The founders [most likely COO] is writing Glassdoor reviews and is either paying/asking them to promote those to the top. There are a lot of truths to unpack in the sea of reviews that have come in...starting with the fact that anything that seems like it was written by someone who isn't the COO is an honest take, where as the "excellent" "no cons" are he.
Keeping this review to 3 main reference points that don't have to do with the sterile (and almost vacant at his point) office:
1. Customer [lack of] Focus: This place is solely concerned with gouging their clients (you, the tax payer) which are schools, and works tirelessly to protect the company's interests while limiting any sense of customer obsession that would expose them to pushback/negative consequences. This starts at the very top: CEO and COO take ZERO responsibility for the short cuts and lack of resources available to support the relationships with schools. Support was outsourced to Central America, and all signs point to it being an absolute catastrophe... but hey, we're creating jobs, right? Oh that's right, we laid off US-based reps who did the job...so not really. Pricing is out of control and Zum continues to seek partnerships to outsource all aspects of fulfillment. So much for the mission statement of trust and safety, am I right?
2. Company Direction and Morale: A plane with no GPS and landing gear with a full wrap around the windshield has a more defined path than Zum. One minute we're supporting a business unit/vehicle type, the next we "never did." Hey, let's push for private school business and sell bus......8 weeks later NO, we don't do this business. "Let's train our drivers *what a concept*, it'll help with the support tickets"......and let's guess how long that lasted [hint, it never happened]. As operations, instructed to re-route and phones sent all calls, even from company employees to the 855 general line, when kids were stranded, in emergencies and even when employees were laid off or quit so no one had a clue where to go or who to speak to at most all times. From a morale standpoint: Every single employee you talk to was and is still trying to get out. The sheer panic and paranoia of being at Zum daily makes it extra difficult to focus on an exit.
3. Leadership: Many of these fake reviews with 5 stars are written by that same leadership...do you really think that invokes any sort of reassurance to the employees still there? Why not take it in, understand that it really is your responsibility to take ownership of these shortcomings and work at making them better, rather than sit behind the keyboard and try and balance the scale. You're going to wake up in 9 months with a lot more to worry about than a few reviews of your character and professional feedback....For a duo that harps so much on education and the "network"... you are clearly blinded by your own affliction. Why not take care of the people who actually run the show and be appreciative of the clients who are blindly trusting you to do the right thing. Other reviews are 100% spot on, leadership roles are assigned not based on merit, but on sheer measure of how easy influenceable you are to keep the dirty laundry behind closed doors.
Already too old for this kind of dysfunction, this is my going away gift to Zum and anyone considering this place...N-O.
