customer service representative

United Federal Credit Union

I worked at UFCU as a teller. When I was hired, it was under the impression that I would be working 20-25 hours per week, and that it would be a semi-regular schedule. I was also told that I would work about one Saturday per month. Once I was on the job, it became clear that there was NO sort of regular schedule at all. I was told to schedule doctor appointments around my work schedule, but I never had a consistent day off (if a day off at all) nor consistent hours. And when the schedule was made, it would often change from one day to the next. Also, I ended up working at least 2-3 Saturdays a month, sometimes all in a row. Also, some days you would be scheduled to work 4-5 hours (with no break at all) and some days you would be scheduled 10 hours (with just one lunch break and no other breaks). In addition to all of this craziness, the pay was not competitive and the benefits for part time employees were crazy expensive (for one person, we're talking almost 20-25% of pay).

On another note, the computer systems were not designed for UFCU specifically. Simple transactions were made harder because you had to know the work around for the computer. Luckily I am good with computers, because the training on how to actually use the software that you use EVERY day on the job was terrible. There were consistently IT issues, and a general lack of communication in the company when it came to computer software upgrades or changes.

Lastly, there really was no opportunity for advancement at the company. As a teller, you were not likely to get a pay raise, and the only way to advance would be to move to Michigan where the main offices were located. The people who worked at my branch were nice, but their hands were tied as far as what they could do because of upper management.

Overall, if you are desperate for a job, and you can survive being micromanaged and shoved around, then it might be worth your time to work here until something better comes along.

Working in IT at United is horrible at best.  There are certain "groups" and if you are not in one of these "groups" then you are held down and not allowed to learn or grow.  I was not allowed to be involved with server builds or getting involved with new technology so I was not able to grow and develop the skillsets to move to the next level in IT while there.  The very few times I would manage to be involved with the Network Administrators or Systems Engineers they would treat you like you are the dumbest person on earth and usually didn't answer questions that you would have.  Management tends to play favorites as well within this department and picks and chooses who they will become friends with and only those people will have opportunities come up.

The workload is unrealistic and is typically given to the highest performer on the Help Desk and the rest of the Help Desk staff are allowed to ride the "coat tails" of the person that puts out the most work.  Pay is very bad for this position even if it is an entry level IT position.  You are also very rarely acknowledged for your hard work and anything you accomplish.  Since Leaving I have been promoted TWICE within 1 year and am truly considered a high performer with my new employer and they show me I am valued here.

The morale within the IT department is terrible at best.  People do not work together, there is severe lack of communication, and plans are not carried out in a timely nor orderly fashion.  This typically causes projects to come together frantically at the last minute and in a very confusing and messy manner.

Unless you want to be held down and do nothing but earn a paycheck look no further and apply within the IT department at United Federal Credit Union.

The management is down right horrible. I honestly do not understand where they find these people. You can not go to them with questions because, A: They wont know the answer or B: Will make you feel like your an idiot for not knowing the answer, complete with eye roll and a bad attitude. 
When I was hired on I was told that I would have more time with my family compared to the company I was working for, LIE. Managers refuse to work a Saturday which I've never ever heard of. I was also told that the goals were very easy to hit, not true they are actually higher than big banks! 
The computer system is anything but a helpful tool for you to use to do your everyday job. And training, oh it's the worst. You get to sit in front of a computer screen for 8 hours a day for 2 weeks, usually all by yourself then take a test at the end. Nobody is there for you to ask questions to if you need to. If your a hands on learner like myself you will start your job going in completely blind.
Turnover rate is extremely high. I believe this stems from the "cliques" that have formed and if you don't participate in the elementary school drama then you are stabbed in the back and let go. Don't expect to get any feedback unless its negative. 
I can say I loved UFCU's views and beliefs, I don't think the CEO or VP's have any idea of what is going on in the branches. If they did I'm confident that they would take care of the issues. 
Benefits and pay are good, but not worth the bullying. You are made to be fearful that you will be fired because of any small mistake.

Good company to work for. Great Benefits.  Outstanding Team and leadership from the local market. Couldn't ask for a better team to work with.  Recently there has been new leadership (CEO, Senior Leadership) change in the company's direction.   Not sure if the direction is good , its still too early to tell.  Culture is amazing due to the local leadership.  More of a corporate setting the higher you go. Corporate really doesn't appreciate the local growth or at least they don't show it, however the local leadership does and shows it.  Ones of those that leads by example, expects a lot, but rewards for the hard work.  Enjoyable part of the job is the local people you work with, from members to team members.  They are some of the best in the business.  Member facing, would run a teller transaction, to open new accounts, work with a loan application from equity lines, car loans, credit cards and personal lines of credit. Business call, from cold calling to community events.  Sales goals, Referral goals are expected.  They have a growth plan for Tellers and Member Service Advisors ranging from Bronze to Platinum levels.  Pay is good, little low for this market area, but still pretty good.  Again I say best part of the job is working with great team locally and helping the members with their needs. Very community oriented. Not so much opportunity for growth. The corporate office being in Michigan, you have more job opportunities, due to more office and branches, along with the operation center, little harder to do that with fewer offices in the local market here in NC.

