Vantaggi
Flexibility, supervisors are decent. Right before I left they changed the bidding schedule rank to include performance instead of just seniority, which is a move in the right direction since the company hasn't hired anyone for technical support in 2.5 years.
Svantaggi
Very low pay when compared with the same job with other companies like Spectrum, even after the 3% increase they gave because they saw we were underpaid (this was replaced by the 3% you would expect when you get a stellar year review). The company has steadily declined over the past two years with morale and opportunity. No one gets promoted to tier 2 anymore, so no possibility of a pay bump there. They also promise promotions or opportunities coming up and then say nothing for two years. The company used to give an annual Christmas bonus but suddenly two years ago, they stopped and didn't tell anyone until a few days before Christmas. They also cancelled any kind of merit raise, citing cash flow issues (this was right after the merger with Level 3 where humungous signing bonuses were given to execs). After backlash and hundreds of employees leaving the department, they did end up giving the 3% but not until May or June that year. This year the company announced they want a pay for performance culture but didn't even give a 3% raise to top performers in the department. We also got an email from the CEO essentially saying we needed to tighten our belts because the company was paying off debt and couldnt afford to pay us what we deserve. Employees in technical support are also dealing with very irate customers all day because the company doesn't put enough money into preventative maintenance of the network. It's then doubled up because the company also doesn't have enough techs working every day, meaning customers generally wait an average of 4-10 days before anyone comes out to repair (and that's if they show up and are on time). Insurance coverage also declined but the cost increased. I went the doctor for cold symptoms that wouldn't go away for a week and owed $80, which is $5 less than my uninsured relative pays for the same. My specialist used to cost me $65-70 out of pocket and this past year went up to $130. Combining the stress of the job, the low morale, low pay, crappy insurance, and no light at the end of the tunnel makes a perfect mix for employees to hightail it out of there.
