Pros
I've been here less than 2 years, so my experience may be considered somewhat limited. In the time I have been here, I have felt my supervisors and their supervisors look out for me, give me tools and incentive to succeed. This is a merit-based company, advancement is based upon ability, not seniority. I've moved up quicker than others who have been here longer, based on my abilities. I know I appreciate that, it is reassuring to know that I am judged by my abilities, and not other methods. I was aware of the negative reviews of this company for some time, even before starting employment here, but took a chance. I do see that those who tend to complain tend to leave quickly. The turnover is pretty high, and I will admit, not everybody has the temperament for a call center job. Joe Clayton seems to be a guy who "gets it", I've been impressed with him, and also the people in senior management that are in my chain of command. He can come across a little gruff, but he seems to have a vision for company success. One thing that has been discussed a lot is the occasional mandatory overtime. When applying for this job, the details were made clear that the company does this, it was not a secret. I see it as job security, that instead of mass-hiring short term employees, we spread the work to the current staff.
Cons
The health insurance is not comparable to what I have had before, the cost is high (deductibles, etc), but I am glad to have a position that offers health insurance. Working holidays stinks, I see great opportunity here, other comparable companies are better about giving holidays off, and letting customers know that they value their employees enough to be closed on those days. The offshore outsourcing is disappointing, I have spent many hours correcting and apologizing for the errors caused by offshore agents. I understand they work cheaply, but management really needs to measure how much time those of us in the US spend fixing the mistakes, I don't know the cost-to-value would support the offshore workers. I think the reputation of Charlie Ergen precedes him, and a lot of folks base their opinion of the company based on him. Noted in the "Pros" that Joe Clayton seems to "get it"
