Not a Fortune 500 Co - Service Operator CarMax Employee Review

1.0
15 Mar 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are many wonderful people that work there. Unfortunately there are also a lot of people who gossip about the nicest folks. Who I will always remember. And I loved to work with. Food all of the time. Parties Nice People Very clean bathrooms Updated showroom Very nice maintenance crew Lots of coffee Lots of hot chocolate Health food days

Cons

HR does not represent you at all, it represents itself. Insubordination . Heavy Gossip. Heavy Favoratism. Carmax creates livid crazy customers: Salesmen lie. Service Dept can't follow through, because salesmen lie. It seems to be how they sell cars though. I was there thirteen months. I was written up because of customer complaints that were caused by this poor business practice. The customers' perspective was always right. It did not matter what I said or how I listened, they were right. I was never given training even after I was written up to deal with these anamalistic customers who were severely rude and ruined my day many times. Employees speak terrible things about Managers, co-workers, from the day I entered the pavement there. I was overloaded as the operator with tasks that were not mine, not in my job description at all, like driving to Carlsbad to pick up a car. Which took away from my ability to do my job. As well as coworkers giving me tasks they should have been doing themselves, but they would rather text and talk and gossip. I was told by my manager that he failed me in training. They had to send me to Buena Park to train where I was trained on the wrong CMR. Then sent to Kearney Mesa location to see why I was not getting things done. I was told to write down everything KM operators did vs what we were doing. When I listed seventeen extra tasks that I did, my Manager said, "well, that's just the way we do it" and nothing changed. I was broken hearted and knew I was being set up to fail. This place was so filled with drama I could not see straight. Talking about how horrible their mothers were and how unhappy they are in their marriages. Constant drama, constantly creating it. Licking up the remains. I seriously have never worked in a place like this that thrives on drama. You can't talk to anyone at all. The day I told my Manager I was having Surgery, I was written up for supposed customer complaints and my hours were cut. So, finally, this was the straw and I contacted HR. Who, did nothing at all. These big corporations just care about money and that's about it. Not about people. There is a lot more. But I am wasting no more energy on this. The week before I left I was forced to work three lunches in a row, because they did not have enough people to cover the Service Drive , breaking the law. Also, there is tremendous pressure on the Service Drive to never take breaks, I learned that from the get go. If you want to keep your job you don't speak up about these things. Because, as you can see , once you do, your set up to be fired. arties, They have a policy regarding treating coworkers with respect, but it's not something they abide by. If a coworker who's been there a bit consistently treats others with disrespect and it's witnessed by mechanics and others, that person will not be dealt with at all. They will make it look like they really care and are going to address it, but they won't.

Explore other reviews about CarMax

5.0
3 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You are your own boss

Cons

Slow days can be demotivating.

4.0
13 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The perks of working at CarMax are quite extensive. Associates are offered an aggressive 401k program, Stock Purchasing Plan, in store discounts on sales and service, access to the CarMax Wholesale system, excellent healthcare, plenty of PTO, and at my location we are given as much OT as we want. My coworkers are generally good people, that I enjoy being able to work along side day in and day out. Management is very understanding in regards to calling out sick family emergencies, and schedule requests.

Cons

Despite doing the work of 5 people, and very politely asking for a raise management will not give me more than my 3% annual raise which is the single biggest let down. The bonus change of 2025 being labeled as "exciting" was straight corporate gaslighting unlike anything I've ever seen. Since the start of 2026, as of this review being written we have lost 7 associates largely due to pay, and I am soon to join those associates. Management from the store level up to corporate needs to understand that to retain their top performers they need to be compensated like a top performer. Some members of management are cliquey and moody which is very frustrating to deal with. Quality of Management varies wildly from store to store as well

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