Lennar Homes Employees Are Not Happy Either

Webmaster Note:  We've received a few emails and phone calls from current and former Lennar Homes employees. It seems like the problems the homeowners are experiencing is starting with the way Lennar Homes treats employees.  We are going to take the recommendation below and keep up a web page for current and former Lennar Homes employees to post their comments.

Email Received from Former Employee - This is the first time ever seeing your website, and yes I am a past employee of Lennar's. I was with the company for 4 1/2 years, and I am very happy also not to be working with them. I was a customer care representative that did care about the homeowners and that became somewhat of a problem for Lennar. It's a horrible feeling when I promised to fix a problem, because I knew it was wrong and then told I was unable to fix it because it would cost Lennar money or well you can fix it, but we have to make someone liable for the repairs (the famous Backcharge) which they love to do. The original comapany I started with was bought out by Lennar, which was a great place to work and then the massive changes came from Lennar. They first tried to make it look like they cared so much about you and the homeowners, that changed quick.
When Lennar became full force I had seen people quit almost everyday, They are all about the numbers and that's it. This is to the people that read this. I am so sorry for what you are going through and I fully understand. There is and was employees that do care very much and I do know most of the trades that I had work with do care, but are hands where tied. I do ask please do not blame all the trades, Lennar has been trying to have them work for way less pay and the material Lennar wants to use is poor quality. I hope this website does make a difference and changes are made for the better.

Email Received from Lennar Employee - I just voluntary terminated my employment of 6 years with Lennar. I worked on the US Home side for the first half of my employment and Lennar for the second half. This is the worst company to work for! I was discriminated against for my age and because I have a child and over the course of my years there, they "hired" for at least 4 positions that were not publicly advertised. Equal Opportunity Employer? I don't think so! I can't even begin to express how badly they treat their employees, and as mentioned several times before, their poor treatment carries into the quality of homes built as well. No matter what they say, they ARE building cookie cutter homes, and badly I might add! A few of us in my division made up a new slogan- SNAFU Homes- We Build It Right Because We Build It Twice!! Twice being the Customer Care side of course.

Email from former Lennar Associate -Thank g-d, that phase of my life is over! I left Lennar last year when the beginning of the market decline was realized by the Managers. In my experience with this company, the way the Employees were treated by the Managers fell after the company decided to do business as Lennar instead of US Homes. The market decline brought out an abusive atmosphere that made working for this company impossible. Mico-Management on behalf of the tops of the company to the Division Presidents spiraled downward to the heads of departments to abuse of the construction, customer care, and sales staff. Rather than replace the Presidents who effectively couldn't manage a Division in a down market. The Divisions top management team had to explain their daily activities to their bosses morning and night each day.

They take their frustration out on the Department heads daily in plant meetings and the Department heads take their frustration out on the associates who report to them with nasty emails, write ups and constant mental abuse and often time's verbal abuse. 
The contractors are given a sales pitch about how Lennar is going to increase their business they sign them on, and then refuse to pay them when problems occur during construction even when that contractor is not responsible. After the contractor hires employees to staff, the increase work load Lennar promises they squeeze the contactor so he can no longer afford to do business with this company. This causes a constant turn over in contractors, no loyalty and makes it impossible for the Construction Staff to supervise quality control. 
    

The Customer Care Department is left with no recourse to have these contractors honor the warranty standards. This is causing many of the problems we are hearing about here on this website where customer's needs are not met. The customer Care Department is not made up of employees who know anything about construction most can't even understand the 2-10 warranty manual.  As the market started to decline blue prints of the homes being built were changed to use inferior products from the past US Home Construction. A buyer would see a quality built model but their home was being built with inferior products. Of course every contract has a clause allowing the company to do this so the old saying "Buyer Beware" definitely applies. As a Lennar Employee in the current atmosphere if you know nothing about construction, can be abusive to other Associates and you are willing to work for peanuts. You will have a great Career with this company.

Post from Yahoo Finance Message Board: Lennar Builds Crap - The only people Lennar is keeping on after xxxxcanning half of the staff is the customer service department. Trust me, I work in the department and it is a nightmare. Most of the homes are not near closing ready and rushed to market because of not having enough staff. At the closing you will be told that there is nothing to worry about and that everything will be handled at your 30 day walk. This is an excuse to close on the pile of dung. I really feel bad for these homeowners. The company is in shambles. The leadership is pretty much a bunch of ex crooks. Most of the people have high school diplomas in the higher up positions. No college at all. If you have any problems, I highly recommend contacting your local registry of contractors and have them do a courtesy inspection on your concerns. Do not waste your time trying to call the warranty department, they will blow you off and may contact you in about 2 to 3 weeks if your lucky.

Email Received from a Former Lennar Homes Employee:  Not only does Lennar instill fear in their employees by pressuring them to sell their defective homes, they use the same tactics on their own customers. If you purchase a Lennar home that is already completed (Spec house), you are expected to settle on that house within 30 to 45 days. If you don't settle when they say you will settle they use strong arm tactics like keeping your earnest money deposit and sell the house to someone else. Most particularly if it is the end of a quarter. Lennar doesn't care about its employees or their customers. All they care about is meeting their stupid sales quotas, which are derived from no statistical measures whatsoever. All they want to do is get rid of their standing inventory that they were so stupid in building in a down market. I agree with those who say that not only do you not want to buy a Lennar home; you don't want to work for these losers either. This is from another happy to be a former Lennar employee!

