Unfortunately, all of this rapid development, warehouses full of high end bikes, and fleets of vans comes at a huge cost to employees. I watched as friends dumped tons of hours of their free time writing the equivalent of small novels for future leaders -- effectively making them entirely redundant for a product that brings in a lot of future value. They were constantly trying to impress someone or worried about getting fired, losing leader preference points, or getting a bad score from a client. All of the extra effort was just to get better schedules so they could make a living after investing so much in the company.
During the busy season your social life is completely all about Backroads. This is the same in my current spot, but it's a lot easier to call up one person who takes care of everything and have them throw you a line instead of sorting through corporate email lists to figure out urgent details in the middle of the night only to get a pragmatic answer.
Also, transparency about hiring is an issue. For those leaders that have established themselves or are really lucky to get a great schedule off the bat there is little to complain about. In recent times it's a great spot to be if you've been around awhile as you get the cream of the crop to choose from. However, if you get stuck with a bunch of support roles where you're in foreign cities every night by yourself for little pay in a very submissive role, well, let's just say it gets old really fast. It's a way they get highly qualified individuals to do a lot of really tedious work. Some leaders don't mind it, but for the pay and slice of what you put into the company it's really a difficult task to pony up to. Then there's the other items you get scheduled for, like unit drives and end of season maintenance. Driving vans and trailers that you loaded the day before for minimum wage across a foreign country with high winds and variable weather, ferry schedules, and toll ways is something far from enjoyable... especially when you have to make tight deadlines on little pay. Another significant downside includes paying for speeding tickets (in Europe you can get a ticket for going as little as 5 km per hour over the limit by camera, essentially negating an entire day's pay).
Speaking of... the pay is extremely erratic and unpredictable with a base pay in the mid single digits. As many have noted before, the base pay is pretty bad. I won't go into details, but the company often quoted "normal service wages" as a base. Basically, picture yourself in a Taco Bell hat (in Salt Lake city... not San Francisco) and you get the idea. The only problem is that this job requires sooooo much more than basic service skills to make a trip go off smoothly. Sometimes it seems that the infrastructure is pretty much the same as a fast food chain. The tips on a 24 person trip are often used as an idea of what one can make ($150 per guest split between leaders and support getting either 8 or 10%), but those were mostly reserved for seasoned veterans. Lead a few 8 person (or 4 person trips), a guest list with some "forgetful" tippers, and at the end of the week you can figure your hourly wage in the low single digits. This year I made twice as much as I did in 2 seasons at Backroads (in a slightly different guiding industry for a smaller company). There's more responsibility, but there's more freedom, respect, and power in what I do. I would have likely made a lot more with Backroads after quite a few years, but it's too big a risk for me.
TPS reports. Three systems of accounting, scheduling, and planning, all littered with 1980's atari style graphics will make you want to relive the office space scene with the printer. I don't know how many hours I spent emailing, accounting, and other items off the books... but it's a lot! And whatever you do don't click on guest reviews until the end of the season... just don't do it!
In short, this job is likely best suited for someone who needs a gig between jobs. It can be a great way to get out of a rut and explore something new, but start it with some money to burn and reasonable expectations. If you're European you're in a far better spot than Americans. They want to keep you so you can consider most of the cons here as minimal. The pay is better for the same job, and you don't have to travel as far from home. Hope this helps as a guide for those perusing the options.
