automotive technician

automotive service advisor

car sales executive

automotive service manager

general manager

Herb Chambers Companies

As a valet at a Lexus dealership, the paramount trait is professionalism. The day begins by greeting the guests as they arrive at the dealership and the main purpose of the valet is to ensure customer satisfaction; we want the guest to be comfortable and a bit less frustrated that their luxury vehicle requires maintenance or that a feature has become faulty. 

I was forced to learn very quickly how important presentation and work ethic are in a professional work environment. High-energy with a smile is key to success in any company-to-customer interaction.

The management is as to be expected, high standards are held for the employees to abide by. The mindset adopted here is we want our dealership to have the feeling that it is on par with the luxury offered by a Ritz Carlton.

The co-workers here are quite friendly, everyone tries to uphold a very professional environment by being friendly, and every day is to be treated as the first on the job.

The hardest part of the job as a valet driver is developing the physical and mental endurance to remain positive and high-energy while greeting and taking care of the guests at the dealership. Moving quickly such as running for a car is highly encouraged as it shows to the guest that we care and we do not like to waste time.

The most enjoyable part of the job is being able to run all day, every day while being on the clock. I am able to collect my paycheck every week while knowing that I'm still getting almost 8 hours of light-to medium cardio exercise daily before heading home at the end of the shift. Also, there is the opportunity to drive many high-value luxury vehicles every day.

This particular store is incredibly disorganized. Cars are everywhere, keys are everywhere, and there are no systems in place to adequately manage an extremely large inventory. Cars are commonly double sold, or a title is missing, or some clerical mistake has been made mucking up what should be a relatively quick vehicle delivery process. Salespeople are responsible for administrative tasks usually done by back office staff. The position is 100% commission-based, with no base-pay, and training is very inadequate at this store because of the volume that the store does. Benefits are great, so no complaints. They sell on average 300 cars per month, and managers and senior sales people are too busy trying to sell cars and overcome the disorganization that new people aren't properly on-boarded or given the necessary training. The opportunity to make money is there though, because the store is in the middle of Boston and floor traffic is incredibly busy. In an age where the customer has come to expect efficiency in the sales process, this store lacks the tools and organization to provide that experience. 

You're expected to work a couple 12 hour days during the week and every other Sunday. You'll have a day off every week, but again, because of the disorganization and the fact that you're expected to handle certain administrative tasks, you may find yourself needing to work on your day off just to register and deliver all the cars you sold. Basically, no work/life ballance.

Have you ever watched a car wreck happen? That's the best way to describe the way this dealership ran, and probably still runs. Management is horribly inconsistent, people are rude, harassment goes unaddressed, and I saw three service managers come and go in the year I was there. I've worked for other dealerships, but this particular one is so poorly operated. If you're looking for a fair pay plan, forget about it -- they'll promise you the world and no matter how hard you work, it's never good enough and you'll never see anything they promise you. The GM is the most clueless person I've had the misfortune to meet. He'll bend over backwards for a customer who is being verbally abusive and then shame the employee when the employee did nothing wrong and did their job entirely correctly. But who cares about integrity when those surveys are on the line! I've seen this guy bribe a customer before to get a good survey. If that wasn't enough, they love to rehire people who steal from the company, and these people continue to steal. The people who work in the upstairs part of the building (internals, billing, registration) are so lazy but they get special treatment. Apparently there's no issue with disappearing for 2 hours on a lunch break and leaving the work for the weekend people. What a joke.

When I grown man puts his face on money “Herb Bills” and hands them to you to buy a sweater with his face on it, you are no longer an adult. I should have left the training first day when they handed me the fake bill.

2nd day- trainers explaining how much people leave because they’re weak. Bad mouthing past employees also a red flag. Same day, trainer assistant kissing the cheeks of GMs while asking us to leave our mask on. Same day trainer spends time talking about 1 store and how beautiful the girls are. Another red flag.
3rd day- If you do better than everyone else you’ll get a ring with herbs name on it- this guy is obsessed with himself. Same day mentions he was a veteran of “3 months at war” 3 months? Veteran? Using your service as way to scam? Lost all my respect.
4th day- did not want to go, needed the money. Trainers told us must tell customers HERB donates to charities?? Why would I tell a client that? To make him look good? He’s doing it for TAX purposes. Treat me like an adult not your puppet to make your boss look good. 
5th day- I quit no call no show, they were not surprised either I just joined the other 100s that quit each month. 