Article from The Examiner:  Employees sue Lennar Homes for discrimination and harassment after they expose the possibility that dust from constructon site contains toxic asbestos.  Click Here to Read Full Article

Email Received from a Lennar Homes Employee:  Thank you for your response. 
Finding help with this dilemma has me feeling like I am trying to order a steak at a vegetarian restaurant.  Poor analogy maybe, but I trust that you understand what I mean.  I never realized that buying a new home could have such a negative impact on our lives.  To add to this nightmare, ever since I wrote an email to the CEO of Lennar my work life has spiralled down hill.  Oh, by the way I work for Lennar.  A different division from the one that built our house however, it has been made quite clear that we are in the same family.
I believe that the answer is yes, we do have a mandatory binding arbitration clause in our contract.  Not 100% sure but this is California and need I say more.  We have learned that California's Senate Bill 800 ruling means nothing to Lennar since our request for plans and reports pertaining to our home was denied by the division president in writing (email).
    I have started a Yahoo group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mare_Island/ ) and now I need to advertise/pass out some fliers to the neighbors in our community with hopes that we can pull together and make a difference.  Yes, we will sign the HADD petition right away and I will also link your website on my Yahoo Group if that is acceptable.

Developer/Location:
Lennar Corporation - Bay Area Division
6121 Bollinger Canyon Road  - Suite 500
San Ramon, CA  94583

Community/Home Location:
Web page:          http://discovermareisland.com/
Mare Island         
Vallejo, CA  94592

Email Received from a Former Lennar Homes Employee:   I worked for Lennar for 6.5 years. When Lennar was US Home they actually cared (Somewhat) about the people who worked for them. Since Lennar took over they took the fun out of working/buying, they instilled fear in people. You had to learn these stupid poems that were meant to boost moral, and a bigger waste of money and time was the WOW meetings and Dr Suess stuff (are we adults?? or kids??). They drilled LENNAR TERMINOLOGY into the employees and you got into trouble when you said the wrong thing. They are not paying their contractors on time if at all, so in turn the customer gets a a really bad product. they even have a rule that if the bill is submitted late YOU WILL NOT GET PAID. also after the "layoffs" in '06 I still to this day have not recieved my last paycheck that I am fighting for. and as for HR HAHA , they are just people off the street with no working knowledge. DO NOT BUY FROM LENNAR OR WORK FOR THEM IN ANY WHICH WAY. They will rip you off and make YOU pay in the end.

Email Received from a Former Lennar Homes Employee:  As a happy former employee of Lennar Homes New Jersey, I wish to say that the "Lennar Homes Culture" of TDH which stands for tickled, delighted and happy is anything but that. The managers harrass employees with being WRITTEN UP for anything true or false and are continually threatening employees with write ups until they have enough to fire you. To work in fear of any kind of retribution, again true or false, is emotionally and mentally devestating. The employee has no recourse other than to go the human resource which is a sham. Sign me Happy to be an ex Lennar Homes employee.

Email Received from Former Lennar Homes Employee:  You should have a section for "ex-Lennar Homes employees. They treat their employees the same way they treat everyone. I worked in the Sarasota division for the past 2 years, (IN SALES) and had to go on anti-depressants just to get through the day. It was a horrible experience, I was lied to when I was hired, about when I would get paid. I started in Aug. 2, 2004, and did not see a paycheck until Dec. 06. I could go on, but it would take forever. The week that I left, so did 6 other sales people. They have a very high turnover rate in sales and in construction. They hire 20 year old kids for construction, then send them to Lennar training for 6 weeks. I guess that is what you get!!

Email Received from Former Lennar Homes Employee: I wish to be anonymous---if you reprint this, please do not use my name or email. **************************** Do not seek a career with Lennar Homes. This is not a company that any one of good character want to work for. I did not know any better---I went to work there--this was a big mistake! The Lee/Collier/Sarasota/Orlando/Clermont division is top heavy with managers who have few if any credentials. To succeed in the organization, one has to be related to or be friends with one of these managers. I would characterize all managers there, mid level and above as down right evil. Now that the market has turned lousy (2005-2006) they have become micro-managers and breathe down the necks of the sales force. They threaten their people with directions like: "write a sale this weekend---or else!" They hold morning teleconference meetings with the sales people every day! In these conversations, they badger everyone on the phone to identify where the next sale is going to come from. One evening every week, they herd the sales force into a boiler room and look over their shoulders while the sales reps make telemarketing calls to every person who ever visited a model center--and they do this at dinner time! Needless to say, everyone who works there hates it. I would tell anyone and everyone who is considering working for Lennar to not do so! New Home Consultants are directed to do things that are unlawful. I cannot elaborate on this here, but it is true. Is it any wonder that the culture of Lennar would affect the end users--homebuyers? They treat their people (construction staff, salespeople, sub contractors) badly and as a result, their customers get it in the end. I could go on and on for paragraphs, but I will choose to stop here---no need to spend any more of my wonderful day writing about such a company. Why am I having a wonderful day? Because I am no longer affiliated with them! Hooray!

Email From Former Lennar Homes Employee:  As a former employee of Lennar Homes (I was "laid off") late Oct 06. I'm still in touch with friends that still work for Lennar Homes. The latest botched hiring just took place and it seems that the new Director of Customer Care has a very colorfull past. Go on Goggle.com and type Michael Aladich residing in NJ. This is the quality of person that upholds a high paying position. Working for Kara homes has its plus' (he's a former employee of Kara). This is no longer Lennar but becoming a new Kara company. Just in the division I worked in, there have been 40 or more lay offs in the past year. Most of the former US Home employees are gone and not by choice. Every Kara associate that has been hired in the last year is still employed by Lennar Homes. Lennar Homes is a ruthless company to work for. Uncaring what they have done to dedicated associates, some worked there 35 years and were not of retirement age, we are concerned that this division is now KARA.

NOTE: If you are a current or former Lennar Homes employee, please send us your comments.  We will respect your privacy and NOT publish your name.  We only published Dustin's name because this was in a blog that was distributed worldwide.  Rest assured, we will not publish any names or any personal information that you want withheld.