Here's my situation and I am considering working for enterprise

[hisalterego]

Hello all,

I have the first interview with Enterprise tomorrow and have briefly read a few threads here, sounds like a horrible place to work in. LOL

My situation is this, I have been in straight commission no base sales for the last 6 and half years in retail, I hate what I do, especially lately so I have been looking and posted my resume online, the only companies have contacted me have been insurance companies, ADT security (selling), Ameriprise Financials whom I was suppose to have an interview today but emailed them back to decline it. I am actively looking for a new job because I am very sick of working every weekend, working every holiday, being at work at 4AM on the day after thanksgiving and never ever enjoyed the spirit of Christmas.

I have made $45,000 in each of the last 3 years doing what I do and I barely work 35-40 hours a week and never made less than 40k/year except for my first year but the weekends and holidays and slow times are getting to me, I have worked some 10 hour shifts and made 20 bucks, I also have worked 8 hour shifts and made $1000 in a day, not having much college and been working full time for the last 12 years have not afford me many options. I am now willing to take a 10k pay cut to do something else that’s not retail. I just turned 29 and there’s no future in retail and don’t want to be stuck doing something I now really dislike to continue to make that 45k and not break the barrier.


Would Enterprise something any of you would recommend for someone in my situation?
I understand the job can suck, but I can tell you I have dealt with the worst people of all kinds and probably safe to say seen just about all now being in commission retail sales for as long as I have, would you recommend Enterprise as a new change?

[hekiliko'olau]

Originally Posted by hisalterego

Hello all,

I have the first interview with Enterprise tomorrow and have briefly read a few threads here, sounds like a horrible place to work in. LOL

My situation is this, I have been in straight commission no base sales for the last 6 and half years in retail, I hate what I do, especially lately so I have been looking and posted my resume online, the only companies have contacted me have been insurance companies, ADT security (selling), Ameriprise Financials whom I was suppose to have an interview today but emailed them back to decline it. I am actively looking for a new job because I am very sick of working every weekend, working every holiday, being at work at 4AM on the day after thanksgiving and never ever enjoyed the spirit of Christmas.

I have made $45,000 in each of the last 3 years doing what I do and I barely work 35-40 hours a week and never made less than 40k/year except for my first year but the weekends and holidays and slow times are getting to me, I have worked some 10 hour shifts and made 20 bucks, I also have worked 8 hour shifts and made $1000 in a day, not having much college and been working full time for the last 12 years have not afford me many options. I am now willing to take a 10k pay cut to do something else that’s not retail. I just turned 29 and there’s no future in retail and don’t want to be stuck doing something I now really dislike to continue to make that 45k and not break the barrier.


Would Enterprise something any of you would recommend for someone in my situation?
I understand the job can suck, but I can tell you I have dealt with the worst people of all kinds and probably safe to say seen just about all now being in commission retail sales for as long as I have, would you recommend Enterprise as a new change?

I have news for you. ENTERPRISE RENT A CAR IS RETAIL! If the place where you work posts its hours of operation and a Visa/Mastercard/AMEX sticker on the door, it's a retail job. You will work at least 10 hours a week more than you do now. You will make at least 10k a year less than you do now. You will still work holidays and weekends. You will deal with the dumbest, rudest bastards and bitches you have ever met in your life. You will still be pressured to sell sell sell products that nobody wants and most don't need, and you will not get a dime for anything you sell. You will ruin every pair of shoes, slacks, every nice shirt, every tie you own, cleaning and vacuuming sesspools on wheels. But.......you'll be a "Management Trainee" and that will look so great on your résumé. Oh, and IF you get promoted, you'll have more responsibility, work more hours, and get less money. Anything else you want to know?

[hisalterego]

Whew! wow
guess not, sounds just as bad with less pay and more hours

and I thought I can be at home by 7 everynight and never work a Sunday!

I hate working Sundays but I have to even tho work closes at 7pm and it's a short day yet I still hate it..

I don't mind selling, if there are buyers, I don't mind selling, if the product I'm selling is available. I do mind stupid school graduates and rude ''bastards'' but I delt with them for so long that I just tune them out now. I do mind if they want me to work Sundays and past 8PM and the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas and 4th of July etc tho, I can stay at my current job for all that headache but do have 3 weeks of paid vacation a year plus other perks

what to doooooooooooo?

[hekiliko'olau]

Originally Posted by hisalterego

Whew! wow
guess not, sounds just as bad with less pay and more hours

and I thought I can be at home by 7 everynight and never work a Sunday!

I hate working Sundays but I have to even tho work closes at 7pm and it's a short day yet I still hate it..

