customer service representative

collection agent

entry level underwriter

call center representative

operations associate

Upgrade

Training is very rushed and throughout interview and training process you will hear testimonies that are supposedly not forced about QUICK ADVANCEMENT, FAMILY CULTURE and THIS COMPANY BEING UNLIKE ANY OTHER CALL CENTER. Let this be the red flag you don’t ignore. 

Once you join the floor you will be encountered with an abundance of relatively new people who have joined wishing the last 2-6 months and that is because of turnover . Additionally you will see that resources do not have current up to date insight for process and procedures to follow and that answers you receive from team leads to supervisors will range in accuracy this leads to not only a horrible lack of trust through out the agents towards leadership but also as a customer who hears multiple answers on the same questions a very poor customer experience.

They stated the take pride in not being a predatory lender but it’s disheartening to see high APRs, frequent adverse actions and a horrible process in place that leaves customers who have changed address phone number and email (usually happens overtime and they just never update since we are mostly handled online by customers and by the time they realize they are locked out if you don’t have access to one of the contact method there is no actual process in place to assist in these one offs and you will not have access to your information ) I have run into this numerous times and it never feels right.  

HR is very hard to have a direct conversation with that is not through email. 

There are a small handful of supervisors that lack accountability when they have been wrong but also abuse power by not addressing agent error or a desire for behavior change constructively instead they will demean your by address at your desk not leaving room for explanation and delivering feedback in an abrasive tone and overall demeanor 

I have witnessed this through my peers first hand and was so appalled by the encounters . I also know that supervisors are known to retaliate or make claims on HRs behalf but you will not hear these things directly from HR 

Overall you will encounter really great agents throughout your time here but I think it’s important to stress the above points so you can decide if those cons are worth the pay, benefits and schedule . The picture they will attempt to sell you in the beginning is not an accurate description of the experience you will be having day in and day out. 

If you are working towards a career please consider this is a newer company and growth is anticipated however they currently have a freeze on hiring and call volumes have been an all time low. This does not depict stability and hopefully things will change economically so the future for Upgrade looks more stable and secured . 

The pros are the site itself is a fun location and nice. The pay is pretty good considering call volume is low and metrics are easy with the exception of call volume goals simply because the queue is so vast call lengths vary greatly. Benefits are covered and so is parking. They also make a point to try an engage agents with competitions and recognition which is above and beyond what a majority of companies are doing these day and QA expectations are very reasonable . They offer free beverages and snacks. You will get 40 hours of sick time annually and pto is accrued . 

I worked in the Oversight department for a few years. In the beginning, it was a great place to work, and it felt like the company genuinely cared about employee morale. Unfortunately, over time, that changed—especially within the Oversight team. The director brought in several of her former colleagues and placed them in leadership roles, which created a culture of favoritism. Her close circle of friends was consistently protected and given preferential treatment, while others were overlooked or treated unfairly.

What made it worse was the director’s tendency to retaliate against employees who voiced concerns or disagreed with her. It created a toxic environment where people felt they couldn’t speak up without fear of consequences.

What’s disappointing is that despite the department receiving low scores on employee engagement surveys year after year, nothing has changed. It’s clear to many of us that the core issue is the director’s leadership style, yet no action has been taken. Instead, after each poor survey result, the director often retaliates further by making decisions that negatively impact the team.

I hope upper management and executives take the time to listen directly to employees and understand what’s really happening in the Oversight department. Positive change is possible, but only if leadership is held accountable.

My time in the Oversight role was relatively low-stress in terms of workload, but the environment was heavily influenced by internal politics. Advancement often seemed more dependent on personal relationships and office politics than on performance or merit. If you’re someone who excels at navigating those dynamics, you may find success here. For others, it can be frustrating.


They act like they care what’s going on with you until you are not of service to them then it’s an act. Management, supervisors and team leads are clique, same with some employees. Act like stuck up too at times. The culture is toxic and stressful. They want you to meet certain metrics and I get that but when the environment is slow they don’t take much account for that. They made me feel very unappreciated the last few months and my mental health deteriorated and I dreaded going to work. I use to love it at first because it seemed different than other call centers now they act just like the others. I had números panic and anxiety attacks the last few months and they don’t care about that or your other health issues and for fmla and other help it’s not easy to get. They encourage you to do it then let you go. The work culture is not the same as it was in 2020. Sick time is not enough and yet for some they don’t get in trouble etx it’s all about favoritism! Now they have a hiring freeze I overheard management talking about it. Layoffs next? It’s not as busy as it was in the past and I wonder why and now with there interest rates etx going up will people be going elsewhere for loans? We shall see and let’s not forget the banking disaster a few weeks back with silicon bank. If you’re look g for work I suggest going elsewhere!

Every day was filled with the same thing. Just getting yelled at by customers for malfunctions in upgrades software. Constant errors every minute, every hour, every day. This company could not get their act together. Customers screaming at you for a malfunction with the companies software. Customers screaming at you for something that you didn't cause. There is no purpose. You're just taking the same call after call, telling people the same thing over and over again. You are not a collections specialist with score cards or competitiveness. You do not make bonuses. You do not have the fun friendly competition to exceed and do better than others. You are not driven to do good. So many reps giving wrong information on purpose because they are lazy or because they weren't trained right. So much backlash from management for things that isn't your fault. So much disengagement from your superiors. So many team leads giving you attitude or wrong info and getting you in trouble. So many supervisors and managers ignoring you when you try to get help or clarify something because they don't know the answer themselves or don't care. You're just here to fill a seat with no real goals or anything to accomplish until they get tired of you.

