When I took the position at AAS, I'm not going to lie, I was dubious about the long term prospect of remote work for such a large company, and especially after I had developed some misconceptions about the nature of the work from my prior tenures as a Fixed Operations Director, Service Manager, Technician, and Service Advisor, working with numerous companies in the automotive extended warranty field from the side of the repair facility. I expected to be a faceless cog in a great grinding machine, tasked with looking for denial opportunities and nickel and diming every possible penny from every claim. Suffice to say, I expected to clock out each day feeling slimy. After a lifetime working in automotive service in "right-to-work" states, (Which translates into "right to work through lunch the day of your funeral" for those who aren't aware.) I figured, "It's worth a shot I guess, it can't get much worse than some of the places I've worked for in the past at least." In hindsight, I should have given them a LOT more credit, but it wouldn't take them long to correct my misperception. Right out of the gate I was surprised with how the company as a whole seemed to prioritize the well being of and value to their contract holders, not to mention the level of support they provided to the repair facilities. I'll never forget the day during training that they told us point blank, "We'd 10 times out of 10 prefer you authorize a claim that should have been denied than to deny a claim that should have been authorized." That was about the time that I started reassessing my outlook regarding my long term career prospects with AAS. Fast forward a year and some change, and 2023 has seen my family and I go through serial hardships, multiple deaths, mental health issues, financial hardships, you name it, we've been through it all this year, and despite the fact that as my employer AAS had no real obligation to do so, they have consistently surprised me with their humanity, their support, their compassion, and their commitment to their stated values. They provided me with the time I needed to grieve, they provided free therapist visits for myself and my family, the occasional paid mental health day when I was struggling, and most importantly, the nearly 800 employees (and growing) at this point, really do feel more like family than coworkers or "work friends." Great example: I kid you not, they offered me a bereavement day when my pet passed away, and while I didn't take it, (I needed the distraction work provided, and unbeknownst to me at the time, I'd need every bereavement day available not long after that,) but just the fact that they offered it for something my past employers would have scoffed at, speaks volumes to the sheer, absurd seeming at times, level of compassion, humanity, and employee-centric support that they offer their employees. On top of all of this, they offer hourly pay comparative to what I was making as a salaried manager working 80 or more hours a week, for roughly half the amount of time away from my family, weekends off, paid time off that far exceeds any of my prior employers, paid sick leave, great health benefits, and even offer tuition reimbursement. In an era defined by the seemingly perpetual reduction in workers rights and compensation, it's truly uplifting to have found what I can only assume is the rarest kind of employer, one that values their staff easily as much as they do their bottom line. Thank you AAS for everything you've given me, especially the time with my family I'd been missing for so very long.
