Comments on: Best Fortune 500 companies to work for

By: Brandon C. - Gainesville, GA

Brandon C. - Gainesville, GA — Sat, 24 May 2008 05:02:22 +0000

I’ve worked for Publix Super Markets for just over 1 and a half. They have treated me very well. Not only do you have an opportunity to succeed and move up, but they pay great for a grocery store job. Who would’ve ever thought you get quarterly bonuses for basically just working there. And not to mention, depending on the store you work at, you can move up fast if you’re good. I was 16 when I first started and moved up to “Customer Service” by 17, a job that almost always requires you to be 18.

By: DG, St. Louis, MO

DG, St. Louis, MO — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:55:09 +0000

Concerning the methodology, I worked at a company that consistently made the list, and I can tell you that the selected companies chose to whom the surveys are given. It is by no means random or a cross-selection of employees, and the number of surveys is very low relative to the size of the companies.

By: gc, san antonio, tx

gc, san antonio, tx — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:04:29 +0000

I’d like to know the methodology used to arrive at the rankings. It is supposed to be by survey but let me tell you that I worked for a company that repeatedly makes the list but never once received a survey to complete and new of nobody who had. The pay was not competitive, the benefits were average and the workplace culture was below par. In the hiring process they would trot out the Fortune rankings to make the prospectives feel like all was well but it was a shell game if you ask me. I was never sure how they kept themselves on the Fortune list year after year but figured one of the Fortune editors must have been getting paid off big time.

By: Ken-fort wayne,Indiana

Ken-fort wayne,Indiana — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:44:05 +0000

I just want to say.Thank you Exxon/Mobil.We in America now know.You pay $1.00 for a barell of oil.
What kind of people are you anyway.Greedy,non caring individuals.There only care in the world is money.
You are constantly ripping people off.Got us hooked on gas.Im sure with governments help.Because we all know you are in bed with the Bush family,the Rockefellers,and certin other familys connected to your bunch.
But laugh now.You will soon lose this unconstitutional gouging at the pump.
People in America are fed up with your antics.You care nothing about Americans.You care more about the terrorists in Saudi Arabia than you do us.Proven fact.
We are starting a movement to have you tried on crimes against America.Supporting terrorism,and price fixing.
You are to blame.Do you not have a conscience.Your money will not go with you when you meet your maker.You will have to account for the countless horrors you have inflicted on the very people who made you who you are.Without America you dont make money.
We are boycotting anyone who buys gas from you.We will not buy it.So sink in your profits.The next 2 years hopefully will be your downfall.And we say GOODBYE to you sorry individuals for all your crimes against us.

By: Deborah Tampa, Fl.

Deborah Tampa, Fl. — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:08:34 +0000

One company which you expect would treat their employees well being that they are a Multi-Billion dollar company is Metlife. They overwork, underpay, Put a process in place and withing weeks change the process. Then get upset when you did not aclimate to the new process quick enough. Then when bonus time comes around in March , they find ways to cheat employees out of a well earned bonus that they break their backs for. Not to mention the people who have issues with upper management are brushed to the side. The company demands perfection with no errors. (Robots) Yet I have yet to see the upper management error free in their decissions of so called improvement. Pay is determined by the price of labor verses the price of living which does not apply to Florida due to the lack of competition. Plus, India is now in the picture for current jobs being transferring there. (An American based company that uses a foreign Country to sell it’s products). I guess you can afford to treat your employees like nothing and move services to foreign countries when you become wealthy off the sweat of the American people. Which do I prefer, Mom & Pop Companies treat their employees better because they need their employees to make them grow. Companies which are large forget their employees are what keeps them going. Face it, Anything above a Manager has no clue how to do the job the worker bee does.

By: otieno kopiyo Nairobi Kenya photieno2001@yahoo.com

otieno kopiyo Nairobi Kenya photieno2001@yahoo.com — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:44:48 +0000

I am Otieno kopiyo student accountant in stathmore university one of the best business school in Africa. well best big companies are better in the sense that it is stable in many aspect.However, personally i would prefer a small firm since such firms are realy competetive hence promote innovation. as young perrson i need growth rather than money and other incentives which are enjoyed in the big giant.

By: BC

BC — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 04:03:55 +0000

Has anyone worked for S.U.C.C.E.S.S. ?

How well do they treat their employers?

Thank you.

