U.S. Cellular Salaries, Bonuses and Benefits.

What are the average starting salaries, bonuses, benefits and travel requirements like at U.S. Cellular?

What do you like best about working at U.S. Cellular? Are there any great perks or special treats for employees?

It use to be that the starting wage was good but you can go to Brinks and start out at more now. That's where most of the ex-cellies go. The benefits are still good, but you don't feel like you have job security. I have been here for years, and come in every day wondering if I am going to "the next one". In 2005 we received all of our quarterly bonus (CBI all 4 quarters), so what does the dumb VP do? She moves out the good leaders and keeps the ones that aren't worth a s*** and we haven't made the CBI one time since all the leadership changes. Is anyone really happy there, because I know everybody I talk to has a FAKE smile, and is worried about what the leaders are really doing in all those meetings...plotting on who is next? Will that knife be in your back with blood running down it before you even know it!!!!!

Pay for this position ranges from $50-$60k base salary with a 40% bonus structure. Benefits are exceptional with medical, dental and vision.
This position requires extensive travel throughout the market but you will get mileage reimbursement.

DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY its like a cult.

I was called by the company last year, but the receptionist called back me back to reschedule the interview but never called, then out of no where the company calls me 1 year 6 months later, at the time I was exploring my next opportunities so I went in the online assessment e face to face interview and received a call in 4 months.

During training you are watch closely your every word and movement is critiqued. During breaks managers from everywhere begin to appear in restrooms, dinning areas and I wouldnt be surprise if they had the training rooms bugged.

U.S Cellular prides itself on diversity, but believe me there is no diversity. During my training session I felt like I was being hazed. We had to sing silly songs, and play games by forming circles and closed rooms. Happily I was fired and told I didnt fit the DO, Dynamic Organization

They are looking for people who have no personality, no personal goals and someone they can mold into their One of Us Cult.

yep, thats us cellular. I laughed at the one of cult comment. it is so right on the money. and once they decide you are NOT one of them, forget it you are gone. You can be and say and do everything they want, but it doesn't matter, they will just say its wrong. like when the cute liberal cheerleader spent 1/2 a morning complaining about people with seniority always getting holidays off. She was just so awful, mean and negative and personal, that I and others felt physically battered, as did several others. But that was ok, don't we all feel bad for the little mommy who has to work on holidays? But when I came in and found my crazy cape that I wore to keep drafts off me was missing, and asked where it was, I was the one being negative. Then there is the coaches driking buddy, who showed up so hung over that he had to go home. Would you believe, I was actually expecting to be written up for NOT showing up snockered? Then I was yelled at for IMPROVING on schedule stats. I must be doing something dishonest. Well, no, Im doing what your hung over friend told me to do. Finally, when I was fired, my coach brought up the fact that I walked the wrong direction to the printer, and pointed to a direction that would take twice as long. I was puzzled until I realized he was actually reprimanding me for using the printer he told me to use. Honestly.. I couldn't make this stuff up. Let me end my rant by saying Im prouder of being part of the dont than I ever was being part of the DO.

Danielle in Chicago, Illinois said: DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY its like a cult.

I was called by the company last year, but the receptionist called back me back to reschedule the interview but never called, then out of no where the company calls me 1 year 6 months later, at the time I was exploring my next opportunities so I went in the online assessment e face to face interview and received a call in 4 months.

During training you are watch closely your every word and movement is critiqued. During breaks managers from everywhere begin to appear in restrooms, dinning areas and I wouldnt be surprise if they had the training rooms bugged.

U.S Cellular prides itself on diversity, but believe me there is no diversity. During my training session I felt like I was being hazed. We had to sing silly songs, and play games by forming circles and closed rooms. Happily I was fired and told I didnt fit the DO, Dynamic Organization

They are looking for people who have no personality, no personal goals and someone they can mold into their One of Us Cult.

The problem is not the company but YOU! You are not a suck-up; which is needed to pay the bills sometimes. Yeah, they may haze you and torment you. However, once you become "one of them" the problem stops and the steady paycheck does not hurt either. After you become a boss, you can change the system.

