Unprofessional, false promises, fraudulent and dangerous.
Absolutely no appreciation for staff.
When I first started at Completely Motorbikes, there was a lot of promises made which I thought paved a great future for myself at the company, but after spending a bit of time with the staff there prior to myself, it was clear everyone else had been given the same false promises which was a big reason for the lack of morale and energy in the team.
It soon became obvious to me that the company was solely focused on funding the as quoted 'Playboy Lifestyle' which the owner and owner's sons were so proud of. This meant the staff were expected to dedicate their lives to the job with no recognition or reward for their hardwork, even when they are putting in the time outside of paid hours with no opportunity to earn overtime pay. Not only were you not paid for your overtime, the sales team are not on commission but are expected to sell north of 20 bikes a month for an extremely basic wage and still feel motivated by the so called benefits of Timetastic (An Online Rota System), a subsidized car (if you met the criteria to be offered one which was extremely strict and unfair).
Alongside the unfair payment of staff, there was a constant threat of our jobs if the sales team weren't hitting targets or weren't performing as expected (which was more down to the lack of demand for bike purchases as appose to the performance of staff) and on several occasions staff members were told 'if you don't sell enough you won't get paid' or 'if you don't like it leave now'.
There was also clear favoritism between the Bike Sales Director and certain members of staff which almost created an immunity for those favorites who were making clear sackable offences such as fraudulent MOT tests by the Workshop Manager/Head Mechanic or fraudulent sales.
There was also a constant falsification of numbers which made staff feel very uneasy and created a strong indication that the doors may not be open much longer which was created by the double unit stocking funding of bikes, purchase dates changing on purchase invoices, sales figures falsified, settlements not being settled until months after the due date, customers and suppliers not being paid (especially if they chased overdue payments as 'the chasing will only slow down your payment').
As for the working conditions at Hinckley's Distribution Centre, there was no heating provided to the staff downstairs in the showroom (which should be solely a storage unit and not a space to sell bikes from) which meant sub 5 degrees temperatures (recorded temperatures) and when staff supplied their own form of heating as they physically couldn't feel their hands or feet, they were told that their personal heaters MUST be unplugged as they cost too much in electricity. No suitable uniform was provided, no coats, no steel cap boots (as this is technically a distribution centre) and no other safety equipment which resulted in several injuries to both staff in the workshop and on the 'shop floor' when uncrating brand new bikes without the suitable safety equipment.
As for lunch breaks, if you were working in the Sales Team you were frowned upon if you did not eat your lunch at your desk or used up your full UNPAID hour. This was made very clear to the staff by the Sales Director and of course created a very bitter taste in the Sales Team's mouths.
For the women in the company, there was a lot of unease when around the Directors as there was a lot of sexist and sexual language thrown around either aimed at them personally or about other women which was of course not welcome or encouraged in any shape or form. Please note this is a male writing this review.
This company also favoured age as the older sales staff were allowed to work 5 days a week for equal or more pay compared to staff underneath a certain age bracket who are expected to work 5.5 days a week for the equal or less pay.
Several members of staff, past and present, including myself were faced by phone calls off of the Managing Director with abusive, offensive and hurtful language towards our performances or as a result of events that had occurred out of our control. The language used is not repeatable on a review like this and should not be heard or said in any environment.
As for the stock, none of the bikes are checked prior to going out on the shop floor, and a lot of them are rushed to a poor standard in the workshop IF the work was carried out by specific members of the workshop. This poor standard created a lot of dangerous situations for customers whilst riding these bikes such as throttles sticking open and brake calipers falling off during a trip on the bike.
The pressure created by the Sales Director is most definitely toxic and uncalled for. The poor sales results or lack of targets hit (despite a high standard of work carried out by the staff) meant that the Sales Director would project his disappointment, anger and grumpiness on the whole team as he couldn't contain his emotions despite telling other members of staff to 'keep their problems at home' if someone else was having a bad day.
For a company that boasts to be so cash rich and carrying so many assets, there is a huge desperation every morning to quote on quote 'chase customers for payment' regardless of our performances or what time of year it may be. They may be a cash rich company however this constant chase for money does not plant a positive seed for the staff who are seeking Job Security at the so called 'UK's Biggest Bike Dealer'.
I have never in my life felt the need to leave a negative review on a previous workplace, but with what I have experienced at Completely Motorbikes, I feel it is only necessary and please see this as a warning to seek any other job in the trade other than at Completely Motorbikes.
I have dedicated a lot of time, effort and resources to this company which have never been reciprocated and all my respect for this company has unfortunately disappeared.