By: Louay, Dubai, UAE

Louay, Dubai, UAE — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:12:20 +0000

I agree to the notion that no matter where you work, it is the direct relashinships with you manager is what really makes the difference (unless you are the boss of your own making$$$)

I worked for 2 big comapnies, FMCG and later Oil company. Straight to the oil guys, they have good procedures, they show some care to their employees but they are really bogged down by processes that impede business. The 2nd largest American oil company – Know you know whome im talking about- dont boast a great sence of where they are going. Staffing is another big issue here. Politics, so damn obvious, and they still brag about diversity! Worst is, benefits are not that great.

Final verdict from sombody whos been around, IT offers the best benefits

By: Emma Spokane, WA

Emma Spokane, WA — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:59:03 +0000

Starbucks is NOT a good company to work for. True, the company offers benefits, but 90% of the workers are underpaid and the turnover rate is appalling. It may be a fun summer job for a college student, but growth in the company is nearly impossible. I am open to working for a corporate giant in the future, but I will never return to Starbucks.

By: Ricky Schaumburg IL

Ricky Schaumburg IL — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:14:02 +0000

I worked for Walmart.However I didn’t like my job at all. Then,I applied to Exxon Mobil.I still work there,and I love it.I work as an Assisant Manager. As much as they care about their employees, they pay well. I am proud to work for the gaint company,EXXONMOBIL!

By: Amy, Phoenix AZ

Amy, Phoenix AZ — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:39:20 +0000

I have had the opportunity to work at several large companies throughout my career. I worked at Motorola for 4 years. Working at Motorola, I was definitely ‘just a number’. I felt like I was working in a sweat shop with a grand master cracking a whip. I was pregnant and had to frequent the ladies room. An issue was raised as a result of my frequent bathroom trips. They claim to be family oriented, but are definitely not. After the birth of my baby, I tried taking personal, or vacation days when my child was ill. If it wasn’t absolutely convenient for them, I couldn’t get the days off. I quit Motorola and now work for Honeywell. What a difference! My salary is twice what it was at Motorola. The environment is so friendly and relaxed! I absolutely LOVE coming in to work, how many people can say that?! Yes, there are strains and worries with every job, but I look forward to solving them. I am treated as a person – part of the team. Honeywell’s Leaders hold quarterly meetings giving company updates. Honeywell is family oriented. They pay for a large portion of Wee Care (day care for mildly ill children) or if I prefer to stay home with my sick child, I’m allowed to work from home. Honeywell holds a number of family events. To be a large corporation, Honeywell gives me that ‘warm blanket and cup of cocoa’ feeling as opposed to the ‘pins and needles’ from Motorola.

By: Adam Poush, Portland OR

Adam Poush, Portland OR — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 08:05:39 +0000

I have worked for Wal-Mart (Cashier) and Bank of America (Teller). I also wrote my senior thesis based on the interviews collected from my fellow Wal-Mart employees. From my experience, both corporations pay similar wages. Entry level wages range between $8-9/hour. The advantage Wal-Mart workers have is that they are able to navigate through various positions in the store (when openings arise), therefore increasing their salary. Whereas, in a typical bank branch, there will only be 8-12 open positions (2-3 mgrs, 5-9 tellers) therefore limiting any “easy transfers” which would result in a pay increase. For entry level jobs, bank tellers tend to get more respect from customers. On the corporate level, I’m sure both of these companies are great to work for.

By: Ros, Bridgewater, NJ

Ros, Bridgewater, NJ — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:50:04 +0000

I think at the beginning of one’s career there is some benefit to working for a small company. You get to learn a lot, do a variety of different jobs and gain an understanding about the politics of the workforce. Without experience, a big company can tend to be limiting. However, once you gain a variety of experience, working for a big company allows more mobility.

I’ve worked for American Express for 10 years, and although it is true that there are frequent reorganizations etc., it’s been the best 10 years of my career. Amex really cares about their employees; there’s enormous opportunity for career growth, and most importantly, they operate not only with an eye to the bottom line, but with a sense of integrity and corporate responsibility. My life…my card…it’s all American Express.

By: John

John — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:03:38 +0000

I work for Station casino’s and don’t think station great.I am disabled and they moved the parking far away from were we clock in and out and away from the office were we have are preshift matter of fact a Team Member the other day almost fell while walking to the new parking as a disabed person and at times am not able to walk and if I injure myself there will be a big law suit.No accessible for the Disabled.Station Casainos needs not be on this list again they stink.

By: Jane, Las Vegas Nevada

Jane, Las Vegas Nevada — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:22:23 +0000

I work for one of the top companies stations casinos..a bunch of my coworkers and I don’t understand how they made the list..they are a terrible company to work for..unless you need to become a U.S. citizen, then I guess that’s the only good thing about the company..

By: Candice Steelman

Candice Steelman — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 19:54:52 +0000

When it comes to companies, size doesn’t always matter. Direction and, thus, corporate culture comes from the top.

Some large companies handle employees poorly, treating them like mindless commodities. Some industries (retail and food service come to mind) don’t invest much in management training, so you often get people who think that being a manager is all about yelling or power or being distant from their employees.

I was VP of CorpCom for a medium-sized company of 450 employees. Everyone was treated with respect and programs were accommodating to employees’ family needs. When the company was growing and we reached $25 million in sales, the founder took everyone and their significant other to Hawaii for a week (in shifts). We had many wonderful components in our employee relations program, such as an annual paper airplane contest and no-holds-barred Q&A meetings of all employees and execs, and we won a couple of awards.

After a few years, the Board decided it was time to sell the company. Out went those who were the heart of the organization and in came someone who was like a “Chainsaw Al”. His employee philosophy? Shut up and sit down, and you’re lucky you still have a chair.

I’ve had clients who were large companies but treated employees well, and small companies with founders who thought employees’ only purpose was to make the founder rich.

I’ve given a number of talks on employee relations, and teach a section on the subject. It’s too bad more employers don’t realize the impact good/bad employee relations can have on their bottom line.

By: jay, chicago, IL

jay, chicago, IL — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:48:00 +0000

I’ve been working for Whole Foods Market for 5 years and I can’t imagine working for anyone else. I see people complaining about lack of leadership, management focus on (only) money, petty office politics, etc. Every company has those challenges, get used to it people. This company has vision, opportunities, excellent benefits, and a desire to give people the best chance to succeed. Yeah, there are complaints (from me, too), but I’ve never seen a company care more about its employees than its bottom line. Every company should be modeled after WFM.

By: Jeff, biloxi, MS

Jeff, biloxi, MS — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:03:09 +0000

I’m currently with a large MGM-Mirage property in the Southeast in professional capacity and am astonished that the company benefits (especially time off) are so out of line with other employers for jobs of this level. It’s one week of paid vacation after one year of service, going up to two weeks in the third year. No accruing vacation time. No accruing sick leave or PTO. This may be competitive for the hourly jobs like food servers, casino clerks, retail associates, etc., but not for salaried IT or marketing professionals and the like. This company also does no performance evaluation or merit raises. The only way to get more money is to being promoted to a new job title. Naturally, I didn’t know this (would’ve never occurred to me, frankly, based on companies I’ve work for previously) prior to taking the position. Very backwards.

By: Karen Snyder, OK

Karen Snyder, OK — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:16:42 +0000

I’ve worked at International companies, some medium, some huge. The best company and most fun job decided to cut overhead by taking the best managers to train people in India. Needless to say, employee morale hit an all-time low, the company lost some of their biggest clients and they only maintain the “International” portion of their name because of India.

Corporate Exxon takes the cake, though. My salary was fabulous but I felt dirty every day, and I didn’t work in the field! I had the dubious distinction of working for them after they acquired Mobil. I was so glad to get out of there, I didn’t even say I was leaving.

My last company would work you to death, dare you to go to the doctor, refuse to acknowledge injuries unless there was blood; even then, they’d just ignore you. All for a few measly dollars an hour. As much as I hated Exxon and their politics, Metzler was SO much worse! But I’m pretty sure they’re on everyone’s **** list.

By: Nooshin, Arlington VA

Nooshin, Arlington VA — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:09:56 +0000

To those who defend Exxon Mobile’s profits:

The assertion that people who complain about the rise in gasoline prices are uneducated and poor is not only condescending, it’s flat wrong.

What a stupid assertion that I should stop whining about higher gas prices, I should go back to school and make more money. I have a graduate degree and make a fairly decent living. I take public transport and ride a bike.

If you suggest gas prices are higher because of geopolitical risk, then it sounds a lot like you don’t know what you’re talking about. Risk is a word for the unexplained difference between the cost and price. A fairly tale word to legitimize ill-gotten gains.