A typical day includes taking 60-90 calls per day. It is a call center environment, so there is no room for emergencies, or sickness. Management is unprofessional and cliquey. The pay is good relative to the difficulty of the job, with okay benefits. 

With call center jobs, the temperament and personalities of leadership is everything. There are some leaders here that act as if they interacted with another human being before, but there are others that have zero empathy or people skills. Imagine that during an ongoing pandemic. 

If you are looking for work, Upgrade will keep your head above water. But that's if they like you and decide to treat you like an actual person instead of someone filling a seat. With any other job with a similar environment, it is a roll of the dice to get an actual decent person to lead. 

I learned working there that management is everything. If the company is being poorly managed with people that cannot treat their employees with any dignity or respect, then it becomes about more than just compensation. 

Expectations constantly change and the culture starts to seem disingenuous, like they expect and hope for high turnover. They also like to promise people raises and never follow through when employees meet expectations. 

Working at Upgrade, Inc. was one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had in my career. The management team often felt disconnected from the employees doing the actual work — they seemed more focused on metrics and appearances than on genuine support or development. Communication from leadership was inconsistent and often contradictory, leaving people unsure of priorities or expectations.

The training process was poorly structured and rushed. New hires were thrown into complex systems with minimal guidance, and the “support” provided was usually just being told to look things up on your own. It’s clear there’s no solid training plan or follow-up to ensure people actually understand their roles.

A typical day at Upgrade feels chaotic. You’re expected to juggle unrealistic workloads while being micromanaged on every detail. Feedback is rarely constructive — often just pressure to do more without the tools or clarity to succeed. The overall culture promotes burnout and frustration more than teamwork or growth.

In short, unless you thrive in confusion and constant stress, I wouldn’t recommend working here. There are far better companies that actually invest in their employees and leadership development.

This review is largely shaped by the Document Specialist Role based in the SF office. Let me start off by saying that Upgrade, Inc. is a legit company with good products headed by an experienced C-level executive team. Overall company culture is great. However, in entry-level roles such as New Accounts or Document Specialist, you probably will struggle to see that clearly as you are inundated with high-volume, monotonous tasks. I largely didn't mind doing the role as it was fairly easy, however, because the company is still experimenting and moving fast, middle management can throw curveballs at you when you least expect and potentially put your performance into question. 

If you're interested in the role, I highly suggest you go for the more mid-to-senior level roles for your own sanity. Avoid the Document Management Specialist role at all costs as you will be used as a scapegoat for when things go wrong in the Legal Department.

Pros

-Truly innovative products that allow our customers to make confident financial decisions and be more responsible with credit.
-A team of dedicated employees who support and help one another .
-An inspiring executive team that is extremely motivated to make sure Upgrade is a lasting success. The company has seen it's ups and downs (as most start ups do) but the executive team has never wavered and are the first ones to roll up their sleeves if situation requires it.
-Fun, company hosted activities in the office (breakfast, lunches, trivia night, arts/craft activities) and outside events (happy hours, picnics, holiday parties)
-Everyone gets ownership in the company (after a certain amount of time)

Cons

-Headquarters in in San Francisco, which means we get limited face time with a lot of our business partners. Video conferencing helps with this, but sometimes you just want to walk over to their desk to get something done.
-Were constantly on the move. New products, new initiatives, new programs, new people - things are rarely static and you've got to willing to adapt. If consistency makes you comfortable, get ready to have those limits tested.

To start off, Internal issues are not kept private.The interview process is so unorganized, you do not know who you will interview with and some managers seem unwilling to be there. The 3 day training is a joke , in which the trainer uses profanity  within the lectures and was unprofessional. The company believes that their perks like free drinks and snacks are their culture.There is no flexibility in scheduling or time off. Cliques within management run this office.  The goals are unattainable and everything is ever changing ,no one is ever on the same page.There is a lack of communication, direction, or accountability. Employee ideas are never taken into consideration. Management is unfair and acts biased towards employees, making false promises. Micro management at this company is the absolute worst.The director hovers over employees and has no personable skills.They do not promote those that work hard, they promote based on favoritism. I have never seen so much turnover within a company as i have with this one.

I worked in the Operations team where the Director didn't interact with team much and the Manager did all the directing and was very underappreciated. I was an analyst and couldn't analyze anything without the Director acting offended without explanation.   

Not sure about room to grow- people who have been there a while get territorial with their work (even though they complain they have too much of it).  Great opportunities for those who like raising their hand and inserting themselves in areas where they see help is needed. Don't expect hand holding thru career growth plan. 

Incredible work environment and culture and would highly recommend for young people (not a lot of people over 40). Highly racially / LGBTQ diverse and was the first time in my life that I felt my race or orientation didn't play a role in my opportunities at a company.  Incredible experience that is a rare find. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Customer service representative 29 salaries reported	$20.86 per hour
Collection agent 25 salaries reported	$22.16 per hour
Entry level underwriter 6 salaries reported	$24.00 per hour
Call center representative 7 salaries reported	$20.07 per hour
Operations associate 1 salary reported	$24.50 per hour

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