delivery driver

warehouse associate

driver

van driver

outside sales representative

Keystone Automotive Operations, Inc

This company was decent when I started back in 2009. Bane capital bought them out and laid off entire rooms of people. They then proceeded to put the company in debt and siphon money as is their business scheme. Few years without raises and several with 1% raises. LKQ bought them a few years back and took away our sick time and capped vacation days lower than what Keystone policy was in the states they legally could. 
 Company upper management was changed just about yearly. My management changed a couple times in my 9 years there. I was told doing well will carry you through the ranks here and just keep at it by all my management teams.
With the above in mind here's what happened. For several years we didn't even have reviews when I started. Being in sales they had a bonus program which was excellent for the 2 months they ran it and then cut it off when they realized how much they were paying out. Never saw that again. During the dark times of Bane capital we were constantly reminded by managment we were "lucky" we had jobs when we had any problems or concerns.
Being online based our computers were junk. We had no on site IT Dept and everything had to come from PA. I've sat for a week waiting on a peiced together junk computer to show up several times during my time there. The internet speeds are slightly better than dial up there. Anytime you requested better equipment to do your job it was laughed at. 
My last few years there was more of the same as above but just keep adding more work, duties, and responsibilities on top of what you already had to do. Keep in mind the subpar raises along with managers getting bonuses as you read this. LKQ policies continued to creep in and it just got worse for the regular hourly employees who were "watched" by the time clock. After many years of no reviews and 5 min yearly reviews for a few years they introducted this 1-5 review scale. The joke of this is it doesn't matter how poor or how well you do your getting mostly 3s. You will look average on paper so they can keep paying you as such.
My department and Keystone sales in general lost so many talented technical guys due to the way they are treated they went to highering non technical guys having the few of us fill in for their lack of knowledge. I was fine with this plan as I was told year after year I was paid more because of my knowledge and performance. This was not the case as I found out recently from several of these newer employees leaving their pay slips on their monitors and the printer.
As the work load continued to grow I did some simple math. When I started in 2009 up until I quit in 2018 taking inflation and COLA increases social security gets I basically haven't even gotten a pay raise since I've been there. Was always on time and had strong  loyalty to the company. They took advantage of that loyalty and drug me along. Couple that with guys coming in making about $1-$2 less than me to start (same folks I fixed thier mistakes daily) was the last straw. This is the only job I have ever out right quit with no notice.

This is an 8:00am to 5:00pm, Mon. - Fri. job that requires the Inside Sales Coordinators to take phone orders for new aftermarket auto parts primarily related to the collision repair industry, though heating, cooling, fuel supply and used parts are also available.  It can be fast paced and non-stop.  

There is a constant need to learn new facets of the auto parts industry as new and different parts and supplies are often added to the product line we already carry as well as different types of software depending on the product lines a customer may be inquiring about.  

Co workers are mostly congenial but tend to be stressed and can be difficult to work with.  The pay is based on individual commissions which has divided the staff and spoiled the sense of team we once had while we had been being paid hourly.  

The phone system tends to be overly complicated and can divert potential customers to call centers outside our region where someone else can gain loyalty and our branch employees lose the commission.  Also the company has set monetary sales goals for the sales staff but in my unique situation, I take care off all the walk in traffic or customers picking up parts from our branch which takes away from the time I should be spending making sales on the phone.    Training is poor at best, often supplied only if an employee actively seeks it out if and when they realize that they are missing something related to their job. Management doesn't seem to deem it as important...

There are good days when business is up and sales are good.  Most of our customers are pleasant and fun to help.  Day's like these end with a good sense of accomplishment.  

As far as the management...taking care of the customer is a top priority though not well enforced or executed.  Tends to be back and forth about issues, not able to make concrete decisions.  Often bases decisions on an emotional basis.


Typical day was 3am to get paperwork ready and routes assigned before the drivers started arriving. Had trucks loaded and out on their routes by their due time. Then spent the remainder of the day fielding calls from the drivers or Customer service. Always had to be ready to cover a route in case of large loads or call offs.

Job can be very easy at times or very demanding due to personnel shortages.

HR can be useless the majority of the time. Don't expect being treated fairly; company policies seem to be used or followed at HR's whim. Promises of raises rarely kept. District management wants nothing but 'yes' men that will cover things up from upper management or corporate HR.  Thankfully, all but one of my direct Supervisors were trustworthy and honest. (had 7 different ones during my tenure)

Mostly caring environment, but that stops only at direct supervisors. Higher up the chain only cares about numbers or looking good.
Several self-entitled employees. 

Thankfully the majority of drivers were dependable and friendly hard workers that supported each other. They have been asking me where I'm going to be and to let them know if its any good so they can move over to avoid further dealings with district management.

Dealing with the self entitled employees and their belligerence in following instructions daily is a major drain. Delivery department is treated like the outcasts by the warehouse at times. Direct managers claims to support you on issues and then doing a 180 leaves you constantly dreading dealing with them and destroys trust. You're expected to follow and enforce a set company policy, but that gets thrown out the window for select employees.

Work could be hard or easy depending on the assigned route for the day. Trucks in good condition, constantly checked for issues and taking out of service if not up to par. When higher management is no where around, its a friendly environment and the majority of guys hang and joke around while helping each other in the morning. 


