Tower Loan reviews

3.5

63% would recommend to a friend

(451 total reviews)

Francis C. Lee

61% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Tower Loan has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 451 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Tower Loan employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

451 reviews
1.0
Apr 25, 2015

Branch Manager

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The insurance is pretty good compared to other jobs. The provider takes forever to pay claims at times but always paid.

Cons

This company has went down hill very quickly over the past 2.5 years that I worked there. The customer interest rate is very high & sensible customers won't do loans here. However, the company also sneaks in extra useless insurance products onto the loans in order to make a lot more money. Insurance sales are closely watched by management & if you don't gouge enough people you will definitely hear about it. The company still forces employees to use outdated collection tactics that the competition has moved away from such as constantly calling jobs, family members, references when customers are not paying their bills. Managers are commonly told to visit customer homes (by themselves & after dark) to pressure customers to pay & management will tell you to visit them at work if they continue to ignore you. These things are not legal in Illinois & there is definitely going to be a lawsuit at some point. There is a reason why Tower Loan is the only company that still does these things. Employees are definitely treated worse than the customers. Most management is rude, uneducated & incompetent & rarely have ideas on how to improve things but have been told to constantly ride managers to get better results. I had 3 supervisors during my 2 years as a manager & all 3 of them were brand new when they took over the position. One of them began to figure things out & was quickly moved to a larger area. The other two were in over their heads & were little or no help at all. This company still lures people in by promising decent pay when you hit your goals. The goals have been adjusted over the past couple of years so that pretty much every manager is now working for base pay. If you want a job where you are over worked, under paid & constantly harassed by incompetent management this is the right place for you. If these things don't interest you i would strongly advise that you stay away.

1.0
Jun 15, 2016

Just Walk Away

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The customer service experience can be used as a stepping stone into a better job. Commission is nice when you actually reach the 20-loan goal for the month, which is usually around back to school and Christmas seasons, but goals are harder to reach in offices with more employees to compete with. There are opportunities to advance within the company, although you have to be prepared to move wherever they send you. Most of the employees I met were fairly nice, but the not-so-nice ones can ruin the entire experience if they're your boss.

Cons

Within a week, I knew Tower wasn't a long-term option. Others with better management might have better experiences, and that's great for them, but working at Tower Loan was the most miserable time of my life. A couple of friends that worked in different branches have said the same. Managers will say, "this job isn't for everyone", and that's true. But it's not because they're weak-minded or can't handle it like they imply. It's because most people will not continually subject themselves to the workplace bullying and constant negativity that seems to be ingrained into the company culture. Turnover is high, and everyone is replaceable. Employee retention is not a priority. The trickle-down effect is prominent. Directors micromanage supervisors to get numbers up; supervisors micromanage office managers, who then breathe down the necks of CSR's and MT's to "get it done". There's more negative motivation than positive. It's about numbers, not about hard work. I was told, "I didn't have to start you out at [insert amount $2/hr lower than CSR's from local competitors make] an hour, so get some loans." They act like you can force a customer to get a loan through repetitive solicitation served with a smile. Although they've been "working on" improving customer service, I've still seen managers yell at delinquent customers, calling them names and questioning their character. The office culture seems to be stuck the 60s- it's all about constant, fast-paced productivity. 100 solicitation/collection calls a day is the quota, and that's on top of answering the phone, helping customers, and clerical work. If you meet your goals, "great, make some more calls." It's draining. "Chit-chat" is to be kept at a minimum; I watched a coworker be berated (on a slow morning) for quickly showing a holiday photo of their kid. I also picked up on sexism and discrimination- females have to wear a certain heel height on their shoes, certain hairstyles can't be worn (most of which are part of African American culture). CSR's are never male, and it's because CSR's are the sweet young ladies that "look pretty and greet the customers at the door." And if you haven't heard about the transgender man filing a lawsuit against Tower in Lousiana last year, you should Google it. The computer system is flawed, but nobody will admit it. Even though it bugs out on a regular basis, it's always attributed to a human error an employee made. When you're responsible for money, it can be a nightmare. I was once accused of stealing after an overage resolved itself. I caught computer errors several times, one of which, had it not been found by me, would have made me personally responsible to replace over $200. Drawer shortages are supposed to come out of the manager's bonus, but supervisors find it perfectly acceptable to force CSRs to pay for drawer shortages out of their own wages. Who cares if managers make over 30K more annually? Speaking of wages, that is yet another thing that seems to be several decades behind. A 25-cent raise annually for a CSR is not uncommon, yet they want good CSR's to stick around to keep the offices running smoothly. Working 4 years to get a dollar in raises is not adequate motivation, especially with the loan goal for commission being mostly unattainable year-round for the majority of CSRs.

1.0
Jun 9, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Monday-Friday job for CSRs. other than that there are no pros. job security sucks!

Cons

long hours. management immaturity. strict management. no days off. soliciting nonstop. if you don't wear heels and are female they will say something. constant discouragement. everything is a race here and if you don't preform you will get scolded.

Viewing 4 - 6 of 451 Reviews

Glassdoor has 455 Tower Loan reviews submitted anonymously by Tower Loan employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Tower Loan is right for you.