manager in training

delivery driver

delivery technician

sales manager

general manager

Buddys Home Furnishings

I've been employed with Buddy's Home Furnishings for several years at different locations, as an account manager. As with most jobs, if you have the drive to succeed, you will typically be properly compensated and there is not much stopping you from advancing toward where you want to be. Meet your standards and you can expect at least a $0.50 raise twice a year. I came in with no experience and this is easily the best paying job I have had (excluding overtime). I started at $11/hr and ended up at $15/hr in about two years' time. They do try to create a friendly environment, but it's more so a "smile in your face" workplace. I can also say I have never worked a job where upper management (regional, etc.) is so easily accessible, and the communication is excellent.

With that being said, the cons definitely outweigh the pros. For one, you cannot trust anyone in this industry. The contradictory management will lie to customers AND employees in order to cover their behinds. That's to be expected when you work in sales, as you SHOULD do and say everything possible to meet your standards. The bonus schedule has changed drastically since I started years ago, and the latest model means even if YOU perform well, you will miss out on extra compensation if your team members do not. For the same performance, $800 bonuses have now been capped at $200. Despicable. Management will turn on you in a heart beat; one day, you are an asset to the company with promises to have your own store. The next, you are on the verge of losing your job because of one bad week. The loyalty is nonexistent. 

The benefits are laughable. Do not even pay for more than the basic premium unless you have pre-existing health conditions. For the situations I have been in, from lack of functional safety equipment to being assaulted by customers on multiple occasions, it just doesn't measure up to the insurance at less dangerous jobs. If you are thinking of taking days off, forget about it. You will need approval at least 30 days out, and often times, it will be denied. Or, they will make you work your off days in order to make up for your "paid time off". It just doesn't make any sense. I asked for a day off when my daughter was born, and I still got a call from my manager asking if I could come in once the baby was delivered. Absolutely disgusting. 

I should also mention, though it varies store-to-store, that it is common practice for the credit department to run payments for customers without authorization, and they expect you to lie in order to keep the money. So, if I have Sally, who made a ONE-TIME payment with her aunt's card during the COVID-19 pandemic, I am expected to save the card info. The next time she is late, I am expected to process that card for the full outstanding balance (sometimes close to $700). When the customer calls clearly angry, I have to lie and say that they are on autopay and signed documentation for any card on file to be ran. This is usually false, but even in the event they did sign documentation, it only gives us permission to run AUTHORIZED payments and not payments ran because we needed to hit a collections standard. Most of our customer base are impoverished or on disability, so imagine taking all the money someone had in order to provide for their family for the next month.

But my biggest complaint is the turnover rate. For more than half of my time with the company (probably close to 75% of my employment), we were severely understaffed. Which means, at times, there were no sales managers OR delivery drivers. So on top of your obligations as a credit manager, you are expected to also meet sales quotas and deliver merchandise BY YOURSELF. Usually this isn't a problem, but moving an entire house alone (linebacker sectional, end tables, dining room, king poster bed, dresser, 65" TVs, stand, speakers, etc.) is a regular occurrence. I should mention that in a college town like this, many of our customers live several floors up in very narrow staircases, making it extremely difficult to maneuver alone. They will blow your phone up asking what is taking so long, and add deliveries within an hour of closing and fail to inform you until you make it back to the store. Also, be prepared to work more than your scheduled hours, but disciplined for working overtime (seriously, this business is extremely contradictory). 

Overall, it's not the worst job in the world. Just remember that you and YOUR needs come first, and you should be fine. If you are money motivated, and will stop at nothing to get it, then this is the job for you. If you have heart, morals, integrity, or standards, I would suggest looking elsewhere.

Also, keep in mind I have worked for several locations, and not all of these issues exist at every store. This is just the most recent location I was a part of.

If you find yourself courted by this company, do not believe the hype you hear about the opportunity to join a growing company. And if you're lured in by the term "fast paced" they are wrong.

There are only a few pros I can think of, which would be; Hour lunch breaks, free waters in the mini fridge, and decent pay.