I worked at Keystone for about 6 months. It wasn't a badd place to start besides the chaos of starting a new warehouse from scratch. The management at the beginning was terrible. He was ex military and believed the only people that were capable of doing supervisor or management roles had to be military is well. He was very bias. When it came time to train people there was very little. The only thing we were taught was how to ride the forklift and shown one time how to input items in inventory. Which for people with experience is no issue but for the people who hadn't done the job before I believe was not enough training. The promotion to lead positions was very tough to get often promoting people who had no experience. I spent 3 months working in warranty and when it came time to promote someone to supervisor I applied but was beat out by a guy who had no previous experience but he got the job because he was ex military. This is why it is a terrible place to work. Since then the management was fired and a new one promoted. We also were required to work 6 days a week and we had no choice is was mandatory even if we had plans. The manager would tell and us for no reason other than he was having a bad day. He took more smoke breaks than anyone and if we took our breaks hed complain. They would stand by the window watching us making sure we were not late or coming back early. If you came back early they expected you to clock in and start working even though the break wasnt over. Pretty soon they put in metal detectors and you had to have you and your personal positions check no matter what. Which to me says they company doesnt trust you .

Everything about this company is wrong. They will intice you in during their interview process. Once hired you will realize everything told and promised were lies. Very minimal raises. 2% so for me it equaled out to .34 cents a year. Unorganized chaos constantly changing work environment and a high turnover rate. Not just at one location but company wide. Management is well aware of all issues but does nothing to correct the problems. They turn their heads hoping magically these problems disappear before they have to get involved. Was introduced to Keystone’s new policy of elimination of a 40 hr work week in Nov 2018. Their intentions to cut our positions to under 40 hrs a person a week. Immediately employees, good employees,started quitting.Now management believes threatening you daily will solve their issues. It’s actually made it worse because of the inability to hire or replace employees. You hear their same empty threats of disciplinary action or firings to the point your tired of hearing it because it’s meaningless. If your desperate for work this place could fill a gap until you get the job you’re really wanting. My advice is to not waste your time with this place you most certainly will regret it. If you already work there I know you’re trying to get away as I did. Do not settle for this dead end job.

I have never worked for a company with so little respect for their employees and their personal lives. Zero notice for mandatory daily overtime. Every day, you're questioning what time your shift ends. Which makes it difficult if you're scheduling doctor's appointments after work hours, or even just have a life outside of work. If you have kids or babysitter issues, it's not their problem. Scheduled for 8 hour shifts, BUT you're expected to work 10-12-14 hour shifts, throwing around 60-70 lb boxes, with 1 10 minute break and 1 30 minute lunch on an every day basis. Lack of communication from poorly trained managers, making what should be an easy job, extremely difficult. Unsafe working conditions resulting from too much stock and a lack of space. Constantly walking over pallets and debris because there's no room to work safely. Management has been aware and does nothing to remedy the problem. You receive no vacation time. Only PTO. Which they take when you call off, along with your attendance points. So you're punished twice for the same attendance violation. They say that they're "not jerks" while quoting Michigan labor laws in the very next sentence. There are literally dozens of warehouses in Michigan. Don't waste your time on this one.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I was great working there for 18 years I did everything there and boss never had to worry about me  I got everything done in a Timely manner 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Really nothing as long as you did your job everything was fine

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work environment is dusty and some parts of the building are cold. As long as you keep moving everything is OK but after working there for 18 years Covid hurt a lot of us got laid off, and I just reapplied recently and I found out from another source the only reason I didn’t know he applied Because they were afraid that I would get hurt because of my age but of course they won’t deny that because I’m fully qualified and I don’t have to be trained up besides that the company is great. I still wish I can go back. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
First receive all the transferred stock, put it to route then help drivers load their truck put away stock do inventory control, unload containers by myself  do organization during the day, put cardboard compactor receive stock from vendors during the day

Worked for Keystone for 11 yrs. It is not the same at all. New leadership did great at improving problems we had with shipping & internal problems! New CEO & new leaders came across as having real values but all that went away once they were their! Company went to having on 2 VP to 8. Had a large lay off of good warehouse workers & drivers that have been their for over 25 yrs. about 2 yrs ago. Got rid of half the accounting staff & sent work over to India!Most of the warehouse workers are from interships! Salesman have had incentive cut down to nothing! Management is good but the place is more focused on paper work & meeting then sales!You can get laid off at anytime! It does not matter how good of a job you do. Raises are .10 cents a quarter.Company leaders are run buy a bunch of West Pointers that hire only ex-military for management positions! Great people In the Sales dept. but overworked & underpaid! Most are scared to lose their jobs. They have a pretty good supply of auto parts but very expensive! Not to willing to work with customers on price!

Drastically unequal pay. As in, people that have worked there less than you or equal time as you will easily be paid double what you're paid while doing a quarter of the work. The only way you're going to benefit with this company is if you're good at sucking up. Work ethic doesn't matter to them at all. Show up, suck up, and you're all set. Disgusting how a company so big can show such little appreciation for people that actually work while they're on the clock. Management on every level clearly comes across to you that they don't care, just as long as they keep getting their overpaid salaries. No problems ever get resolved. I wouldn't recommend it. It's only benefits are that it's a Monday thru Friday schedule and it's days. But don't let that intrigue you. If someone suggests working there do yourself a favor and run the other way.
Also for a company so big, the insurance is ridiculously expensive.
After being purchased by LKQ it overall went right into the toilet.

It could have been better if the shift managers were more competent and actually knew how to do their jobs. My managers were new at the time and when they made mistakes, they would put the blame on their workers and more often then not, the managers would be sitting in their office watching Football games or browsing Facebook while the ground crew was out working. This is why they fail in my opinion because they were not doing their jobs to their full extent. The job it self was great, it was a good learning experience and you are constantly keeping active and learning new things. Another downside is there is really no room for advancement, they start you off at 9 an hour and if you do get promoted to manager, they give you benefits but no raise. At no point do you ever get a raise. I believe the guys working there should be paid more because their job is a lot more complicated then just sitting at a machine all day.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Delivery driver 81 salaries reported	$18.47 per hour
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Outside sales representative 22 salaries reported	$79,045 per year

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