sales representative

window treatment installer

design consultant

interior designer

decorator

3 Day Blinds

A typical day as a DC is pre-call future appointments, which are loaded onto your calendar roughly 24-72 hours in advance. You also travel to what should be two to three appointments per day, try and convince clients why you should buy this overpriced product, and hope they actually buy AND can afford it. Your job is to review their concerns, discover their needs, come up with solutions, present, measure their windows, build a quote, and then try really hard to close the sale same day. The CRM only gives you two to maybe three or four hours to do this, then drive thirty plus minutes to the next appointment and do it all again.

I can’t say I learned much working here, as the sales managers are extremely lazy in doing any type of research on how to actually improve their DCs in the DFW market. We had to attend weekly sales and objections meetings on Wednesday mornings, and the meetings were exactly the same each time, with nothing new ever learned or expressed. The management team never took the time to find a way to individually help each associate grow, figuring out their strengths and weaknesses and then tailoring any training to them. Instead, if you did poorly, they would just refer you to another DC who was successful and see if that DC could offer you insight. Never once did they research any new data on how to sell, fresh approaches to selling, or anything of the sort.

I guess that blurb above also covers management. The primary manager for the territory was aggressive with me, and always seemed put off by any negative critiques of the company. Any constructive criticism was usually thrown back at me as if it were my fault the company had these issues. Again, any time I needed help, I was just told to reach out to another DC for help and tips. They also always had the same exact answers to any concerns, as if they were reading off a handbook, which came across as super insensitive and impersonal. Their favorite answer was “focus on the 6 step process!”

The culture is toxic and frustrating. It is obsessed on numbers, close rates, and express shipping, and despite saying they care about the client experience, the bottom dollar is really all they are after. Customer service is lacking, any care or concern for quality defects is nonexistent, and they always think they are the best, despite not being true. The product offering is lackluster, and is heavily geared towards profit margins and just being generic and easily acceptable. Any design flavor is quickly squashed in favor of speed and mediocrity. 

The most difficult aspects of the job regarded the insane amount of driving, the lack of qualified appointments, and the obsession with closing same day. The commission structure gives you ten percent commission IF you only discount 20 percent or less, then it drops to seven percent for 20.1 percent off to 25 percent off, which is still not enough of a discount to give the client a competitive price. After that, it’s five percent commission plus bonus, which is laughable, unless you hit their three metrics of express shipping, same day closing and a 50+ percent close rate.

The company advertises in budget coupon books and similar magazines and papers, which gives the sensation of a budget friendly option, only to price themselves at the bottom end of the premium market. The product itself cannot compete with the higher end product offerings, which makes selling at the higher prices really difficult. By the time you get down to a competitive price, your commission is nonexistent.

The switch to SalesForce was also a disaster. It gave better appointments to DCs who were closer to the work area, and allowed anyone to book an appointment online. The company promised a workload of 2-3 appointments daily, when in fact, I would often have 2 per week, and at best, 10 per week, with the rare moments of having 12. Even if you did have 3 appointments daily, you would then be trying to rush through each appointment so as to able to complete all three in an 8 hour work day. Often times, the client would book for the wrong number of windows, so a 1-2 hour appointment would then become a 3-4 hour affair, and you would be scrambling to work the other appointments quickly and arrive super late, upsetting the clients.

Overall, the company has a lot of work to do internally. I am sure some markets are lucrative and have better managers, unfortunately, that was not my experience in DFW. I had to drive over 100 miles a day, to either make nothing that day, or make so little it would have been better to stay at home and claim unemployment. Plus, wear and tear on my car and massive depreciation that was not balanced out by the mileage compensation received. I literally put 20k miles on my car in about nine months time, which is over $10k in depreciation, to only be given a few thousand back in mileage. 

The company also needs to reevaluate how they book appointments, and should dedicate resources to ensure that booked appointments are legitimate, and that the client is well aware of the price point of this company and the time it takes to run an appointment properly. Management should also be more focused on placing consultants in the right market that reflect their strengths.

This job left me burned out, extremely stressed, underwater in debt, and overwhelmed with depression, with no hope in sight.


This review is for the position of Design Consultant.

