Car Keys Express reviews

3.1

33% would recommend to a friend

(188 total reviews)

Mark Lanwehr

36% approve of CEO

33% positive business outlook

Car Keys Express has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 188 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Car Keys Express employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

188 reviews
1.0
Mar 13, 2015

Shaking my head right now.

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Opportunity to make six figures, 401k, BCBS insurance, minimum 50% up to 100% travel, two Skype conference calls per week, use company credit card when traveling, company car/phone/iPad (for company use only).

Cons

The "Field Sales Rep" position that they advertise is actually the "Regional Sales Manager." No one tells you that you'll be expected to perform the job of two people: curating all the accounts by cold calling, AND managing a team of technicians aka "account managers." So if the technicians suck at their job and can't sell, you don't make any money as a RSM. (You sign a document that says you can be terminated if a technician under you quits. Really?) The next problem is that the company is so hyper focused on increasing the amount of cities they cover, they'll hire more technicians than you can handle at once, which means three weeks of traveling per month (You also sign a document that says you'll travel OUTSIDE your forty hour work week, which means leave Sunday night and come back late Friday night. Fail.). The company doesn't have enough inventory for the techs in the field to meet the demand of the accounts, yet the company keeps adding more technicians and stretching the inventory even further. So you get dissatisfied customers, unhappy technicians that are losing income, and then you lose commission too. There's no support from the corporate office- only eagle-eyed micromanagement. It's seriously pathetic. And good luck getting paid full commission. I love how Car Keys Express is freaking out about any negative reviews they get- look at other companies- they don't have someone doing fake damage control reviews. Most companies don't bother combatting and fighting bad reviews- they let the quality of the company speak for itself instead of providing defensive, lengthy explanations/excuses.

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Car Keys Express Response
11y
Of the many, quietly successful employees, there will be a few embittered ones who don’t make the grade. So, you’ll see a common theme here: that upper management is the worst thing to happen to the company. By the way, it’s still the same management that started it from nothing and turned it into three industry-leading companies. We’ve grown from a one-man operation to a nationwide company in 35 states in about ten years --all thanks to the excellent work of our dedicated team. We’ve been successful because we make careful hiring decisions and have created a team that works well together. Occasionally, however, we make mistakes in hiring. Although we strive to give every employee all the training, mentoring and assistance necessary for them to achieve success, there have been rare occasions where our company just isn’t the best fit and we have to let an employee go. This can create hard feelings, retaliatory comments, even outright misinformation. Our employees work hard and are the best paid in the industry--by far. For example, our Car Keys Express Account Managers typically earn twice what our competitors pay. We take our work seriously, but we also encourage a healthy work-life balance. Most know the norm for a rapidly growing company is for employees to work 50 or more hours a week. Our office hours are 9-5 daily. Our employees in other states enjoy flexible work schedules. We have turnover that’s half the national average, and give raises that are often twice (sometimes much more) the national average. Of course, it’s more than just money. One example of many is we constantly looking for ways to improve our feedback system to allow for better communication between our team and upper management. Of course, we still offer our feedback system which has always allowed for anonymous messages to management. We’re rolling out some exciting enhancements just next week that will make the system even better. In short--we believe our company’s most important asset goes home at the end of the day. We’re presently going through a period of rapid growth and continue to strive to bring on “the best and the brightest”. Number of employees: 2002 = 1 2006 = 2 2008 = 5 2012 = 47 2013 = 98 2014 = 158 Please keep one thing in mind: It’s necessary that upper management challenges those who don't do live up to our motto “A fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay”. It's a fact of life for high-performing companies to shed those who don’t measure up. To do otherwise endangers the company, and betrays the dedicated employees who do excellent work every day. If you’re interested in joining our team, we encourage you to apply and learn the truth about how we work and how you can contribute to growing the most successful business in our industry.
5.0
Mar 1, 2015

"Micromanagement" translated: Coaching Low Performers!

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I work as a manager here and after reading these posts there seems to be a common thread among bad reviews--complaints over what some are describing as "micromanagement". I can say from first hand that management is pretty "hands-off" unless your a very low performer. It's kind of a "squeaky wheel gets the grease" culture. With any company that's growing as fast as we are, management *must* trust employees and be "hands-off"--it's the best way because we have our hands full all the time. It's impossible to grow company quickly unless you're "hands off". That said, low performers exist in every company--we give them additional coaching just like any well-managed, responsible company does. Sometimes, these low performers either can't or won't respond to coaching, then quit (only a few people have ever been fired here). So when you see "micromanagement", think "required coaching". Ensuring low performers rise to the level of other employees keeps our company strong, and allows us to be a continuing source for opportunity and stability for our dedicated employees and the families they support.

Cons

You have to move fast to keep pace but that makes the days go by fast. Some growing pains are evident here and there. But, it brings with it great opportunities to boost resume and income.

5.0
Feb 27, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Generally satisfied workers with clear ideas of where the company should go. Clients are loyal, Enthusiastic employees + great benefits + salary

Cons

On-boarding was a little bumpy but HR asked for opinions to improve, so likely no longer a problem.

Viewing 175 - 177 of 188 Reviews

Glassdoor has 193 Car Keys Express reviews submitted anonymously by Car Keys Express employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Car Keys Express is right for you.