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La-Z-Boy

This is a super stressful job that takes a toll on the personal health and well-being, very little appreciation for what you do from the management (who is under pressure too) and none from the owners, even after continuously investing yourself and paying such a high price to make things happen exactly as they want it.  Ever-increasing goals and restrictions to the point of being humiliated, along with decreasing salaries and personal freedom. Constantly changing contracts and commission pay, so less is coming to the employee, more to the owner's pocket. 
Despite being a franchise and mid-size company, the rules enforced there is typical corporate style, therefore totally dehumanizing. 'Greed' is the most prevalent moving force.
The clashes and competition among employees are fueled by never-ending stats, reports, bulletins, and employee-manager meetings about a constant demand to increase sales for actually very very overpriced furniture (and difficult to sell). But wait, to make this more 'interesting', the prices increase 2-3 times a year, so when the customer pays $5000 for a leather sofa for example and encounters a problem, it gets really challenging for the front line workers! 
And of course, whatever you do, nothing is enough, "more & more" is the slogan of this company. Your new achievement/sales record becomes the next goal. Money is God and employees are just a means to it. People are treated as they are disposable, it is subtle and subversive but it becomes very apparent after the 3th month there. A salesperson is as good as their last month's sale success or failure.
For all these years there, I did meet only a very 2 people (working part-time) that were ok and not suffering the consequences of the constant stress and compromises with their dignity. So many came and left, several even sued the company (because of changing commission contracts), but nothing has changed for better, quite the opposite; over time the atmosphere and the working conditions have become increasingly worse and prisonlike - clocking in-out with your fingerprint, being super restricted on your vacation date and duration, signing agreements that when using company's wi-fi your browsing history will be recorded, etc.  
If you value yourself enough, avoid this at any cost: what you earn there, later you'll spend recovering the damage on your health!

Welcome to the illustrious sales floor – the most disciplined one in town, complete with an electronic up-system that would make your head spin. The salespeople are top-notch, following up with customers like nobody's business. They even have a fancy name for it – the "market point." Impressive, right?

Now, some of the salespeople have been in the game for over five years and know the traditional way of selling like the back of their hand. But, to be honest, some of them could use a lesson or two in simple email marketing or using modern gadgets. Still, they're a friendly bunch – just make sure to befriend them, or they might talk behind your back.

The owners are a rare breed – educated, humble, and they hardly meddle in the business. Although, they do swing by from time to time to make sure sales people are not slacking off. If you're new, make sure to complete the two-week training program, and you'll be on your way to earning some serious dough.

But let's talk about "In-Home sales." It can be a bit dramatic – the kind of stuff that soap operas are made of. The critical thing to remember is that customers often want a custom order, which can make things a bit tricky. And don't get me started on how the manufacturer buddies over in the US give vague production info, making the job a tad more challenging. Plus, finding stock items in the local warehouse is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But the real kicker? Some of the corporate bigwigs up in Toronto have been working with an old-school mentality for over ten years, lacking the education needed for 21st century business. Bless their hearts.

So, if you're looking for a sales job that's as challenging as it is exciting, come join the team! Just make sure to bring your sense of humor (and maybe a dictionary to decipher some of the salespeople's old-fashioned lingo).


A Typical day at work, we were asked to move furniture, clean the store, sometimes no breaks or lunch,no customer service, Lazboy used to sell a quality product, however, in the last 5 years they have opened up factories in China, poor quality, they no longer stand behind what they sell, constant complaints from customers, the staff had to deal with. When they closed the plant in Canada, they also stopped making a product of quality, that you could would be proud to sell to anyone.

If you had a bad week and did not sell, you would not get paid, if they did pay you, it was on a draw which had to be paid back.

When the store first opened in Kingston it was a good place to work we had an amazing team of associates, we all did very well, after 5 years the owner fired our General Manager and hired someone who knew nothing about sales or customer service or management, it was hard to stay after that, now the whole staff has been replaced, and the store has really gone downhill, they have a very bad reputation in the area.

I was asked to lie to customers and sell warranties that did not cover specific pieces of furniture, I refused, when you have to compromise your morals and values it is time to move on.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The product is great and customers are generally very nice.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Sales goals are arbitrarily set by the owner each month and are getting harder and harder for anyone to achieve. Lately, there have been months where not one sales person in the store has accomplished their target. You get paid okay if you hit your goal - if you don't it's basically minimum wage.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Overall not a bad work environment as long as you keep busy, cleaning, tidying, dusting furniture, checking tags and pillows, windexing the glass, etc. If the owner comes in for a surprise visit and sees you relaxing, you might as well pack your things. He hates seeing anyone idle - even though they are on commission, not paid hourly, he still wants to see everyone working all the time.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Start an hour early so you can listen to the manager's sales meeting and practice your breathing. Work in rotation taking customers as they come in the door and then between customers you clean and dust the store. The manager will sneak out in the afternoon but you will work until 7:00 and then close down the till and lock up the store.

