- Joined
- Nov 22, 2014
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 1
Pros
-Pay 65-75k base salary is the norm
-You are largely left alone by yourself in the club
- No clocking in or clocking out, salary, you can be late/leave early or miss a few days due to being sick, and your pay is not affected
Cons
- The job interview done by most District managers and Regional Managers largely goes like this: Do you have a pulse? Do you have a current valid license? You are Hired! Done.
- Product is largely inferior, it looks like it was designed in the late 80s
- Fitting and programming software looks like it was designed when Windows 95 was around. User interface is ancient. Crashes all the time.
- You are supposed to "Intercept" grab people in the club to get a test? This way of getting leads is pisspoor, the chances of someone buying are 0-5%. Qualified leads are done by marketing and advertising. This is the biggest reason the company is loosing.
-The worst con is getting interrupted in the middle of a test/sale by people thinking you are member service, or a recent sale, or someone who wants to return from out of state. There have been times where I have been interrupted 5-6 times in during 1 test, many times the patient will just leave since it is unprofessional. When is the last time you went to a Doctor or any professional for that matter, and been interrupted in the middle of an appointment by another patient? Not many and I am willing to bet zero in most cases.
- THE NOISE, oh my god, fork lifts, warehouse intercom, television, yelling customers and kids, flat beds, cash registers, home theater systems blasting, the noise is enough to make you want to quit the same day. Your center is exposed, so no noise reduction.
-What benefits? (401k with zero% match, you don't even get a free Sams club membership, health insurance is nothing special)
- You are alone, office is exposed, no secretary, and no voicemail on your phone, absolutely ridiculous, How are you supposed to intercept people all day, and be able to tend to phone calls and random walk-ins and maintain sanity. Managers constantly harp about giving excellent service, How l am I supposed to give good service when I am supposed to be walking around getting tests, and be able to get phone calls and random walk-ins when they come in? Ridiculous
-Regional and District Managers range from mediocre to borderline incompetent (Almost all of them are Ex - Sams Club, Kohls, Sears, and Kmart Management, which would be great if I were a cashier or fork lift operator). They have no idea what they are doing and are pretty much playing russian roulette with their entire sales strategy. Most have never sold or touched a hearing aid. They constantly tout their 10-20 years of sales experience, yet they have never sold anything in their entire lives, managing a bunch of cashiers and stockers does not mean you know how to sell. In retail most people know what they want to buy and come in and get it. There is no sales process in (Sams Club, Kohls, Sears, and Kmart) besides the occasional question. These people are dead weight and costing the company huge salaries. They literally do nothing to affect sales. Get rid of them.
- The companies biggest competitor is Costco, yet they are literally doing nothing to compete with them on any single category. Price, Environment, Value, Warrenties, Lost and Damage, Service. NOTHING.
Advice to Management
- Fire all Current Regional and District Managers, Replace them with Audiologists/Hearing Aid Specialists with Sales and Practice Management Experience. Use the money saved from dead weight salaries to pay for some marketing.
- Enclose/Seal the entire hearing center from ambient noise
- Have voicemail on the phones
- Get a full time secretary for each location
- Change the schedule to Monday through Friday 9-5, there is no reason to be there later then 5 doing nothing, get rid of the hearing event on Saturdays, it is a waste of time and rarely gets any leads. - Work on the work life balance and people will stop leaving
- Lower Hearing aid prices to same price point as BJs and Costcos
- Cut salaries 10k and offer a commission component, this will make employees more eager to sell and try harder to close sales
- Thoroughly vet new hires with an hour long conversation with a staff audiologist - basic stuff, air, bone, speech, masking, medical referrals, etc, there are too many incompetent hearing staff working at SAMS
- Until you fix all these simple problems your best and most competent talent will continue to leave in droves for Costco/BJS/HearUSA/and private offices which treat hearing professionals with respect.
My advice to specialists and audiologists, dont work here, run for the hills
http://www.libertyhearingaids.com/ 800-785-6052
My 2 cents.
