Every time there is a 1- or 2-star review it is immediately followed by a positive review. It's all very suspicious. They've been laying people off for a year now. Why would employees be posting positive reviews?? I realize some people are naïve and think that it's never going to happen to them, but the fact that a positive review immediately follows a negative post makes me think they're being posted by bots or HR or higher level employees.
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Also, the positive reviews lack specificity and substance, making them feel generic and applicable to any company. (In other words, fake.) In contrast, the 1, 2, and 3-star reviews tend to provide detailed and specific feedback about Cengage.
“But the rest of the publishing world (save for Pearson) is rolling merrily along as it it were 1999 again. Life is still good for people in this business.”
Do these companies give cars to sales reps?
Signed,
Entitled Cengage or Pearson sales rep
Red cube proud!
"If you don't like publishing, get the F out of the business, it won't be better anywhere else."
You'd be surprised at how wrong you are. Put it to you this way, there is publishing and then there is Cengage. Two vastly different things these days. We all know what working at Cengage is all about. But the rest of the publishing world (save for Pearson) is rolling merrily along as it it were 1999 again. Life is still good for people in this business.
I find value in a car. I absolutely find value in Microsoft. I find value in insurance. The problem is educational publishers is very few “customers” find value.
It’s a dog food business. The buyer is not the consumer.
Anybody at Cengage then leaving for another publisher at this point is egregious and stupid. If you don't like publishing, get the F out of the business, it won't be better anywhere else.
There are many employees who do not think highly of Cengage but keep their mouths shut in order to keep their paychecks. Might as well make some money while you can. Publishing in general has a predatory business model. The push away from physical product to a subscription model is evidence of that. Cengage is not alone in this as software, gaming developers and car manufacturers have also moved toward subscription models. Microsoft 365 anyone? A subscription to heat your car seats? The days of buying and owning a product are starting to evaporate before our very eyes and Cengage is part of that problem. The sad part is that Cengage is now pushing to offshore as much of their employees as possible. How very patriotic of them!
they've had big layoffs at least once per year for 10 years.
IPS - Why would the negative reviews be fraudulent? What data are you referring to?
No bots but plenty of ex-employees with an agenda. Either working for the competition, bitter about being let go and on a revenge tear, or a wannabe comedy writer seeking an audience.
Greetings,
When you look at the data, the negative reviews are more likely to be fraudulent. Cengage has won Glassdoor's Best Employer award many times.
Let me be clear, the Leadership Team has created an inclusive and diverse work environment that is constantly evolving to better serve the needs of our business.
Good point. That does appear to be very suspicious activity. It's not wise to trust those online company review sites as they could be bought and paid for. At least here you get honest feedback from real people, not bots.