Pros
The staff at the branch were very knowledgeable and great to work with. The training was very comprehensive and helpful in making me a better sales person. For the first four years of my tenure the compensation plan was excellent and encouraged sales to produce more.
Cons
Management lost contact with the employees. They allowed themselves to become myopic and could only see that much smaller competitors were growing at a faster rate than Grainger. They decided to "Encourage" sales staff by doubling sales goals to an I achievable level. They also chose to penalize sales staff by changing the compensation program to a point that the more product you sold, the less compensation you received. Grainger has a pricing structure that is severely overinflated, thus in order to gain any additional business you are required to lower the price point. When this was done, sales credit was reduced severely. However, in a sadistic plan to penalize staff, you were held accountable for the full amount the following year. This process lead to two things, Unachievable goals and the mass exodus of experienced sales people. I had an interesting conversation with a district manager that was leaving Grainger. He said the company threw money at him at every turn. At first it was great, however, he wouldn't wish his job on his worst enemy.