Full Time Sales Good Job Not a Real Career - Sales Associate Abt Employee Review

3.0
Oct 4, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Most of the people are pleasant to work with. They were some really knowledgeable people there. Some Managers know business and are not afraid to show it off. Learned sales tactics that I never knew I had. Schedule was somewhat flexible but it is retail so be prepared for weekends, holidays and slow night and day shifts. If you are good at selling and want something for the next couple years while in school or building up another business then this is a good place to start. I got my degree shortly after being let go, and haven't looked back. Still Like Sales, but now I do it from the other side as a patron of ABT. Also Bob Abt was a great if not the greatest President/ CEO of a company. Very approachable, always kind, always willing to listen. The few times I was able to speak to him 1 on 1 are times that I will not forget.

Cons

No real upward advancement. Yes you can move to other departments and make some more money but that is it. Some Managers that are there are not interested in bringing others into management, only to make themselves look good. This is a smaller business and I understand there cannot be tons of Managers. Favoritism is rampant and is not even attempted to be concealed. Managers will screw you over on a sales commission in a heartbeat. I was let go for low sales. Now by low sales means I sold less than others in my Department which could be 50 dollars less then the next guy. My customer service was excellent compared to others in my group and I went for quality or quantity with my customers. Which in some businesses means absolutely nothing. I was given no formal warning and the week after the new year I was discharged. When asked for an explanation I was just given low sales with no further substance. To me not really appropriate answer when you are firing someone.

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Abt Response
8y
We realize your comments are based on what it was like was four years ago and like all things in life, some things have changed and some things have not. Even though Bob Abt is not physically with us his spirit lives on which is best characterized by his mantra of always trying "to do the right thing". This saying is still a constant at Abt. That does not mean we are perfect but we are always trying to improve. That said there are some inaccuracies in your statements. First of all our turnover of our Sales employees is quite low, one could even say marginal, heck one of our sales employees just celebrated 50 years with Abt. Also, being fired for $50 difference would only apply if embezzlement or theft was a factor. In regards to training, we have changed the frequency so that it is ongoing, primarily so that employees continuously improve to best serve our growing customer base. When you are a family business the concept of favorites always seem to creep in just like it does with any family, but in reality the employees who perform best are rewarded the most. Some folks construe that as favoritism, others just see that as good business. We did accommodate you by giving you 3 weeks between your offer and start date. We find actual on-the-job training shadowing a more senior employees works best. We also try to best accommodate schedules of both trainee and trainer with give and take of all involved. Unfortunately there were no other positions available that did not require PC skills for you to transfer into. We wish you the best with your future job endeavors.

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5.0
May 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Excellent owners. Best management. Great pay!

Cons

Customers often pay less than the employee discount!

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