The cons definitely outweigh the pros. For one, you cannot trust anyone in this industry. The contradictory management will lie to customers AND employees in order to cover their behinds. For example, you may hear countless customers' complain that money was taken out without their permission. And they would be correct. However, the management would blame it on the system. Some customers would NOT have recurring payments, and would take the payment out anyway. Or, having a card set up on recurring payments does NOT mean run the card when you want to, like they do with the late customers. Second, the training is horrible. The videos are informational but nothing goes into detail, except for fixing damaged items and cleaning the bottom of a lawnmower. There really isn't any set trainer or program, they just throw you in and expect you to know everything. Third, The hours are either going to be 9AM-6PM or 10AM-7PM/8PM. You're there for 9 hours, with an hour break, however you can get all the work you need to get done within 2 hours of work. If you're anything like me, that loves to keep moving and working in a fast paced environment, this job is not for you. Now, it's a decent pay for doing nothing, but doing nothing really eats you up. Now, the final con, upper management. They are all about money, and will even tell you that to your face at the interview. Brags on their past accomplishments, and really only cares about themselves.

I worked at a corporate location for 2 years. I was intrigued by the idea of "Advancement"and "community driven" The reality is far from the truth. Buddy's cares about profits and only that. The GM's I worked under were barely fit to be delivery techs and it showed on a daily basis. The company is structured to at least look competent but it's not. Raises are used to motivate you but never happen and goals are attainable in very few stores. You can succeed if you sacrifice family time and dedicate entirely to Buddy's. If you're sick. Don't call out. If family died, don't call out. Along with the vaguely attainable bonuses Buddy's offers it's employees, they also host events where we win prizes such as a 24 pack box of Ramen Noodles or a crate of Eggs. Big prizes like TV's and game consoles are also raffled but they are always used and in horrible condition(They're preleased items that don't work or are infested with roaches half the time). I would rather have attainable goals than a box of noodles or a roached out Xbox. Customer Service is horrible even if as an individual you try to go the extra mile because the ball will be dropped and the customer will only see you. The GM's I worked under didn't take responsibility so prepare to apologize for others a lot. When you report it you get outed or treated differently so it's best  to keep your issues to yourself. I could write a book but, overall this is a company that is good for a short term job. If you seek advancement and respect, go elsewhere.

The company has changed a lot over the past few years and most the changes have been for the best and the company is more solid as a result. RTO is a performance based business and if you can come to work every day with the right attitude and do right by your staff and especially your customers, you'll do great. 

If you just want a pay check, it might not be for you. 

If you meet or beat the companies expectations (weekly standards), you'll most likely be promoted and increase your salary. The best part of the job is working closely with the same people inside of a store and becoming a team and they almost become like a family. 

The difficulty in RTO and not just Buddy's is finding work/personal life balances. I find that if you work hard while you're at work and do what you're supposed to do, you won't have to work insane hours. If you try and take short cuts and fail at making quick decisions, you'll probably sink instead of swimming. 

The company has great benefits and a 401K after six months. Pay is above average and overtime is pretty much mandatory for most positions. There is no set schedule either, it all depends on how busy a store is, how many customers you serve and how well you do it.

This company has been great to me and my family.

A typical day consists of lifting heavy appliances up many flights of stairs in cheap apartment complexes. Then going back the next week to repo the same appliances because the prices are too strict. The other part of the day consists of banging on people's doors and leaving notices of missed payments. And the last part of each day is steam cleaning and scrubbing questionable stains from repossessed furniture. They company claims to be founded on the dream of helping the small folk afford furniture and having affordable living spaces, however their pay off prices are well over 3 times the shelf price for each item leased. The material for the furniture is cheap, consisting mostly of resin pressed chip wood with panel coverings and are easily broken. The same furniture can be bought from the manufacturers for much cheaper. The management seems to be given to anyone off the street and the training is impersonal and lacking. Not the place to work if you want advancement and respect. But if you are the type of person who can go and take a childs bed from under them and not feel an ounce of shame, then sure, this is the place for you.

