Randy's Ring & Pinion Reviews

Pros

-You are not just a number- the work you do on a daily basis contributes to the success
-Management is very open to new ideas and will listen
-There is room to grow and learn more
-All departments are very friendly and fun to work with
-The company provides several fun events throughout the year
- The company is successful and growing!
- Quality is the key to success- you can be proud of the product on the shelf!
- You need to be detail oriented, have excellent follow-up, listen, work you hardest and smartest every day and you will be successful at RRP

Cons

-Not necessarily a con at all, but you are accountable for your work. This can bring pressure
-At times it can be a stressful place to work, but most good companies (successful) companies tend to have their times of stress
-If you don't have the skills outlined above at the end, you could find it difficult to work at RRP.

Advice to Senior Management

I would like to see more time off offered; maybe increase vacation time or have sick time separate. The employees tend to work very hard and intense while at work and more breaks would be nice, especially since we don't get the "smaller" holidays off.

Pros

Randy's has a good central location and reasonable work hours. The compensation is above average for the industry, that is why so many tolerate the abuse for a paycheck.

Cons

In a word, Micromanaged to death. The upper management spends more time writing emails to subordinates about tasks that have already been completed than actually managing the company. If you are not in the privy group of inside jokes, you will be the butt of one. The sales staff is ruled by fear of termination and with a very large turnover rate, it is easy to see their point. There have been ( by the salesmen's count) 15 sales managers and 60 sales reps burned through in 8 years. Wow! talk about turnover. The only reason they stay in business, is they are bigger than most of the competition and can bully them like their employees. Even with that, they court customer who know the truth and will not buy even if they can save money, due to the the business ethics here.The company is changing and not for the better. They will lose or fire most of the sales staff by the end of the year, as they are attempting to become an "all electronic " company. Good luck. Do not look at this company as an job opportunity. Keep collecting unemployment, you will be much better off.

Advice to Senior Management

Trust your staff. they work in fear, and one day will revolt. I know you do not care, but look at how the company is run and the changes that have taken place in the last 6 years. Shame on Randy for putting the company in the hands of a President whose idea of managing is to berate someone until they bend to his will, and spends more time worrying about tasks that have no consequence to the business than actually sell parts. If you let people do their jobs, you will find a much better culture.

Pros

Great north Everett location.
Decent pay.
I wish there was more I could say but really that is all the pros.

Cons

When you are first considered for the position you job shadow to see if you are really interested in the position. When hired on it then turns into something completely different. Very stressful, management always seems to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off which is probably why there is little to no feedback. Huge turnover rate.

Advice to Senior Management

When hiring employees show them exactly what they are signing up for before waisting everyones time. Read a how to manage people book.

Pros

The company has an easy to reach north end location.

Cons

This company has by far the worst corporate culture I've ever experienced. The tension is so thick, you can feel it. People work in constant fear of loosing their job. Randy will decide on a whim that he has somehow been "wronged" and your gone - no discussion or explanation. Employees are limited to performing tasks rather than adding value. The president is extremely poor and mostly tracks tasks and attempts to intimidate. The most capable hires seem to be chased out the quickest. Ethics concerning intellectual property are down right scary.

Advice to Senior Management

Grow up! Hire good people and let them do their job rather than living under the delusion that everyone is out to get you.

Pros

It has a great location on Airport Road in Everett. The people who work at RRP are enthusiasts and passionate about differentials.

Cons

The CEO talks a VERY good game during the interview process. Once you get in the door however, you discover that only 5-6 people have been with the company for over two years. There is a 40%+ actual turnover. Employees are in constant fear of loosing their jobs and keep task logs of every action. Managers are required to lock their doors unless they are in sight of their office. The President has a very forceful personality but little business acumen. Business ethics are very questionable - particularly in the area of intellectual property.

Advice to Senior Management

None. This is a classic owner/operator business that has grown to decent size through the owner's force of will. The CEO's all encompassing ego creates an ever changing reality and will not change.

Pros

It is located on Airport Road in Everett so it is a good location, easy to get to. Everyone besides management are really nice.

Cons

The CEO is not effective. He trys to lead by fear, and doesn't possess fair and just business management skills. He definitely challenges ethics and logic. He has pushed his own views regarding politics, race, and religion on his employees which makes people extremely uncomfortable. He is involved in every decision no matter how small, so everyone has to deal with him, even non-management positions. He does not let his management team do their job.

The people that work at Randy's Ring and Pinion are excellent. Randy may try to get good talent in the door by paying well, but inevitably, will not let his management team shine.

Advice to Senior Management

Thanks for trying to mitigate the time the non-management employees spend with Randy, but with the turnover being roughly 75%, you'll be gone within the year. Let people do their jobs.

Pros

The Location. Very convenient location for Snohomish County. The employees in non-leadership levels are wonderful.

Cons

Each day is very unpredictable in terms of behavior. Top management, and this is a very flat organization, manages by fear and intimidation. Basic respect is lacking for people from management and the entire location seems to hold their breath waiting to find out who was subject of the tirade of the week. If you are a competent driven manager with a history of sucessful results, this is not the employer for you. The environment will not allow you to function as a professional, it will only allow you to perform tasks and requests, (some ethcially challenged and just plain wrong) and it won't be long before you wonder why in the world you joined this organization.
Accepting a position with this company was by far the worst decision I have made in my professional life. Petulence is a good word to describe top management.

Advice to Senior Management

Do the right thing and lose the fear and intimidation act. Each of you has to hold yourself accountable and if you are also operating out of fear, you have just compromised yourself as a person. Take the initiative to confront the issues and change the culture rather than become a part of it.

Pros

Other than the owner, the employees are a great group to work with. They pay extremely well, and the location is good.

Cons

The turnover is HIGH! The owner is a bully. People are continually afraid of losing their job. People are fired at the drop of a hat often without prior warning. If the owner decides you have "wronged" him or the company in some way, you are gone. No questions asked. The tension usually gets so bad that you can feel it.

Advice to Senior Management

Make a plan and stick to it. Listen to your employees.

Pros

Randy's is a very friendly and personable place to work. Management makes a point of associating with all other employees, and the feeling is of a very 'flat' structure. They tend to be somewhat laissez-faire, mostly allowing employees to choose their own structure for completing tasks.

Cons

Some of the communication technology in place at Randy's isn't fully utilized. Particularly in areas like training, because it is a smaller company, things tend to be disorganized or anachronistic, such as using mismatched binders of old handouts and advertisements instead of a homogenous, electronic information format. Change is sometimes slow to be adopted.

Advice to Senior Management

There is room to make work flows more productive, the challenge is finding the time to streamline processes while getting routine work done at the same time, and enforcing adherence to new systems.

Pros

Good location with good benefits and good pay. The people there are nice.

Cons

Little to no communication between management and employees. Feedback is provided, but it's only feedback that they received from their manager. Everyone is always looking over their shoulder waiting for the other shoe to drop. Management doesn't truly listen, but they do what they're told to do from the top. It's said there to think positive and picture success but in reality motivation is typically done on a negative level.

Advice to Senior Management

Department managers need to be taught to be leaders not just keep their people in line. Change up the script for the monthly company meetings. Areas of improvement given during annual reviews need to be followed up on.