Pros
Most of the people are cool. The biscuit selection is on point. Credit to the woman who buys the biscuits, she never misses. You get to learn a lot.
Kontras
Despite being in operation for 8 years, the leadership hasn't figured out how to run a proper business. It feels like a startup because no one knows what they're doing on the operational side. I feel bad saying this, as I like many people at the company, but the quality of staff is poor. Many people only get jobs here because they've worked with someone at Epropelled at a previous company. They don't go for the best and brightest; they go for anyone who's recently been made redundant. There are minimal processes, there isn't a defined long-term plan, and they don't plan in general. Most things are done on a whim, and the day-to-day here feels very ADHD, if you know what I mean. Overall, the office has a "someone's just died in here" type of vibe. There is no organisation. They see a problem way down the line, and there is no preparation for it. They wait for the problem to be at their doorstep, and then they operate like headless chickens. You don't get basic information here. I didn't get a start time on my first day, any contacts, or any knowledge on how to book holidays or report sickness. Many people here are stretched and made to do jobs they aren't qualified to do. They don't seem to understand the knock-on effect of this. An example is someone putting a laser in production (which is also in the office) without a risk assessment. You don't get a proper production space, and you lack equipment. If you ask for equipment, you will either wait for weeks or not get it at all. They don't seem to fully grasp what equipment you need for production either. Many items are more suitable for hobbyists at home. They don't track things well, despite it being easy to do. There is no logical reason for this. They also have a major problem with packaging. They can't get packaging for their products, and I can't fathom this. The reason given doesn't make any sense. Instead, they use old packaging and send out products to customers in parcels that look like they've been kicked around in a back alley. You have a few questionable staff members, particularly higher up. The ops director doesn't seem to know what he's doing and operates at random. He disrupts things and asks for things to be done without a plan or logic. He also doesn't seem to be much of an authority over the ops team. You have a guy in quality control who encourages you not to do things with any quality. His existence at the company is completely ironic. The senior build tech is a lazy grifter and a weirdo. He doesn't train you properly and gets violently mad when you make a mistake. If you make a mistake, sometimes he'll stop speaking to you as you've betrayed him. He speaks to people like dirt, even when they're trying to help him. He throws tantrums on a daily basis, and you have to walk on eggshells around him. A woman started a week after me on our team, and he started bullying her for weeks. He'd put her down, embarrass her, and set her up to fail so he could belittle her even more. There is no one to speak to about this, as there isn't a proper HR. The people at this company seem oblivious in general. The senior build Tech would also creep on the women. He's hugged and tickled the woman on our team without her consent. They don't have that type of relationship; she's afraid of him because of his anger. He's also creeped on another young woman at the company. Giving her pet names, flirting with her, and pretending he's hurt or sad so she'd look after him. This woman is young enough to be his granddaughter. He stopped production intentionally whenever he could, so he could either do nothing or play games on his phone. He blew up a PCB board whilst playing games on his phone. There was no care for PCB boards; sub-assemblies were lying all over them, not always earthed when touching them, etc. He's encouraged us not to do things properly and cut corners despite being told by engineers. I imagine many of the board faults were our fault. He pretended to be hurt so he could stop working and go home early. He'd often spend time sitting around doing nothing but staring and whispering insults under his breath. He got my colleague and me to do almost all the work so he could sit around and do nothing, whilst getting paid more. He'd slate people behind their backs and lie compulsively. He'd flip people off behind their backs and make racist gestures behind Indian colleagues' backs, implying that they smell. You couldn't have a conversation with him, as it would set him off, no matter what it was. He'd get in the way of the job, make us do things in awkward ways. His lack of planning and leadership would mean we'd have to work harder, and he'd avoid work for weeks, or entirely and nothing was done about it. He'd take stock out of the stockroom without letting anyone know, and then gaslight and have a go at the guy in procurement, acting like a victim. I could go on, but you get the point. After all this, they rewarded him with a promotion and a pay rise. That is Epropelled.