DSR? What Happened? - Direct Sales Representative Spectrum Employee Review

The transformation of this job from its former self is a radical negative change to my personal lifestyle and psychological status. It has gone from the best job of my life to that of something I question my daily purpose. A job that redefined the life of many for the positive is now drowned in punitive rules, unattainable goals, and fear. How can someone be de-valued from one day to the next, and nobody from Time Warner Cable takes accountability for their actions? How can a company reduce the market value on outside sales representatives without any type of discourse? The Direct Sales Rep job I initially signed up for was to go outside the box and reach into people’s pockets in order to better the subscriber base of a gigantic company. It involved using my time, car, know how, intuition, and self drive to convince non-believers to drink the ‘kool aid’. These prospects were people that had been severely burned in the past…poor customer service, gigantic bills, and deceit. On top of this, DSR’s we are shadowed by the daunting task of occupational solicitors; the burden of overcoming the door-to-door sales stigma that has been tarnished since the dawn of time. Direct Sales Representatives are looked at like the black sheep of Time Warner Cable. Unpredictability is our bread and butter; we churn through our street leads in all hours of the day, work through the harshest seasons of the year, and deal with a whole host of variable customers. We get bit, yelled at, door slammed, and sometimes praised. This is a task no one would ever want to take on as a normal career. The amount of representatives that have come and gone is astounding for this reason. It is a position where creating these sales was once valued and compensated as such. The 2016 compensation plan that was released changed the entire scope of the Direct Sales Representative role. We had been diminished to the pay and responsibility of customer inbound sales representatives; with the unfortunate task of driving out to convert unknowing customers in person. The plan was created with completely arbitrary sub standard commission amounts…no clear explanation or logical equations to which they were based upon. We made attempts to get clarification as to why this had occurred and no answers were given. We were at the mercy of a company that was being purchased with top executives looking for a golden parachute. It was clear that they still needed our revenue stream; but ultimately wanted all the sales to go through cheaper processing avenues: call center/front counter/online. Time Warner Cable then began creating their own rules at their own discretion that completely redefined the position. The new compensation plan for 2016 was activated prior to that of past compensation plans. In the past, were given a standard 30-day grace period to adapt our sales style in preparation to its new metrics. The 2016 compensation plan was introduced prematurely; allowing a shorter time for DSR’s to adequately make changes to maximize its changes. The use of GPS tracking also went into effect to add undue stress and unnecessary complexity of the job (this occurred prior to the compensation plan and held reps accountable for six hours in the field without any type of signed agreement). To change a job’s commission structure so significantly to such a large employee base is both alarming and scary. Direct Sales Reps’ once counted on several avenues of sales creation. We could sell off of our pre-determined sales ‘turf’, save cancelled subscribers, and even sell to ‘off turf’ friends, family, and referrals. All of this was positive revenue creation; the sole mission of Time Warner Cable from day one. However, with the new compensation plan, the majority of these sales avenues were eliminated. Due to this, the commissions were reduced to a paltry fraction of their former self. The representatives were then left with greater than 50% commission reduction. Needless to say, the morale was dramatically reduced and occupational retention is at an all time low. To see the Direct Sales position lose its acclaim is both embarrassing and scary. I once truly believed in the company, its values, and what it stood for. The new compensation plan has changed all of that. It has made me question the integrity of both the company and who controls it. I feel for the DSR’s that have become accustomed to making the wage they signed on for from day one…. and now will have to adjust the way they live due to this compensation plan. It is these reasons I have documented as to why I feel that this compensation plan is wrong and unjustifiable.