Pros
Flexible work schedule, you may even get 2 extra unpaid days off a week!
Relatively autonomous job function. It can be a really fun job if you are a people person and passionate about design.
For most new hires the 3k first month training pay is actually good for breaking into the industry, just know that is most like the most they ever make in a month before they go broke and move on without any unemployment benefits.
Good work life balance, except for when it gets so slow you dont have work or money at home.
You have some control of pricing for negotiating your way to a better check, but see below that doesn’t really help if they make installation prohibitively expensive.
Cons
The 95k average DC pay posted to job boards is a bold face lie. My first year I outsold everyone in my district, even the experienced reps for a little over half the advertised anount. They are struggling so badly to maintain appointments that they ask you 40 hrs availability with no guarantee that you even have 1 per day. They still have that 95k job posting up when none of the DCs are even half booked. It wasn’t this way all year, but has been on very rapid decline since fall of 23, I have seen most long term employees leave. I started the 2023 in meetings of nearly 20 mostly happy employees and now we are down to less than 10. And they still cant find appointments to keep the survivors busy.
4 of the 5 new hires this year did not last 90 days. It is a sad truth, but most can not survive on the current pay structure. A simple unexpected car expense will end your career.
The internet is talking, and if you listen to anyone but the company, recent customers are not recommending a brand that has been highly reputable for 45+ years. I meet the die hard fans of the brand and we are loosing them as customers due to our prices continuing to skyrocket, and others lowering thiers. Others try to have simple things fixed and loose faith with customer care taking weeks of to process repair orders seemingly kicking the can and not following up.
Its some if the highest industry pricing combined with the lowest commission, from talking to others in the industry. most recently in the “installation cost” on the contracts exploded, and installation is NOT commisionable revenue. Ask an installer what they make? Its a little above market rate, with no benefits if they are a contractor, but look at the contract its 4-6 times what other companies are charging.
Expect to put 20-30k miles or more wear and tear on your car per year and be prepared to have a full car of samples with you all the time. They reimburse you but only after you drive 40 miles a day, and it doesn’t really pay much. Especially when appointments are light.
When times get tough management plays favorites distributing the leads, You can have a few good months making 8-10k and then Prepare to have months makeing under 1000 dollars even if you hit your close rate metrics and sell half of your appointments.
Speaking of metrics, 45 percent close rate the day of appointment, or your bonus gets choped in half. Many DCs have left because the bonus tiers have been the only thing growing faster than pricing.
