Hostile enviroment, unprofessional management (pre-2022)
Pros
It's a computer store. Discounts as an employee are nice.
Cons
Don't expect to grow or advance your career here. I was one of the entire company's top 3 awarded employees in customer service (dubbed the “Star Program”), working at the Brooklyn location from 2015 to 2022. My original position was called “Knowledge Expert”, which under the previous hierarchy, was under the “Knowledge Manager”, and appeared to be the next move up the hierarchy. Changes and reorganization of hierarchy/position somewhere between 2020-2021 essentially punished previously hired Experts/Technicians pre-2022, abolishing the Expert position by converting them to the Technician Level 1 position, and lowering them to the bottom of their hierarchy structure (Manager/Expert/Tech3/Tech2/Tech1). Technicians pay was changed at the beginning of 2022 to a commission-based salary, based on an 8-week average sales per hour rate – cutting previously higher/stable pay from employees (Current rates are as follows: 0.00-$39.99= $15 per hour, $40.00 – $49.99= $18 per hour, $50.00 -$59.99= $21 per hour, $60.00 – $69.99= $23 per hour, $70.00-$79.99= $25 per hour, $80.00-$89.99= $27 per hour, $90.00-$99.99= $29 per hour, $100.00 -$109.99 = $31 per hour, $110.00-$119.99= $33 per hour, and $120.00 And Up= $35 per hour) – also effectively removing any raises in pay that were given previously due to merit/achievements//seniority/performance. The General Manager pulled everyone in for 1 on 1 talk about this new pay model a few months before it was put into effect – probably so it wouldn't spark harder backlash. The Service District Managers advise you to “steal” repair orders from other techs to get your sales per hour up – and local managers advise you to “milk” customers for everything, charging them for repairs they may or may not need to make a profit. Fellow technicians, although usually friendly with you, are not always friendly with customers – most techs I worked with did not want to help customers at the Knowledge Bar (Microcenter's “customer help desk”) – likely attributed that “wasting time with customers” would impact their sales per hour/is not profitable/culture set by that era of management. I was frequently the one to play mediator to get back on a customer's good side, since the service manager during that era did not want to deal with/would be hostile to guests. The Tech Shop behind the Knowledge Bar is small (the smallest in the company if I recall correctly)- most techs are working on top of each other, and an expansion for techs to work in has been set up in the store's warehouse located on the second floor. The upstairs area is only accessible via elevator and has no bathroom/AC/heat. You must be called up and down the service elevator by someone with authorized access (a manager/warehouse employee), and you are locked inside the warehouse when employees are not actively working in that area, so the merchandise can be kept secure. Work/life balance is abysmal, 8 working hours, 1 hour for lunch in between (unpaid), and scheduling in the technician position is usually between 9a to 6p, 11a to 8p, or 12:30a to 9:30p – so expect 9 to 11 hours days depending on your commute. The break room is small as well, with employees sitting in proximity of one another. The store has had multiple COVID-19 outbreaks among employees, and there is a wall of letters from HR in the break room that state when an employee (anonymously) has tested positive. Previous management before and a bit after the start of 2022 was very hostile – constant racial/sexual remarks/commentary, personal insults/put downs, and attempts to discredit character with other employees. Management would demand of me (and of me alone) to repair/service/maintain in-house systems and the in-house server (these tasks were typically assigned to service managers of their corresponding location, required to start at 7 am before store opening – I seemed to have been an exception to this due to my knowledge, experience, and trust from management), with no extra compensation given, nor “project pay”, which would have negatively impacted sales per hour/lowered my pay rate had I stayed employed with the new pay model. Local management loved to “dangle the carrot”, promising future advancement/leadership training, but failing to deliver. I was once “hinted” by a manager I was “the victim of your own success”- a quote that I won't forget. I put my resignation two weeks in before the new pay model took effect, as it would have affected the remaining vacation pay I had accumulated. Not only that, I received no follow-up or exit interview from HR regarding leaving the company. Furthermore, I was asked if I would “entertain the idea” to return to the same position a few months later by the General Manager via text when all (except for one) remaining technicians who stayed after I left quit the service department as well. Recently, current management also attempted again to win me back during a visit, calling the Service District Manager to ask what could be offered to me. Both offers were for the same position and same pay model, which I declined.
