Eh... I'll try. I don't want to name any names or show spite.

One company, the process was a mess. The recruiter I worked with was fired in the process, which took a few days to sort out. It had many rounds of interviews, each expecting me to purchase material to study. One interview was absurdly bad, one of those 'well, that's not what it says on my paper' types. One interview the interviewer seemed almost condescending, asking questions with no possible one right answer.

Another company was much better in most regards, except when it came time for reimbursement. It was a bit 50/50 on whose fault it was, but it amounted to me being on the hook for a few hundred dollars. Not the end of the world, but I was sent a short rather cold message that made me feel like they thought I was trying to cheat them. I was trying to inquire about meeting me halfway, or what I could have done differently to avoid this, and never received a reply. As soon as I removed the flagged charges, it was paid and closed with no further communication. For a company who brags about perks and whatnot, the way they handled that turned me off. It was one of those 'notice how people treat people from who they have nothing to gain' moments. To add insult to injury, another group asked if I'd like to come back out. I replied rather short to that, which in retrospect I feel a little bad about.

That said, it is true I didn't work for those companies. But to me, a recruiter or interview process is a first impression. It's their face to me.

If I'm off base, though, I'd love to hear tales from others.

Edit to add - I will name one company that I really liked their interview...a company in Texas called Meteora. They were using tech way ahead of its time when I interviewed. They never asked me filter questions, or treated me like 'another applicant.' I talked to a competent engineer who explained what they did, what was needed, and their tech stack. I was honest in having no experience with this stack, and they were honest in telling me I wouldn't be a good fit. I wish all interviews were as simple.

What happened in the interview where you owed money? I've never heard of anything like that

I was given the hotel to stay at, and directions that I didn't need a rental car just to use a taxi or uber/lyft. In my city I've had bad experiences with Uber, so asked the hotel to arrange a taxi for my interview needs. It was a small SUV. The driver was nice, knew the company I was interviewing at, said he does these interviews all day, knew exactly where to go, was waved in by security and knew exactly where to drop me off. Three rides, plus tip, was a bit expensive, but I figured hey it's the bay area. It was a good distance from the airport. Although my receipt was basic, it listed a taxi company. The company I interviewed for told me it's not a real taxi company but a private driver service and they will not pay it.

Actually, typing this again made me a bit mad. It was Facebook, who spent the majority of my free day there showing me all the lavish offerings. I actually really liked the people there I met, well most of them. I was very upset by the message they had sent me. I am but a clueless guy from the midwest. They picked the hotel and said get a taxi. I asked the hotel if they'd help with a taxi, and they took care of it. How am I to know it's not a real taxi company?

I thought taxi companies were "private driver service"s?

Thanks for naming the company.

I may remove it, I'm not quite sure what is and isn't proper to share about an interview process. I will also say, I really did enjoy the interview, and met some of the smartest people I'd ever met in my time there. I def wouldn't let an internet stranger's experience with one part of the interview turn you away. Just my experience.