There is really no typical day at work, which is one of the best parts of the job.  Everyone has windows in their home or office, so you meet people from all walks of life.  You may be in a mansion doing high end draperies at 9am, and then you are helping an office manager do silver mini blinds in an office building.  It keeps you on your toes.  You might be done with your days worth of clients at 12pm some days, and can work from home while you get caught up on your favorite TV show.  Or, it might be a day where you are with clients late and aren't home until 8pm.   Both of those scenarios are rare, but they both happen.  You have to be able to roll with the punches.  But typically you will meet with 3-4 clients a day, each appt takes an average of 1.5 hours, and you will have some admin work to do at home later, emails and paperwork.  

If you don't have strong time management skills, this is not the job for you.  On the days you are "done" early, you probably have a lot of side-work to do.  Following up with customers post-install, or your pipeline, or working with installers on issues, etc.  You're never really "done".  And on the days when you are working longer hours than usual, you need to make sure you are on top of responding to emails and texts in a timely manner throughout your day.  If you let it pile up, then Murphy's Law, tomorrow will be challenging too, and then you'll be buried in customer service issues.  

Management is your friend and ally.  My direct manager is top notch and I appreciate all she does for our team.  I could not imagine working under a different manager (DSM), and she is my 3rd direct manager in the 8+ years I have been with the company.  And then there are other channels of management at corporate you will occasionally need to work with on certain orders.  They are all veterans of the company and are also in place to help you and to move things along smoothly, and assist the client when you are busy.  They're not the enemy, as it is viewed by people at so many other corporations.

Workplace culture, is different.  Since you will not be in a typical office setting, confined to a cubicle, so you don't have that friend you gossip with at the water cooler.  You're on your own all day.  I'd recommend making friends with the people on your team that are successful, or are veterans, to help you learn the ropes.  While we are all 100% commission, I firmly believe there are enough windows to go around...I have not had any circumstances when there has been any major issue that actually affected me very much, regarding territory.  Yes there's always the worry that you aren't going to get enough appointments and make enough money, and you wonder who else is working in your territory and shouldn't that appointment have been mine?  Your DSM is going to put the people and the appointments where they need to be.  There is no call for getting into issues with your colleagues over territories.  The company handles this pretty well.  As far as interactions with the corporate office go, everyone on all sides, I would think, tries to interact with respect.  There are going to be times when you don't agree with how something is happening, but the company strongly pushes a "one team" attitude.  We are all in this together.

For a new person, the hardest part of the job will be learning the ins-and-outs of all our different products, the correct application for those products, what is a good plan B, etc.  If you have a background in sales, you can adapt to the product line, the "sales" part of it comes with your personality.  Time management can be hard to start with as well.  Taking vacation is hard, too.  Not because it's unpaid (which it is) but because it is hard to walk away from texts and emails and enjoy yourself for a week.  You'll probably bring your work with you, if you don't want to come back to a mountain of emails and voicemails and texts to respond to, fires to put out.

The best part of the job is the flexibility and the pay.  If you are good at time management, if you know your products and are efficient, if you are a people-person and your clients love you, this is an easy job.  And you will have more of those days when you are "done" early...But if you want to make a lot of money, you will quickly understand you can never "clock out" and you need to be ever-present.  But that's ok.  If you're meant to work in sales, this is something you already understand.  Not everyone is meant for sales.  Your pay is reflective, for the most part, of your skill in selling, your attention to metrics, your tenacity and tirelessness.  If you're a go-getter, you're going to go get yourself a very respectable paycheck.

