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"We don't work on commission"... (1 Viewer)

Jared_B

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 7, 2001
Messages
580
This drives me nuts. You go into a store (car dealership, retail, etc) and they tell you "we don't work on commission...".

Definition of commission:
A fee or percentage allowed to a sales representative or an agent for services rendered.

While many places don't directly give their salespeople a percentage of the sale, they still pay them a fee based on their sales. They might have a quota, or certain incentives for selling certain items. To me, it's still commission.

I almost feel like saying: "Since you're not on commission, then you won't mind if I buy from your co-worker who is."
 

Joseph Young

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 30, 2001
Messages
1,352
Haha, this happened to me at Best Buy a few times. It seems odd that these aggressive, gum chewing salesmen would take the time out to constantly approach me with a reminder that there's 'no commission.' It immediately makes me suspicious.
What else would motivate aggressive tactics in a supposed 'non commission' environment? Good on-the-job training? Good work ethic? Installed cameras and microphones? Brainwashing? :D
-J
 

Robert_Gaither

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 12, 2002
Messages
1,370
I know at Best Buy it's because some of the workers are bored. I used to work there about 7-9 years ago as a second job and trust me unless something changed there was no commission.

Jared, pretty good idea, I never thought to bargin this way as this should uncover the ruse of a greedy sales person (I know they use the line "I don't get paid a commission" is BS just so they don't have to lose some money to make a sale, but I do believe a helpful person deserves to be rewarded).
 

Henry Carmona

Screenwriter
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Feb 7, 2000
Messages
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San Antonio
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Henry Carmona
Joseph, as a previous BB employee, i can tell you that the motivation is in "keeping your job".

I quit working at BB after getting my washer/dryer, HDTV, DVD player, and dishwasher due to the pressure that management would put on us to sell PSP's (performance service plans)

Not that they arent good, cuz some are great, but there was so much pressure on us to sell them that i said Fu(k it, im outta here!

We got nothing from any sale we made!
 

PatrickM

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 10, 2000
Messages
1,138
This drives me nuts. You go into a store (car dealership, retail, etc) and they tell you "we don't work on commission...".
Jared, can you elaborate on why it drives you nuts? I agree that its not quite truthful but what about it bothers you? Is it the way you get treated after that?

Patrick
 

Jared_B

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 7, 2001
Messages
580
It bothers me when salespeople play games in general. I hate being lied to, and when most salespeople say they are not on commission, they are not telling the truth.

The motorcycle dealership I worked at played this game. The salespeople had quotas. If they sold more than their quota, they'd get bonuses. Their whole pay structure was based on sales, but they were trained to tell customers that they don't work on commission. It's just one of the many things that I dislike about retail.

On the other hand, it is great when you get a really good salesperson.

A little tangent:
I went into a high-end used car dealership to drive the new M3. The sales guy said that they are 16 months out if you order one from the local BMW dealership (trying to justify their own outrageous price). I told him that I was just there, and they said only 6 months to get a new one.
He said

"They will tell you anything to get you to actually place the order and buy from them. They want to keep you from going elsewhere."

My response was: "So you are NOT doing the exact same thing?" He had no response.
 

Keith Mickunas

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I think they're just saying that so you believe they are really being helpful and aren't going to push stuff onto you that you don't need just to pad their commission. People tend to think that commission sales people are pushy, which they often are, and that non-commission sales people aren't so bad. So they're just trying to inform you of their stake in your purchase. Granted they may have other incentives, but its not like BB employees who help you also ring up your sale, so what's it matter?
 

Mark Philp

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 11, 2001
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302
Location
Syracuse, New York
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Mark
Actually, I do know a place where the salespeople really aren't on commission. It's the Saturn auto dealerships and it one of the reasons why I only buy Saturns. They work on a salary and nobody cares if you have another salesperson "close" the sale after they've spent time with you. They do get a year-end bonus but it's based on the total sales of the dealership and not each salesperson so it doesn't matter who makes the sale. As a result buying a car from them is a pressure free pleasure.
 

Cam S

Screenwriter
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Jan 11, 2002
Messages
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I heard that at Jim Pattison's car dealerships he fires the salesperson who has the lowest quota for the month, regardless of how many cars he/she sold. Anyone know more about that?
 

Brad_V

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 8, 2002
Messages
356
The problem with Saturn dealerships is the "no-haggle" pricing means big paychecks for everybody because the "no-haggle" price is higher than if someone haggled on it. That's quite a racket they have going there. I may as well go to a commissioned home theater store and tell them I will pay the sticker price on a TV and I don't want to have to haggle to do it.
 

Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm

Supporting Actor
Joined
Apr 7, 1999
Messages
901
Well, I don't work in auto sales, but I do work in sales. I do not work on commission, and I think my customers appreciate that fact.

I dispense prescription eyewear, which is not a cheap item, especially if you have a bad prescription (as I do). If I mention an expensive add-on, it's important for the patient to know it's because I think she will benefit from it, not because I make a spiff from selling it. I've worked for commission in the eyewear biz before, and I've seen people sell some really inappropriate stuff to patients to get a $2 spiff. So don't think that because a salesguy says "I don't work on commission" it means he's trying to bamboozle you. It may mean you can actually trust his recommendations.
 