Don't have a social life? Like working a minimum of 55 hours a week? Saturdays? Snow storms? If so, this is the perfect job for you. You may as well be a robot. There is very little room for humanity within this corporation. Make the best deal for your pay at the hiring point as this will be the one and only time any adjustment will be made to your pay. Be prepared to work long hours, at least 11 per day, also saturdays... and you must report to work even if it snows a foot an hour. 
 Don't expect change, management does not accept suggestions, they do however pass many down. Managements only goal is to ensure they meet their monthly quota. If the goal was met, at least at this dealership, you got a free lunch on one of the upcoming Fridays. 
 The benefits are at best adequet, HMO Blue, Delta dental, free in house life insurance, 401K with only 1% matching, just to name a few.
 The customer is always right here, even when it is blatenly obvious they are wrong. CSI will be your worst enemy here, it can make or break your paycheck. 
 There is a huge turn over in employees here, but, no turn over in management, wonder why?
 So, if you are a robot, this will be the perfect environment for you.

This is by far the most revolting and drama filled workplace I've ever had the misfortune to work for. Forget about raises as an hourly employee, forget about being treated as an equal, and you can certainly forget about being confident in your job security. The "management" partakes in favoritism, and even stoops down to the level of their subordinates, so much that they will do anything to get rid of an over-qualified employee simply because another employee does not like them. The General Manager could care less about the miscommunication in the building and all of the mechanical problems within the building; he'd rather see all the money he "saved" (or refused to spend in improvements) in his pocket to take home. Employees were forced to listen to out of control customers and take their personal insults per their "job description." Don't even think about enlisting in the corporate office for personal help, they're just as useless as their dealerships and poor management.

I loved working for the Herb Chambers company, so much that I stayed for many years. Mr. Chambers high standards and expectations for his stores made it a much more respectable place and experience for the employees and clients. It wasn’t your typical car dealer that made people uncomfortable. We treated everyone “as if they were a guest in our home” …. which was the standard for the entire company and the opposite at most other car dealerships. Changing the bad rep out there and being far above “sleazy car salesman.” Anyways, I digress. 

We had great benefits & 401k. It was a lot of hours per week but we were all like a big family so it wasn’t bad being there so much. They bought us all lunch on Saturday’s and once a month the whole company meets for a giant breakfast meeting to go over sales the previous month. Mr. Chambers was always there running the meeting and giving us all encouragement. Can’t say enough good things! Herb is the GOAT of car dealers (and copiers, my mom worked for him when she was younger & he was selling copiers before cars)…. Great to work for and just a real stand up guy. (Thanks Mr. Chambers for all that you’ve done and continue to do!) 

You get out what you put in, but make sure to take care of yourself first and foremost. It's corporate and management's job to make sure they hit their NUMBERS. It's YOUR responsibility to care of yourself. Easy to burn out and feel discouraged. Must have thick skin. Don't take anything personal. Sales is tough and not for everyone. Be prepared to work hard long hours (60+ hours/week) and get a lot of nos (85% of the people you talk to you will never see again and that's an above average closing ratio). Good company to work for, great benefits, learn a lot, and room for advancement if you really chase it. 7am meetings once a month. Be wary of each individual dealership's workplace culture. Be kind and respectful to everyone. Never judge a book by its cover. Keep grinding. Stay strong. Hardest part of the job was feeling used and abused after putting in your hard worked time. Or losing a deal not to any fault of your own. Most enjoyable part of the job was dealing with nice clients and feeling like you actually helped someone better their life.

At first they will sell you. It’s not hard considering they’re sales people. The “growth and being a large group” is why people fall for it. Ten years working for small groups I was paid more and didn’t deal with stress they gave me. Only 5-to 8 corporate managers I dealt with daily were there for almost 20-30 years some even longer. They stayed because they were unqualified for anywhere else but made there way up since they started in the beginning. They were the reason the company is also failing in the past 5-7 years. Turnover rate was off the roof mostly the talented leave as the pay plans change in them. The Vice Presidents are unhelpful to busy counting their cash while others watch and nod. A detailed email will cause them to be angry at you regardless of how important to them it’s all a waste of time. Herb is too old and outdated to care a few visits here and there and a few picture won’t change that.

I was employed with Herbs in the service department for over three years. Our service manager has always been a joke but the can just keeps getting kicked down the road because "he's not a people person." How can you willingly admit one of your managers is not a people person? They're responsible for managing people. It's their job. So needless to say, after dealing with years of verbal abuse and insults, I filed a hostile workplace and verbal abuse complaint with our GM, which was signed by the entire front end staff. Was told he would take care of it and there would be no retaliation. Two weeks later I'm told it's our fault he's the way he is, plus they fire me for "low productivity." A month earlier I was celebrating with Herb at the Masters Of Excellence awards dinner for my excellent production. Hmm, seems a little strange. Luckily I have evidence and a good lawyer. Avoid this company at all costs.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Automotive technician 13 salaries reported	$39.50 per hour
Automotive service advisor 8 salaries reported	$102,188 per year
Car sales executive 3 salaries reported	$126,667 per year
Automotive service manager 2 salaries reported	$162,500 per year
General manager 4 salaries reported	$300,000 per year

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