Pros
* Decent pay plan for the industry, Salary plus commission. * Since AAP sold to Carlyle group injection of capital has improved some areas of operations. * Typically laissez faire (Let it be) style of management of this particular sales position. * Acceptable Sick and Vacation pay benefits.
Cons
* The pay plan includes several conditions that allow the company to reclaim commissions for reasons largely outside of your control. These include broad market factors, supply chain issues, and year‑over‑year losses caused by increased local competition. Management describes the plan as fair and balanced, claiming you have the opportunity to earn back what’s deducted, but in practice it’s set up to protect company profits. For example, if you sell a major part like a $3,000 turbo in March 2024, you’re expected to match that sale the following year or lose part of your commission due to a declining account penalty. That hardly feels fair or balanced in a real sales environment. * Since the Carlyle Group took ownership, all sales staff have been required to return to the office after more than five years of remote work. This shift has raised costs for employees, but management’s stance is that because sales roles earn commission, staff should simply work harder to offset those additional expenses. The general sentiment among employees is that this change is designed to push out long‑tenured workers so the company can rehire more cheaply by dividing their accounts among multiple newer hires. * Department communication is poor. Processes are changed frequently without input from or notice to the sales team, which often leads to client issues that in turn reduce commissions. * While it’s reasonable to have performance metrics, they’re structured so that meeting the required goals is often unrealistic. As a result, employees rarely qualify for end‑of‑year cost‑of‑living adjustments that keep pace with inflation. These metrics include sales growth, call performance, and other targets that are set just high enough to be unreachable. * The new owners are investing heavily in emerging technologies that, in related industries, are already being used to replace people. Management presents this as a positive development, but it’s clear the long‑term goal is cost reduction through eventual job automation.