I don't mind selling, if there are buyers, I don't mind selling, if the product I'm selling is available. I do mind stupid school graduates and rude ''bastards'' but I delt with them for so long that I just tune them out now. I do mind if they want me to work Sundays and past 8PM and the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas and 4th of July etc tho, I can stay at my current job for all that headache but do have 3 weeks of paid vacation a year plus other perks

what to doooooooooooo?

I can't tell you what to do, but if you are currently employed, and I think you are, you can afford to hold out for what you really want. In my opinion, you would be jumping out of the pan and into the fire if you go to ERAC. You are in a better position now than you would be after 6 years with ERAC. Ask anyone here. Years ago, ERAC was growing at a cancerous rate, and people were getting promoted just a few months into their "career" and they were making ridiculous amounts of money. ERAC has reached a plateau, and the only promotions available are due to vacancies rather than growth. Your paycheck as a manager depends heavily on growth and sales. The growth just isn't happening, and customers are getting wise about the "optional coverages" that you sell, which are a big source of revenue. The less coverage they buy, the smaller your paycheck is. There is more competition now, which drives prices down and that means less in your pocket, if you are a manager. Also, you make some of your money from the resale of the cars, and and if you haven't noticed, car dealers are practically giving away cars in our poor economy.

[Cynical]

Originally Posted by hisalterego

Whew! wow
guess not, sounds just as bad with less pay and more hours

and I thought I can be at home by 7 everynight and never work a Sunday!

I hate working Sundays but I have to even tho work closes at 7pm and it's a short day yet I still hate it..

I don't mind selling, if there are buyers, I don't mind selling, if the product I'm selling is available. I do mind stupid school graduates and rude ''bastards'' but I delt with them for so long that I just tune them out now. I do mind if they want me to work Sundays and past 8PM and the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas and 4th of July etc tho, I can stay at my current job for all that headache but do have 3 weeks of paid vacation a year plus other perks

what to doooooooooooo?

You sound awfully tired of the retail world. My advice to you is get out of the retail world completely. It sounds like you have excellent sales experience so don't take a step backwards in your life. 29 years old and with your 12 years experience you should be moving up in the world. There are several outlets for you, but you have to be patient.
Enterprise is not right for you. . . I'm a professional recruiter and half of my day is spent matching candidates wants to clients. If you had told me what you've said in this post I would discourage you greatly from even submitting you resume to enterprise.

[hisalterego]

Originally Posted by hekiliko'olau

I can't tell you what to do, but if you are currently employed, and I think you are, you can afford to hold out for what you really want. In my opinion, you would be jumping out of the pan and into the fire if you go to ERAC. You are in a better position now than you would be after 6 years with ERAC. Ask anyone here. Years ago, ERAC was growing at a cancerous rate, and people were getting promoted just a few months into their "career" and they were making ridiculous amounts of money. ERAC has reached a plateau, and the only promotions available are due to vacancies rather than growth. Your paycheck as a manager depends heavily on growth and sales. The growth just isn't happening, and customers are getting wise about the "optional coverages" that you sell, which are a big source of revenue. The less coverage they buy, the smaller your paycheck is. There is more competition now, which drives prices down and that means less in your pocket, if you are a manager. Also, you make some of your money from the resale of the cars, and and if you haven't noticed, car dealers are practically giving away cars in our poor economy.

Sounds like the same situation I am in right now, I sell major home appliances for Sears, at first I don't mind it at all, Sears was the tops in home appliances, over 40% market share just 5 years ago still, then it's been going downhill since, I caught just the tail end of the good ol' days. Now the competition is fierce and I can go work for any one of my competitions and make money but I kind of want to get out of it totally just for the sake of something new. I can probably get a lot of jobs pertaining to sales and customer service and make decent money and I don’t mind selling at all, I like that part of it but I will not do outside sales and cold calls. Right now I am just so sick of Sears as a company that I could make the mistake of get out just to get out and jump into something worse, geez… someone knock some sense into me
LOL

[hisalterego]

Originally Posted by Cynical

You sound awfully tired of the retail world. My advice to you is get out of the retail world completely. It sounds like you have excellent sales experience so don't take a step backwards in your life. 29 years old and with your 12 years experience you should be moving up in the world. There are several outlets for you, but you have to be patient.
Enterprise is not right for you. . . I'm a professional recruiter and half of my day is spent matching candidates wants to clients. If you had told me what you've said in this post I would discourage you greatly from even submitting you resume to enterprise.