If you are an ex or current specialist or audiologist working at Sams Club please post a review on Glassdoor whether good or bad http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Liberty-Hearing-Aids-RVW6262691.htm
-Pay 65-75k base salary is the norm
-You are largely left alone by yourself in the club
- No clocking in or clocking out, salary, you can be late/leave early or miss a few days due to being sick, and your pay is not affected
Cons
- The job interview done by most District managers and Regional Managers largely goes like this: Do you have a pulse? Do you have a current valid license? You are Hired! Done.
- Product is largely inferior, it looks like it was designed in the late 80s
- Fitting and programming software looks like it was designed when Windows 95 was around. User interface is ancient. Crashes all the time.
- You are supposed to "Intercept" grab people in the club to get a test? This way of getting leads is pisspoor, the chances of someone buying are 0-5%. Qualified leads are done by marketing and advertising. This is the biggest reason the company is loosing.
-The worst con is getting interrupted in the middle of a test/sale by people thinking you are member service, or a recent sale, or someone who wants to return from out of state. There have been times where I have been interrupted 5-6 times in during 1 test, many times the patient will just leave since it is unprofessional. When is the last time you went to a Doctor or any professional for that matter, and been interrupted in the middle of an appointment by another patient? Not many and I am willing to bet zero in most cases.
- THE NOISE, oh my god, fork lifts, warehouse intercom, television, yelling customers and kids, flat beds, cash registers, home theater systems blasting, the noise is enough to make you want to quit the same day. Your center is exposed, so no noise reduction.
-What benefits? (401k with zero% match, you don't even get a free Sams club membership, health insurance is nothing special)
- You are alone, office is exposed, no secretary, and no voicemail on your phone, absolutely ridiculous, How are you supposed to intercept people all day, and be able to tend to phone calls and random walk-ins and maintain sanity. Managers constantly harp about giving excellent service, How l am I supposed to give good service when I am supposed to be walking around getting tests, and be able to get phone calls and random walk-ins when they come in? Ridiculous
-Regional and District Managers range from mediocre to borderline incompetent (Almost all of them are Ex - Sams Club, Kohls, Sears, and Kmart Management, which would be great if I were a cashier or fork lift operator). They have no idea what they are doing and are pretty much playing russian roulette with their entire sales strategy. Most have never sold or touched a hearing aid. They constantly tout their 10-20 years of sales experience, yet they have never sold anything in their entire lives, managing a bunch of cashiers and stockers does not mean you know how to sell. In retail most people know what they want to buy and come in and get it. There is no sales process in (Sams Club, Kohls, Sears, and Kmart) besides the occasional question. These people are dead weight and costing the company huge salaries. They literally do nothing to affect sales. Get rid of them.
- The companies biggest competitor is Costco, yet they are literally doing nothing to compete with them on any single category. Price, Environment, Value, Warrenties, Lost and Damage, Service. NOTHING.
Advice to Management
- Fire all Current Regional and District Managers, Replace them with Audiologists/Hearing Aid Specialists with Sales and Practice Management Experience. Use the money saved from dead weight salaries to pay for some marketing.
- Enclose/Seal the entire hearing center from ambient noise
- Have voicemail on the phones
- Get a full time secretary for each location
- Change the schedule to Monday through Friday 9-5, there is no reason to be there later then 5 doing nothing, get rid of the hearing event on Saturdays, it is a waste of time and rarely gets any leads. - Work on the work life balance and people will stop leaving
- Lower Hearing aid prices to same price point as BJs and Costcos
- Cut salaries 10k and offer a commission component, this will make employees more eager to sell and try harder to close sales
- Thoroughly vet new hires with an hour long conversation with a staff audiologist - basic stuff, air, bone, speech, masking, medical referrals, etc, there are too many incompetent hearing staff working at SAMS
- Until you fix all these simple problems your best and most competent talent will continue to leave in droves for Costco/BJS/HearUSA/and private offices which treat hearing professionals with respect.
My advice to specialists and audiologists, dont work here, run for the hills
http://www.libertyhearingaids.com/ 800-785-6052
My 2 cents.
If you are an ex or current specialist or audiologist working at Sams Club please post a review on Glassdoor whether good or bad http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Liberty-Hearing-Aids-RVW6262691.htm
