| American Products |
| American Products, Inc. (API) Tampa, FL American Products Inc Rude, Crude, Unacceptable Hiring Practices, Cluttered Disorganized Offices, Unreasonabl |
| 31st of May, 2011 by User647012 |
This company goes beyond the level of ordinary rudeness practiced by quite a few employers today. Yes as a job seeker I responded to an advertisement, went to the "interview" and followed up with a thank-you note. Then nothing. Pretty typical in this job market. Unfortunately. after going through the process with American Products I felt violated and truly taken advantage of. I received a phone call with an invitation to come in and plan for several hours of form filling out and test taking and PERHAPS a brief interview. I tried to schedule late in the day so I would not miss much work but they were very rigid as to hours and their request necesitated a half day off work using my PTO to accomodate their specific demands. They were vague and said they would email me and from that email I should have known to pass the opportunity by. I will paste some of it below. You may park in the grass/gravel lot next to the paved lot (Do Not park in the paved area or under the tent). Street parking is also allowed if necessary. SOFTWARE AND OTHER SKILLS ASSESSMENT PROCESS: This process consists of completing the following (you can complete this process over several days if necessary please email or call if you would like to do so):
1. Both an application and written interview questions (allow approx. 30 minutes)
2. Computer and other assessments related to the position (s) API is considering you for (allow approx. 1 - 3 hours you can take assessments over several days if necessary)
3. Possible in-person interview (allow approx. 20 minutes)
(Note: Please arrive at the time indicated above on this confirmation; you do not need to arrive early to complete the paperwork.)
WHAT TO BRING TO THE INTERVIEW: Please arrive prepared with the following items:Updated contact information for at least four (4) business references who are or were direct supervisors and/or managers at prior companies you worked for.
Two extra copies of your resume.
3. Any reference letters you may have.
4. Any samples of work you would like to show us. The worst part is the so called paperwork was a repeat of your resume plus some lame personality questions that took about an hour to fill out (and I know two other candidates that had the same experience). The assessments were three different programs including their CRM, Word and Excel with upteem formulas to input to get the desired results. It took me a couple hours but talking to two other candidates one took FOUR hours just for that part. It was very elementary input and due to the detailed nature of their inventory input on their crm invoices and the formulas just went beyond what was necessary to assess proficiency. I guess they have not heard of online skills assessments or sending out forms to bring with you as their procedure one. The odd part is this company sells materials for storefront construction. Their own buidling lobby/entrance was extremely unattractive and as they walked me into the testing area and the 20 minute interview their was junk/boxes/papers piled on every flat surface and even the floors - and this is a huge building with plenty of room. It was just lackadaisical as these weren't even regular work areas. I peeked at the one office set up as a child's playroom and that had junk piled all over also - just pitiful working conditions. Melanie the interviewer avoided eye contact and had to be the rudest person possible. Very dismissive in her manner she either was having a very bad day or truly could not be bothered to speak to me. I was asked no real substantive questions only told that everyone in the company had to help find clients and call, call, call. Duh, that is the point of commerce isn't it. I was shocked by her demeanor and attitude as I saw my test results and know I performed at an extremely high level and have the background that met all their criteria. Perhaps she sensed my shock at the lack of organization and marginal cleanliness of the facility. I did overhear a conversation that their cleaning company just stopped coming with no notice - all I thought is how were they treated. The only person I thought was polite was the person who scheduled me to come in. The receptionist was indifferent to rude, the owner or manager seemed very dismissive and rude and Melanie was the queen of rude people everywhere. Since lack of civility is not a crime there isn't a lot to be done. Unless you are desparate for a job, don't bother and make sure you don't take a coveted paved or shaded parking space if you show up there. Make sure you would like to spend your precious PTO to go through a process where they decide to even interview you. She blythely mentioned their typical they expect you to invest hours of your time. Everyone wants capable employees who can do what they say they can but their is a limit to how much time you ask someone to invest without your knowing if you have interest in them. Many employers do preliminary screening online but none have required me to devote hours within a normal workday, online lets you complete when convenient. The topper to all this is their typical office staff workday is ten hours and given that this job is low level probably violates overtime laws with the low wage offered. I cannot comment on their product line but the application of such at their facility was not impressive and mediocre at best. Their design esthetic seems pretty low given their cluttered, gross offices. It is time to call out employers who disrepect people and are rude at best. The funny thing is I would not have went in for a second interview even if they responded after my thank you letter and expression of interest. I predict this company won't be around in a few years as even their terms for clients on their test materials were pretty unyielding. So you know Florida Glass of Tampa Bay has the same owner and location. I don't know if they share the same hiring practices. |
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I was very intrigued reading this, as I went through a very similar experience with this company, (whatever they decide to call themselves, API? Florida glass? Tampa glass?) except mine was much worse, they actually did call me back. I will post a letter I wrote another person I met online who just like us had a crazy experience with them: ... This is the message I sent to a guy posting about how that company was a scam!
