Pros
Please be advised that the following review is for the Sales Agent Position: US Jesco has a few plus points: -It gives you a pretty decent healthcare package with medical, dental, and discounted vision after a relatively short time of working there. -It gives you a very good discount on their own products. -You have the ability to make decent money if you're very, very good at it (anywhere between $300-$1000/week, but read that again, that's about how much it can vary from week to week, very few of us were earning $1000/week) (Pre-Con, only cause it wouldn't fit int the space below:-Heavily wavering paychecks. As any 100% commission based job, this is not a job for those seeking a predictable, reliable source of income. What's worse is that the stores can (as someone put if before) sometimes have more employees in the stores than customers. Not that this is the company's fault.) -You're not required to sell products to your friends or family like other commission-based jobs, which means you don't have to socially ostracize yourself by people you know saying "Hey, let's not hang out with ______, he/she's always trying to sell us stuff!" -Opportunity to travel and work for the company at another market, such as New York, Hawaii or Chicago (they won't pay your way for the travel, though). -Opportunity for a paid vacation with the company to some pretty cool locations if you perform well enough. -Room for advancement within the company, (becoming a trainer, director/assistant director, etc)
Cons
-Managerial Issues. I can't speak for all markets, and the Regional management seemed fine, but at the local level at the market I was in (located in the Southeast), the management was a, no, the major problem. Main Management Problem Points: >>Aside from the disorganization and inappropriate time allocation (sometimes texting us at 2am to inform us of a shift change for the next day), the management was actually very brusque, rude and flat-out mean towards many of the employees. Constant emails would be sent out warning us how they would be "trimming the fat" of those who didn't perform up to snuff (despite telling us there weren't any quotas that we had to meet). I understand it's management's job to ensure their employees perform at their best, however, a constant reminder with every email sent really kicks you down on morale. >>Constant schedule changes without warning. The schedule is broken down into two shifts per day, AM and PM. So that makes 14 shifts per week. You have the ability to ask for 4 shifts off per week (say 4 evenings off, Monday-Thursday) . If you asked for these shifts off, most times (read: not all) you would be given them off, but you'd be expected to work at least 5 of these remaining 10 shifts, often you'd be asked to work more than 5. Now, here's where the biggest trouble lie: after the schedule was set, the schedule would (regularly) be changed mid-week. So, whereas if you had been given your Saturday morning off at the beginning of the week and had planned something for that time after your schedule came out, say, tickets to that game your friend invited you to, because you hadn't originally asked for that shift off, they could and often would change your schedule so you now were working Saturday morning and there was little you could do about it. And they might not tell you this until Thursday night. And you could get someone to switch with you and take your shift, but anyone who's worked in a restaurant with less than 15 employees knows how difficult this is. 9 of them are already working that day, you're one of them, and now it's a gamble to see if 1 of those 5 will now be not busy, willing to work that shift, and "good enough" for management to approve the switch. -Long travel required and not reimbursed. The company requires you to be available to travel anywhere within a 70 mile radius of the city center where the market is located. Bear in mind, this is with no regard to where you live. So, if you live in a suburb 20 miles SW of the city, it's possible to have a 90 mile journey each way up to the store NE of the city. And trust me: this happens. When this happens, pray that you have a good day of selling, otherwise, you've just lost money going to work. -Heavy pressure/guilting. If we were at a store that was near empty, we would receive heavy pressure to stay as late as possible and to "bally until the store was empty" ("to bally" is the name for making an overhead announcement to the store to attract customers to your booth). We would be pressured/guilted/made to feel like we were bad at our jobs if this happened and we didn't stay past our original scheduled end-time. Often, we would be asked to stay until 11pm at a store almost 1.5 hours away from our homes. Now, we weren't "required" to be there that late, but those who did would be publicly given accolades and the rest of us made to feel like we were being lazy when really it was just that we had families and/or normality to return to at a reasonable time. This is why unions exist (in some states, not mine), so people can't be forced to fear for their job when they aren't willing to sacrifice reasonable working conditions (working unpaid overtime would be considered a working condition). -Very long hours depending on travel location. We were required to be at the store an hour before our shift "began" (typically at 9am for morning shift, requiring us to be there at, at latest 8am to set up). This adds an hour to the work time. If travelling 1.5 hours each way to work, that's an additional 3 hrs total. Suddenly that "6 hour" AM shift they mention has become 10 hours. And if the PM shift starts at 3pm, you're 'encouraged' to go until 11pm (past your 9pm schedule), add an hour for cleanup/breakdown, 3 hrs total for driving, that "6 hour" PM shift has suddenly become 12 hrs. I know that 'travel' doesn't count as work, but if you're going to be constantly requiring the employees to travel to various locations of your choosing without any reimbursement at least deserves some consideration as to where they live.