Only at Strobel Tire can you get a written warningFOR DOING YOUR JOB.
So this guy calls the store this morning. I answer the phone. He asks for a price on two tires. I write up a quote for him. Hes happy with it, so a few minutes later he comes in the store and ASKS FOR ME. So, I write a work order for him. Then I go into the warehouse (that I organized) and pull the two tires (which I had unloaded from the tire truck the day before and put on the shelf) and give the tires and the workorder to the mechanic. The mechanic installs the tires and then brings me back the work order. I complete the ticket, take his money, give him his change and his receipt, tell him to have a nice day, and everyone leaves happy.
Until my boss sees it. And rips me a new one for stealing HIS customer.
See, this is the problem inherent with our current system. It doesnt matter whos actually doing all the work: whoever the customers saw FIRST (meaning whoever waited on them the very first time they set foot in Strobel Tire) got to put their personal salesmans code on that particular customers information, and from that day forward, any time a customer returns, that original salesman gets credit for the sale (along with the full commission), whether or not they waited on them (or, absurdly, regardless of whether or not said salesman is even in the STORE.) It sucks, therefore, that my bosses (Tim and Lisa Edwards) have been there since 2000, since I was only hired last July. And in a town of 5,500 like Barnwell, lets face it, pretty much anyone whod be inclined to come to Strobel Tire has already BEEN to Strobel Tire at some point during the previous four years, and therefore already have Tim or Lisas salesman code on their files. The only people from whom I can reap any commission, therefore, are those oh-so-rare first time customers who are either new in town or have gotten fed up with whoever used to be their mechanic of choice. As a result, Tim can now spend all day riding up and down the road, in the company car, visiting all his redneck buddies, and Lisa can sit on her bony ass in her office all day, shuffling papers and talking on the phone constantly, while both continue to reap nice commission checks every week as a result of MY hard work. Never mind Im the lowest-paid full time employee in the ENTIRE COMPANY already and practically run the shop alone most of the time anyways
But wait, it gets worse.
The corporate office in Summerville caught wind of what was going on and enacted a rule change a couple of weeks ago to try to rectify the situation. We got a long, confusing memo over the fax line saying, in effect, that salesmens codes are no longer to be put on customers files. Which Tim and Lisa, predictably, raised holy hell over and I was elated about: either my workload was about to get a LOT lighter, or my commission checks would get a LOT bigger. Either way, I couldnt lose.
Or so I thought.
Tim and Lisa are my BOSSES, remember? Meaning they can reinterpret this memo any way they want and Im basically powerless to do anything about it. Now, instead of finally getting some long-deserved credit, theyve perverted Summervilles memo to make things worse for me. No, I cant put MY salesman code on any new customers that come in (its true: Ive been written up for doing that, too), BUT I cant change the ones that are already on file EITHER. So, if I cant take credit for new customers and cant change the codes on old ones
Just how the FUCK am I supposed to make ANY money at this God-awful piece-o-shit job, anyways???
But what do I know? Im just a salesman. A salesman who happens to single-handedly unload tire trucks, answer phones, keep an entire warehouse organized, make appointments, clean bathrooms, handle special orders, keep the showroom clean, handle at least 80% of the customers on any given day, and run the shop ALONE on when both my bosses are busy with other things (which happens with alarming regularity), for ten hours a day, EVERY weekday (and another four on Saturdays), without a single non-illness-related day off during my entire tenure, all for a roughly $249 a week paycheck (depending on whether or not my insurance payments and uniform rentals eat my entire measly commission, which they usually do.)
And while Im bitching about pay
Wheres my raise, dammit?
When I was found out about this position from Job Services, I was told it paid $350 a week (plus commission). But then when I hired on, I was told that, no, I start at $275 and would stay there until the end of my probationary period, which would end in ninety days. Well, ninety days has come and LONG since gone, and while I DID get health insurance (which is costing me a little over $100 a month)Im STILL not grossing but $275 a week. In addition, theyve also instituted this bullshit uniform policy (and now deduct another $4.55 a week for uniform service too). So, the net result is Im taking home LESS now than I was back in July when I hired on! And now that Tim and Lisa have deemed me unworthy of the pitiful commission I WAS making.