I interviewed at this place as well. It was very creepy. I applied for the "bid coordinator" I had to take a bunch of their tests, and fill out a bunch of paperwork. They didn't even read this stuff, because they asked me the same questions after I filled everything out. They actually called me a few weeks after interviewing, and wanted to hire me on "on a temporary basis", which was supposed to become permanent if I did a good job. They only wanted to pay me $10/hour during this period, and told me I would get a raise when I was hired on permanently.
They wanted me to find projects for them to bid. Since I worked in this field previously, I had a bunch of contacts, and sources that I used for finding open projects. They didn't give me any training, or tell me exactly what they wanted me to do, and on the third day, right before lunch, they told me that I was no longer needed, and handed me a check. I think they just wanted to steal all my contacts. VERY STRANGE! I was incredibly pissed about it, because during that time, I had friends here from out of town, and I ended up wasting three days working for next to nothing, then I had to come home and try to explain to my family why they let me go. It was very embarrassing.
There is something VERY WEIRD going on there. I also overheard one of their meetings, and it seemed like they were up to something illegal. I still see their job listings on craigslist, and I cant believe someone hasn't investigated what is going on over there.
I'm glad you posted that ad though, because if you can keep even one person from suffering through the embarrassment and waste of time it is dealing with them, you will have done a great service!
Thanks for posting. If you have time, Id love to hear about your experience with them. I dont even have to ask the company name, because I KNOW who you are talking about! They are the only company that has been consistently posting an ad for an estimator every week the past year! |
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This is what he sent me back..
Dude, I wouldn't know where to begin. Let me just say, that after 3 months there, I was called "long-timer". I saw them run off 7, yes seven, people in 8 weeks. And these were some top notch people. I have no idea how they stay in business. There was one project manager that was fired and 2 weeks later they still hadn't told the client that she wasn't there any more because the client liked her.
My story...I was working 70-80 hours a week on 15 projects. They promised me help, because there isn't enough time in the day for Superman to keep up that workload. After a week of getting no help, I went to the "owner" and asked where my help was. She said there wasn't going to be any. I told her then I wasn't going to be responsible for work that wasn't done. I was already working 80 hours a week at crappy pay. She told me to "suck it up". This was at 10:30 am. I was toldat 11:45 that they were "going to go in a different direction". Now they had told me I was the best PM they ever had and gave me a raise after 2 weeks instead of 90 days. I went from the best they ever had to lower than dirt in less than 24 hours. I had a friend that worked in the shop and had heard stories so I knew the job was temporary when I took it, but it beats being unemployed. But I don't know how they get away with making people work for free and calling it an "interview".
Oh, and once they had to call the cops there after an interview because the woman was so mad at them about their tactics.
I will do everything I can to keep anyone for falling for their scam, which is what it is.
Anyone who looks at craigslist much has got to know that the same ads are there every week. They don't even change them, just copy and paste.
