Pros
aggressively growing company the top player in the paint industry - no competitor has anywhere close to the number of stores or products we can offer as long as you want a career in sales, there are plenty of opportunities for advancement outstanding sales training program - skills and knowledge that can be applied to future career opportunities should you decide to leave the company great benefits package Starting in July 2011 the company is going back to matching 100% up to the first 6% into your 401K
Cons
if you DON'T want to make a career in sales, there is very minimal opportunity for advancement past the store level. The emphasis is all about the sale and not necessarily about personal/professional development. Promotions are not necessarily based on performance - if upper management likes you, you get promoted, even after a poor performance the prior year. As a store manager, you are required to work at least 48 hours per week, but almost always end up working well over 50. The opportunity for bonus checks based on quarterly sales performance does offset the below-average base pay for a similar position with other companies, but you are based off the prior year's performance. You can have a lucky year and make some decent money, but then get stuck the following year playing catch-up. Communication from upper management to the store level is very last-minute and forces you to scramble to change staffing schedules to accommodate training sessions and meetings. Products are over-priced for the industry. While we do offer excellent customer service, there comes a point where the extras we offer aren't worth the extra money. Our commercial customers cannot keep raising their prices to offset rising material and gas prices, yet we continue to hit them with multiple price increases in a year's time.