Worked for La Z Boy for close to three years. In order to make a decent living you have to push extended warranties and in-homes. In homes are going out to customers homes with the store designer and designing room purchases. For in homes to qualify they need to purchase at least 10% in tables lamps or accessories. If you don't push these two things you will be making minimum wage because this job is 100% commission based.

New owners and management over last year was the reason for my departure. Owners will do anything they can to save a few bucks at the expense of the employees. If you make even the slightest error during the ordering process they will take half your commission on that item.

There has also been a lot of "misunderstandings" in the past year between sales staff and management. A lot of your pay is based on sales bonuses for completing in homes and reaching your warranty percentages. One thing they are hesitant to tell you though is you have to reach your monthly sales target to get your in home bonus which for 95% of the company is unreachable.

the leading brand for reclining chairs, faces challenges due to mismanagement. This mismanagement creates frustration for salespeople, double standards or biases within store
management. Ethics and pertormance aren't priorities; instead being their favourite list is crucial for survival.
This practice makes jobs more difficult without clear justification. Lying or ignoring help is their preferred response to non-preferred members. Furthermore, they hire friends on the sales floor who speak their own language, further unprofessionalizing the environment.
These unprofessional and unethical managers are damaging positive culture and demoralizing pertormance. Real talent lacks job security. Managers and district managers can arbitrarily take sales away without a valid reason if they're not on the preferred list. Without notice!While there's no policy for the preferred list. The workplace harassment policy is ineffective in this environment.

What is the best part of working at the company?
If you like to sit and do nothing waiting for customers to walk in and twiddle your thumb !

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not much to show for ! Their furniture is big, bulky and ugly , only made for big American people and
Household . Don’t have furniture for everyone’s life style !

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic, non supportive, financially don’t make any sense . 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Give a lot get none . Check in , start cleaning your assign section, call customer hound them to come in or close a deal if you’re lucky enough to have clients that you’ve worked on . Wait for your turn to get a customer. Deal with manager, call answers throughout the day , do everything as a customer service representative cause most stores don’t have a customer service rep .

Store manager maintain a system that prioritizes followers. There is no real support for personal development. Manager will make your work life miserable if you are not in his gang. District manager and HR are also involved in this process, often failing to respond when needed. Loyalty, job performance and sales figures are irrelevant; employees can be terminated unlawfully without a valid reason. This system is reminiscent of a dictatorship.Very unfortunate when you see manager inventing false situation to punish you or take away sale for their favourites. No consequences or support from HR. It’s could be great work place for the real talent, great products  but below standard management & culture damaging the brand image. 
 Awful poor Management. Unprofessional & backdated. They try to pride themselves on workplace culture but it's the farthest place from a happy work environment .

Customer service isn't for everyone. Mix that in with the stress of sales and retail and you have LZB. It's a great place to work if you enjoy the challenge of highs some days accompanied by some lows.

LZB Kingston is owned and ran by its head office in Ottawa making some direction from head office difficult for employees. Lack of clear communication and expectations was always an issue.

Day to day tasks were easy and manageable. Assist customers, manage accounts and notes, cash handling, some inventory. 

Hardest part of the job: would be trying de-escalating customers over issues you had no control over (example: delivery not happening, weather event, item not shipped on time). 
Best part of the job: happy customers, the one's who are polite, smile, and understand you are human and trying your best.

The work environment in the  store is quite good, the team was amazing! You are however given unrealistic targets, with a company that is unwilling to adapt to modern sales techniques they are being left behind, there is so much potential but change does not happen.  Traffic has consistently fallen year after year yet monthly targets go up from 10%-46% over previous years.  They make it very difficult to do business from the customer perspective. There are virtually no benefits, you pay nearly $900 a year in premiums and receive a max of $1000 in reimbursement.  

Although the team was close, management was quite negative and would literally bully staff about things out of their control.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Design consultant 8 salaries reported	$70,000 per year
Sales associate 6 salaries reported	$73,333 per year
Retail sales associate 4 salaries reported	$55,000 per year
Truck driver 6 salaries reported	$19.58 per hour
Delivery driver 2 salaries reported	$24.25 per hour

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