Thanks for your response. Always good to compare horror stories. :)
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| Im glad Ive been able to read up on tthese stories. I went in for an interview yesterday. The place was disgusting and completely disorganized, the interviewers were very rude, and I was there for 7 hours filling out an application interviewed with several people, took test and just sat around waiting for people mostly. They called me in today and invited me back in for another test and interview. I got a bad vibe from the company as soon as i stepped in. Being so sloppy, and there was a childs room right above the reception area. Weirdd.. |
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| I also had the same experiece as everyone else. I went on two interviews. I was scheduled for a second interview at 5:15 in the afternoon so that I would not have to miss more work. I finally got in to see the owner after waiting until 6:15...Again, no set interview questions, very dis-organized...I could not have explained it better myself than the first person that wrote this article...It was awful! I think the owner is just a control freak! Jade, Violet and Heather...all very nice girls!~ |
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| I went there several months ago and went through a very similar experience. What they are doing is just wrong and frankly makes them look incredibly sad and unprofessional. I was sent there by a recruiter for an "interview" and some testing. 4 hours later, after filling out that book of repetitive questions (with mis-spells I might add) and then taking those ridiculous tests I got very angry. Oh and I'm sure OSHA would love to visit them. They took me through some back way through their warehouse to the testing area. No goggles no safety signage no safety anything. When I actually sat down with this girl, I was so offended and taken aback not only by the mess that the office was in but in her demeanor and the questions she was asking. The so called interview was interrupted no less than 3 times. I intentionally tanked the conversation and chose to waste her time. Since she wasted half my day it was my turn. I went for an accounting position and I'm sorry, but accounting people like order and general neatness. I honestly couldn't see an inch of her desk for all the papers. The questions were personal and direct and I refused to answer some of them and returned with some pretty personal questions of my own. When I finally left there I called the recruiter and asked if he had ever been to the office or met her. He said no and I told him that this company is a sham, unprofessional and any relationship with them would affect his reputation. I told him that if they call him back that I would never step foot back in there for any reason. I have 20 yrs experience and have never gone through anything like this! |
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| I interviewed with these folks a few weeks ago and was called back for a final last week. I am puzzled by what I have read here. I found the process to be very organized and the folks pleasant and helpful. I can't see why the you are all so angry by what what I have read to be very normal hiring practices. A busy business is a godsend these days. I hope to get a call back and if offered a position I would gladly accept. There hasn't been anything alarming or out of the ordinary. I hope anyone else interested in working with this firm isn't deterred by some of the comments here. It would be a shame to pass up a good opportunity due to some apparently biased opinions. |
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| Don't EVER work here if you enjoy your sanity and like to be respected for what you do. |
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The above is all true except for maybe GatorGal who is either an employee of API who is trying to mislead potential candidates or has no clue about how a proper interview should be conducted. I personally overheard a conversation between two employees while taking my assessments during an interview stating “Why are we even interviewing these people, it’s not like we hire any of them”. My jaw hit the ground. When I arrived for my interview there were two other applicants waiting in the lobby. So I thought to myself well maybe they were talking about those other people. It wasn’t until my second interview with a person, after waiting hours that I finally came to the realization this company (if you can call it that) was not for me and also felt they had no real intention of hiring me.
Some more information I found out. API isn’t Florida Glass they are two separate companies, but here is the catch. They are owned and run by the same two men. The wife of one of the men is the general manager or COO of API. Got to love nepotism.
If you need a paycheck while searching for a job, API might be ok. From everything I have read and experienced myself this is not career or a place offering longevity. |
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| I inquired about the HR/Office Mgr position. I also rec an email with similar instructions. I arrived about 10 minutes before my sceduled time. Completed an application in about 25 min. The application in it self sent a warning to my brain. After 90 minutes of waiting, (there was 9 of us in a very small lobby) we started talking amongst each other. One lady had been there since 930am. My time was 130pm. My expected wait time according to the (rude receptionist) was another hour or two. I have done the complete interview process in the past, scheduled the interview, completed the interview process. I never left a potential candidate wait more that 5 or 10 minutes for their scheduled time. API never once checked on us in the lobby to see if we needed a drink of water or to let us know that they were running behind schedule. My advice, don't apply. |
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| I couldn't agree more about this greedy unprofessional company!!! I have seen first hand what they do there employees and its disgraceful. The woman who pretends to be "HR" doesn't know how to do her job, and I'm surprise she hasn't had a lawsuit put against her. She only "works" when she needs to or when OSHA shows up. The guy who "runs" things there has no personality, and if the owners were smart they would see that half the people that are in charge don't have the company's best interest. Stay far away from this company, because all they care about is putting money in their pockets, flaunting off their brand new toys they buy each week, and using you for anything they can to make money. When it comes down to it you could be the hardest most dedicated worker they have, but none of that matters to them. I have a feeling they will be dealing with a lawsuit soon for the way they run their business, because not every person is as stupid as they think. |
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DO NOT WORK HERE! No one should be subjected to their practices or management.
If you are unemployed and really need a job, PLEASE LOOK HARDER. Do not even interview with this company for it is a waste of time. |
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| I worked there for one month and it was the worst job i ever had. I was there for a welding position and they had me in the warehouse doing bullcrap work and treating me with total disrespect. When I took a day off because i couldn't take it any more, the next day i show up and they ask me why i took the day off i told them why and i got wrote up for being truthful about the disrespect they were dishing out. Yes there is alot of favoritism there and if your not in there "click" your nothing to them. The best advice i can give is RUN as fast as you can away from this company if you want to keep your sanity. There's better out there trust me. |
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