Pros
- Only open 3 days per week. That's a big plus. - Open sales floor. - Constant introduction of new merchandise. Every week there is fresh new product to sell. And often it is limited supply merchandise, like there might be just one available, so this is compelling from a sales point of view. And the constant introduction of new merchandise makes the store interesting and it is a reason for people to keep coming back. In comparison, the competition changes their furniture line-up much more slowly. The Dump inspires repeat visits with its constantly evolving product line-up. - Take your break whenever you want, as long as it makes sense for the business. - No draw. You get guaranteed hourly pay. This is a big plus. - It's true, the deals really can be quite good. People can save a lot and most of the furniture is good quality, not junk. Often The Dump is the price leader. So this helps a lot in selling the stuff. Plus there is a 30 day price guarantee. And there are other tools that can be used to clinch the sale. - You'll have some laughs with the guys during slow times. It's a social atmosphere.
Cons
If you are coming on-board in a sales capacity, then I recommend you immediately take steps to build sales channels or mechanisms to bring in your own flow of business. If you just rely on the company to bring in the customers, you can realistically expect to make between $30,000 to $60,000 a year at this job. You'll do better if you cultivate a following and get people coming in who are asking for you. They may say you will make at least $75k a year... that's extremely difficult to pull-off. And almost impossible to do during your first year. Expect your learning curve to take 6 months. (Really.) It is incredibly easy to screw-up a deal by entering it into the computer incorrectly. When you're new, get somebody to immediately double-check every deal. The company can flood the floor with more salespeople at any time. This is why it is important to work diligently on getting repeat buyers who ask for you, and new people who come in asking for you. There is heavy pressure to sell extended warranties. You gotta sell it. The good news is the commissions are pretty good with these and there is generosity in the extended warranty terms that makes this coverage compelling for certain types of furniture. There is a mix of camaraderie and greed on the floor. Sometimes that greed leads to negativity and conflict. It seems every store has a few jerks. You just gotta work with it. At any time you could make a mistake and have your job threatened. When you're brand new and you make a dumb mistake, it's a teaching moment. But when you make a mistake after being employed with them for a little while, management can get ugly. Really, really ugly. There is a mean undercurrent flowing through this company and it comes from the top. When you're being recruited, and when you're new, you won't see it. But after you have managed to survive a few months, you will definitely notice it. Sometimes things go wrong and your deals get ruined because somebody else screwed-up, like the warehouse team, or the delivery guys. It happens. Expect that a certain percentage of your deals will unravel thanks to other peoples' mistakes. (And your commission will be hopelessly lost, despite you having done everything right.) At any time they could re-adjust (reduce) the commission structure. You never know when a change like that may happen. If they run ads that fail to strike a chord with consumers, or if they go dark for a weekend or two, this impacts what you will be making. The ads can be very misleading. Many people believe the big print and never look for the fine print. And then you get to deal with that when they learn they don't qualify for free delivery, and interest free financing for 24 months, and an extra 25% off - on their $199 recliner. They feel tricked. And there are a lot of bad vibes in those situations. The good news is you can just hand them over to a manager at that point. HOWEVER, if you do the hand-off improperly, you will be harshly dealt with by the managers. Lol... I'm talking about a nasty, ugly verbal confrontation. With a write-up for your file! No kidding! It's a crazy place to work. You'll see. Amazingly, I stuck with it for a while. And overall, I enjoyed it. The job has potential for good earnings. You just have to be RESILIENT. That's the key word here: RESILIENCY. You have to understand that there are ups and downs to this business. Grand slam weekends happen once in a while. Crappy weekends happen. And so-so weekends happen. It averages out to a certain income over a course of time. I have seen new people get disillusioned quickly. You have to make it through the learning curve. Expect to make peanuts for your first few months. By the end of month 4 you should be competent. By month 6 you should be highly functional. And again, I recommend that you aggressively seek to develop your own customer base through your own marketing efforts. Also, I recommend that you go above and beyond in self-training. Immerse yourself into the industry. Learn all about furniture, rugs and mattresses as best you can. It will pay off. One more thing, you're suppose to get 2 weeks of paid vacation after your first year... it isn't actually a true 2 weeks pay though. They break it down to some weird formula which makes it substantially less. And, there is a good chance they won't pay you your vacation pay in a timely manner. You'll have to make phone calls and complain about it. It could take a while to get it. I see some people recently bashed the company here. One complained about how new people are treated differently. Well, new people screw-up a lot more. This is a political environment. Build-up alliances with more established sales people. By this I mean: invite them in on some of your deals as you are brand new and getting started. Give them 50% of your deal and watch and learn. Ask for advice from them during the slow times. That sort of thing. Alliances will help you out tremendously over the long haul. On the other hand, if you make enemies, you probably won't last long. Foster harmony, not acrimony. And be fair. If you come in as a brand new rookie and begin hitting every customer, that's a big problem, and you will be hated by everyone in no time. Give the others a chance to sell too. Be a fair player. And don't ever steal somebody else's customer. Like if a customer asks for so-and-so, because they spoke with them on the phone, don't lie and say: "He's not here, but I'll be glad to help you." When you get caught - you will most likely end up regretting it. Just be fair. Over the long haul, it will work out better for you. You really can make a decent buck at this company, but you have to get through the learning curve, you need alliances, you need to educate yourself on the products, you have to become a whiz with the ordering system, you need to get good at pitching 5 year plans and also financing, plus rug pads and mattress pads, and you need to show-up for every shift and never leave early in order to maximize your opportunities. And you need to develop your base of loyal, repeat buyers who will recommend you to their friends. And do your side marketing to bring in people on Fridays, which are the slow days. You can just cruise too and do the bare minimum, as most sales associates do. But if you just try a little harder, you can make this a better opportunity for yourself.