Pros
+ Flexible Scheduling -- It's easy to take time off. You can really choose when you work. + Co-workers -- This may not reflect every store, but everyone at my location gets along and works well together. + No Charge-backs -- You're not responsible for those six month charge-backs from a customer canceling services as long as the charge-backs don't become obsessive. + Benefits -- Low cost health and dental are available as well as a 401K with employer contributions. + Real-time Commission Tracking -- There's no guess work about how much you've made or what you need to sell to make the next level of pay. Generally, people want you to help them with easy-to-fix billing or phone issues. Many people are already looking to buy something, so selling that new phone isn't difficult. It's great when customers come back to you because you've helped them out when some other store didn't want to take the time with them.
Cons
- ABP and Commission Decelerators -- With each box (phone, tablet, jetpack) sold, you are supposed to tack on extras (cases, screen protectors, bluetooth headsets and so on.) It's roughly three extra things with every box. The problem is that not everyone wants or needs all this extra stuff. Some people literally do not have any more money to buy those extras. You can discount the accessories, but then it's not really helping you hit the magic dollar amount in profit. When you fall under the minimum amount of extras per box, the decelerator kicks in, and you'll lose money on your total sales. It's VERY frustrating when you can actually lose money from selling something. This leads to the next con: - Walking Customers -- I should NEVER have to walk a customer that wants to buy from me. However, if a customer only wants the phone, and tells me they've already got the extras, or get them online because are prices are inflated, my percentage on total profit drops, and I lose money on total sales. I don't come to work to lose money. - Fees -- Want to pay that bill with cash? There's a $3 fee. Want me to transfer your contacts and pictures from your old phone to your new phone you bought from me? There's a fee. People get pissed off when you nickel and dime them to death. I can give them the greatest service in the world, but they're not going to come back when they can do their business at Cellular Sales or corporate without paying all the extra fees. However, you have to charge these fees to keep that total profit up. - No "Free" Phones -- Some people do not want to pay for a phone on a two-year agreement. I have phones free after rebate, but none that are free out-the-door. We should have at least one basic phone and one smart phone that the customer doesn't have to pay for with service. - Commission -- Everything sold nets you different amounts of money in profit. At the end of the pay period, you get a percentage of the total profit. In general, high-end phones (i. e. what people want) make you under or around $10 (on upgrade, a little more on activation). Low-end phones make more. Some things just aren't worth selling even though the company makes a big fuss over selling those things. I find it hard to believe that the company makes such little money on certain devices that they can't afford to pay reps more than a few dollars on a sale. For a company that talks up its explosive growth, you think they could pay a little better. Commissions change whenever device prices change with no warning, too. Most of these cons stem from the pay structure. I came over from the ACI buyout, and yes, ACI probably overpaid employees. However EVERY sale meant money on my check. I didn't have to gauge whether or not someone wanted to spend an extra $100 to decide if it was worth closing the sale.