I think I am very tired of the present company I work for and working every weekend and holidays that I am not being patient enough to wait for the right thing to come to me, thank you.

[hekiliko'olau]

Originally Posted by hisalterego

Sounds like the same situation I am in right now, I sell major home appliances for Sears, at first I don't mind it at all, Sears was the tops in home appliances, over 40% market share just 5 years ago still, then it's been going downhill since, I caught just the tail end of the good ol' days. Now the competition is fierce and I can go work for any one of my competitions and make money but I kind of want to get out of it totally just for the sake of something new. I can probably get a lot of jobs pertaining to sales and customer service and make decent money and I don’t mind selling at all, I like that part of it but I will not do outside sales and cold calls. Right now I am just so sick of Sears as a company that I could make the mistake of get out just to get out and jump into something worse, geez… someone knock some sense into me
LOL

Your experience and the length of time with the company looks good on a résumé - especially in a time when, according to recent research, the average American is only staying at a job for 2 years or less. You really should keep looking and tough it out a little longer. I made the mistake of jumping from one rental car company to another, thinking the grass would be so much greener. I did it because the pay was better, the hours were fewer, and it was an easy job to get, since they recruited me. However, it's still renting cars. Retail. The fact that you have a strong sales background and have been with the same company for over six years is desireable to future employers. Get in touch with a head hunter who can help place you in a position that is well suited to your needs and talents. I know there are a few who frequent this site. Anyone paying attention, help him/her out?

[We'll pick you up!!]

do NOT go into Enteprise... quite honestly, I don't know if they'll hire you without a college degree. But if they do here's the honest, non-exaggerated points:

- You'll be working close to 60 hours a week and depending on the branch you work at, you could be working Sundays. But Mon-Sat for sure.
- You get the amount of holidays off as you do now, at first. Once you get to the airport, you don't get any holidays off PERIOD.
- For the work that you do (55+ hours) the pay is not enough. They say you'll make anywhere from $34,000 - $37,000 in your first year (well at least in California they do) but that's sort of hard to do. I worked my ass off and got a lot of bonuses and made about $37K my first year, but trust me, it's really hard to do that.
- You'll be working with the biggest A-Hole customers - imagine trying to rent a POS to a guy who just got into an accident and has to pay his $1000 deductible... not going to be in the best mood when you talk to him.

Sounds like with the experience that you have, you could land a pretty good sales job that pays base plus commission. Look into a bank job or with ADP or pharm sales... it's also hard and a lot of hours (not as much as Enterprise) and they pay you pretty well... better than Enterprise and (from the sounds of it) your current job.

That's my 2 cents... and this is coming from almost 3 years of experience with Enterprise.

[hisalterego]

Originally Posted by We'll pick you up!!

do NOT go into Enteprise... quite honestly, I don't know if they'll hire you without a college degree. But if they do here's the honest, non-exaggerated points:

- You'll be working close to 60 hours a week and depending on the branch you work at, you could be working Sundays. But Mon-Sat for sure.
- You get the amount of holidays off as you do now, at first. Once you get to the airport, you don't get any holidays off PERIOD.
- For the work that you do (55+ hours) the pay is not enough. They say you'll make anywhere from $34,000 - $37,000 in your first year (well at least in California they do) but that's sort of hard to do. I worked my ass off and got a lot of bonuses and made about $37K my first year, but trust me, it's really hard to do that.
- You'll be working with the biggest A-Hole customers - imagine trying to rent a POS to a guy who just got into an accident and has to pay his $1000 deductible... not going to be in the best mood when you talk to him.

Sounds like with the experience that you have, you could land a pretty good sales job that pays base plus commission. Look into a bank job or with ADP or pharm sales... it's also hard and a lot of hours (not as much as Enterprise) and they pay you pretty well... better than Enterprise and (from the sounds of it) your current job.

That's my 2 cents... and this is coming from almost 3 years of experience with Enterprise.

You might be right, they may not hire anyone without a college degree, but I already had my phone interview and work with a guy right now that works at Enterprise full time as an accountant, not being cocky but more or less assertive, I believe I am a shoe in already based on my sales and customer service background. Was told it will be $35,000 to start off and Sundays offs and Saturday will be 9am to 12 noon, course I’m taking it with a grain of salt and being careful just for the simple fact that I hate to leave a place that I have seniority and so much leeway now to one that I will dislike more.
I should have just taken it as a hint that I know someone who works for Enterprise as an accountant and have to work at Sears at the same time; I suppose that’s why he needs to supplement his income. LOL

I am also looking into banking, I don’t mind starting off as a Personal Banker, banking hours and holidays might be a good perk.