I worked for OD for just over 3 years. I was finally fired by the Loss Prevention District Manager (LPDM), but I knew it was coming for a long time. I'm a computer expert. I've got a certificate and two Assoc. Degrees. I have my own computer modding website and have been published a dozen times. Needless to say, I know what I'm doing.
I worked in technology and was the best. I could sell computers, cameras, printers and all that stuff no prob. We were expected to sell extended warranties and services on computers. That wasn't a problem either. Some months the store as a whole would make 7K in just plans and services, 3K of it would be mine, sometimes a bit more. I understand the store doesn't make money off of the PC, printers and cameras themselves, the money is in the extras. Ink and paper were big! Especially paper, it's actually the top selling item in the store. We had our cashiers programmed to ask anyone if they wanted ink while they were checking out, even if they came in for something else. I imagine, at some level, OD must get a bonus for ink sales.
I was so good, I was able to get my pay from $8 to 9.97hr. I made more than any other tech employee around. I was also full time. Usually full time spots were only for Dept Managers, Ass. Managers and Managers. promotion opportunities were bleak. The problem is, OD is BIG. Each store has around 20 employees and when a job comes open there are so many other store's employees jumping on it. The first time that the Tech Dept head was up for grabs they hired someone who managed a CVS. I had to train him. I taught him a lot for no benefit to me. By the time he got fired for something stupid by the LPDM, we were good friends. When he left I applied for his job. I thought I was a shoe-in and every employee in the store would constantly tell me: "Why are they hiring for it? Shouldn't they just give it to you?". So I thought. they gave it to the guy who sometimes works in Tech and mostly works in the Copy Center. Seriously?? You cut cut the tension with a knife after he got the job over me and I was sooooo close to quitting. After 2 weeks of purposely selling nothing (No plans or services), the store was hurting. I got pulled into the managers office and was basically told that my job was Tech sales and if I couldn't sell technology with a profit, they would take away my full time spot and move me to a cashier. So, I decided to make them pay. Since I didn't get the higher pay job, I would sell so many plans and services they would be forced to pay me my high commission. A month later, I was making $400 -600 extra every month just in commission.
Back to computers. My dept Manager was a great guy, I have nothing negative to say about him. I'm a little better with PC's but there's stuff he definitely knows more about than I have a clue. We were working on computers in the store for customers before OD even had services for them. We'd just get them to buy something, like more RAM or software. Then OD started to offer those services and gave us this pathetic little station to work from, we could filled three of them. The problem with OD services is that the service is taken out of the employees hands. You were supposed to connect the computer to the internet and then someone, somewhere else would remotely log on and "fix" it. Problem was, it was so expensive. Not Best Buy kind of expensive, but close. For instance, BB charges $200 to remove a virus, OD charges $169, and unlike BB, we'd do it same day. I'm by no means rich. I could not justifiably charge someone that much money for a virus. Hell, you can buy a new computer (Not great, but probably still better than their old XP beast) for $250. In the beginning I would tell people: "A new computer is only a hundred bucks more, would it be smarter to upgrade?"
That was till my daughter's computer got hit by a virus. I spent hours researching viruses and virus removal from places like bleepingcomputer.com. I removed the Viruses and Malware from my daughter's PC for FREE. I took my research back to work and presented it to my Dept Manager. Right then and there we decided to remove malware and viruses ourselves and then connect it to the service for a tune up or something. We'd charge $100 for viruses, not $169. I kept a disk the the tech bench, constantly being remade for updates. We made a lot of money for the store, we were usually in the top in the district even though we were a lot smaller in size of customer flow and total dollars. We were making a 20% commission on our plans and services because everyday we over sold our goal. Sometimes, I would hook a customer up with FREE software with their services or plans. The software was FREE already on the internet, so I would just put it on for them.
Eventually it caught up to us. The manager and everyone in the store was cool with our services, but not the LPDM. Someone returned a laptop that he bought with us to another store and wanted the disk so he could keep the programs for his new computer. If he returned it to us, it wouldn't have been a problem. Why do people think they get to keep stuff, even when they return the computer? When that store wasn't able to provide them, he got pissed and the LPDM got involved and brought it back to us. That's where I got fired. The LPDM knew we were up to something and everytime he came for an audit, everyone was on edge. It's almost like he got off on firing people.
So, in the end, I'm looking for work. I still really like OD and my fellow employees. I'd go back if I could and I would dominate in sales once again. I doubt OD has a rehire option, especially with that dickhead LPDM.
I'll take my knowledge and sales elsewhere
