VCA reviews

2.9

39% would recommend to a friend

(2,346 total reviews)
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Patty Wu

23% approve of CEO

26% positive business outlook

VCA has an employee rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars, based on 2,346 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The VCA employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Personal Consumer Services industry (3.4 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
2.0
Aug 11, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I worked with some great and very experienced people. The staff cared about the clients and their pets. Good quality care of pets.

Cons

I have to start by saying I worked for the hospital 1 year before it was sold to VCA and then I worked at VCA another 1 1/2 years. Prior to the move it was a family type atmosphere where the management and staff truly took care of and cared about eachother. The management was in the building along with the owner so questions and requests were answered fairly quickly. Post VCA, we moved from a practice who was on its way to being paperless with a standard software program to a DOS based computer program and triple the amount of paper being used and often wasted. If you have any questions or issues, that has to go from the HM to the regional manager and through several levels to get any answer...that's if you ever get a response. Communication was terrible between management and staff and there were rarely clear, consise answers given. The company wants to squeeze every last penny from every client as well as their staff. Sure, you can bring your dog to work with you, but you have to pay the boarding fee and still take care of your own dog. It felt like you were selling things to clients and it made it hard to look the long time clients in the eye anymore. Many clients did not appreciate this approach and we lost a significant amount of these clients throughout my time there. When VCA took over, they said "if it's not broke, don't fix it" was going to be their approach as we were a high grossing practice that ran very well. This was an out and out lie, that place was unrecognizable by the time I left. I was so dissatisfied with the practice that I left the field completely and have no desire to go back. I had been in the field for 10 years. The turnover rate was outrageously high, long time employees, I'm talking 10 to 15 years, left for other practices even though many had to take pay cuts. Unless you are just looking to get your foot in the door at a practice, this is not a place you want to have a career. If you are lucky, there will still be experienced staff there to help you learn and grow.

1.0
Jul 28, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Employee discount for services and retail is good. Some of the people I work with are wonderful - one of them has become a very close friend. Quality of medical care is excellent at my hospital.

Cons

Terrible terrible management on all levels. From the Hospital Manager, to the Medical Director, to the Regional Manager, and so on --- barely any training of new hires, then frustrated, angry doctors when things don't run smoothly. Perhaps eventually you will become their "go-to" person, but forget about being heard or respected. Despite your incredibly hard work (of completing your own daily duties, and then fixing the mistakes made by under-trained employees), you will rarely hear a "thank you" or "well done." You will work 45-50 hour weeks because your hospital is horribly understaffed, and then get reprimanded by your HM and Regional Director for accruing overtime. While my HM is pretty good at resolving client disputes, when it comes to her own staff, it will take months (if ever) to resolve anything. Raises are miniscule. Perhaps you will get a title promotion, but no monetary acknowledgement of your hard work. Ask multiple times to be reviewed (with the hope of getting a raise), finally your HM will sit you down, and only then you will learn that 3 days earlier a nation-wide salary freeze had come into effect. If you move into a management position (i.e. salaried) from a lower title (i.e. hourly), you will continue to receive your hourly wage with a pat on the back and a "this is technically in your job description, you know." In 3 words: MANIPULATIVE, DISHONEST, EXPLOITATIVE.

2.0
Jul 23, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Can bring your dog to work. Very chill environment. No one really bothers you. Internet usage is relaxed. Comfortable, which can actually be a CON.

Cons

Dust EVERYWHERE. If you have allergies, BEWARE! The biggest problem with working here, are the people up top are NOT qualified for their positions. They all got to the top because anyone who is smart, knew to left the company. So what happens over time? The idiots who only know how to "work" and not "lead" get to the top, and all goes to hell. These people are not good at delegating roles, have no idea what the people under them are doing. They are too busy doing what they are doing, which is NOT managing. They are producing reports... which is something they can make others do and then review themselves. Lots of buddy/buddy groups here. If you are not part of that group, you are done for. Don't expect to get promoted at all. Promotions do not come until someone up top leaves. Performance reviews are little to none. And when they come, its all made up issues. They'll pull something you did when you first started as a problem area of yours. Top management, even the person above you, usually have NO idea what you actually do on a daily basis. All they know is if a deadline is met... so if they don't know what you do on a daily basis, how are they able to give you an honest and accurate performance review? The work is deadline based, BUT the funny thing is that if you are more efficient than most of the group, you STILL have to stay the odd hours they are all staying. One would imagine, if you are done with your work, YOU ARE DONE... GO HOME! But no, come in on the weekend even though you have nothing to do at work. When you start working, there is little to no training at all. They sorta help guide you in the monthly/quarterly tasks, but they don't walk you through what people do step-by-step. I found out some people have been doing some tasks on excel which takes them 1-2 hours to do, but the people who have been working there for 4+ years can do in 3-5 minutes!!!! And its all due to a simple function in excel the people that should have been teaching the new hires could have taught. It has frustrated many new hires over the past few years, which led to them leaving within months. Some supervisors/managers are anal about some issues that are incredibly immaterial. You will have to spend lots of time redoing a spreadsheet or schedule, that does not matter to begin with. The executive management is fine. Which means the CEO/COO/VP/CFO. The problems listed are about the department heads. BENEFITS SUCK as well. Expensive, useless, pointless. I hate that it comes out of my paycheck when everyone else I know has a better plan at their jobs. You people need to get out of the idea of a strict 9-5pm schedule, and turn into a "get the job done" schedule. Its embarassing that every cube you walk by around 3pm and after, has internet explorer open to some shopping site.

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