Nun-Yur-biz in Chicago, Illinois said: The problem is not the company but YOU! You are not a suck-up; which is needed to pay the bills sometimes. Yeah, they may haze you and torment you. However, once you become "one of them" the problem stops and the steady paycheck does not hurt either. After you become a boss, you can change the system.

you obviously missed the whole point. sucking up does NOT make you one of them. I WAS one of them. All the bosses who have been fired were one of them at one time. When they said say this, I said it. When they said do this, I did it. Period. when they are done using you, they are done using you. It will happen to the people who made my last year and a half there hell, it is, as someone else said in another post, just a matter of time. Then, not only will sucking up NOT pay your bills, it wont pay for your lost self respect. The people who are the bosses now live in fear, they certainly aren't changing anything, midmanagement are the only people who are more afraid of losing their jobs than call center reps.

My point exactly! That is one the most unintelligent comments I have ever READ but coming from a U.S Cellular employee I am not surprised.

Why would a college graduate need to SUCK UP? Why would anyone want to go through that for a little of nothing.

This is how it went for me I was fired on Friday, submitting my resume on Tuesday, went to the interview today, called back today, accepted the offer, start on Monday.

That is what a degree will get you hiring power and leverage not a sore mouth from kissing ass

please don't blame us cellular employees as a whole. Lord knows I came across many many many that were dumb as a bucket of rocks, but I also came across many who were really wonderful and cared about their customers. Of course, most of that kind are gone. Let me give you an example. We had a customer who needed a copy of his bills for a court appearance. Now, he knew about this appearance way ahead of time, but decided to call the day before to get them. For security reasons, we couldn't fax bills, and this really is a valid concern. Even tho this guy could have gone to one of us cellulars company stores and gotten the bills in his hand, my coworker printed the bills and drove them to his customer AFTER hours, on his OWN time. For this he was nominated and received a national award. Two months later he was fired. The person who fired him stated to another employee that he felt this guy was too old for the team. The day of the firing, the employee who was told the guy was too old got a final written warning about something else(never having gotten a verbal or written warning, which is the same way I went out). As I said, this isn't about sucking up to a stupid boss, believe me, as a single mom, I've bitten my tongue many a time on many jobs to keep my kid fed. These are mean, nasty people. RAther than simply terminate their employees under the employee at will clause, they make up false charges, and defame characters. All so they don't have to pay unemployment. Which is a joke, because I was told shortly before being fired that they had never won an unemployment case. No amount of sucking up would make me a 30 year old liberal who lived in the city rather than the country and worshipped Harry Potter.

I agree I blame those who remain and take the BS I blame Rooney and his cult members I blame management but most of all I blame employees who dont have the good sense god has gave them to want to do better and find suitable employment where their own personal morals and values are not compromised. This subject is mute;anyone that applies for a position at US Cellular after reading these comments deserves everything they get- plus some.

the problem with is that it can be hard to find a job that pays what they pay for the same skills. During the years that it was a good place to work, that is, BR -- before Rooney, I worked my way thru the pay scale till I had gotten to the point that noone else would pay me anywhere near for the skills and education I had. So, getting fired turned out to be a blessing, I am going back to school, despite being old.. so much for us oldies but goodies being stuck in our ways and unable/unwilling to learn new tricks.

DKG in Chicago, Illinois said: I agree I blame those who remain and take the BS I blame Rooney and his cult members I blame management but most of all I blame employees who dont have the good sense god has gave them to want to do better and find suitable employment where their own personal morals and values are not compromised. This subject is mute;anyone that applies for a position at US Cellular after reading these comments deserves everything they get- plus some.

I felt I had poured enough vitriol out on these pages in the last couple of days to be able to let it go, but I got some news today that I felt really proved how wrong "nun-yr-biz" or however he spells it is.
I stopped by to say hi to a former coworker who now works for the competition in town. Come to find out yet another person from my former department was fired on what seem to be trumped up charges, tho no one knows for sure. This gal was one of those folks who I counted as a friend until the coach who took over our team decided I was to be marginalized till I quit, or they could dream up some reason to fire me. At that point, it seemed to me that she joined in the shunning process. I even remember asking her how I could get into the in group. Anyway, the point is, tho she didnt like this coach(supervisor)any more than the rest of us, she went along with him. Apparently a couple of months ago, a decision was made to "realign" leadership in the Waukesha call center. A person who used to be our coworker and supervisor took the team back over. It is she who fired this coworker. So nun yr biz is wrong. suck up and get fired anyway. I also saw someon
Another person made the comment that they got rid of the good supervisors and left the bad ones in place. The coach who did this latest firing informed me of the circumstances surrounding the termination of the long term center director who hired me, and also wrote me up one month for doing what she told to do the previous month.

