Vonage Reviews

Pros

Still small enough to see how the parts of a company work (or do not work well) to provide a service to customers

Cons

More bureacracy and politics than normal for a company of its size. Not really a tech company. It's phone service. And lots of customer service issues to grind through like any other telephone company.

Advice to Senior Management

More bureacracy and politics than normal for a company of its size. Not really a tech company. It's phone service. And lots of customer service issues to grind through like any other telephone company.

Pros

Not bad pay
3 month paid training
Fun coworkers
$100 lunch allowance
Average benefits after just starting out
Some chance to move around in the company
Supervisors are usually very normal and approachable

Cons

Chance to move around in company seems random at best
Some days dealing with the dumbest/cheapest/rudest customers known to mankind

Advice to Senior Management

Offer more reasons for not getting or what we need to do to change job position to advance and make it appear to be a lot less random.

Pros

- Performance incentives
- Still a relatively small business, so upper management is accessible, including CEO
- millions invested in training
- on-campus gym, Starbucks, & Gourmet dining area.
- commuter shuttle to and from train station.
- great opportunity to travel
- decent pay

Cons

- great work as an account manager can easily overlooked
- supervisors tend to side up with those that they go to the bar with, as opposed to the performance driven AC's
- not nearly enough employees are Vonage customers, and it shows it sales numbers. They too don't believe in the product.
- technology company that hasn't added anything substantially new to customers in the last 4 years-has become very stale.

Advice to Senior Management

- All supervisors should be coached intensely on building relationships.
- don't just assume that because one quietly exceeds his goals that he or she is not happy
-

Pros

The salary has been steady, and they give decent bonuses.

Cons

No appreciation for work done.
No communication or input on software development deadlines.
Very little advancement based on technical skill.
If you're the kind of person who sends emails to show you're working instead of cutting code, this is the place for you.

Advice to Senior Management

The leadership at the director and technical manager level needs a serious overhaul.

Pros

Many different lateral moves are available

Cons

The ladder up is limited

Advice to Senior Management

Be competitive in the market

Pros

The only thing Vonage has going for them that other tech support jobs do not is the $100/month they give everyone to spend on food in their cafeteria.

Cons

Senior management has *NO IDEA* what goes on with the "regular" employees or the company in general. There is very little communication between the top level and the bottom level, and oftentimes the bottom level is completely left out of company-wide meetings due to "scheduling conflicts".
The attendance policy for the call floor does not leave any room whatsoever for an actual sickness or injury. Employees can call out sick three days in 6 months and get fired the fourth time.
The company has no way of polling or extracting necessary information from their own database of customer calls. If the company needs to find out information about a certain topic, each call center agent is required to fill out additional forms and/or spreadsheets *while on the phone with a customer* that gets consolidated and sent up the ladder.

Advice to Senior Management

Talk to your employees. Spend time on the call floor, or at least actively listen to the calls going on. Come up with a way of monitoring customers' call quality.

Pros

You can easily move to different positions LATERALLY, but do not expect to make major advancements upward.

Cons

Lack of direction, if you are looking to advance dont expect to climb the ladder here. Also, once you have been setup with a salary, you are stuck with it to the end. They do not do raises based on performances, and bonuses are scaled low. Vonage also does not have much in terms of self developing yourself, poor onsite training.

Advice to Senior Management

Take a look at what you have on hand. Employees who year in and out receive great reviews are not properly rewarded. Those who are there for the company, not the money - dont receive the recognition they should receive.

Pros

- Only good this is to have JOB. Its little more flexible then other typical call centers. there is Very strict management.

Cons

- No Growth.
- No management care.
- No muh benifits.
- Management is worse.
- They need pplz like machines.

Advice to Senior Management

they have to be flexible.
Need to give more benefits to emplyee so they can take breath.
please come out of machine world.

Pros

I did get a paycheck and was able to eat and keep a roof over my head at the same time. I was very glad to have a job in these economic times.

Cons

Vonage is just a very bad environment to work within, PERIOD. The company breeds negativity and complacency. There is no professional track for growth. Management doesn't know up from down. Agents are the backbone of the business, but they ALWAYS get the short end of the stick. Not a good place to work, even on a part-time basis.

Advice to Senior Management

The people hired with authority to make change, should also have a double dose of integrity.

Pros

I am really trying to list something here but it's not coming easy. My colleagues where nice and the events where fun. "Free" lunches (but you it counted as pay at the end of the year. I would have rather had the money and packed lunch). There was really nothing that would be consider a Pro. Wait working at Vonage made me realize how bad a job can be and helped me appreciate my present and past jobs a lot more.

Cons

Vonage is consistent in their method of business. They lie to their customers, employees, and share holders. It is a very poor attempt at running a business. Silverline or who ever gave them that loan in November of 08'. Should be a poster child for our failing finical system. The CEO of Vonage is a crook and he molded Vonage in his image. Check the BBB to and look at the number of complaints. It is a fly by night company that has been in a nose dive longer than anyone could have ever expected. Bitter very much so but I am speaking the truth. Would rather flip burgers then work for Vonage (seriously).

Advice to Senior Management

Look for new management.