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
1.0
Mar 17, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good discount for employee pets.

Cons

Lets see... First I would advise you to take a job with this company only if you are totally desperate. They will start you off at $8.00 or $9.00 an hour but will promise you a raise if you manage to stay for a year. Believe me, they will get their money's worth out of you. VCA is very impressed with "Certified Vet Techs". They will hire prima donna's who are above filling mop buckets, emptying trash and performing the normal cleaning that goes with working at an animal hospital. Guess who gets to do it all? You. The insurance plan is insulting. For the minimum plan you pay about $158.00 a month but no one gets it because they simply can not afford it. VCA blithely turns a blind eye to this fact. You will get a great big insurance packet chock full of "plans". Mine went into the recycle bin. You will clear @ $1,300 per month after taxes so you will make about 15,000 a year. That is considered poverty wages and the only good thing is that you will probably qualify for food stamps and gov't assistance. Don't hold your breath on the raise. If you manage to make it for a year then you will hear raise freeze. I am also told that often a raise consists of .10c per hour. Whoppee! As a VetTech you must be respectful of the vets at all times but that courtesy is not expected of the vets. In other words they can treat you like dew-dew on their shoe and you have no recourse. In short you will work like a dog (no pun intended), and be treated like one too. Oh, training? You are on your own kid. They will take you just so far and then stop. The established techs do NOT want you to ever get to where they are. Management? If you have a problem management will listen very nicely then do precisely -- nothing. I got into this field because I really have a feeling for critters but trust me, with VCA it is ALL about the money and how you can squeeze every last penny out of the the client till he squeals. I could go on and on but that is enough..I'm starting to break out in hives just thinking of the stress level!

1.0
Mar 11, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good discounts for employees on food and services. Ability to advance within the company, if you are willing to re-locate.

Cons

Oh where to start.... If you are thinking of joining a VCA clinic I advise you to try to find another clinic quickly. Even the best Vet Techs are treated like dirt. They put more and more work for you to do and cut the amount of time you have to complete the work. The 'upper' management only cares about money, they cut drug orders back so far that we'd run out of medications and supplies that are considered 'staples' of Veterinary Medicine on a weekly basis. There is also a salary freeze for 'all' employees that some have said can last years, which is fine if you make a veterinarians salary but we know that is not the case. So most Techs can not live by themselves, or support their families. The benefits are a expensive joke. I worked 40 hours per week and could not afford a family plan, would have got a bill instead of a paycheck. For an individual plan it was $158.00 a month, and they have Blue Cross Anthem. If you need to know how bad Anthem is, please call ANY doctor and they will explain that Anthem pays for basically nothing. So you better stay in top shape so the medical bills don't make you bankrupt. Even just a check up with bloodwork will cost YOU $80.00 BEFORE the co pay of $20.00. The 'training' for new employees is none, you are thrown into the pool and everyone hopes you swim. The CEs they offer are few for techs and the ones that are mandatory teach you absolutely nothing. The clinic managers are threatened daily, and the upper management love to put closing the clinic, cutting hours or employees over you head like a sword. They also tell you to try and talk expensive testing and unnecessary vaccines onto clients that make you feel like a used car salesmen. So clients become wary and then will not perform necessary testing when it is truly called for. I could go on forever, but I think these were the most important to know. Stress Stress Stress.

3.0
Nov 6, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

High level of growth opportunity with many hospitals and kennels across the United States. Many facets of the corporation to work for; from the hospital management to doctors to techs to kennel techs to lawyers and upper level management and accounting.

Cons

Low pay rate and few salary advancements. The medical benefits are nearly none. It would have cost me over $200 a month on a $1400 salary for basic benefits. The upper management is only focused on financial gain, and it leaves something to be desired in the way of individual hospital decision making.

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