old lady in Beloit, Wisconsin said: you obviously missed the whole point. sucking up does NOT make you one of them. I WAS one of them. All the bosses who have been fired were one of them at one time. When they said say this, I said it. When they said do this, I did it. Period. when they are done using you, they are done using you. It will happen to the people who made my last year and a half there hell, it is, as someone else said in another post, just a matter of time. Then, not only will sucking up NOT pay your bills, it wont pay for your lost self respect. The people who are the bosses now live in fear, they certainly aren't changing anything, midmanagement are the only people who are more afraid of losing their jobs than call center reps.

Trust me, people do not fire "one of their own" unless it is neccessary to for business survival. The person probably stop being "one of them." By suck up I do not mean sell yourself or lose your identity. A better term I should of had used is "team player." Make the bosses feel you are trying to be productive and make them happy and comfortable. This may involve "suck-up" activities like late hours, listening to them wine about their horrible wife etc. Other time it involves "caring" activities like being the first to help and never whinning when the boss does stupid things or make foolish business decision. People like this are the last to be fired. Again I ask you people with this attitude have jobs, do you have one?

yes, Mr. KNow it all,(or should I say, "Jack Rooney) I DO HAVE A JOB. I had my pick of several, and in all cases told what had happened to me and that I would never tolerate that type of abuse again. I walked off one job where it happened and was hired the same day at another place. Thats how I was hired at us cellular.. Same day. Team player? what a joke! Dont you have to know what team you are on, and better yet, what the game is? Do you know that we were told one month that the management trusted us completely and was taking the southwest airlines(or whatever the airline is) approach, where all they worried about was taking care of their employees, so their employees could take care of their customers? We were all wonderful etc, etc. about a month later, we were all terrible horrible people, and if we didn't like being told that, well, we could just leave. Even local management was appalled, and approached senior management with employee complaints, only to be terminated within a few months. So you think we didn't just zip our lip and put up with it after that? how about being told one month to do something, and getting written up by the SAME supervisor when I did it the next month? Had I not begun saving even the most trivial emails at home after that, I would have been fired for faxing a bill, but thank God I could pull up evidence that I was told it was ok. I praised programs such as "in the house", and got snarled at for my trouble. So, Im not going to argue further. I will simply say that the local management who did what they were told were "realigned", meaning corporate wasn't happy. US Cell uses their employees to cover their do-do the way a cat covers his in a litter box. Only problem with that is, who wants an employee who knows where all the turds are buried? And the longer you are there, the more turds you've buried. Management knows this and it makes them very nervous. Dont worry, with your attitude, you will be top turd in no time.

I recently applied at US Cellular (last week) and got a phone interview yesterday. I was told at that time that I would hear something in about 2 weeks or so. I received another call today and was asked to fill out online forms for a background check. I read all of your responses and can not believe how much whining you all do. If you want a job, apply. If you don't get interviewed or etc, move on. Get over it and keep looking. A job you will like WILL come along. Be positive and stop WHINING!!! If I get this job and the salary I want, GREAT!!! If not, oh well.......

For a lesson in bureaucratic inefficiency please read a book.This isnt
whining it called informing the consumers-applicants of bad hiring practices.

So if you want insightful information on the bad hiring practices of US CELLULAR you have come to the right place.
Among the charges leveled at Jack Rooney and the his management team: Job candidates have been turned off by US Cellular arrogance and the companies extensive time wasting process which works against hiring fresh thinkers. They seek deadheads, non thinkers.
The company needs work in its long standing reputation for haughtiness in hiring. US Cellular tries to convince job seekers that the company is a great place to work assuming that everyone would want to work there. They use the term Dynamic Organization as if they created it and anyone with a post high school education knows better.
The company tries to convince its new hires that they are better than the competition. The smallest wireless company now its peak in my opinion want know how well they are doing for another 5 more years or so.
I applied to US Cellular because my graduate professor had a USM representative speak in our class; I heard 100% tuition reimbursement and applied.
I was fired from US Cellular not because I was incapable of performing the job but because I have degree, goals and currently seeking an advance degree unlike most of the managers I spoke with my short-time there. I also I know the true success of company is base on its ROE, ROA and Debt to Ratio.
If you get the position congratulations, go back to school take advantage of the 100% tuition reimbursement because NO JOB is promised and do your best. Maybe it will be different for you in Washington.

Robb in Richland, Washington said: I recently applied at US Cellular (last week) and got a phone interview yesterday. I was told at that time that I would hear something in about 2 weeks or so. I received another call today and was asked to fill out online forms for a background check. I read all of your responses and can not believe how much whining you all do. If you want a job, apply. If you don't get interviewed or etc, move on. Get over it and keep looking. A job you will like WILL come along. Be positive and stop WHINING!!! If I get this job and the salary I want, GREAT!!! If not, oh well.......

Hey, there, guy, IM not lookig for a job WITH. them I HAD one.
I assume you are applying for a store job, as they closed their call center out there. Whining? honey, I talked to those people and they weren't whining, they were CRYING. Don't judge till you've walked a mile in someone elses moccasins. I don't think anyone feels they are guaranteed a job just because they applied, I think most people expect the courtesy of a response within the time the company indicates. Other people have indicated they WERE promised a job and it didn't materialize. Still others had to make mulitple trips for tests, interviews, and then more tests. There is no reason why all tests and interviews cant be done at once, so all one needs to wait for is background checks. I do agree, tho, that if you are not treated with the same respect you gave the company, it is an indication that you should move on, as you would be better off someplace else I do wonder why the folks who worked in the call center out there aren't applying for the job you applied for????????

Danielle in Chicago, Illinois said: For a lesson in bureaucratic inefficiency please read a book.This isnt
whining it called informing the consumers-applicants of bad hiring practices.

So if you want insightful information on the bad hiring practices of US CELLULAR you have come to the right place.
Among the charges leveled at Jack Rooney and the his management team: Job candidates have been turned off by US Cellular arrogance and the companies extensive time wasting process which works against hiring fresh thinkers. They seek deadheads, non thinkers.
The company needs work in its long standing reputation for haughtiness in hiring. US Cellular tries to convince job seekers that the company is a great place to work assuming that everyone would want to work there. They use the term Dynamic Organization as if they created it and anyone with a post high school education knows better.
The company tries to convince its new hires that they are better than the competition. The smallest wireless company now its peak in my opinion want know how well they are doing for another 5 more years or so.
I applied to US Cellular because my graduate professor had a USM representative speak in our class; I heard 100% tuition reimbursement and applied.
I was fired from US Cellular not because I was incapable of performing the job but because I have degree, goals and currently seeking an advance degree unlike most of the managers I spoke with my short-time there. I also I know the true success of company is base on its ROE, ROA and Debt to Ratio.
If you get the position congratulations, go back to school take advantage of the 100% tuition reimbursement because NO JOB is promised and do your best. Maybe it will be different for you in Washington.

well, here's a warning on that tuition thing.. the people who take advantage of it seem to be fired at quite a high rate. at least they were in my call center, just north of the border.

it use to be so good. Knoxville in Kingsport, Tennessee said: It use to be that the starting wage was good but you can go to Brinks and start out at more now. That's where most of the ex-cellies go. The benefits are still good, but you don't feel like you have job security. I have been here for years, and come in every day wondering if I am going to "the next one". In 2005 we received all of our quarterly bonus (CBI all 4 quarters), so what does the dumb VP do? She moves out the good leaders and keeps the ones that aren't worth a s*** and we haven't made the CBI one time since all the leadership changes. Is anyone really happy there, because I know everybody I talk to has a FAKE smile, and is worried about what the leaders are really doing in all those meetings...plotting on who is next? Will that knife be in your back with blood running down it before you even know it!!!!!

Whats CBI?

customer beat index... based on "impartial third party" surveys of customers.. center that has the highest score gets a bonus on top of bonus... unless your supervisor drums up reasons for you to be written up. then you get zip, zero, nada

In regards to call center positions, pay is not good in the Madison area. I hold a 4 yr business degree and have multiple years of service and marketing experience. I applied for a Financial Services Rep position after being downsized by a previous employer. Starting pay was $11-11.85 per hour with night hours/weekend shifts. I told them not interested and that I'll stick w/ AT&T as my wireless carrier.

I dont know about atU.s. Cellular as a wireless carrier, but I bet you can do better in a call center. Madison gas and electric was hiring at 13.85 an hour. I worked in the Madison building before it went all financial services, and still have many friend there. Most feel as if "there is a target on their back", and constantly fear not meeting collection goals. Good luck on finding something else.

Does anyone know the computing system used in US Cellular? Like do they use Java and j2ee or are they moving towards .NET and C#? What is the technical interview like?

Anyone here work somewhere besides a call center?

Yes, I am currently working for a VP of HR at a university here in Chicago, $17,000 MORE than what US Cellular pays...

Well I don't know where the judging of US Cellular is coming from. The company has been and continues to be great. Is anyone aware that they were judged as one of the best companies to work for in one of our markets? The fact that they do not want thinkers? That is far fetched since every employee is empowered to do their job, and make decisions on your own (and encouraged to do so) on many many issues. The office in which I work the leaders are hardly involved in the day to day activities of the office and only involved when something is escallated to them. Then what happens you may ask? The leader asks the employee what he thinks the best course of action is, and 99% of the time follows through on the employee's course of action.

I have also contributed many ideas on fixing overall culture in an office, ways to solve issues that may occur, ways to drive business, and all ideas have been adopted.

The company also offers outstanding benefits, great employee relations, and extra incentives for working there like pc purchasing programs, selected vendors for car purchasing, tuition reembursment. The list goes on and on. Then the pay is icing on the cake, there may be some positions that do not pay as much but I challenge anyone to find a company that allows you to have as much say in daily business and operations that pays you as well. Will not happen.

Just look at our business model. Effective leadership=employee satisfation=customer satisfatcion=business results. The company has short-comings and if you are comparing them to large international companies you can't do it, but with us cellular you are valued, with a Brinks, or Nicor, or Edison are you? Are you as valued with other wireless providers?

Oh and US Cellular is currently ranked as the best overall call quality through jd powers.

By Whom? Oregon Business Magazine and
St. Louis Business Magazine

By the way its St. Louis Business Journal Magazine...US Cellular has it as St. Louis Business Magazine...and I couldn't retrieve the article????? hmmm

You have got to be kidding me, Oregon Business Magazine did a partial study

Ethnic background
of employees surveyed
Years of service
of employees surveyed
100 Best company types
Regional breakdown of
100 Best Companies
Hispanic-Latino: 4%
Black/African
American: 1% Asian/Pacic Islander: 4%
Native American/ Eskimo/Aleut: 1%
Other: 3%
White /Caucasian: 87%

A record 31,000 employees and 342 organizations
participated in this year's 100 Best survey. It was also a hotter competition
this year, with 111 large and 231 small companies participating. The
rankings were determined through confidential employee surveys and a
benefits report completed by a company representative. Oregon Business
research editor Brandon Sawyer and research partner Davis Hibbitts &
Midghall used the survey results to calculate the rankings.

You base your analysis off of this
you get an F

www.t-mobile.com/Company/CompanyInfo.aspx?tp=Abt_Tab_Awards

www22.verizon.com/about/executivecenter/bestoflists/2005_awards.html

happenin in Detroit, Michigan said: Well I don't know where the judging of US Cellular is coming from. The company has been and continues to be great. Is anyone aware that they were judged as one of the best companies to work for in one of our markets? The fact that they do not want thinkers? That is far fetched since every employee is empowered to do their job, and make decisions on your own (and encouraged to do so) on many many issues. The office in which I work the leaders are hardly involved in the day to day activities of the office and only involved when something is escallated to them. Then what happens you may ask? The leader asks the employee what he thinks the best course of action is, and 99% of the time follows through on the employee's course of action.

I have also contributed many ideas on fixing overall culture in an office, ways to solve issues that may occur, ways to drive business, and all ideas have been adopted.

