Retail Sales Associate | Dillon, CO | Jan 30, 2016
Interesting business model, sells services that aren't really needed, at least in my service area
For starters, their hiring strategy is misleading at best. I applied online for a job at Kroger. I get a call from Acosta, saying that they have accepted my application, and they ask when I can start. I foolishly assumed that Acosta was a clerical or hiring contractor, and that I would be employed at Kroger. No such luck. I meet with the boss at a store and am told that I will actually be working for Acosta and that I will be a merchandiser, calling on different stores.
At this point I was actually pretty excited at my luck. I was going to get to run a route, work in a variety of different stores, and get mileage reimbursement and drive time hours on top of it. Too good to be true, right? Yup. I start going through their online training course which was incomplete and very buggy, wouldn't even certify that I had completed like it was supposed to, had to take screen shots of everything and email them to my boss. As I worked my way through training, it became apparent that I had been lied to again. This was actually a sales and marketing job, and merchandising is what I would be doing in my free time.
Turns out my job is actually to sell extra product and displays to managers for upcoming promotions. Sounds legit, right? Until you realize that corporate decides what displays each store is gonna get, and they often send way more than the store can even get on the floor. They also automatically send extra product for promotions, usually more then the store can sell and it
ProsMake your own schedule, Variety in work environment (sorta, they are just different locations, same store chains), Lots of drive time with miles reimbursement and driving hours
ConsMediocre organization, Lack of product information, Horrible payroll and mileage reimbursement record keeping, Constant mind-numbing boredom, Not enough work to fill time quota
I thoroughly enjoy working merchandising jobs for Acosta. They're client portfolio boasts top brands, so clearly they are veterans in the industry. I've only ever had the best managers ("Talent Operations Partner" is their official title), and points-of-contact's, which makes all the difference at the end of the day. I especially appreciate being able to pick as few or as many accounts as suited my schedule. Creating perfect routes over several days is always simple. My only issue, which ultimately has proven to be the difference of being paid or not for a location that was in fact completed: they're BookedOut app. Each location requires GPS checkin, then a series of 25-35 brief questions that must be completed BBefore leaving each location. If you don't have perfect cell service, no access to wifi (which %95 of location have worst wifi or none), you're stuck on "loading" &/or must force close & repeat last question. Each location you're allotted 1-1.5hrs to do: app checkin, store manager checkin, locate as many of the 20-30 products on shelves needing restock, locate the restock in warehouse (you're actually suppose to request store staff to help with this, but I prefer to be greeted & not avoided on future visits) restock said products, take before & after photo's (all while trying to remember to enter each step into the app or confirm last submitted response uploaded so you can enter the next one), return any products we couldn't finish restocking, checkout w/staff, comple
ProsManagers, communication is appreciated instead of avoided, flexible schedule, help w/questions or concerns is near instantaneous regardless of time difference
ConsNo mileage reimbursement, no real room for advancement
A fun, easy job if you're into retail and are prepared to drive from place to place
My phone interview with Acosta was very smooth and simple and I was hired quickly afterward. The onboarding process was somewhat more problematic - the staff at the company gave mixed signals about who was supposed to help me complete the I-9 form, i.e. someone at the company or someone I know personally. The training process could've also been more thorough - when I first started working I was rather stuck about what exactly to do. But thankfully I had a very friendly manager who was welcoming of any questions and concerns I had.
Once I got the hang of the job, for the most part I enjoyed it because of the flexibility of the schedule - you can add and move your jobs around on it however you want and you're not required to appear at the exact time - and the overall simplicity of the work. It mostly involved restocking, but it also included setting up promotional materials and reporting which products are in stock or out of stock, among other things. In many cases you can be creative, which is an aspect I appreciated about the job.
One thing I would warn about is that you can expect the management to not be friendly towards you. There were more than a couple occasions where the store staff and management were absolutely nasty with me. Another thing I advise is to choose your projects carefully. If you look at the instructions and it seems like it's too complex for you to work on at the moment, it probably is. You're not always required to get all the way through a given p
ProsFlexibility and autonomy with schedule, simplicity of work, easy interview, ability to be creative
ConsOnboarding process had difficulties, project instructions can be unclear and complicated, store management can be difficult to deal with
Be Cautious - All Good to Begin with, Once you see the Underbelly, You will Want to Leave Once you Figure Out how the Game Works
Corporate Management is constantly changing and bending over to Mass Merchandiser setting rules and over extending themselves to be able to be liked by retail locations. Company has taken on tasks that would need a completely new division for the company, but continues to use the same number of employees and ways to continue to reduce employees each Thanksgiving and Christmas time frame. Company is owned by an investment company that buys companies and turns around and sells them off (Brookshire Heathaway - Warren Buffett), they look to cut everything possible even experienced employees that add to the bottom line.