Whats the fucking point?
So this guy calls the store this morning. I answer the phone. He asks for a price on two tires. I write up a quote for him. Hes happy with it, so a few minutes later he comes in the store and ASKS FOR ME. So, I write a work order for him. Then I go into the warehouse (that I organized) and pull the two tires (which I had unloaded from the tire truck the day before and put on the shelf) and give the tires and the workorder to the mechanic. The mechanic installs the tires and then brings me back the work order. I complete the ticket, take his money, give him his change and his receipt, tell him to have a nice day, and everyone leaves happy.
Until my boss sees it. And rips me a new one for stealing HIS customer.
See, this is the problem inherent with our current system. It doesnt matter whos actually doing all the work: whoever the customers saw FIRST (meaning whoever waited on them the very first time they set foot in Strobel Tire) got to put their personal salesmans code on that particular customers information, and from that day forward, any time a customer returns, that original salesman gets credit for the sale (along with the full commission), whether or not they waited on them (or, absurdly, regardless of whether or not said salesman is even in the STORE.) It sucks, therefore, that my bosses (Tim and Lisa Edwards) have been there since 2000, since I was only hired last July. And in a town of 5,500 like Barnwell, lets face it, pretty much anyone whod be inclined to come to Strobel Tire has already BEEN to Strobel Tire at some point during the previous four years, and therefore already have Tim or Lisas salesman code on their files. The only people from whom I can reap any commission, therefore, are those oh-so-rare first time customers who are either new in town or have gotten fed up with whoever used to be their mechanic of choice. As a result, Tim can now spend all day riding up and down the road, in the company car, visiting all his redneck buddies, and Lisa can sit on her bony ass in her office all day, shuffling papers and talking on the phone constantly, while both continue to reap nice commission checks every week as a result of MY hard work. Never mind Im the lowest-paid full time employee in the ENTIRE COMPANY already and practically run the shop alone most of the time anyways
But wait, it gets worse.
The corporate office in Summerville caught wind of what was going on and enacted a rule change a couple of weeks ago to try to rectify the situation. We got a long, confusing memo over the fax line saying, in effect, that salesmens codes are no longer to be put on customers files. Which Tim and Lisa, predictably, raised holy hell over and I was elated about: either my workload was about to get a LOT lighter, or my commission checks would get a LOT bigger. Either way, I couldnt lose.
Or so I thought.
Tim and Lisa are my BOSSES, remember? Meaning they can reinterpret this memo any way they want and Im basically powerless to do anything about it. Now, instead of finally getting some long-deserved credit, theyve perverted Summervilles memo to make things worse for me. No, I cant put MY salesman code on any new customers that come in (its true: Ive been written up for doing that, too), BUT I cant change the ones that are already on file EITHER. So, if I cant take credit for new customers and cant change the codes on old ones
Just how the FUCK am I supposed to make ANY money at this God-awful piece-o-shit job, anyways???
But what do I know? Im just a salesman. A salesman who happens to single-handedly unload tire trucks, answer phones, keep an entire warehouse organized, make appointments, clean bathrooms, handle special orders, keep the showroom clean, handle at least 80% of the customers on any given day, and run the shop ALONE on when both my bosses are busy with other things (which happens with alarming regularity), for ten hours a day, EVERY weekday (and another four on Saturdays), without a single non-illness-related day off during my entire tenure, all for a roughly $249 a week paycheck (depending on whether or not my insurance payments and uniform rentals eat my entire measly commission, which they usually do.)
And while Im bitching about pay
Wheres my raise, dammit?
When I was found out about this position from Job Services, I was told it paid $350 a week (plus commission). But then when I hired on, I was told that, no, I start at $275 and would stay there until the end of my probationary period, which would end in ninety days. Well, ninety days has come and LONG since gone, and while I DID get health insurance (which is costing me a little over $100 a month)Im STILL not grossing but $275 a week. In addition, theyve also instituted this bullshit uniform policy (and now deduct another $4.55 a week for uniform service too). So, the net result is Im taking home LESS now than I was back in July when I hired on! And now that Tim and Lisa have deemed me unworthy of the pitiful commission I WAS making.
Whats the fucking point?