on their personal relationships rather than their skill set; which results in empowered idiots in some positions. The sales department is continuously going through changes based on a "let's see if this works" rather than proven methods. The company is also not postioned to be a competitor with the companies they target to compete with. Initially fr new employees this is a great plce, but frusturations mounts the longer you stay.

Advice to Senior Management – Re-think who you promote into positions and why. Also, work on the inner-circle of mangement and supervisors. Make sure they are in positions because they are qualified and have experience.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend