Pros
Aptive places a lot of trust in its Branch Managers and as such you operate mostly independently which is a plus to most of us. You will learn and hopefully master many aspects of running a Service Industry branch that are typically not part of this position's responsibilities at competing companies. True, this means more work, but it also means you're gaining skills that make you employable and/or promote-able. Aptive's Corporate Team is polite and approachable. They are competent leaders who will treat you with respect. Yes, they will demand a lot from you, but you are treated like a person. There is a natural slowing of work during the late fall and winter that provides a nice cooling off period from the hectic selling season. During this time (approx 4 months), hours become more regular and you spend more time developing and improving your branch than reacting to problems. The company is very generous to its employees in terms of signs of appreciation. Each year, Aptive provides at least two barbecues for the branch's staff and it's salesmen. There are team dinners that you are able to attend during the selling season as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. There is a yearly Branch Manager retreat that usually lasts 4-5 days and is filled with activities and classes. Aptive gives regular and obtainable bonuses to its low level employees that allow you to easily motivate your team during the difficult parts of the summer.
Cons
This job is not for people who are looking for a 9-5 position. As a Branch Manager, you need to be able to work an average of 60 - 80 hours a week during the spring and summer. As you progress in skill you will find yourself working less hours, but there will still be weeks where you work 100+ hours easily. During the winter, you can still expect to work between 50 and 60 hours a week. Also, during the selling season you need to be available to your Sales Reps even later than normal. Typically, I stop answering my phone around 10pm during the summer, but that does not mean the calls stop. Aptive's Branch Manager pay is currently based on years with the company and set regardless of where in the country you are working/living. This means a lower quality of life for Branch Managers working in expensive markets as you may be underpaid for your area. From my experience, Upper Management does not consider this to be an issue and does not take pay concerns as seriously as they should. It is true that bonuses are available to help supplement low salary, but they are not guaranteed and becoming harder and harder to earn. It has also been my experience that even if you do qualify for 100% of your bonuses, total income for those of us in expensive areas of this country is still below market value.
