11 replies to this topic

[bigasseaglesfan]

I had recently applied for a job with A&E (I think their part of sears). I 've been at it on my own for about 7 years(80% commercial 20%other) I seem to be gittin da itch to call it quits. When they talk of: paid vacation, sick time, holidays, company trucks ect... It sure seems tempting. Has anyone had any experience with any of the large companies and if so what's your thoughts? 

 

[sgilber]

What is a reasonable hourly rate for an experienced tech with a company like A&E?

 

 

Steve

[Scottthewolf]

I think I am worth $25 an hour with a big company like A&E, but I would have to work twice as hard as I do now. Expect some really long days with them, the more calls you do , the more they expect from you. 10 to 15 calls in one day is the norm with them.

[nickfixit]

I'll tell you this....

There are NO paid sick days, none, zero, nada,.... In fact, they have a pretty harsh attendance program. Calling in sick is treated as a conduct problem. You will be working when you're sick.

If micro-management was an Olympic event, A&E/Sears would win the gold hands down. You will be under constant scrutiny for all aspects of everything you do, always. They expect you to sell stuff, and your performance will be studied and reported in exacting detail. You will living like a bug under a microscope.

You can make a fair wage, but you will earn it with real hard work and a ton of stress.

[kdog]

I can certainly second Nick's feelings - if you can go to someones house to look at a broken appliance, and sell the consumer a pair of shoes, you'll do alright - whether or not you can properly repair the appliance is secondary. No sick days, and little vacation time, in fact they are taking some back off of long time employees!!
Due to their incompetencies with booking/routing/call loads etc. stress is through the roof

[Scottthewolf]

Reminds me when I worked at Sears in a union shop. They asked me to work on my day off, I said sure, I worked on my day off and called in sick the next day and got written up for it.

[kdog]

You pretty much have to submit a "request to get sick" and have it approved ahead of time - H1N1 anyone??

[Crouching Tiger]

Here in Canada, Sears has recently opened a 'state of the art' call center in the Philippines who are taking catalogue orders and booking parts and service calls.  Talk about a huge f*** up, man what is wrong with this company?  Everyday all I here from customers is how long they spent on the phone waiting to talk to someone they cannot understand - then they get transferred back to customer service here in Canada.  They closed the call center in Regina and laid off hundreds more in other areas.  I hope people boycott Sears for such an a**hole move.
As far as the pay scale goes, in the last 4.5 years I have seen an increase of only .85 cents per hour.  The union we did have was dissolved within the first 6 months I worked there and now everyone is crying boo hoo about how bad there being treated.  The incentive program was put in place to give service employees a chance to earn more income but there are only a few who reach the goal to get the pay incentive. 
We are also now being told that there are more calls that go against us.  If a customer is not home and the tech goes to the house it counts against us, if the tech runs out of time at the end of the day and can't get to his last call we loose the first time complete,  if the techs switch calls to help each other out we loose the first time complete and there are more I don't even understand.

[grey shrek]

Boy , am I ever glad I retired from that company. I can only guess what parts shipment is like now.... The big boys only see the $ they think they are saving - no idea about all the income they are loosing.. So many places to buy stuff now , do not need sears at all..

[fabelizer]

If you're worth $25 they'll offer $18!

[fabelizer]

So... how'd that work out for ya?

[Chat_in_FL]

They did offer a free flu shot for the techs... nearest clinic being 50 miles away...