installation technician

customer service representative

business development manager

account manager

locksmith

Kastle Systems

Kastle Systems was my first career out of college. A recruiter called me one day and said he thought I would be a great match for the job. At first it was an exciting experience, as I have never worked in a corporate environment. Soon after a year or so, reality kicked in. I watched my peers disappear one by one as they were either fired, laid off or forced to leave because they couldn't take it anymore. Kastle is a top heavy company that under pays and under appreciates their workers. The company has a solid reputation in the DC area as a front runner in the security sector however the high turnover rate and common mistakes cause them to lose a large portion of their clientele, who usually choose to go to the competitors for lower prices and seek better service. The only department out of the whole organization that does not end up with the short end of the stick is the Sales Department. They pay their salesmen well and treat them as they can do no wrong. As long as they sell of course! Overall, Kastle is a great first job however, do not plan to stay long unless promoted to the sales department within a year. Otherwise, you'll be stuck in Client Services or Project Management for the rest of your life as your soul rots. Oh yeah and do not listen to anything upper management promises. Their stories and promises are misleading and full of deception. Corporate sharks at their finest!

Life at Kastle evolves around playing catch up with justifiably furious customers due to daily system malfunctions by an overwhelmed back-office team some of whom are nearing retirement. I learned very how not to manage a company at Kastle particularly in managing people. There's a wide chasm between the upper management and the rest of the company which can be attributed to an identity challenge within the company, which is basically a security company trying to identify as a tech/real estate firm without the needed investments or leadership team. New York for instance is managed by a GM who is a square peg in a round hole, a salesman at best. New York is a highly competitive market as such customers easily spot a scam when you fail to deliver on the premium monthly fees Kastle charges. A daily heavy air of despair and negativity has made Kastle a gloomy place to work and a graveyard for the careers of many otherwise excellent people. 

Kastle  is extremely disorganized and lacks accountability. If you run into issues on a project, management’s response is essentially “deal with it yourself.” In other words, put a 3 out of 3 for bad. 

There is little to no support from other departments when problems arise.

Sales teams often don’t fully understand the products or services they are selling, which leads to customers being confused about what they actually purchased. This creates constant issues during implementation and leaves project managers dealing with frustrated clients.

There are no clear expectations, no measurable performance standards, and very little oversight from leadership. 

As a result, employees are left trying to manage upset customers with minimal resources or support.

I no longer can stand behind the product or the way the company operates. 

It often feels like customers are signed up and then forgotten. The stress and lack of support simply are not worth it. 

God help the customers!

I worked in the call center. You took calls on either inbound or outbound side. You also do video monitoring. The work was easy for the most part and I enjoyed it. They start everyone on outbound since it is the easiest. I wanted to learn more. I had to hound managers to train me on video and inbound calls. Some of the managers were reasonable, however there were others that played favorites in the call center. this made it difficult to work there. Some of the employees gave you a hard time, but if management liked them then they were never reprimanded for their unprofessional behavior. Also no room for growth there some of the operators had been there for decades, in the same position. I am unsure if this was a preference for them but it seemed to me that they should have progressed into a more in depth role.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The project challenges....but NOT when the challenges are due to inadequate managers and poor inventory


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Inconsistency and poorly planned projects ..mainly due to 1 person running the show into the ground due to lack of knowledge, experience and unsupported superior attitude


What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
VERY Cliquish.... Total disregard for techs professional experience..... "My way or the highway" culture..  NOT the company culture just the South region under CURRENT Leadership last 3 yrs

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful with No Real gameplan or support

The company is growing but internally there’s a disconnect. 
Bonuses were withheld based on company-wide averages, even when specific teams performed well. 
It’s discouraging to put in strong work and not be recognized for it.

Promotions and raises are inconsistent, and often don’t match the level of responsibility being taken on. There’s also been a shift in remote work expectations with little consistency, leaving some teams feeling unfairly treated.

It’s a stable place to work with smart people, but more transparency, fairness, and investment in current employees would make a big difference.


Overall the company has decided that the bottom line is far more important than its customers or employees. Call center operators average a measly $12 an hour, far below average for other security call centers. Communication between teams and departments is non-existent, with procedures and policies changing on an almost daily basis with little to no warning from management. If you desperately need a job, and Kastle comes calling, it's better than nothing. Make sure you keep your resume active, though, because you don't want to stay for any real length of time.

Most of the associates are good hard working customer focused people. They do so much with little, training, or systems to support their work that they are in constant state of flux. 

The compensation is well below industry standards for what the company wants in talent and experience. The CEO believes in hiring on the cheep, then complain about productivity because the expectations of those hired at such low compensation rates (lack the experience and knowledge) cannot work in the environment where policy and processes are lacking and the systems are lagging in technology.

This is NOT where you want to work if you don’t have prior knowledge in the industry. I was hired knowing that I had ZERO KNOWLEDGE in the field. Was told that I would receive the necessary training. One of my trainers was FIRED weeks after my hire, and the other just gave me work to do with little explanation or supervision.
The “BACK OFFICE” are the real stars of the show, but if EITHER of the lead programmers go down, this company is screwed, because they’ve trained anyone to do what they do, and they’ve been with the company for 25 years each.

A typical day at my job is calling dispatching .
Ive learned at this job is that you can never check yourself enough when it comes down to making sure you followed proper protocol.
the hardest part of my job is checking yourself, you can easily forget a procedure, then having the possibility of endangering someone's life.
The hardest part of my job is having to putting to someone at ease who is panicing. Whether is be an elevator trap, or someone is in danger.
The  most enjoyable part of my jobis helping someone.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Installation technician 2 salaries reported	$55,000 per year
Customer service representative 3 salaries reported	$20.67 per hour
Business development manager 3 salaries reported	$90,000 per year
Account manager 3 salaries reported	$58,667 per year
Locksmith 1 salary reported	$23.69 per hour

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