Jared_B

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 7, 2001
Messages
580
I guess if a salesperson has to tell me that to earn my trust, they have already failed. Telling me they don't work on commission will not earn back any of my trust.
 

ikiru

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jan 17, 1999
Messages
138
Next time you are in Best Buy and they tell you the non-commission thing, tell them that you would like to buy the product and a PSP (product service plan) from their co-worker (Best Buy doesnt make much money of electronics, their money is made from PSPs and they push their employees to sell the PSP, even give them incentives for doing so).

-morales
 

Eve T

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
616
:thumbsdown:
Ummmm most of the time these guys are telling the truth. They DON'T work on commission. Why are they so eager to help you then? Because of their hourly sales average, thats why.
I work in sales and am a representative for two large fragrance companies and spend a great deal of time traveling from store to store and I also spend a great deal of time selling our products in these department stores. I get a nice hourly rate but I don't work on commission. However, I have to sell so many dollars per hour/day or next thing you know I'll be standing in the bread line. So basically I need to sell a minimum of 150.00 worth of perfume/cologne per HOUR or they start looking at my average and wondering who can replace me and sell more per hour.
I also work for a parts store at night, piddly pay checks but hey I'm there for the discount so I can fix my car up, plus I enjoy working in the automotive parts business. We ALL have a sales goal, and we ALL have an hourly customer average that we have to keep up or you can get into trouble, ie. warnings etc. I can assure you that I don't get ANY extra pay for selling a buttload of auto parts. I just get to keep my job without any hassles from managment.
I've never had a hard time selling anything so none of that really matters to me at the present time as my averages are always up, but hey I could start slipping someday...never know. My point is many times employers do not pay their employees with a commission and that if someone tells you they don't get commission they probablly don't.I've worked in commission jobs before and never had a problem telling someone I DO WORK on commission, that way after you spend a great deal of time helping them...if they can't buy that day they could come back and say so and so helped me that way I could ensure I would get my commission. You also have to realize that people that do work on commission oft times make piddly pay checks. I know most shoe sales men make about 5 to 6 dollars an hour plus commission and usually don't have a problem telling the customer that they work on commission. Next time you are in a store don't just assume because someone is eager to help you or sell you an item that they are getting any extra goodies out of it, many times they are just ensuring they keep their jobs.
 

Brian Perry

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Joined
May 6, 1999
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2,807
Eve,

It is interesting that your auto parts job requires a certain level of sales for you to "stay out of trouble." I always thought an auto parts store was like a grocery store -- the products sell themselves and the employees are there only to process the transactions.
 

Jason Wilcox

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 21, 2002
Messages
652
Hey Ikiru, I work at Best Buy and if you said that to me I could really care less. The numbers for the department are what the managers pay attention to. You buying from someone else would still raise the statistics for my department. Best Buy is a non-commision store. The only incentive to selling well is keeping your job (you'd have to be a very very poor salesmen to lose it) and perhaps gaining a small raise eventually(!).
 

Eve T

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
616
Eve,

It is interesting that your auto parts job requires a certain level of sales for you to "stay out of trouble." I always thought an auto parts store was like a grocery store -- the products sell themselves and the employees are there only to process the transactions.
Well believe it. We do have sales goals. There are tons of related items we can sell with each part and are encouraged to do so.

We have several different lines of parts from ok to better to best.

Need a new starter? We have several and it's my job to sell you the best one and generate more dollars to my store. Need new plugs? Well it's my job not only to sell you the best plugs but to also offer you wires..or a new rotor button, a coil...etc.
So yes, it kind of is like a grocery store because you need the part for your car to live like you need food to live, however unlike food your car part (depending on which one you get) will last longer than a ham sandwich. Grocery stores don't have people there that are trained to sell you salt and pepper and spices as related items to the food purchase you make. I'm there to sell you the best (ham sandwich...starter/alternator/carb/etc) that I have, unlike a grocery store that doesn't really care what brand of ham you buy or how long it's going to last.
 

Charles J P

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Yeah, I agree about the parts store thing.

"Do you want a new distributer cap with that?"
"No, mine is fine."
"How about some new spark plug wires?"
"No, I already replaced those, I just came in here for this widget."
"How about a new battery, you never know when yours will die?"
"Mines not that old, and thats why I have AAA."
"How about a .......

I mean, you can probably upsell people...
"Are you sure you dont want the platinum spark plugs?"

but everytime I go to the Napa or O'Reilly's I make my selection off the shelf, or ask the register guys to get what I need, they ring up my purchase and I leave. I'm absolutly not doubting you, I just find it odd that you could get fired for not selling me more parts.
 

Eve T

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
616
Well, you could get fired for it if you aren't producing enough sales towards your store. Parts people don't make a great deal of money, it's mostly a part time thing for many a parts monkeys like myself. I've never been in jeapordy of losing my job, I mean most of the time your sales goals are in because people just came in and bought something off the shelf. So so far I've never been "in trouble" yet.
Since parts people don't make a great deal of money there is a high turn over which means that people come and go and that you can be replaced very easily. If you like your job you try to do the best you can in sales to ensure that you can't be so easily replaced. Call it job security if you will. The person selling the most is an important person in any line of retail work, doesn't matter if it's car parts, perfume, or whatever. Most every sales person has a sales goal regardless on what it is they are selling.
PS...you sure you don't need a new battery? I have an Optima with a 3 year replacement warrenty... oh hey you need new terminal connectors?....how about a new set of jumper wires...or a .... oh never mind. :D
Peace,
Eve
 

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