The company also offers outstanding benefits, great employee relations, and extra incentives for working there like pc purchasing programs, selected vendors for car purchasing, tuition reembursment. The list goes on and on. Then the pay is icing on the cake, there may be some positions that do not pay as much but I challenge anyone to find a company that allows you to have as much say in daily business and operations that pays you as well. Will not happen.

Just look at our business model. Effective leadership=employee satisfation=customer satisfatcion=business results. The company has short-comings and if you are comparing them to large international companies you can't do it, but with us cellular you are valued, with a Brinks, or Nicor, or Edison are you? Are you as valued with other wireless providers?

Oh and US Cellular is currently ranked as the best overall call quality through jd powers.

Why are you on a job site if it's so great. Worked for them a long time. Just wait.

WHATEVER in Madison, Wisconsin said: Why are you on a job site if it's so great. Worked for them a long time. Just wait.

I had to double check my memory to be sure I had not written this comment! I, too, thought us cell was a great company to work for, and I think it actually was, back in the day.

Danielle in Chicago, Illinois said: Yes, I am currently working for a VP of HR at a university here in Chicago, $17,000 MORE than what US Cellular pays...

Hey Danielle,
As VP of HR un Univ of Chicago, can you please push my resume up the stockpile :D

Sorry, but there is no changing the system--it is their way or the high way...You would need to get a lot higher in the company to be able to make those kind of changes.

Just based on all the comments, I'm cancelling my service with them!

Please refrain from personal attacks in the forums. If you find a comment that you find offensive please click on "report abuse" and ignore it.
Thanks!

BS in Chicago, Illinois said: Just based on all the comments, I'm cancelling my service with them!

the sad thing is that they are still the best service provider here where I live, so I still use them! but thanks for your support. Hope all is going well for you. Things are great for me!

I too have gotten the run around with US Cellular. Had an interview several times, filled out the paperwork, passed verification and nothing. Then I got a call from a different district for the company, seems like the store I had applied to, sent my information to another district, and I am still getting the run around with them.

kind of makes you wonder how they would treat you if you DID work for them, doesn't it? Best to give them the run AWAY

They start off between 12.28-12.97 an hour for customer service in Bolingbrook. You do have bonus potential of about $600-1200 every 3 months(that was lovely). It's taxed as regular earnings not gifted. So, it can be a good job paywise and certainly wasn't the lower paying customer service type.
Don't be discouraged in training if you start there. They make the training out to be a lot harder than what it is. They actually are the only company I've worked at that does the weeding out during training. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT miss a day, and DO NOT be late in the morning or from breaks or lunches!!! I've seen and heard of reps coming out already on a final warning.
Your supervisor may change frequently. Be prepared to be stuck with the schedule you first started with for atleast 6 months or more. Think hard before accepting a schedule-if you are lucky enough to have much of a choice.

old lady in Beloit, Wisconsin said: yep, thats us cellular. I laughed at the one of cult comment. it is so right on the money. and once they decide you are NOT one of them, forget it you are gone. You can be and say and do everything they want, but it doesn't matter, they will just say its wrong. like when the cute liberal cheerleader spent 1/2 a morning complaining about people with seniority always getting holidays off. She was just so awful, mean and negative and personal, that I and others felt physically battered, as did several others. But that was ok, don't we all feel bad for the little mommy who has to work on holidays? But when I came in and found my crazy cape that I wore to keep drafts off me was missing, and asked where it was, I was the one being negative. Then there is the coaches driking buddy, who showed up so hung over that he had to go home. Would you believe, I was actually expecting to be written up for NOT showing up snockered? Then I was yelled at for IMPROVING on schedule stats. I must be doing something dishonest. Well, no, Im doing what your hung over friend told me to do. Finally, when I was fired, my coach brought up the fact that I walked the wrong direction to the printer, and pointed to a direction that would take twice as long. I was puzzled until I realized he was actually reprimanding me for using the printer he told me to use. Honestly.. I couldn't make this stuff up. Let me end my rant by saying Im prouder of being part of the dont than I ever was being part of the DO.

So funny. I mean it's not, but ot made me laugh. The thing about the "cape" and not being "snockered". Hilarious!

