software engineer

inside sales representative

Build.com

I was in middle management. This is from the sales side of the business, though I know this sort of thing exists to lesser degrees in other parts of the business like HR.

 Its very political which leads to bad management. Upper Sales Management got where they are due to political alignments, not because they are qualified to be in their role or because they have a full grasp of what they should be doing or how to run their segment of the business. 

They are very reactive instead of being proactive, often losing their minds to put out a fire that was entirely preventable had a proactive approach been taken and had they been doing their jobs properly. Rather than take accountability for their role in failing to prevent the issue(or taking steps to prevent it from happening in the future), management cascades a ton of pressure and stress down to the lowest level reps in a total code red fire drill to fix the issue. The reps feel all the stress pressure and heat. This is a constant cycle.

Speaking of reps, they are treated as numbers, not people. The reps are not valued. The company puts on a big fake smile and pretends like they care by occasionally offering free food or something of the like, but ultimately the reps get treated like garbage and peons. However, the company has one good thing going for it, and that is that they paying well for entry level positions. This ends up being a catch 22 though, because most reps end up hating their job and being miserable, but end up feeling trapped because they can't make more anywhere else.

Customers are not properly valued either. High sales numbers are rewarded regardless of how those numbers were achieved. If you ignored your customers who needed help and only talked to the ones who were ready to order now, if your sales numbers are high enough, no one cares that you destroyed those customer relationships.

 It's very cut throat in the leadership layer and laziness, apathy, and ineptitude abound. Most of them are trying to do the bare minimum to keep their jobs while putting on a constant front to cast appearances  of being more valuable than their peers to the business. This looks like constant throwing around fancy jargon that they barely even understand, parroting smart sounding things they heard other people say, and constantly twisting and manipulating what they've done to make it sound more impressive and grandiose than it is.

It's a constant grind to work here and it's a mess. You can make good money, but it's not worth it.

At first they market themselves as a company that promotes from within however that is not true. The one chance you have at promotion is being friends with or becoming friends with the person in charge. There are no performance-based decisions. Also they constantly cut our pay and increased our workload. Management is extremely spiteful and if you bring up any concerns with the company they will use it to blacklist you within the company. On top of shady business practices they knowingly suppress employees going above their heads to the higher ups. Multiple employees brought up their blatant lies on the website designed to target consumers with false stock numbers and lead times, but were told “we do not want to discourage sales, so we will not be changing it”. They did this so that they could get their money first before the customer is told that the items they purchased that were listed as “in-stock, ready to ship” worth tens of thousands of dollars is on backorder and that they wouldn’t receive it for months. This happened more times than I can count. 

For the area, it pays very well and tries to keep those who "show drive" Several great account managers, supervisors, and sales reps left due to a merge with a bigger company that changed not only commission but also a great deal of things that the lower tier workers were unaware of happening until events unfolded. There were free lunches and free gifts from the company slapping brands names onto t-shirts or water bottles to "win" people over whether or not they are doing great or just slimming by the work day. It doesn't matter if you are a good salesman for customers, but if you can bring in a big or new sale, that was harkened far greater than helping a previous customer with a return. It's the typical American the customer comes first style until a hotter, newer customer with more money comes in, then they come first. Management sees everyone as numbers, in most departments, and give plastic smiles and admonishment when necessary. The insurance given was ok and not much to choose from. Single or married with children but not much to work with pre-existing conditions. 

Anyone interested in learning how to sell on line in a young, challenging and fun cultural environment, Build.com is a good place to start. Most new employees will start their job at build.com answering phones in what's called "Post-Sales." This stepping stone allows new employees to learn the systems, applications and processes used to sale and service customers. Patience and a willingness to work hard will pay off with advancement opportunities in various other departments, depending on your interest.

One of the greatest benefits at build.com are the BENEFITS! Build.com is owned by Wolseley in the UK. Wolseley also owns Ferguson Industries, and is the largest plumbing supplier in the world. Medical, Dental and vision benefits are unmatched, as well as a strong 401K retirement plan with company matching options and discounted stock purchase plan make this great place for young, ambitions people to launch their careers.

Build.com was one of the greatest places to work. It still amazes me to this day that more people around the nation do not know about it. I heard of the company from the CEO coming to lecture at my college and decided it would be a great place to start my career. 

I started as a sales rep, but was quickly able to advance to run my own section of the marketing team within a year of being there. It was not just me who advanced either. Many of my college friends who also worked there garnered promotions through their hard work, as well as a large portion of my new hire class. 

HR works hard to keep things light and fun. The cost of living in Chico is a great benefit too. It was sad for me to leave the company, but it was time for the next adventure. I highly recommend working for Build.com.

I started in customer experience at Build and it was a grueling position. Huge amounts of customer contact, constant phone calls and emails, juggling lots of orders and issues constantly. They also have requirements for “qualifying” calls, aka having to ask every person you talk to what their project is and trying to make more sales. It was high anxiety and hard work. The good thing about Build though is the support they give for advancement and opportunities to move to higher positions or new departments. I was able to get out of the customer experience department into one that wasn’t as high anxiety and into a smaller team that had more backend work. A lot of the management is wonderful and really supports their team members. I appreciated my time here but in the end I had to get out of the retail/customer service business for my mental health. Build is a good place to work if you plan to climb your way up the corporate ladder. 

which can include what grade is required to pass a class or courses needed to finish the major. I also make phone calls, book appointments, and file student documents for the business advisors in the office. In addition, I create flyers, send emails, and contact faculty when needed. Furthermore, I use excel to help the advisors analyze over 200 student records for data research. I also have assisted with payroll for over 25 employees. These tasks require discretion to work with confidential and sensitive issues on a regular basis.   Working here has allowed me to enhance my customer service and communication skills when assisting the business student body. I am able to demonstrate multi-tasking skills when helping students and working on a project. Additionally, I use time management skills in a fast-paced workplace during registration weeks when we have over an hour wait time.

The only down falls are mandatory overtimes & being bound to the desk for 8 hours a day.  Breaks are 2x per day for only 10 min.  My last job was 15 min.  Parking is difficult so you will be arriving early to find parking & may not want to leave on your lunch break since you may not have parking when you get back.  
The perks:  They know they ask a lot of their employees, so some food & coffee is always avail in the break room.  Weekly wins in on Thursdays for 1 hour, you get to enjoy a glass of beer or wine.  That is allowed on you 10 min break or if your off work.  
There are brand days where you get cool swag & opportunities to win great items.  
Also, you do not need a degree to move around in this company & that is awesome!

Build relationship with customers via phone, chat and email; Assist customers in their home improvement projects; Build client base, problem solve and provide world class service.

Learned Sales and customer service skills; how to manage large accounts while making sure that every customer no matter how large or small gets taken care of with world class service. Meet personal and team goals. 

Had great co-workers who were always willing to assist with problems if they ever came up.

The hardest part of my job was sitting behind the computer all day because I like to be active.

The most enjoyable part of my job was interacting with the customers and co-workers.

A massive cube farm and a virtual panopticon for non-management employees.  Lots of pressure to meet unrealistic and vague goals with a constant threat of termination.  They encourage you to refer your friends and family for job openings, so there is a high level of nepotism. Very cliquish, with lots of stereotyping and discriminating against individuals, especially on the basis of their age. And instead of recruiting qualified personnel for management, they promote the incompetent and inexperienced. This company grew too big too fast and has some serious problems.  But there is free organic fruit and coffee in a nice break room.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Software engineer 3 salaries reported	$26.50 per hour
Inside sales representative 3 salaries reported	$17.67 per hour

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