Cult-Like Loyalty, Favoritism, and a Culture of Fear. - Avis employé Trip Leader Backroads

This is the closest thing to a corporate cult I’ve experienced. Loyalty - not competence - is the currency that determines whether you’re treated well. If you buy in, stay quiet, and reinforce the company narrative, you’ll be protected. If you question anything, even constructively, you’ll feel it immediately. Favoritism isn’t subtle - it’s the operating system. The company loves to brand itself as “feedback-driven,” but that’s largely performative. Feedback is only welcome if it flatters leadership. Otherwise, it’s ignored or quietly punished. Meanwhile, leaders are subjected to a deeply unhealthy evaluation system where guest feedback is sent directly to them - not anonymized, not filtered. You’re constantly being graded, often on likability rather than competence. And the bar is absurd. A 10/10 is the expectation. A 9/10 is a problem. An 8/10 triggers emails from mentors and internal scrutiny. It creates a culture of anxiety, not growth. Success doesn’t feel rewarding—it feels like avoiding punishment. Pay is consistently misrepresented as “industry standard.” It isn’t. Not even close. For the level of responsibility, hours, and sacrifice required, the base pay is low and the structure is opaque. At the same time, policies are being manipulated to limit hours and reduce eligibility for benefits like health insurance. Work-life balance is nonexistent. Flexibility is demanded at all times, but never reciprocated. Time off - even for major life events - is treated as something you have to justify and VERY OFTEN is denied or revoked after being approved. The expectation is total personal sacrifice. The most concerning issue, however, is how the company handles serious misconduct. There is a pattern of not taking sexual harassment seriously - particularly when it involves guests or vendors. Problematic individuals are tolerated to avoid conflict or protect business relationships, leaving female staff to manage or endure situations that should never be acceptable in a professional environment. That alone should give anyone pause. Leadership continues to hide behind buzzwords like empathy and radical candor, but the reality is a top-down, insular structure that protects itself first. Turnover is high, burnout is expected, and the company shows little interest in questioning why. They’ve built a system that relies on hiring great people, pushing them to their limits, and replacing them when they inevitably burn out.