Rapport Furniture
reviews and complaints

Constantly saw their ad for sales person circulating on Craigslist and even applied before with no response.  Finally invited me for an interview and went well with male sales manager.  Then was asked to speak with owner and a female sales manager in their office and the vibe I received was completely different.  I instinctively detected covert hostility within ownership and the aura was a bit cold.  The overall feeling I got was, welcome to the lions den or wolf pack.  We'll give you a shot so you better prove yourself.  These specific 2 wasn't exactly friendly and I saw myself potentially bumping heads with them in the near future.  Regardless, I accepted their job offer considering I was hired on the spot.  Kind of awkward to say, "Uumm you know what?  I'll think about it."  Truthfully that's what I wanted to say considering the vibe was all wrong.  Was informed that pay system is draw of 12 hourly OR commission of 6% on overall monthly sales which must exceed over 42K.  Meaning which ever is greater will determine your paycheck.  Owner handed me a book regarding sales and recommends I finish it in 2 days when training begins.  He worshipped this book as his bible and insists it will improve sales.  Very fortunately, I never made it past training.
Can't lie so the thought of me quitting my first day did cross my mind.  My previous jobs pay 14 to 15 an hour and monthly draw is only 30K with 10% commission.  Here at Rapport, it's only 12 an hour but the draw to hit commission is 42K!  Meaning if you only sell 41K of furniture for the month, you're stuck with 12 bucks an hour.  Anything over 42K, you get 6% of.  So my pay here is lower AND a higher monthly draw to achieve commission made things unnecessarily difficult.  Plus, the sea of endless furniture on 2 floors and vendors to memorize was beyond staggering.  All this additional work didn't exist in my previous jobs and they all paid more!
So from the beginning, I understood my time here was extremely limited.  More work and less pay compared to my previous jobs made it pointless to continue but I couldn't reveal that to management right away.  I held on for about 2 weeks and it was complete misery.  Long hours from 9:45 AM to 7 PM daily.  The owner has a pet peeve if you arrive even a minute late.  I entered front door once at 9:44 and he called me out on that.  "Wow.  You're cutting it so close.  Be more careful.  Barely got saved by the bell."  I thought he was joking but it's no game to him.  He has an alarm on his wrist watch that beeps off exactly at 9:45.  You walk in a second after that, consider kissing your job goodbye.
During training, I was instructed to drive out personally across Los Angeles and visit competitors to observe their customer service and report back.  On my own gas money of course.  Can't remember how many I've visited but fighting traffic and the heat of summer was unbearable.  Never got compensated for the gas money and the exercise was pointless.  Owner just wanted me to get the feel of how Rapport was different from other furniture stores.  Another assignment was a questionnaire (open book test) on the sales book we had to read.  Consist over 30 pages of multiple questions I had to turn in which wasn't difficult but time consuming.  Had to do some heavy lifting that injured my lower back on a few occasions.  Even took a nasty fall on the 2nd floor due to some elevated platforms in the bedroom section while moving heavy furniture.  A bit painful but I took it as a sign.
By the 2nd week, I had confirmed this position was not for me and lost interest completely.  Regardless, whatever assignment I was given, I completed as instructed without any objection.
Writing out sales quotes and rearranging bar stools from price low to highest was among a few things.  We also had multiple vendors who stopped by to inform new trainees of their products so I found it difficult to break the bad news to management.  Strangely enough, owner broke the bad news to me!  Here's the breakdown. 
Clocked in a minute late and owner did not greet me back as I said good morning.  We went ahead with our usual inspection and wiping down of glass furniture with Windex before store opening.  Owner who occasionally tags along will instruct us on how to rearrange some of his furniture for diverse presentation.  Downstairs, he told me to pull this headrest up and make sure one seat is higher.  I replied sure and did exactly as he instructed.  As we followed him upstairs, he must have felt I was slacking off considering his attitude altered in the most unpleasant way.  Instead of asking me to help him lift something that he was trying to move, he went postal.  He shouted, "PUT THE GOD DAMN WINDEX DOWN AND COME HELP ME!  WAKE UP MAN!  LOOK, YOU'RE EITHER IN THIS OR YOU'RE NOT WITH ME!" 
I was drawn back but not shocked considering I knew he was like that from the start.  I guess he automatically expected me to jump in without him even uttering a word.  From my perspective, how was I supposed to know if any assistance was needed if you never bothered to ask?  I've seen warehouse guys lift similar pieces of furniture individually without any assistance at all.  Had you simply bothered to ask, I would've gladly complied as usual.  Have I ever objected to anything you threw at me before?  Rearranging the bar stools upstairs from low to highest price point.  Driving all across town to visit competition and their services.  Completing the worksheets from the sales book and writing out quotes.  Which one have I ever refused to do or hesitated to comply? 
Recall owner even having a discussion with me and another trainee that he doesn't like rudeness or bad mouthing others in the workplace.  He relates numerous incidents where sales staff talks trash about warehouse employees and blames them for the source of all the problems.  Perhaps it's wise to practice what you preach if you wish to achieve some credibility.  Even had a meeting about the differences between an amateur and a professional.
I have one you can use in the future.  What is the difference between a boss and a leader?  A boss yells, commands and make demands.  A leader leads by setting great examples.  Rapport already has numerous complaints from consumers on Yelp regarding hostile management and attitude.  Now your own employees are complaining about the same thing.  I'm noticing a trend. 
After he scolded me like a child, he called me into the accountant's office and I knew what was ahead.  Freedom!  Told me to have a seat and delivered me the great news.  He said, "You been here for 10 days and I seen you do like 3 days worth of work.  You clocked in a minute late twice and you lack energy.  I took my paycheck and never looked back.  The relief I felt driving off the lot for the last time was immeasurable.  Overall, this place is filled with tons of work, low pay and hostile management.  Saved by the bell.
Lighten up for god sakes. Numerous complaints from consumers on YELP isn't bad enough? Now you're getting the same complaints from your own staff! And I'm suppose to be the problem? Trust me when I say the feeling is perfectly mutual.