B in Aurora, Illinois said: So funny. I mean it's not, but ot made me laugh. The thing about the "cape" and not being "snockered". Hilarious!

That cape was such an ugly royal blue, wasn't it?

Here's the deal. I'm not the ideal employee for USCC and have been employed by them for over 2yrs now. There is some truth to the cult ways of the DO, but at the same time they do take care of their employees. I have excellant medical, dental, 401k, and benefit time. I started out in a call center and have since moved into a retail store. I must admit in the call center I did have to tip toe a little more than I do now. It's the US Cellular business model, if you don't fit for what they are looking for then you probably won't last long. It's not for everybody so people should not slam USCC for knowing what they want in an employee. Like I said before, I'm not exactly what they are looking for but they treat me better than any other employer I've worked for. Therefore, I go to the meetings and participate in activities that seem pretty silly to me. I get paid well and have excellant benefits for myself and my family so it's a small price to pay. This company truely cares for it's employees and I have grown loyal to them over the last two years. It's a great place to work.

It's not only in Illinois!!!!

Beeny in Chicago, Illinois said: Whats CBI?

CBI - Customer Beat Index

What about technical positions on the operations side? How much do they pay network field engineers? And do the operations people have to go through the Cumbaya training, holding hands and singing? Please say no.

I can't answer this one... anyone out there know? I laughed at the cumbaya comment.

Having been immersed in this ridiculous company for four months now, and already more than eager to look for a new job, I can tell you a couple of things:

A)The cult reference is ABSOLUTELY true. I have seen people fired for reasons that are awe-inspiring (and not in a good way). Every single person in the building maintains a fake smile beyond compare, because they create a Big-Brother style mentality, thusly you never know who is "watching".

B)NOBODY I know there has worked there for more than 3 years. This includes coaches, trainers, even directors. It's very apparent that people have a short shelf life at this place.

C)Their claim is customer focus. This is a line of crap a mile long. Case and point, I brought up one account one day, spoke with a customer who was clearly told scenario "A" was correct, when it was completely incorrect. It's even notated by the person that informed them as such. Because of this, the customer's bill was about $300 higher than it should have been. Under right and proper procedure, this charge should have been reversed. However, upon trying to speak w/higher ups to fix the problem, they informed me it was the customer's problem, and as I didn't have the clearance in the system to fix it myself (due to the high $ amount), I basically had to tell the customer he was screwed. It's a lovely smoke screen, but this company is blood thirsty for money like no other. "Customer Focus" (one of the mantras of the cult mentality) is nothing more than a cute way of saying "Let's distract the customer from the fact we are raping them for every dollar". I've seen it evidenced in hundreds of accounts I've looked at over the short time I've been there, and I doubt it will stop just because I happened to notice. I'm also painfully aware if I actually go to bat for these customers, my job will be a sacrifice to maintain this philosophy. If you actually like helping people, completely not the job for you.

wow, EVERYTHING you said is SO true! Worked for them for 7 years. CULT and absolutely NO loyalty to their employees. Sad because I loved the company "back when"

hey, just a joke, Im with you! I worked for them for 6.5 years before getting the axe, and I too loved the company "back in the day". When getting fired from a place is the best thing that could happen to you, and the people who still work there are jealous of you, you KNOW the company has gone downhill on a toboggan.

What job did you have?

I've been with USCC for over 7 yrs. It started as a job to pay for school, then to pay for my family. I graduated with 3 degrees, 2 on business management. Since I'm not willing to relocate my family, I have no chance in hell of making management. Two yrs ago, I was told we'd be adding a second sales manager position, and that I was top candidate. Guess what? Not only didn't happen: The area sales manager who moved our store, promised me the job: fired. I finally got fed up, got a second job. I'm working for a school that pays me $4K more than I've made the last 3 years here. I'm only sticking around to make some extra money to pay the bills that I haven't been able to pay with the USCC paychecks. Oh yeah, my sales manager: just got fired for showing up late to a Culture Survey read out meeting in Chicago. He had been with the company for only 1 1/2 years more than me. Talked to him the other day: Said I better watch myself, I'm on the chopping block next. Screw 'em I say, I've got a better job already. and I don't have to worry about getting yelled at by idiots (customers) or lectured to by idiots ( upper management).

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