web developer

regional sales manager

data analyst

Windstar Cruises

Windstar Cruises has a decent product/service, but the management and owners of the company are stuck in the past. They believe its 1950 and that all of their customers are rich, conservative white Americans. They chew through senior management staff - and many they do hire are also trained in management through fiat. There's a lot of yelling and berating of employees. Everyone works by keeping their heads down. The owners (or overlords) of the company who also own several other travel companies squash any real innovation. They force antiquated systems onto the company.  Managers often make up their numbers and there is zero transparency in the performance of the business. Everyone is notoriously underpaid - even by underpayment standards. Compared to similar jobs in the Seattle market, you can expect to make 30-50% less. 

At this Job i started as a Sales Agent within a year I was promoted to Lead Vacation Planner, and within another year i was developed in to the Supervisor of Reservations Development. I have never worked anywhere that believed in developing every employee and bringing out their full potential.  This incredible attitude has rubbed off on my and it is now my passion to hire and train employees to go as far as they possibly can,  and not matter what i do i will love going to my job every day knowing that I am going to help people realize their full potential, and also knowing that I am going to do my best to continue to grow and never stop.

I worked in Windstar's call center for three years. When calls came in, the money was good (commission). Looking back, the money wasn't worth the stress. My former collegues would likely agree that the customer service side of the job was basically extinguishing fires. Management within the call center did not have proper training, nor were they qualified for their roles. You were promoted based off being liked on a personal level, rather than your performance as an employee. Morale was relatively low the entire time I was there, but the stress became too much and I had to quit. I'm not quitter, but this was nothing short of a toxic work environment.

difficult company to work for after they came out of chapter 11 bancrupcy, new owner installed new management team with big ship background on the small cruise sailing ship company hence  a lot of initiatives dis not work as expected. responsible for culinary crew recruitment, liasing with suppliers and prepare menus for different seasons, itinararies in Caribbean and Europe, loved the travel and adviseing /helping the onboard teams achieving targets, ratings, and talk to guests for feed-back where to improve the culinary product.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Caring leads and trainers  who reach out and help you understand the product. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Wave season is the most stressful. January to April is non stop calls. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Friendly. You feel like family. Everyone is so nice. We had off work chats where we got to know everyone on the team more personally. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Returning emails. Chat with potential guests via website chat. Inbound calls with some outbound calls

I worked there through their bankruptcy, total disaster then they got new management and changed the the whole structure of the the customer service/sales department. Cutthroat sales that only cared about the bottom line. Never once got a raise in 2 1/2 years and they changed the commission structure and made it more difficult for anyone to make money unless you acted like a used car sales person. If that's your thing then by all means go for it. 
One thing they were really good about is that they had a great open door policy and were always willing to answer questions or talk to you about your concerns.

Lack of communication and favoritism. Too many meetings that can be dealt via email. Depending on management might listen or act as listening to your concerns. Sometimes it’s like walking on eggshells.  I enjoyed interacting with my colleagues. I think the hardest part of the job is overload and not much support and see the same people being recognized always is not variable making you think it’s all favoritism. Not much of merit  increase. I have learned to keep quiet to management and not address concerns due to the lack of support.

Management is promoted by being able to be in position the longest and not by skill level or any type of management skills. Managers hire friends and don't hold them to the same standards as the rest of the staff. Management doesn't work the same hours as the rest of the staff and often misses days after football games due to "illness." 

Travel agents make 10-15 times more commission than you do working directly for the company and have zero accountability.

I loved my time at Windstar Cruises. Its small enough to be flexible and innovative. The people are part of the culture and engaged. Management works with all the teams to be engagged and part of the solution for business and the people. It's a small cruise line with a great product and big heart. Windstar is backed by Xanterra Hospitality Group so it has resources to expand and flurish. It's hard work but it's fun.

I came in with education and experience, and I did very well for the company. I was excited to work as part of a team. No one else was so happy. 

There was caddiness at every level. Even managers felt that somehow, even though I didn't want any job but the sales desk, felt threatened by a nice person.

There is potential to make money, but the trade-off is working with negative people. Hard pass for me. I'll send myself on a Windstar Cruise though. They are an easy sell!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Web developer 1 salary reported	$80,000 per year
Regional sales manager 1 salary reported	$90,000 per year
Data analyst 1 salary reported	$65,000 per year

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