Progressive Insurance reviews

I worked in sales, so I will keep my comments, for the most part, directed to that skill set. In sales, we all know that price is the driving factor, when selling "air." What I mean by that is you are not selling anything tangible. The customer cannot touch it, see it, taste it or smell it. Insurance, of any type, is that way. The customer gets documents which are usually glanced over, then filed away, never again to see the light of day until renewal time, or accident time. However, as a sales rep for Progressive, you are hammered with. "Get the customer off the price discussion, and onto the reasons why Progressive is the best "fit" for their insurance needs." Easier said than done, but if you are one of the 'gifted' people who can do that, this is the job for you. "Impossible metrics". Now I've seen that phrase bandied about on these reviews and, while Progressive does set the bar high...really high...I have seen many reps meet and exceed them, so looking at that from a company perspective, my answer is..."If John, Sue, Jimmy and Darla can do it, then it can be done." Face it. That is true of any company. It's all about the numbers, baby!! Get used to it, because THAT is corporate 'Merica now. The metrics are what they are, and will only continue to rise, and be added to, as "new and improved" methods of grading employees come out of company think tanks. Now...here's why I am no longer there...A. I couldn't hit the metrics. B. I despise the hive mentality. "Bleed Progressive Blue." ? Sorry, not for me. I've never been a "team" player. C. ...and this is the primary reason I'm no longer there...I cannot understand people who...A. Can't speak English. Yes, there a Spanish line, but that's all there is. If the prospect speaks in any other accent, you are stuck with it. B. Multitaskers. Why people pick a time when they have a screaming baby in their arms....are munching on a bag of whatever...have their tv up so loud, that that's all you can hear...or are doing any manner of things, other than paying attention to you.....is beyond my comprehension. And trust me...you WILL get a lot of that. If you don't have a very thick skin, you better develop one in a hurry, or after about 4 months there, you will want to throw the phone at your computer monitor. If you want to work for Progressive in Sales, you need the following... A thick skin, a tolerance for stupidity, TONS of conflict resolution skills - because believe me...there WILL be conflicts for you to resolve - and lastly, belief in your product. If you are like me, and just want to punch in, do your work, punch out and go home.....don't even fill out an application. Save yourself AND Progressive the grief. Oh, and that "sweet' schedule? If you have the choice between the 4 days in a row on, 3 days in a row off - or 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off - take the 2 on, 1 off, 2 on, 2 off. 4 ten hour days in a row taking those calls will fry you faster than egg on a "High" burner setting. If you are competent in the things I have mentioned, then by all means send in an application, because you'll do well, and love the job.

* Odd hours. Good schedules are supposed to be given based on seniority but I got declined for my schedule change multiple times over the course of two years while people with less seniority were granted theirs. * Promotions in my department were virtually non-existent so you knew that unless you transferred to another department you were always going to be doing the same entry level customer service job that you were hired at. When promotions did come up on rare occasions everyone became very cut-throat to try and get them. I felt that promotions were given to those with the most seniority rather than to the person who was most well qualified to do the job. * No decision making authority. Almost every situation has a script and if you deviate from the script your call will be failed when they pull it. There is no decision making authority on your part as a CSR or any room for critical thinking. You just read the script. It's not so bad the first year or so that you do it but there's definitely some burnout that sets in year #2 when customers are yelling at you and they're upset and there's nothing you can do for them so you just read the script. Which leads me to my next point.. * You become jaded. When I first started, I really cared about each customer and wanted to help them. It would really upset me when I couldn't help them and I took it personally if they didn't like my service. One of my first days on the phone an agent called me a stupid b***h and I cried because I took it personally. After a while, you just can't care about every caller. It's too emotionally taxing to care about every caller with a sob story or every angry customer. People will tell you about how they can't pay their insurance because their wife is in the hospital or they're living on social security or they didn't REALLY deserve that speeding ticket on their record-- and you just can't care about it all. There's nothing you can do to control the price of their insurance. No button you can click to make their rate go down. Your job is to get customers on and off the phone. I didn't like the person that I became who had to pretend to empathize with customers just enough to keep my call ratings high when my supervisors pulled them. I grew a thick skin-- too thick.