There really wasn't a typical day because I do not believe that this position was written to have explicid responsibilities. I wasn't there very long.

I was given a task when I accepted the position. That task was to get the T1 operational for the branch offices so they could get rid of the modems. The previous idividual had worked on the T1 for 2 years and was not able to get it functional. I dived right in. It did not take me long to figure out the issue was the router that was installed was for a T1 not a fractual T1. I had the router switched out with a router with a DSU/CSU and this resolved the issue. I traveled to the branch offices and setup the link to the T1. The next task given was to migrate from Novel 4.11 to Microsoft Window 2003 AD. This task was done in no time. The company terminated the accountant I was asked to fill in as the accountant until one could be hired. My daily taks now became conducting all the accounting tasks, running all the reports on the AS400 that were required monthly. I needed to learn how to do both these tasks quite quickly. I also taught myself how to manage the electronic sign outside to avertise any rate changes or specials the bank was running on mortage loans or loans in general. I also trained the new accountant.

The hardest part of my job is that it was very little IT and more of me filling in where I was needed,

The most enjoyable part of the job was getting the T1 fully functional in just a couple of months.

In the call center you are forced to stay on the phone your whole shift. The members are verbally abusive all day every day and eventually it takes a toll on your mental health. If you need to take time off for your mental health you have to plan it a month in advance. If you take a day off they make you feel guilty about it and threaten that it will affect your year end review. Which is basically your raise/bonus. The rates are dropping drastically on the products, but our goals never change. Working from home has been great, but I feel the company has gone in a bad direction as far as caring about employees. People keep leaving for a reason. Now since they were not treated properly, new employees will have to be trained and the cycle will repeat costing the company more and more money. There are plenty of other companies out there that treat employees right and reward them for hard work. Not just the same employees over and over. The pay is good but it’s definitely not worth it. I would rather work in a factory that actually has good benefits before stepping foot in this place. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

I loved United and the members I served. I did everything that I could to make their financial goals a reality. I have members that would wait for me every day and that would only call me for help. I truly miss them.
My son got sick a year and a half ago and that caused me too much stress. With the new building and marketing company building business causing the work load to more than double and no new hires I worked hard and would not get lunches on regular basis. I was ok with that because I am very goal minded and wanted to keep my name at the top. 
I met with members and opened accounts that included verifying info and data entry along with approving the account.
I did the same with loans. Qualifying loans based on information I requested from members adhering to strict lending guidelines.
Paperwork had to be organized and well maintained.

My son is better now and I want part time to be able to help some with my grand child who is 6 months old.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great support from the administrative head office and did what they said they would do (Wonderful follow-up).  In general, it was a great place to work, very supportive, went beyond what other financial institutes offer and do.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
It was during COVID and we were still able to perform and head office did everything possible to assist us in making mortgage loans accessible.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Excellent work environment and culture.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Very busy but enjoyable.  Able to count on the head office assisting loan officers with a myriad of our issues related to mortgage loans and issues that we were all 
experiencing during this covid time.

The workload consisted of sorting, scanning and indexing thousands and thousands of papers daily from the entire corporation. They only had two people to complete this job and have everything done within a 5 day time frame. You only got 30 min for lunch and no breaks working a 830-5 day. Management was appreciative of the hard workers, but lacked in disciplining the lazy ones. The workplace, people there were very judgmental and clicky, not wanting to accept someone new into the job place easily. The hardest part of the job was dealing with the people and trying to keep up with the quota when you had a co-worker who didn't work as hard as you did. The most enjoyable part of the job, the 30 minutes that you got for lunch and 5 o'clock when it was time to go home.

UFCU has, in my opinion, an utterly incompetent senior leadership team. They have no idea how to run a company. Most have no formal education or substantive professional experience outside of the credit union and have only obtained and retained their positions because of nepotism. 

The culture, or lack thereof, is probably the only thing about the company that is worse than it's leadership. It's a corporate credit union at its worst. Front-line staff are disconnected from senior leadership and unvalued. Suggestions for improvement are discouraged and there's no attempt to improve the work life of the employee. 

If it wasn't for the compensation, which is competitive, UFCU would have a very difficult time finding and retaining employees.

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