In-Store Solutions review: Job Seekers Beware 3

ATTN: READERS
Below is an email i received as they author of this complaint. Good questions. I have attached my answer underneath, and blanked out the names to protect the reader. Hopefully this will help you out as well.

On April 20, 2010 at 4:16 PM *******

> I read a complaint on an online forum about the company, In-Store Solutions supposedly posted by your company or someone at your company. I have recently interviewed with them and can't exactly figure them out. It seems as though they are constantly hiring, and if that's true then they must have a high employee turnover rate. If they have a high turnover rate, then the employees are most likely not making any money. Did you or someone you know work there? What's their agenda? I have mostly worked in the restaurant biz and I didn't finish college, so I really don't have much to lose. It would be great if you could e-mail me and just quickly tell me what you know about this company. I appreciate your time and concern.
>
> **********
> Nashville, TN

****,

Thanks for contacting me via email. I had tried to contact you on the complaints board website and for some reason it would not go through.

To fill you in... My name is Jon ******** and I am the Owner/Lead Coach at TransCreative Inc. I do work a second job on the side as I am continuing to grow my business, and that is how I came across In-Store Solutions. I went through the interview, and I have done some research on the company... but i am sure that you have found what I found... vagueness. As a individual consultant, business consultant, and church consultant - it should be an immediate red flag when you cannot make sense of what a company does. Either that company is not developed enough yet, or... as i believe in this case... they are trying to hide something. From my research, and my questions in the interview, InStore solutions provides 3rd party sales in retail environments on a contract basis. (ie. @ home depot - cabinet refacing, @ sears - direct TV, @ lowes - water filtration systems, etc...) They promise that you will have the opportunity to move up to an account manager, and then an area manager; which may very well be true, but it is in essence a form of a pyramid scheme. When you consider the fact that typically these kind of companies pay you on a commission basis, then that explains the high turn over; because they promise the world, but getting it relies on you as a sales rep. Now, if you survive the sales rep experience, then you would typically be moved into an "account" or "area" manager position... this is typically a low base salary (or maybe none at all) and then commission based of your account sales (the customer you are selling for) or on your area sales (the sales of the people working in your area). This typically isn't to bad, but you must remember to expect long hours for mediocre pay. From here you might be offered a new "city" or your own "branch" to run, and at this point, you may be making decent money, but you will probably be working very long hours (60-80hrs/wk) and you will be building your staff from the ground up... just like they are doing here in nashville. And this brings me full circle...

People often feel that they need to hide what it is they are asking you to do, because they don't want to scare you away. OR they just want to get you through the door, and they believe that they will sell the job to you in the interview. This may be the perfect job for you, and if so, please understand I am NOT bashing this company and what they do. More so, I am questioning their approach to recruiting, because I have a hard time believing that people want to work for a company that is either "dis-honest" or does not "fully disclose" everything. If they are this way from the start, then you can expect them to be the same through out your time with them, and as well, you can expect them to ask you to do the same.

****, I wish you the best in your search for a job. And if I may make a recommendation... If you can find the motivation and or the time/money to go back to school; this is the ideal time. I am currently lining up classes for the fall that will lead me to an associates in business since I to have not finished college (even though i have 100+ credits and can't do anything with them). When the economy is down and you are in between "Career" jobs, going to school will do two things for you... 1) increase your "marketability" in the job market and 2) increase your income opportunity (people with degrees statistically make more).

I hope this has been helpful, and I wish you the best in your job search. If there is anything else that I can do for you, please let me know. I am happy to help.

Jon ********