I would only suggest working here if you are a younger person, with no home life (Wife, kids, family, friends, etc) and nothing better to do with yourself, because you will not be working only 40 hours a week, and you will not have any certain schedule or job duties/role. Starting out in the company, you will need to put aside 1 year of your life to work harder than you have ever worked for minimum wage ($10-$12 an hour) and horrible benefits. You will have no support, no training,  and will not be able to take PTO. Nothing I just stated will change when you get promoted, except the pay, in fact the hours will increase, the support will decrease, and the management above you will look more like vultures picking at your dead body, then managers & support teams. If you are good at what you do, and by good I mean you are basically a good liar, cheat and know how to manipulate the people around you well (especially the customers) then you would have earned yourself a whopping $50k-$70k a year with some PTO that you will NEVER be allowed to use. The business model for RTO (especially the culture in Buddy's Northwest) is minimize staffing, and support, maximize profits regardless of everything else, or as they will call it "a numbers driven business" which translate to "Get your numbers, no questions asked, or get out"

In my experience, this is not a good place for someone looking to build a long-term career or develop transferable trade skills. Much of the job involved field visits to customers regarding payments, with deliveries only being a smaller part of the role. Employees are expected to work independently and spend significant time in the field.

I felt the workplace was heavily micromanaged. Management closely monitored routes, activities, and performance throughout the day. I did not always feel supported when challenges arose, and communication from management could sometimes come across as discouraging rather than helpful.

Scheduling and hours were another concern for me. Overtime opportunities were limited, and weekly hours sometimes fluctuated. The work environment and overall store conditions also did not meet my expectations.

This position may be suitable for someone seeking immediate employment, but based on my personal experience, I would not recommend it for those looking for long-term career growth. Prospective employees should carefully consider the job duties and workplace culture before accepting a position.

They will enter you into the company as a Manager In Training and tell you that the reason is so you can take over your own store one day. When, in reality, you're hired in that way so that you can be cross-trained and they won't have to pay you extra. They also tell you that if you finish your courses on PayCom (Boring, common sense drivel) you'll get a $0.25 raise per course. However, a previous employee never got a single raise in the year he was here. And, I'll be honest, I never saw one either. 
They'll set unreasonable expectations on you, then be angry that you couldn't reach their goals.
The higher ups will talk down to you on the phone, but in person or when there's other people around, be sweet as can be. They will also tell you that if you just do better, they'll promote you, even when they have no intention of doing so. 
They are not transparent, they are tempermental, and I would not recommend my worst enemy to work here. 

A typical day at work consists of a combination of sales and collections. One would contact customers and advise them of past due balances or reminder calls about current balances. One would also take payment and work with customers on due dates. After a customer pays off their balance they would be provided with a discount towards their next purchase. I learned about collections practices and procedures. Management at the first location was strict and a bit abusive but, at the second location he was much better. He was encouraging and had an open door policy. My coworkers was interesting, there was a mix of cultures and colors and we all worked together smoothly and peacefully. The hardest part of the job was the customers that skipped out with the merchandise. There was no way to find them and it would cause a loss to the company. The most enjoyable part of the job was when we would have different promotions, it was a chance to see a different side of management and staff.

There are team rewards and bonuses, so if you work well as a team, you all will get compensated for it. Local stores are expected to share with each other, but sometimes they aren't willing to due to local competition. Promotions are promises, but there isn't much room for further growth, such as becoming a manager. So the main focus becomes out performing the other teams in your district for bonuses/compensation. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Manager in training 35 salaries reported	$17.94 per hour
Delivery driver 66 salaries reported	$14.39 per hour
Delivery technician 87 salaries reported	$14.75 per hour
Sales manager 95 salaries reported	$15.39 per hour
General manager 15 salaries reported	$60,033 per year

Working at Buddy's Home Furnishings: Company Overview and Reviews

Buddy's Home Furnishings

Buddy's Home Furnishings Ratings

Popular jobs at Buddy's Home Furnishings

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected