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US Cellular Employees Take Large Paycut!!!!!!!!!!

usccblood

Dec 1, 2010, 7:49 PM
Just announced minutes ago, a change in commissions has caused an uproar within the company. Every employee took a hit with the new belief plan as they are no longer paid for phones sold to customers already on the belief plan. Now an additional pay-cut comes just before the Christmas holidays. US Cellular employees are now no longer paid for, nor receive credit for customers that are on old plans. Employees are now only paid to switch customers over to the new belief plans, and paid for new customers. Even new customers don't pay that well as employees make only $9 to $21 per customer as apposed to the previous plan where they made over $100 in some cases for accounts. Unfortunately US Cellular has not added the amount of customers that the...
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unhappyemployee

Dec 1, 2010, 8:46 PM
I am a U.S. Cellular employee and everything you have said is true. The pay is tanking and I am currently looking for a new job. They say that this "Belief Project" is going to make us so much more money, but apparently it's only making the company money by charging current customers more money by giving them a false sense of "value", and screwing their employees by cutting their paychecks in half (in some cases more). Now I know that you're going to get a bunch of koolaid drinking employees bashing you for posting this, but hear it from the horses mouth the belief project in my opinion is just a way to up current customers bills and lower employees paychecks. ☚ī¸
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carthian

Dec 7, 2010, 2:11 AM
I agree!!! we are extensively told to sell the value and not the price. well in my region people are very dollar conscious, as soon as they hear will be $10 or $20 more a month they back up. and is understandable, i would back up as well. i can care less about the poins. This is a morale demeanor now i don't even want to be as much in the floor anymore and i don't feel like helping customers as much. I bet executives still get their juicy bonuses quarterly. I also think Mary Dillon CEO wants to make it MC Donalds style. cheap employees and quick service, out the door and next. just wait 2 to 3 years and you will see Walmart style employees at US Cellular, it will be a joke!!!. by the way you want fries with that?
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yourpowellben

Jan 11, 2011, 10:36 AM
What really makes me sick is that the only people on here complaining is the ones that work for US Cellular. The job market is tough and you knew what you were getting into when you started working for this company oh well if your going to make 55,000 this year instead of 60,000. As far as explaining the value thats where your job comes in maybe if your a better salesperson you wont see this cut.

US Cellular has always been about helping customers and WoW stories so maybe the you just got to comfortable with working not selling.

Agent Employee
ben
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maxymax

Jan 24, 2011, 8:19 PM
People have every right to "complain" when their pay is being diminished only for the corporation to keep that money in the hands of a few executives. These employees aren't sheep. Happy employees make good employees. Low morale is hard to put a dollar price on. Your talk of wow stories and helping customers may be the US Cellular of old. A new CEO has come in and changed things up. Things aren't the way they were and you should know that with the change in the CEO. Employees realize that the company is charging more for their new plans, so naturally one would think with an increase in revenue, it would filter down to the salespeople. Instead the exact opposite is happening. Higher priced plans in which the company pockets that extra...
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geoslay53

Dec 1, 2010, 10:28 PM
I agree on the paycut. And dont blame you for leaving the company. I work at a agent. And the pay is good and commissions is good as well.

One thing to know about. Is that all carriers are in the same boat for pay. The economy is not doing well. So, it going to be bad no matter where you go. Do whats best for you.

Last, thing. The weekend sales was failure for all carriers. My girlfriend work for verizon corp. And didnt make %50 of her comm. If you dont make %50 of goal. No commissions! That sucks!!!! I feel bad for her.

I hope they make changes to the plans and see whats going on with the customer and employees.

Take care usccblood!!
😁
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erikpkp

Dec 2, 2010, 12:02 PM
Yes everything you posted is correct. The $9-$21 scale has been in place since I began with the company. But with the removal of the "renewals" not only will the goals be lower but the scale will actually increase on the amount of new lines done, both pre pay and original contract and you also still get paid on the migrations.

Now where the extra money that adds into that overall sale comes with the add on features, so for example 2 renewals with data add on could be 78 or it could be $102 depending on where you are at for the monthly goal. Granted the scale is retro for the entire month it just depends on where you are.

So you still can have an account thats on a belief plan and if the upgrade equpt as in data phone you still...
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This_Troper

Dec 2, 2010, 11:53 PM
Are you the USCC Morale department, or PR?
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Bad_Majick

Dec 3, 2010, 12:01 AM
either he's a sales manager and has said the same thing to his associates or its what their sales manager said "funds allocated" yeah...its crap BUT us cellular had to make changes when your not growing or competing (keeping up) you can't pay your employees like everything is great.
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tastesfunny85

Dec 3, 2010, 2:28 PM
i've been on the uscellular band wagon for a long time but even i can't justify that much of a pay cut. erik maybe its time to stop drinking the kool aid and realize that even us cellular can make mistakes. basing anyhting off of what at&t has done should be your first sign something is wrong.
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erikpkp

Dec 3, 2010, 3:13 PM
I will say that I am upset at the changes because it does take part of the commission away that tends to generate traffic in the store.

Consider this though, my location and being an rwc we do not do that many renewals. So the loss of the renewal is not that big for me and the location that I work in, for other stores that do a lot of renewals it will have a larger effect. Now with the funds being moved around not taken away like other companys I wont have as high of a goal and get paid the same if not more based on the goal and where I am to goal.

Ironically the removal of renewals helps me personally because I typically do more new adds then renewals. So with a lower goal and higher payout It works for me.

Believe me i hate t...
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This_Troper

Dec 3, 2010, 6:18 PM
The reps have got plenty of time to find new jobs.
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thatcellguy

Dec 5, 2010, 4:30 PM
I've been employed with US Cellular for almost 7 years, and while i would never say i drank the kool aid, i've always enjoyed working for the company. But lately it seems like all thats being done is expecting more work for less pay. I'm expected not only to help the customers in my store but also i have to maintain my customer contact lists and now have to report to my manager regularly on how to drive more buisness into the store, and taking flyers to area buisnesses to try and pursuade them to hand them out for us. This would all be fine if we had something to offer. Our black friday sale was a joke and while beneficial to some the belief project isn't the amazing industry changing buisness strategy our leadership led us to believe la...
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carthian

Dec 7, 2010, 1:55 AM
I agree with you. I used to be proud to work at US Cellular now is a drag... I believe is an engineered strategy to lower the pay and put our attention somewhere else so we don't complaint and they will be some purging in the process as well. and when a lot of people quit they they will hire teenagers as sales consultants which will be more than happy to get crap commission and their $10/h. Good times at USC are gone. it has been a steeping stone downwards with pay. 1. outperform erros (oops our contractor says is trying to fix it) 2. 50% less for renewals 3. eliminations of renewals.

So the next step i bet you would be just for new lines and then just be hourly. I am disappointed at USC
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Cellular Phone

Dec 29, 2010, 8:59 AM
Is the new American way. Unfortunately, employers got us all backed into a corner there...
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5thgraderocks

Dec 30, 2010, 3:52 AM
Wow! No wonder I've been standing in line at "customer no service stores" in Appleton for the past two months. I just emailed US Cellular to get answers no one had time (or cared enough) to check for me. VERIZON ... belief plan or not ... twelve years with US Cellular is enough. In case folks at USC haven't noticed, many of us are in the SAME BOAT. More work for less pay applies to your customers, too. When we stand and wait to see a customer rep for over an hour ... and then learn that the phone we want has been out of stock for days is not the way to build loyalty.
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carthian

Dec 7, 2010, 2:21 AM
I can't believe we will not be paid for renewals. đŸ‘ŋ is cheaper to keep an excising customer than have a new one. therefore there should be commission (business 101).
Also money is a powerful incentive, if you take the money away, I will care less about going above and beyond. You don't have enough poins well talk to the manager and leave me alone, or use your insurance.
this new CEO dillon is going to kill the company, I don't trust her and until the executives see that US Cellular will be for sale for another major carrier, I bet she is getting paid big bucks to slowly bring down USC and no one can see it until the end. First lower morale of front line associates, second increase prices, third lower customer service(reaction from ...
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Bad_Majick

Dec 2, 2010, 11:45 PM
It was only a matter of time uscc changed their commission structure when no other carrier pays like that. Us Cellular is slow to get new phones and real change including how they paid their sales people. I worked there from 2004-2008 money was WAY to easy I thought well prior to 2004 the comp plan was even better there were sales reps making 120k a year full time then they started making 50-60k and quit but had people like me come in all excited to make that and thought it was just great even though everyone around me complained. Employees eventually got replaced because they quit by people who were excited again. This is going to happen once again at uscc customer are going to see changing faces and the company is ok with that they wer...
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carthian

Dec 7, 2010, 1:42 AM
yep i guess that would be the DO, if they don't like it you can quit. why don't they start with the executive bonuses for pay cuts instead of our commissions. I used to have great energy before, now i feel like doing my bare minimum to stay afloat, I pretty much just make my Floor this month. the DO is a betrayal to our loyal frontline associates.
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phonenerd24

Dec 7, 2010, 11:08 PM
i have been a rwc for a few years and work in a large market and me as well as all my fellow rwc's are all looking for new jobs.. Mary Dillon you are a winch. i have lost all faith with this company.
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Vosim

Dec 2, 2011, 6:25 PM
If she were a winch, you could use her to do some useful work. Like hauling a car out of mud. Maybe you're thinking of "wench?"
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maxymax

Dec 9, 2010, 1:28 AM
I totally agree with everything you said. US Cellular is going to increase their revenue by cutting commissions to their employees. The sales people that were making a big time commission will quit and they will be replaced by kids fresh out of high school who will jump at the chance to make half what some of these salespeople made. It's part of their plan. What can you do? Quit or accept the pay cut. In a bad economy, a company can call all the shots like they're doing. I'm not sure what the long term plan is. Maybe they will sell out when they get their revenue boosted to an attractive level. Maybe they will add the customers they need. It's not really looking that way so far. But the bottom line is USCC is bundling features so t...
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jschmo76

Dec 10, 2010, 3:52 PM
Ok - From what I'm getting out of this...

USCC is basically attempting to have associates own their own business. They are challenging their associates to earn business rather than settle for "renewing" customers that arent leaving anyways. So people who are complaining are the ones whom now realize they might actually have to work a little bit? This is confusing.. it is a sales organization, right? Have any of you actually worked for another commmissionable company? I do, and you dont get paid unless you sale..

Sounds to me like a bunch of "upset" associates are throwing a fit because they will now have to earn business. Maybe sales wasnt the place for you in the first place...

Whining, spoiled uscc associates complaining...
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yourvoiceofreason

Dec 13, 2010, 12:22 AM
Not a USCC employee or customer or potential customer, but I find your theory highly unlikely.

Which sounds like more of what may have happened? USCC higher ups had a meeting one day and said:

a. I think we want our employees to act like this is their own businesses. So guess what, we are going to take away renewal pay. (Even though all small and large businesses recognize the value of repeat customers and customer loyalty, and therefore try hard for their repeat business. Also everyone is aware that reduce in renewal pay can directly affect the employees' efforts to retain the customers)

or

b. Sales aren't going exactly as we planned. In order to meet the financial goals we set out, we can no longer pay out x amount of dolla...
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jschmo76

Dec 13, 2010, 2:44 PM
I think your right to an extent..

Obviously some things needed to change, or they would'nt have released the Belief Project.

You emphasized customer loyalty.. hense belief rewards for the customer. Loyalty is for the customer, not the associate however Associates do get paid a quartely bonus to be compensated for "churn" (customers retained) or so it states in its stockholder agreements. If that is so, then motivation is still there b/c they still get bonuses based of it. What that looks like I have no idea, the amount I'm sure would cause another debate if anyone shares that information.

Its a cut throat world in wireless, Everyday I get calls from about every other carrier trying to get me to switch over. So, maybe your ri...
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yourvoiceofreason

Dec 13, 2010, 3:31 PM
You are right, that in order for USCC employees to make it, they will have to earn it. This will require for them to try even harder or to gain new lines. It may take some time for some to get over the new commission structure. But I am sure some may be ok (not sure about everyone though)
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tastesfunny85

Dec 13, 2010, 4:41 PM
sales employees do not recieve bonus's because we get paid commision.
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Canuck77

Dec 12, 2010, 8:37 AM
I think everyone should be thankful they have a JOB!!! So many people have lost their homes, cars etc So yes it sucks when someone loses pay HOWEVER perhaps you should work harder? Try to see what YOU can do to make the situation better, all YOU have to do is WORK and you will make the money, I am in same position and I am fully aware of the changes, you are NOT living the D.O. by coming on here and airing your dirty laundry for other associates and CUSTOMERS to see. The one's who complain are usually the "Slackers" who do the bare minimum so stop being lazy. Seriously stop crying about it and MAKE IT HAPPEN! You could be jobless as well as homeless.
Be thankful, alot of us are! Best wishes to everyone. 😲
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unhappyemployee

Dec 12, 2010, 11:34 AM
You've had entirely too much Kool-Aid. I'm not worried about the D.O. I'm worried about bills. You're right I could be homeless, and if they don't quit taking money from us I will be.
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Amarantamin

Dec 12, 2010, 9:36 PM
If the employees are homeless, they can safely quit the job with nothing to lose. Maybe to go work for a carrier that does pay better.

Truly though, as long as companies keep competing for lower prices, the employees are going to be hurt by it. The heads of company don't see a need to cut their own checks to make up for low-priced plans, so having a cheap and expendable customer service team is ideal from their standpoint.
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Azeron

Dec 12, 2010, 7:45 PM
What an offensive post. So if you get mugged do you say, "At least he didn't take my life." Seriously? Work harder. Those are your words of wisdom?
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yourvoiceofreason

Dec 13, 2010, 12:09 AM
I am not a USCC employee; so I am not affected. But I believe people should show some empathy. To expect someone who takes an involuntary paycut, not to be upset, is crazy and unrealistic. Why criticize a person for reacting a way, you well know, is realistic and natural? Of course things could always be worst, such as being out of a job or homeless. However, that does not mean the person's current situation isnt bad at the time and hard to deal with.

There may be some who were barely making it financially, who will be affected harshly by this paycut. Others may still be ok. Regardless, nobody is happy when things like that happen.

To say a person is lazy, because they are upset they have to work harder, to not even make as much a...
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carthian

Dec 13, 2010, 2:27 AM
Thank you for your empathy. I felt so lucky to work for this company and proud but lately the structure has changed dramatically hurting employees. I used to have drive and motivation, but now i don't even want to go to work knowing that i will just be making my $11.20/h plus one or two lines a week if I am lucky so that is like $20 bucks only. I used to have $2k commissions now will be below 1k ☚ī¸ in a good month. I even purchased stock putting my faith back into the company, đŸ˜ĸ now i will be cashing those out and take my money somewhere else. Is a betrayal đŸ‘ŋ to do this just in the holidays. I know i will be working on my resume on January to find 🙄 something better.
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thatcellguy

Dec 13, 2010, 10:17 AM
To assume anyone is lazy because they speak their mind on a subject is plain idiotic. And for to long have i heard that speaking your piece and letting people know whats going on is un dynamic. If US Cellular really is the company they say they are then it shouldn't matter to them who knows what. We aren't leaking info on sales or giving out sensetive info.

I love when new employees come on these forums all full of piss and vinegar preaching the D.O.. I have no problem getting new lines however there will never be enough new lines to counter the pay cut of having no renewals.
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jschmo76

Dec 13, 2010, 2:38 PM
Lots of interesting discussions, and opinions. I do agree it is disheartening when commission is adjusted, that is the lifeline of any sales employee. Statement was not to be insensitive or to judge any single circumstances with anyone.
Like I stated before, I am not a USCC employee, but I do work in sales and the point still remains that it is a sales organization. It takes more work to bring in business than to "renew" service for anyone. From what I'm reading about the belief project, the associates dont have to do squat to implement any strategy to retain customers, USCC has already done that for them. So, why should they get rewarded for doing something that a trained "chimp" can do (If I offended someone I apologize, just str...
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tastesfunny85

Dec 13, 2010, 5:27 PM
The company has done nothing if not making retention harder for us to do. We already don't get any payout when selling phones to already migrated customers but now when someone stays with their plan after spending 20 mins explaining the belief project to them we don't get paid either.

The point is our job is to make US Cellular money but US Cellular hasn't given us much to sell. Subpar phones and More expensive plans don't exactly cut it in this industry. Expecting us to gain new buisness when we aren't paid for retaining them doesn't build very good morale. You have to understand that the average associate may get 20 to 30 new lines a month but could get two to three times that many renewals. add on a couple of smartphone or texti...
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phonenerd24

Dec 15, 2010, 2:17 AM
this is a hard pressed issue because of the workload that we have to do without getting paid any kind of commission on. my opinion is they are doing this so they can get the rwc's that make alot of money to quit so they can hire some idiots that have no experience to take our place and be happy with the pay.

remember we have miss "im lovin it" in control and you see the people that work at that company (no offense).

(refreshing my Resume as we speak)

i was a believer, and after numerous years... the D.O just gave me a big middle finger...
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carthian

Dec 19, 2010, 11:56 PM
that is exactly what is happening I agree 100%, don't expect mary to implement a breakthrough plan for us to win, she is bringing big corporate results demanding hungry to US Cellular and hurt associates. this is the beginning, soon we will see layoffs, more pay cuts. more high school kids being hired with crap pay. that is one of the strategies of mc Donald's. look at their employees they get paid crap, soon we will look like that. the DO is a disappointment.
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Joshiwa

Dec 22, 2010, 3:39 PM
You both are lame. We work in an enviorment of change. Change in our responsibilities, our learning, phone platforms, even commission. There is still the same amount of $ put aside for sales commission as before, but now the $ is just being given out for different things.

If you guys can not evolve with an ever changing job then maybe you should take the mediocrity somewhere else.
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Azeron

Dec 15, 2010, 5:49 AM
When someone says: "With all due respect..." Prepare to be disrespected. If they say: "No offense..." They are likely about to say something offensive.
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Joshiwa

Dec 15, 2010, 10:45 AM
There is always new lines. We are the 5th largest carrier in the nation. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and Tmobile have an easy 200mil (most likely much more) customers right now. And you say there are not enough new lines to get? What are you smoking? I come from a store that has 60-70% of commission from renewals yet I have been making more $ the past 2 months than ever before with our new commission structure. And while it sucks we are not getting anything for renewals, that $ that the company set aside for renewal commission is now being put into new line commission.

Do some extra work, make some cold calls, ask for referrals, advertise to your friends and earn your new lines. You will be suprised at your commission when you do.
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Da_Bonehead

Dec 15, 2010, 12:51 PM
Joshiwa said:
There is always new lines. We are the 5th largest carrier in the nation. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and Tmobile have an easy 200mil (most likely much more) customers right now. And you say there are not enough new lines to get? What are you smoking? I come from a store that has 60-70% of commission from renewals yet I have been making more $ the past 2 months than ever before with our new commission structure. And while it sucks we are not getting anything for renewals, that $ that the company set aside for renewal commission is now being put into new line commission.

Do some extra work, make some cold calls, ask for referrals, advertise to your friends and earn your new lines. You will be suprised at your co
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maxymax

Dec 22, 2010, 4:59 PM
Yes, work harder and make less. Stop complaining and accept you pay cut. đŸ˜ŗ
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Joshiwa

Dec 28, 2010, 2:38 PM
If you are unhappy with your compensation I'm sure there is roughly 9.8% of the population that would be there to work for you.
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HeCellsCellPhones

Dec 28, 2010, 5:17 PM
And What position do you hold with the company?????? How long have you worked there?
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Joshiwa

Dec 30, 2010, 7:03 PM
RWC for 3 1/2 years.

Side note: If you are an employee and are unhappy then please go to your leader. Look at the business model we hold, your as the associate are a vital part to the company's success. If you never talk with your leader nothing will happen, and while one person unhappy may not change anything, if many associates step forward across the company then something very well may happen.

Alright, so I told you my position and time at USCC. May I get your answers as well to that?
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disater112

Jan 4, 2011, 1:22 AM
For most employees the changes are huge paycut. Of course there are exceptions, but for the most part if you do the math it is a paycut.
Example: Existing customer renews and gets another Smart-Phone switching from Blackberry to Android.

Old Plan: 1 count towards goal and some $ for the sale plus $ cost for data plan ($30) = Min payout $30 most likely higher with the goal count plus hourly wage.

New Plan: hourly wage.

The main guess is that the loyalty renewals (frenewals) that RWCs do for smart-phones on existing packages they will get a $5 or $10 spiff.

No official word if this is true, but with the high amount of employees who have taken and the unoffical comments by some of the Sales Operations teams I am confident that some...
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Da_Bonehead

Jan 4, 2011, 5:00 PM
The idea on the commission structure change is that the strategy is growth one and it is to push people to get new customers instead of relying on renewals. Since with the belief project there are no more "renewals" then why should someone be paid for them.
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unhappyemployee

Jan 4, 2011, 5:24 PM
Because we are still "selling" those customers as well! How about this I could care less if a customer renews or goes to verizon tmobile or whoever else they want because it isn't worth my time spending 30 minutes to an hour of my day explaining new phones to a customer that I am 1st not making money off of, and 2nd not helping meet my goal. So you tell me where's the "Loyalty"? New customers are going to get treated a lot better while current customers are going to get pushed out the door without a care. So that's my 2 cents. The company is in it for big bonuses for their CEO's and presidents and that employee satisfaction = customer satisfaction is a load. đŸ‘ŋ
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HeCellsCellPhones

Jan 5, 2011, 9:13 AM
đŸ¤Ŗ đŸ¤Ŗ đŸ¤Ŗ đŸ¤Ŗ đŸ¤Ŗ đŸ¤Ŗ

What I think is funny is when they change the prices on accesories and we get an email telling us to change the regular Micro USB car chargers from $19.99 to $21.99 and told that this will earn the company $2 extra per charger sold and give us a RAISE 😲 of .70cent per charger that we sell. đŸ˜ŗ (Crickets Chirping in background).................................. ..SERIOUSLY?????????? Its all about the company now. They should pay for renewals still. Just because the customer doesnt technically renew, He/She still decide to stay with us and purchase a new phone. They really fed us some BS and all those Belief Project trainings on how much more commission we were gonna be making. HAHAHA. Sure I BE...
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Joshiwa

Jan 6, 2011, 5:01 PM
You guys make some valid points on the commission structure. Thinking about it more I agree with some of them. Maybe I will care more when I am making less $ but for right now I'm good.

To those this new structure is negatively affecting I say talk to your leaders, try to get your voice heard. If hundreds of employees speak up then it will be heard, though if only a handful are talking about it in a forum then it gets nowhere.

Best of luck to my fellow associates.
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elemeno

Apr 7, 2011, 10:22 PM
I find all of this very amusing. All of the exhortions to "work harder" and "stop complaining" don't seem to take into account the fact that store traffic is dying, the phones *still* suck, the plans are more expensive, the plan options are absurdly limited, and everything else that goes into making USCC a subpar carrier.

Retail has to take the hit on this one because the company is pinching revenue. I heard about someone being charged a $45 early upgrade fee because they really needed a phone 3 days earlier than their date. I also heard about somone actually hitting quota (which NO ONE is doing), and they still made less than their guarantee. So when you can actually perform at the level that the company expects, yet your money continue...
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christleruby

Jan 5, 2011, 9:10 PM
i'm thankfulto have a job, but its true that the proof is in the pudding. i've worked harder since the transition and i've gotten more sales than i ever have working with the company for 1.5 years and i am making less than half of what i used to make. its a shame.
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yourvoiceofreason

Jan 6, 2011, 9:30 AM
But according to some on this forum, you are lazy and ungrateful of having a job, which is ridiculous.

Anyway, I do have a question for the USCC associates:

When you first got word of the Belief Project and some of its details (i.e. 1 and done contracts and bundling of plans and features), knowing the way you were payed commission, how did you not think that was going to mean a cut in commissions? (For example, one and done contracts would mean no renewals, which would mean no commission on renewals) It seems to me that so many were so excited at first and buying in to the company's hype, and blind to what was obviously going to happen to commissions. And I'll expand the question: If you been an associate for USCC for a long time, h...
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christleruby

Jan 6, 2011, 11:12 AM
i think that we believed our managers, managers that were harvested during the true DO time. they told us about new bonus structures and migrations - a ton of new ways to make money, sales associates were just so busy with working hard as usual and also attending a thousand meetings to prep for the change that we were told it was a time to be excited and to be positive, trust our leaders.and in defense of my leaders, i believe that they believed all the hype too, so they were really only being honest. its really been a pleasure till now to work for this company and i am still holding out hope for yet another change to retain employees, but god only knows i guess.
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yourvoiceofreason

Jan 6, 2011, 6:22 PM
Ok I can understand that. Thanks for your honest response.
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disater112

Jan 11, 2011, 1:28 PM
A lot of us did believe just like the previous associate said, and they did do a lot of right things like offering a guaranteed minimum based upon your previous 3 months of sales.

But now the company has just gotten crazy with leaders denying that there is a cut in commissions even when you do the math and show them.

Worse, they are now demanding that on your off time you begin talking to everyone you know about USCC and offer "suggestions" for things to put in your Facebook/Twitter.

The company is crossing all kinds of work/life lines and its becoming horrible to work there.
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maxymax

Jan 24, 2011, 7:55 PM
If you do work during your off time, make sure you put it down in your schedule so you get paid. You can't work for free. It's against the law. If you work 1 hour on your day off trying to drum up sales, you must be paid for that time. As an hourly employee, they have to pay you by law.
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tmorep03

Jan 25, 2011, 8:24 AM
Dont worry i work in the sales department for tmobile and its hard to get commissions over 250 dollars, but we have the people that sit that make sure were autoed in taking calls or just listening to calls, making commissions over 300 a paycheck without ever taking a single phone call.
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Bad_Majick

Feb 3, 2011, 12:16 AM
they are not talking about telesales/customer service pay they are referring to the drastic decrease in front line retail wireless consultant pay the face of the company.
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lil.boo.2008

Jan 13, 2011, 11:19 AM
I currently work for US Cellular. I am a single mom with a 7 month old daughter. I am very upset about the pay cut because I live on my own and I take full care of my daughter all on my own. This pay cut has made me want to look for a different job maybe even switch to a different provider. I can't afford this pay cut and i think its crap how us cellular is taking away our pay for current customers. they want us to gain and retain customers well whats our incentive to keep our customers. i understand that they want us to gain new customers every company does. my passion for my job has gone down a lot. i don't want to come to work. i use love my job but thats changed a lot. i no longer look forward going into work. i am currently thinking abo...
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yourvoiceofreason

Jan 13, 2011, 12:28 PM
I am really sorry that you all have been affected this way about this change. Do you feel there is a chance they will change commissions for the better? Or are they too blind (or unwilling to admit) to the negative effects, that they will refuse to listen to the associates, and get rid of "bad apples"?
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rippedsack89

Jan 13, 2011, 3:35 PM
as an ex employee i feel confident in saying that this crap didnt happen untill mclady of hell took over and now all of the sudden a company i used to love working for because there wasnt much of the whole corporate bureaucratic bs... s*&t always rolled downhill but jack made sure only the little stuff fell. i mean lets face it there will always be some but jack held everything together and the one fear every employee had when he left is now coming true. the DO is still "there" but it doesnt mean what it used to. and to all employees who want to quit .... DO IT .... maybe then they will get the hint but be smart have another job lined up before hand
i made that mistake and just now getting back on my feet
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disater112

Jan 16, 2011, 10:53 AM
I can tell you that the higher ups in the company do not care whether employees are happy with the new commission structure.

I recently had a conversation with my ASM (Area Sales Manager) about employee commissions (I am a Sales Manager and not commission based but bonus based. The conversation went like this,

ASM: I don't care if they like the commission plans, I want to make sure they understand them.

Me: They understand them, and that is why they don't like them.

ASM: I know its tough, but its not a reduction in pay if you really look at it, and they should be happy to have jobs in this economy.


These conversations are so that the higher ups get to know who is unhappy with the comp plans, and then those people get a micr...
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Joshiwa

Jan 17, 2011, 12:17 PM
This is disturbing to hear. I am going to talk with my sales leader about this. Any other sales leaders have a similar experience.
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Burge97

Jan 25, 2011, 1:46 PM
I worked for US Cellular back from 05-07, when we did the switch to the 'wide area' plans... I have worked in different sales organizations as well as non sales organizations doing sales since. Here's a few comments.

1) Yes, you are getting a pay cut.

Make no doubt about it, you are getting a pay cut. We got the same pay cut back then when they decided to stop counting prepaid as an activation. Again, when they decided to stop giving credit for adding insurance.

2) You shouldn't be surprised.

I'm reminded of every other technology sales I've ever been in. When cell phones first were sold, sales reps were all B2B and grossed typically over 500k. Now, since its residential, and even moving into big box stores (like best ...
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yourvoiceofreason

Jan 25, 2011, 4:33 PM
I appreciate your insight. You articulated yourself pretty well. I am always curious to see how USCC employees feel about the latest changes, as well as the D.O.
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SellyCell

Jan 26, 2011, 9:21 AM
The D.O. is a crock of ****. They like to tell you that you can go to any manager with any issue but thats not true. I went to an ASM outside of my market and I had to answer why i did that. Mary Dillon was brought on to cut frontline costs and still be profitable for their shareholders.
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xcellman

Jan 26, 2011, 12:56 PM
The DO is a weapon that they use to weed out people that don't fully agree on issues. Disagree with a policy change or new service and you will hear "that's not being OPEN to change" or any of the other DO values or beliefs that they want to use to get you out of the house. The DO should (as it used to be) protect employees.
Granted sometimes a person cannot be protected, but in most of the instances that I witnessed a person being fired it started as a disagreement between the manager and the employee and escalated.
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Joshiwa

Feb 2, 2011, 1:14 PM
So good news for all those struggling with the new commission structure. I'm sure you've heard already but the company is giving us a floor for commission payout. Essentially if you don't hit the floor commission mark you automatically get paid the floor $ amount. Just another way to show the company is looking out for the employees.

Cheers all.
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HeCellsCellPhones

Mar 8, 2011, 9:24 AM
And for all of those who work for an agent location this could happen for you too!!!!! BUT WILL NOT.....Because nobody is willing to stand up and threaten to do a massive walk out or strike such as Retail Employees did. They decided to offer the floor plan because they had sooo many employees threatening to quit or strike thay had to come up with something. The very LEAST they can make is $1200/month Commission. Wanna make this happen for you agent locations. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

"You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action." Tony Robbins

"The path to success is to take massive, determined action." Tony Robbins
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Joshiwa

Mar 9, 2011, 6:01 PM
When do agent and corporate stores ever have the same commission structure? I'm sure Verizon, Sprint and AT&T don't pay the agent partners the same as the corporate store employees. As of right now we don't know what kind of loss (if any) an agent associate has taken.
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HeCellsCellPhones

Mar 10, 2011, 10:39 AM
Wellllllllll......It Looks like someone loves them some koolaid!!!!!!!!!

*According to this post and previous posts by this person.
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Joshiwa

Mar 10, 2011, 12:09 PM
Just because I have stood up for my company doesn't mean I swallow everything they throw at me. While the company does do stuff to take care of its employees that doesn't mean I agree with everything they roll out.

There is nothing wrong with being passionate about the company you work for. I still believe in the way the company treats its customers and the products we offer. Am I thrilled about the new commission structure? In no way, but I will not sit and mope about things beyond my control. I will take action to drive and own my business results and focus on what is within my control.
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woody84

Sep 23, 2011, 4:06 PM
HeCellsCellPhones said:
And for all of those who work for an agent location this could happen for you too!!!!! BUT WILL NOT.....Because nobody is willing to stand up and threaten to do a massive walk out or strike such as Retail Employees did. They decided to offer the floor plan because they had sooo many employees threatening to quit or strike thay had to come up with something. The very LEAST they can make is $1200/month Commission. Wanna make this happen for you agent locations. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

"You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action." Tony Robbins

"The path to success is to take massive, determined action."
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nhkat2

Jul 5, 2011, 4:25 PM
I have been a customer with US Cellular for 11 years and was always happy until the belief programs came out. I chose to stay with my old plan and buy only used phones now. I have seen many of my favorite customer service people leave over the last year and it stinks!! They have the best connection for where I live but the plans SUCK!!
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speedracr226

Jul 5, 2011, 11:33 PM
nhkat2 said:
I have been a customer with US Cellular for 11 years and was always happy until the belief programs came out. I chose to stay with my old plan and buy only used phones now. I have seen many of my favorite customer service people leave over the last year and it stinks!! They have the best connection for where I live but the plans SUCK!!


