Pros
The holiday and summer parties were fantastic. I enjoyed the people I worked directly with and gained a few life long friends. They do a great job of showing gratitude with bonuses. This is a greater starter company for someone just out of college or transitioning to an office job.
Cons
It has been almost two years since I worked at Tripp Lite and I hate to say it, but I do not regret leaving. When I first started it was a great job! I was transitioning from working in hospitality to an office job and I was happy to have a 9-5 for the first time in my life. A few years in is when I took my rose colored glasses off. I started to notice a few issues. Benefits: While I first thought they were great, I noticed that that were not comparable to other companies of the same size. The 401k match was almost non existent. In fact one of my friends applies and interview and withdrew his application once he saw what the 401K and health benefits were. Sick Days: They exist (ish). Sick days are at the managers discretion. My manager along with most other managers told you to use a vacation day instead and that sick days were only to be used when you run out of vacation days while you are sick. My manager did not like someone in HR and was convinced HR had it out for her, so we never could use our sick days because my manager didn't want HR to report that we were using them. Toxic Environment: Management and up are all connected in some way outside of work whether by blood or friendship. This seems cool until you step on the wrong persons toes without knowing and they make sure you regret it for the rest of your time at the company. It is very clique. I left after a really poor experience with my managers boss. Basically, I was forced into a position I never wanted, still excelled and did a great job (yearly reviews to prove it) then was told that I am a disappointment and that I shouldn't have taken the job I was forced because I don't want to go into sales, even though I had always expressed my interest in developing career towards the technical side of business. Pay: I made a good amount, but I recently found out that one of my friends still working there still makes less than I did despite that he has the same job and has worked there for 7+years. Inefficient: They are an old company that does things the old way. Lots of circular processes, disorganization. During my time there I witnessed tons of potential sales go down the drain do to missed deadlines, confusion, and even someone being mad at someone else in our department and deciding to not sign off on bids. Change: They don't like change or the suggestion of change when it comes to processes. During orientation we were told "if you suggest any changes, the owner will hand you a box and tell you to leave". I thought they meant big changes, but during my time there I made a ton of recommendation to my superiors and my hand was slapt every time for trying to make things efficient. No Growth: I stayed as long as I could before I realized that the company didn't have a lot of places for someone to advance. The only place to go was sales and as always, that was never my goal. Sources to this day confirm that the only place to go is sales. Accountability: Managers are not held accountable and often people are thrown under the bus. Overall, it was good while it lasted and I wanted I stayed longer than I should have in hopes it would go back to being a great place to work. In the end, I moved to a different company where 3 weeks vacation, usable sick days, a great 401k, and awesome health benefits are the standard/competitive to other companies. The company I work for encourages us to look for process improvement, even when it means starting from the ground up.