Cons

COMPENSATION: You are paid as a salaried employee, with the salary being a draw against commissions. The average income ranges in the mid to upper 30's for sales associates. In some markets, like Houston or Miami, it's slightly higher, however, those cities also tend to have a higher cost of living. To bottom line is - if you take all the business down you will average about 7% commission on your combined sales. Some deals can pay as much as 10% - 12%, but those are few and far between. Most deals pay between 4% - 6%, with some paying less than 1%. The average associate sells about $35K - $45K a month. Do the math... There are some other "carrots" to strive for, but the are rarely achieved and are truly a non-factor. Store manager's can also attain bonuses, but these vary greatly from location to location, with the prime location always being managed by an Area Manager. FAVORITISM: The company promotes what it calls its "culture". However, when you ask different people in management what exactly is this "culture" you get different answers. Some tell you it's the culture of giving or not being selfish. Others will say it's the culture of team work and putting the company's interest above your own. And I've even heard one District Manager say the culture is "not making money the reason you come to work". Regardless of what definition is used, management uses this subjective term to determine placement into prime locations and/or promotions. In other words, you may write one million dollars a year, but if the District Manager feels you are not a good fit for the culture they will not promote you. The flip side to that coin is if someone is just an average writer but management feels they are a good fit they will promote that person over the person who has the better performance and/or experience. At a glance this may seem like a good idea, however, District Managers use this ploy to promote heavy favoritism, since the decisions are totally and completely subjective and biased. HOURS: On average you are required to work about 48+ hours per week. The hours of operation are Monday through Saturday 10am - 8pm and Sunday's 12pm - 6pm. Since you are considered a salaried employee, and not hourly, they can ask you to work as many hours as they'd like. This includes extra hours during holidays as well as extra days when management feels the need. This also includes meetings on the weekends at least every other week. These meetings usually start about 2 - 3 hours before you are scheduled to work in the store, and if you happen to be off that day you are still required to attend. Besides the hours for work there will be extracurricular activities that management will set up from time to time. Things like bowling parties or a pizza night. Although attendance is not mandatory, management makes a list of those who are missing and then questions them about not going and whether or not they are fitting in to the culture. MICRO-MANAGING: Everything you do or don't do is scrutinized. If you discount a mattress set $100 you will get a call from at least one Area Manager wanting to know why. Many times they'll ask you to replay the scene for them and then criticize you presentation. Not critique it... CRITICIZE IT. If you don't send out emails throughout the day cheering on others in the district you will receive a call wanting to know why you are not participating. These are just two examples of an issue that run very deep in the organization.