4 ms·

Sounds plausible to get more deals, all those sales persons are only accounted for deals per day/week/month. And if you are not performing as needed you can lo

by spdy 13y ago

Sounds plausible to get more deals, all those sales persons are only accounted for deals per day/week/month. And if you are not performing as needed you can look for another job elsewhere.[1] Getting payed minimum wage + extra on deal volume (which is not that high anymore) you encourage people to use shady moves like this. [1] http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/08/working-groupon-isnt-what-it-used-be/55701/ http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/08/working-gr...

nolok 13y ago
I agree with your point, but sadly I would like to add that this is the case for a large amount of companies hiring sales people for similar jobs, it's not restricted to groupon. Having worked in the "mass web site production for soulless company" at one point in the past, this is also why you can end up with terrible un-doable projects with ridiculous timelines that the sales department sold, they're not dumb, they get their commission and now it's your problem if it fails. If they did not sale, then it was their problem for failing a sale. Didn't realize how terrible of a job it was until I left. Yippee
bdcravens 13y ago
As it went down, even the bad reviews really don't reward the sales process. He received very firm no - he didn't say he'd post bad reviews if he didn't receive a sale, but retaliated after the fact. Additionally, it doesn't seem that he used bad reviews priorly posted with future leads ("don't let this happen to you ...") All in all, his actions were those of a bratty punk, and didn't directly come out of the base + commission model. You see this model everywhere: hire young kid who'd be lucky to work in a mailroom or as a waiter, and give them opportunity to earn big $$$ via results. In Houston it may be oil-related; Florida vacation properties; SF, Internet companies. Some achieve success through thick skin and tenacity. Immature response, especially when it has nothing to do with achieving sales objectives, is not a foregone conclusion.
- afriesh123 13y ago
  google cached his linkedin profile. sigh. i feel bad for the guy, you just can't escape a bad move made in a consumer-facing market like this. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:X821DtR3QlUJ:www.linkedin.com/pub/andy-johnston/41/81/119+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:X821DtR... i challenge the comment above - that this reflects groupon hiring people who are "lucky to work in a mailroom or as a waiter". if anything, they are over-hiring for their roles - this guy is a UC Berkeley grad, which implies a certain level of intelligence. making sales like this could easily be done by a boiler room in manilla.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - dylz 13y ago
    That program isn't exactly what I would call a cal grad
  - bdcravens 13y ago
    I wasn't necessarily targeting Groupon, but what's makes them different than any other company? The fact that he has a degree doesn't mean anything. Check out that LinkedIn profile you linked: sports, sports, sports, in both his personal life and background. If some of his other reported past-time activities are true, I'm sure he partied hard in college. He's a typical college kid if he partied, played, and walked across the stage rocking a 2.7 GPA. Nothing extraordinary about getting a degree, other than to say you crossed the finish line. That in no way suggests you have the persistence to succeed - rather than performing daily, plenty in college cram enough during finals to get their C. Maturity: college can help with this, but I know plenty of jock bros who're little more than a 15 year old inside when they receive their bachelor's degree. Plenty of kids graduate and continue their college life: Playstation and beer, living at home with their parents instead of the dorm. They search for a job, but with no experience (didn't get a job in college, that would take time away from the frat) and little maturity, they often end up waiters, or at an entry level gig like the mailroom.

by spdy 13y ago

nolok 13y ago

I agree with your point, but sadly I would like to add that this is the case for a large amount of companies hiring sales people for similar jobs, it's not restricted to groupon. Having worked in the "mass web site production for soulless company" at one point in the past, this is also why you can end up with terrible un-doable projects with ridiculous timelines that the sales department sold, they're not dumb, they get their commission and now it's your problem if it fails. If they did not sale, then it was their problem for failing a sale. Didn't realize how terrible of a job it was until I left. Yippee

bdcravens 13y ago

As it went down, even the bad reviews really don't reward the sales process. He received very firm no - he didn't say he'd post bad reviews if he didn't receive a sale, but retaliated after the fact. Additionally, it doesn't seem that he used bad reviews priorly posted with future leads ("don't let this happen to you ...") All in all, his actions were those of a bratty punk, and didn't directly come out of the base + commission model. You see this model everywhere: hire young kid who'd be lucky to work in a mailroom or as a waiter, and give them opportunity to earn big $$$ via results. In Houston it may be oil-related; Florida vacation properties; SF, Internet companies. Some achieve success through thick skin and tenacity. Immature response, especially when it has nothing to do with achieving sales objectives, is not a foregone conclusion.

afriesh123 13y ago
google cached his linkedin profile. sigh. i feel bad for the guy, you just can't escape a bad move made in a consumer-facing market like this. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:X821DtR3QlUJ:www.linkedin.com/pub/andy-johnston/41/81/119+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:X821DtR... i challenge the comment above - that this reflects groupon hiring people who are "lucky to work in a mailroom or as a waiter". if anything, they are over-hiring for their roles - this guy is a UC Berkeley grad, which implies a certain level of intelligence. making sales like this could easily be done by a boiler room in manilla.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- dylz 13y ago
  That program isn't exactly what I would call a cal grad
- bdcravens 13y ago
  I wasn't necessarily targeting Groupon, but what's makes them different than any other company? The fact that he has a degree doesn't mean anything. Check out that LinkedIn profile you linked: sports, sports, sports, in both his personal life and background. If some of his other reported past-time activities are true, I'm sure he partied hard in college. He's a typical college kid if he partied, played, and walked across the stage rocking a 2.7 GPA. Nothing extraordinary about getting a degree, other than to say you crossed the finish line. That in no way suggests you have the persistence to succeed - rather than performing daily, plenty in college cram enough during finals to get their C. Maturity: college can help with this, but I know plenty of jock bros who're little more than a 15 year old inside when they receive their bachelor's degree. Plenty of kids graduate and continue their college life: Playstation and beer, living at home with their parents instead of the dorm. They search for a job, but with no experience (didn't get a job in college, that would take time away from the frat) and little maturity, they often end up waiters, or at an entry level gig like the mailroom.