I had responded to an online ad with this company and was contacted for a phone interview. When I went back to review the original ad prior to the phone interview I saw that it had been edited to now show a salary range that was a full $30,000 below what is considered normal for the Seattle market! I mentioned the newly added salary range in the interview and was told by the HR professional to not be swayed by this, as it was negotiable.
I was called for a face to face interview with the The person who would be my Supervisor and she too admitted that the salary was "ridiculously low", and that they knew from my work and experience that we would certainly negotiate a better figure. I was then introduced to the entire department and had to field questions from several people at once! I subsequently was called back to meet with two Executives (whose budgets my salary would be drawn from) - these interviews were the strangest in my career, as neither executive had seemed prepared, and they seemed at a loss as to what to ask or discuss (we talked about baseball). The company requested a whopping seven references, and checked them all.
In all, this process took two months and over seven hours of interviews. Finally I got the call that they were making me a formal offer, that they were excited to have me join the team, and then they offered me the same low ball salary as in the ad! I pointed out that this was a disappointment and was also not what had been discussed! I countered with a figure that was still 10k lower than industry, and was told by the same HR professional that she would call me after discussing things with the "Decision Makers". The next day she called, missing her call I called her back immediately (within 20 minutes), but never got a return call. The next day I hung around, waiting for a return call. I took a look at the job listings on Craigslist and what do I see but the same ad from Pacific Coast Feather for the position - they had reposted the ad without so much as a phone call! In 30 years in this profession I have NEVER dealt with a company as constipated in their decision process or as internally confused. These folks are unprofessional and obviously do not care how they treat potential employees - I can only imagine what it would be like to work there!
A word about the offices. Would it hurt to wash the carpets? Seriously, the place is filthy! The walls are scarred and beaten up, the place is dirty and smells musty, like a wet dog. It is a pretty depressing place. If you have any issues with allergies I would consider this point seriously and not step foot in this place. It is unimaginable, I have never seen offices this dirty. I make this point because it says a lot about the company. It doesn't cost much to wash or paint walls, or to shampoo the carpet, and if they won't spend any money on the corporate headquarters, that should tell you something. Speaking of that, forget about the benefits, they are bottom of the barrel. I wasn't expecting anything fancy, but the benefits offering is pretty much just enough to cover what is legally required.