DrFirst reviews

4.0

74% would recommend to a friend

(286 total reviews)
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G. Cameron Deemer and Lazier Kornwasser

93% approve of CEO

73% positive business outlook

DrFirst has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 286 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The DrFirst employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

286 reviews
1.0
May 5, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good compensation, lots of free swag, really great coworkers (who have no authority whatsoever)

Cons

Read the other critical reviews. They're not exaggerating. DrFirst is a software company and the company's software development is controlled by the CTO, who sits in Barad-dûr and is convinced he's some kind of super genius but in fact kills everything he touches. He then blames everyone and everything for his failures (except for himself, naturally; remember, he's a super genius). He imbues the organization with a culture of fear, and upper management is what you'd expect in such an organization. Some managers add no value and try to keep their heads down, hoping the CTO won't notice them and squish them under his mighty thumb, while the rest hang around in Isengard, trying their best to toady up to him, hoping they can ride his coattails to power and glory. In general, management seems to understand that quality is terrible and getting worse, but they hope that if things can just stay stable(-ish) for long enough, someone ELSE will be in charge when everything comes crashing down, and thus, will take the blame. DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD A MANAGER TELLS YOU. They didn't get to where they are because of competence and knowledge; it's their skill at back-stabbing and blame-throwing that has secured their positions. To them, you're just another disposable orc. The company is decades behind industry best practices and standards, but since the CTO is a super genius and their current approach is his, clearly the current approach must be perfect and therefore must not change. The tragic thing is that the individual contributors at DrFirst are wonderful. They heroically struggle to keep the jalopy running without support or recognition from management. They are wonderful, but don't bother trying to get to know them because it's only a matter of time before the Eye of Sauron falls on them (or on you). If you don't listen to the reviews and you take the job anyway, at least stay on good terms with your former employer. P.S. Ignore the company responses where they say, "DrFirst believes in continuous improvement". They might believe continuous improvement exists in theory, but you can be sure they don't actually practice it at DrFirst. Everyone knows how bad it is, and for how long, but nothing ever changes. There is no reason to believe it ever will.

2.0
Sep 19, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some very smart and cordial professionals who gained my respect and admiration.

Cons

Nepotism prevails and there are bullies in management, including some who lack talent/vision and who are so insecure that they cut down/sabotage those who bring new approaches and who know what they are doing. Another reviewer described the place as instilling a culture of fear. I would say that is accurate. Also not a good place for women looking to move up: only men are in the senior management positions. That should tell you something. Turnover is high.

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DrFirst Response
9y
Thank you for your feedback. We agree that DrFirst has great professionals on our team. We are committed to creating a comfortable, transparent, and collaborative environment for all of our team members so we are extremely disappointed to hear about your experience at DrFirst. We are still a small to medium sized organization, so it saddens us when we miss an opportunity to make things right with our staff. We value and consider all feedback and are always focused on finding ways to improve to help us get to the culture that we aspire to have — one that allows people to build meaningful careers. Thank you again for your input, we wish that things would have ended differently, but we hope that you have tremendous success in your future career.
1.0
Aug 13, 2018

They don't seem to learn

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

At the working level, people are sane, smart, and kind, but sort of beaten down by years of crazy. If you can't get a job elsewhere, this is a good place to park for a while.

Cons

The technology team used to be insane but fun. After they hired the new CIO it's insane and miserable. She is pathologic and everyone who works in tech knows it but management loves her. She loves the people who suck up to her but then turns on them. Don't join the tech team if you are going to be working for her.

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DrFirst Response
7y
Thank you for being part of our team. We welcome constructive dissent and hope you utilize our open door policy to discuss this further. Thank you for taking the time to share your review.
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