Why do they suck?
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pegger651

Jul 24, 2011, 6:28 PM
The people in corporate stores do not undertake the same training as people that work in US Cellulars call centers. We have to undergo retraining almost weekly to keep up with all the perks and promotions, where the store personnel dont have that opportunity.
As far as pay goes, I work in a US Cellular call center and makes less than HALF of what the others do. in todays economy I am glad I have a job and am VERY PROUD to work for US Cellular. If US Cellular didnt care they wouldnt do the exhaustive retraining they do with us. I am an information specialist and believe me, I have EARNED that title. I know every company in the United States has asked their workers to sacrifice so they would stay afloat. I am willing to do my part. This pay ...
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disater112

Nov 23, 2011, 12:39 AM
lol Pegger, you've really believed their training hook, line, and sinker haven't you?

Information specialist, haha really? That's just like saying you don't have sales people you have consultants!

All these made up titles are just a way to string along the employees who believe...
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james_ryan_johns

Aug 11, 2011, 9:24 AM
Why would you only buy used phones unless you were just trying to stay out a contract? Even though you are on an old plan, you can still upgrade when you are eligible. USCC is not forcing people to move to the belief plan.
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McDaddyTree

Oct 5, 2011, 7:58 PM
I was looking into getting a job at USCC but this is slightly discouraging. What kind of pay does someone get working at USCC as a retail wireless consultant? Is all the pay based mainly on commissions? Just curious...
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disater112

Nov 23, 2011, 12:40 AM
It's hourly plus commission. For commission, you can make 3-4k a month some months, other months just a few hundred.
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retrowhitey

Nov 25, 2011, 11:55 PM
3-4k? Are you serious? WHATEVER! More like 800-1500. The upper end if you're lucky. Wireless hasn't paid 3-4k per month for years. đŸ¤Ŗ
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Joshiwa

Nov 26, 2011, 8:54 PM
Just because you are not making that doesn't mean other people haven't.
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retrowhitey

Nov 28, 2011, 8:56 PM
Listen the guy wanted to know about the pay. Just because you drink the Kool-Aid Mary Dillion puts down your throat doesn't mean you should make up fictitious figures about your paycheck. Am I saying that it's impossible to make 3-4k in a month? No (although with the belief project you probably have more of a chance of seeing a herd of wild unicorns), but to make it consistently or even pretend you make that consistently WHATEVER!
I've been in wireless for years. Nobody pays that anymore. Those days are over. Long gone.
I'm not saying that USCC is even a bad place to work. If you can convert to their ways it is a good job, however, you're not going to make 3-4k per month no matter how high traffic your store is.
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retrowhitey

Nov 28, 2011, 9:00 PM
Also just taking the middle ground of $3500 per month that's 42,000 per year! It's not going to happen. You may hit that 3-4k figure once in the year, but I wouldn't be on ever hitting that number, ever.
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drksyde

Nov 29, 2011, 2:58 PM
Most of my associates make 2-3k per month consistently.
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disater112

Nov 30, 2011, 8:20 AM
"Also just taking the middle ground of $3500 per month that's 42,000 per year! It's not going to happen. You may hit that 3-4k figure once in the year, but I wouldn't be on ever hitting that number, ever."

It's feasible if you hit your numbers. Last month I did very well, this month I didn't do as well but still decently.

Here's this month's rough breakdown.how it worked for me last month, and this month. Part-time quota of 15 new, hit 22. That ='s 22*46 = 1012. The rest is rough estimate from a few days ago. Features/Plus Plans =1200 , Accessories =120, Conversions = 400. Total = 2732.

There's store bonus numbers, all that junk too. It's possible to make decent money, but not as easy as before.
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Joshiwa

Nov 30, 2011, 4:49 PM
I got real close to that last year, and one of my buds makes more than sales managers and maybe better than store manages (over 50k). Hitting your numbers isn't impossible and the company does pay well for it.

There isn't any kool aid I'm drinking, just saying it is not impossible. Don't get defensive about it bro, this isn't anything to throw your arms in the air about.
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retrowhitey

Dec 3, 2011, 12:34 AM
I'm not saying its impossible to make 40k per year I'm saying its impossible to make 40k per year o n just commission which is what he's claiming. 40k is about average, maybe just above, for cell phone sales but not salary plus 40k commission. Especially not at uscc with the belief project.
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maxymax

Dec 3, 2011, 1:05 AM
You are correct. Nobody in retail sales at USCC makes $40K a year in commissions alone. Maybe in yearly salary plus commissions then yes, $40 to $50K, but not commissions alone. There was a time when outside sales people could make $100 a year in just commissions, but those days are many, many years ago. Realistically, figure on making between $1,000 to $1,800 a month in commissions.
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disater112

Nov 26, 2011, 11:08 PM
"3-4k? Are you serious? WHATEVER! More like 800-1500. The upper end if you're lucky. Wireless hasn't paid 3-4k per month for years. "

Depends where you are, I'm at a high volume store so you can make that much if you get a good month and hit 115% + a bunch of belief plan conversions and data upsells.

On the other it is luck, i'm doing nothing different this month and I'm at 1500.
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