I just concluded a job selling cars for a used car super store chain, you can imagine if you think big.
You'd think that after selling a F350 for more than $100,000 I'd bave my 'nut' and could call it a day. But the flat rate commission we work on, makes it impossible to make more than $350 on ANY CAR. That's $350 if you sell the car, and every accessory we offer. The congratulations for getting one out was always ,”Go get another.” “Not good job, what worked, what didn't.” You know, the things you'd say to develop a sales team.
Now comes the fun part. Did that customer walk in fresh and virgin? Or did they contact the store at any point in the previous month to do anything as insignificant as ask for store hours? If they spoke to anyone at our call center, that customer's commission is automatically cut in half. No sales person can make anymore beyond %50 their possible commission. The company keeps that, to pay for the call center. Even if that customer doesn't like the car they chose, shops for a new one, waits for the transfer, test drives, then last minute chooses a different car on the lot. That sales associate who sunk HOURS into this customer, actually doing ADDITIONAL work to make up for the call center's lack of discovery, can only make a total of $175.
Customers come in thinking the whole sales team is rich, and making at thousands per car sale. If they knew that every sales associate was probably making less than $20 an hour, they'd shit. Commission OR Hourly is bullshit.
In my resignation letter, my reason for leaving, “I can not afford to work here.”