The idea behind this company is great. I love that they manufacture all their own products, they install, they can get most products in clients homes in 3 days, they have the hand samples for the clients, and they give you very good training. BUT... to balance work and life in order to make a living is almost non existent. You can forget about this job if you have young children or teens. This job goes everywhere you go. If your out to dinner and you're getting a call from an installer because there's an issue, you're going to want to pick it up. You get a "draw" (which changes apparently every so often) depending on when you are hired..basically that draw is there to ensure that you receive a paycheck when you first start out so you don't get discouraged-because it IS a hard job... You have to sell sell SELLL! But that draw goes away after only a couple of months. Then it is ALL commission...They tell you about these crazy bonus opportunities which yes, they are real and yes, they are possible BUT you have to sell very expensive window treatments worth thousands and thousands of dollars on the spot. (yes that day ONLY to qualify for your bonus), orders have to be paid in full, and you have to reach a certain dollar amount before you can even qualify for a bonus. The NY manager is difficult to work with at times and is very pushy...They shove the word "interior designer" down your throat to make you feel important but they treat you like a sales person when it comes to management. (At least in the NY, Long Island area.) Like I said, the idea of the company is great...I wish they gave their designers steady paychecks or at least a base pay of some sort and took away "same day close" to make this job more financially possible for designers. It's extremely difficult to sell $5,000-10,000 worth of window treatments in the time span of 1.5-2 hours and have someone you have never met before say "SURE! Here's my credit card!" Overall, great way to expand knowledge- but you have to be dedicated to ONLY this job if you want the success that very few get.

Working for 3 Day Blinds is a very interesting experience everyday, i have worked for many different employers, most only care about the money and do not care much about anything else i can say that from what i have seen, 3 day does have a genuine care not only for their employees but for their customers as well no company is perfect but at least you can see that they are always trying to be the best. 

      If it wasn't for traffic my day to day job would be wonderful i love the fact that i do not have the same store or office to go to  everyday i actually get to meet different people and get fresh air and some sort of freedom, not having the feeling of a manager hovering over you watching every move you make is a great benefit to this type of employment. A typical day for work is calling your customers the day prior to their appointment just to confirm details and in some cases reminding customers of the online appointment that they made. The following morning visiting the homes of the customers that you just spoke with the night prior and helping them solve a great issue that they have when it comes to getting some comfort in their homes whether it be from excessive heat or needing privacy from the busy street outside their window.
         
           The hardest thing about the job i would say has to be getting over the constant rejection from customers that our product may not be the best suited for, also the fear that if you don't sell anything you don't get paid, but the reward you get when you can find your nitch i believe out ways that negative. Also the fact that most customer do not understand that 3 day is a corporate organization and there is more than myself that can assist them with a question or issue, too many companies are franchising and that sole individual that purchased the franchise is responsible for everything and not realizing that 3 day is a local company that has a local Customer care team ready for their call so i tend to always get constant calls on my days off for this or the other.

A typical day in the life of a DC: I prepare for my day by making sure my rolling brief case is organized with folders, business cards and close sheets.  I listen to  audio books in my car, since I am driving more. I arrive to my appointments.  I should have a good idea of what the client is wanting from the pre-call the day before. I like to get to know the client first and let them know I am a person not just a salesman. I try not to worry about anything else but the client I have in front of me.  After I finish my appointments for the day, I do my pre-calls between appointments or when I get home, before I go inside.  I send out any emails I need to and push all I can before 9:00 P.M.  I have learned a lot and truly enjoy being a design consultant for 3Day Blinds. The workplace is very different than a school. I was a teacher for the last eight years before this position. Now I work alone and meet new people everyday.  The culture of our workplace is positive and uplifting.  It is wonderful to know my DM and LMC truly want each of the DC to be successful. They are eager to help and answer any questions I have no matter how small my questions may be.  The best part of the job is the paycheck!!!  I love the payout for such a fun job.  I remember getting my first bonus check and thinking, is this real? I also love the fact that this job does not feel like a job!!  I really do have fun!!!  Every job has its struggles. I have found the hardest part of this job is trying to know everything about every product and making sure to set proper client expectations.  One other hard part is working alone, even though I have a strong team behind me and we encourage each other, its very different than working with same people everyday.

There are a lot of good things about 3 day! The leads are much better then most companies, you know your schedule in advance, you confirm your own appointments to introduce yourself and you always know if an appointment is canceled which gives you the opportunity to get another appointment in that time slot or a least not waste your time driving out, unlike other companies where they won’t even give you the phone number or expect you to show up and sell it anyway. The culture is very supportive and they have many experts available if you ever have questions or need something is always multiple people available when you have a question or need something when you are with a client. They truly make you feel like they want you to succeed in the position they have done a very good job fine tuning everything to make things seamless when you are with a client or when you are in need supplies or samples, this is very hard to find in a commission only residential outside sales position where they typically give you a small amount of training, unqualified leads and if you get lucky you can make money. 
The only problem I had was it felt like there was a bit of favoritism in the branch I work for, I always had really good numbers but for some reason was only given appointments for 2-4 windows when other consultants were complaining about have to many appointments for 15-30 windows, that resulted in an inability for me to make enough money to stick with the job I truly wish I could have because I really enjoyed it.

