I worked at ALLDATA twice, for a combined total of over 17 years; and by admitting this, many people will know exactly who I am. I went back to ALLDATA because it was an easy job that I was over-qualified for. After working my way back up to the position that I had left (4+ years earlier), the only real financial gains I saw were realized after filing personal bankruptcy last year. The company offers AZ stock purchase at 85% of retail cost, yet if you don't have any expendable income, you obviously can't afford to buy any stock. And let's not forget the over-inflated stock prices of $600+ per share. They also offer a 401K plan but again, if you have no extra income, how can you afford to buy in? The increases in medical premiums are offset by the annual raise, so I left just as broke as I was 9 years prior when I had gone back.
ALLDATA and their parent company AutoZone, claim that their people are their greatest asset, yet the reality is they are no where near a "people company". Lower staff are expected to be shining stars, yet their best efforts will gain them nothing more than a cheap pin ("flair" for those of you are fans of "Office Space"). Annual raises are a joke, averaging between 2.8 & 3.0%; unless you are able to "redesign the wheel", which will gain you a whopping 4.0% raise. I know this because I did exactly that not once, but twice over the years. Middle management gets a bonus if (and only IF) their lower employees exceed expectations (which they never will). Upper management re-arranges the EBIT reports so that magically they always get their bonus *every time*. (Funny how that works, right?)
Over the years they have tried nearly every "management fad", usually a decade after every other mainstream company has tried those same ideas. My Dilbert desk calender was accurate to within 2 days, which is really quite scary when you think about it. How can a company that claims to be the leader in their field be so far behind? If you really care about the people, start by asking them why they are leaving, rather than just giving them an on-line link to a survey (instead of an actual exit interview).
Several key people in the department left (myself included) because they were sick and tired of the continued BS, and management's response was to cut 1/2 of the remaining staff in that department. But hey, thanks to NAFTA they can get programmer level employees to shovel the data even faster than before, assuming of course the "new tools" that had been promised for 15+ years actually stay up and running for more than a week at a time. The automotive knowledge base that built the production department is no longer needed, so don't expect helpful answers if you've got questions.
Would I recommend ALLDATA as a place to work? No way.