There is an extreme amount of driving. It’s not based on your home zip code as they say. They don’t use maps to schedule the appointments, so sometimes you’re driving 4hours a day. Its no real work/life balance because you have to schedule time off a month in advance if you want to have it approved. Also, management requires paperwork about sales at the end of each day. So after you’ve spent your entire day driving and finally get home there’s more paperwork. The monthly meeting is also an hour or so away, then they schedule you on appointments afterwards. Another guarantee hour or more drive for the day. There is a commission game too. If you want to make money you have to basically not offer discounts to the customer to get a bonus and always use the quick shipping options. Both cost the customer more but is how you get paid. Everyone wants a little savings but beware because you’ll end up not making a commission on the sale. The mileage/health/401k benefits are great. All expense paid training was great also. The corporate headquarters is awesome and very supportive. Everyone is so will to help. Another great perk is company phone, laptop, printer and marketing.

Not sure how it is now, but I've heard a little better than 5-6 years ago, although depending on where you live I think it's 2 leads a day still for a sales rep which means you aren't going to make as much money as you would have years ago. Other reviews mention the chaotic times at 3 Day Blinds and this was true before the recession. It was rough at times, if you worked in a showroom on an hourly basis dealing with the amount of customers and issues and too few employees to help, when that was still the business model and the housing market was on fire. Outside sales reps that didn't complain and wanted to work were well rewarded. The other cry babies eventually left or were fired and long hours were rewarded well. Unfortunately, management became lost because short term profits were rising well at the time, and no one saw the crash coming around the corner. Once it hit, the attitude and culture changed rapidly until chap 11 bankruptcy became inevitable. The kind of income possible before became a pipe dream the following year. Unless you like part time work, or you are a 2nd income earner okay with lower pay, I'd think hard about starting here. Until the overall economy gets much better anything related to home furnishings is way too competitive compared to the amount of demand there is for these products nowadays.

Each evening you would call and confirm your following days appointment.  At that time you introduce yourself and find out about their window project.   A typical day would entail: driving to your Pre Scheduled Appointments, meeting with Clients, sharing the value proposition, framing the appointment, taking a tour of their windows, getting to know their desires for decorating their windows, showing them what window treatments are available, choices in operating systems, fabrics, and colors on the digital "Look Book".  After deciding on the product, demonstrate with the hand sample, share the quality of the products, professional Installation, install guarantees, the product warranty, and Customer Care Support.  Then you measure the windows, build an order, present the customer a recap of everything included in the price and write out the price on our Close Sheet.  You will share what payments are available and close the sale!  You will be scheduled up to 3 Appointments a day, with a time of roughly 2 1/2 hour time slots each.
The training you receive is very informative and comprehensive so that you feel confident helping the customer make the best choice.  Every two weeks your Team will meet for educational updates on products and company news.  There is support every step of the way from your Manager, Trainer, Installer, and Company Customer Care.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Concise, qualified, and regular appointments provided with leads generated through the marketing efforts of the company make for great selling opportunities of a simple, straightforward product, quickly delivered and installed in satisfied client's space. They're happy to rehire if you're a productive Design Consultant.

3 Day Blinds also is faithful to pay remaining commissions on balances collected on jobs you sold long after leaving employment.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Sense of urgency, due to rapid response times promised to clients can sometimes create stress because same-day closings are one of the key metrics that define bonus structure. It is also a quite technical business, and so accuracy and attention to detail are important.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Honest, hardworking, rapid and faithful delivery of products and services offered. Competitive team spirit.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Three 2-2 1/2 hour daily in home customer appointments run daily from your own car and submission of orders purchased. Follow-up with clientele for repeat or delayed business. Asking satisfied clients for referrals for self generated opportunities.

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Decorator 26 salaries reported	$94,000 per year

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