Most managers don't understand the time it takes to complete tasks and expect things to be completed in less time than can be reasonably be expected. Corporate office asks that retail workers tell "white lies" about what they are actually doing for the products being represented, i.e. stocked a case of product when in fact the only thing that was done was actually touch the product on the shelf to be able to claim that the product was stocked. If manufacturers new what directive was actually being told to complete tasks, they would leave and find other representation. Most days were asked over 450 questions per store call and expected to be answered (not possible, and were asked to just answer based on prior store calls and some times guessing at the correct answer). Company put priority on larger companies products and less care for smaller companies. Re
ProsKnow your store schedule, route that is made up for you
ConsManagement, compensation, Company in general. The only ones making any money at this company are the top 3 people
Worst Job (lengthy because of the amount of issues)
So I recently was employed by this what you call “job”. I thought when I got hired I was going to last a good long while being that I already knew what I was doing. I shortly figured out, that was a big fat LIE. They let me, and two other people go by telling us over the phone. our boss’s boss gave us no real answer as to why we were being let go. Our boss and our immature supervisor, decided to lie to us telling us we would be going home from Wednesday to Friday for work, but they didn’t know what we were doing apparently. Well Wednesday comes and nobody is there to meet us or anything, that’s when we got the “call”. During this time on the team we had one girl in particular, who decided to tell everyone on the first day that she once killed a man and a bunch of other false stories. She always had cancer and then a day or two later she would be in remission. Not to mention her foul breath and body odor. She would stand outside of our job at each store and beg for money. Not forgetting she would use food stamps to buy her food then go ahead and put it in concur. And she would take full weeks of work off and every Friday since day one and put the days in for a full day. But when me or somebody else had a doctors app, nobody could go due to the fact that our boss was petty. Let me tell you that my supervisor looked like a 2007 skater boy. Pathetic and unprofessional if you ask me. He never once came to anyone and told anyone what needed done or anything. Plus the amount of dis
First let me say there is one star because there is not an option for zero. I started out on the reset crew. I worked for a man who was verbally abusive. He would scream and cuss and made several of the girls cry. This was always reported and nothing was done about it. I took the Retail Coverage position because I was told it was full time, more pay,car allowence, and better benefits. After I transferred over I was told it was none of those things. After the first year I sent an email asking how to get rid of my healthcare benefits and was told I needed to wait for open enrollment. At that time I cancelled them. For five months the money continued to be deducted from my paycheck. During this time I emailed back and forth with HR about this. I told them I was now on my Fiance's insurance and the HR person just continued to argue with me telling me that I was a liar because it would not be possible to be on my Fiance's insurance because we were not married or gay. Three years into the job I was in a car accident with my two young children. I emailed my boss and as usual with this company all I got was an "ok". I went out on FMLA/Disability and when it was time to return to work I requested that I return to the reset crew. I was working with the HR dept. for a a week while we looked for another position for me.They recieved my limited work form from my doctor and I got a phone call stating that they "forgot" that they had laid me off three months prior. Isn't that convienent. Th
ProsNone
ConsOnly pays 32 cents a mile while other companies pay around 45-50 no raises for anyone, does not matter how great a review you get.
You are a faceless field worker. Company does not take care of employees, when the work is done they are done with you.
I had a baby while employed and never received a congrats or welcome back from company. I thought that was pretty rotten. First workplace that I have ever experienced how cold a company operated employee relations. The real kicker was the end of my employment. I had a misfortune circumstance with a scheduled outpatient surgery that had gone wrong, I almost died and was in the hospital for two weeks and in ICU for four days. Not once did I receive a message or get well card from my company. The first day back from my medical leave they let me go during a conference call. Told me that my market was chosen to be part of a new test market and that my position is eliminated. They told I could reapply and I would have preference over other candidates. So when I did, I was told I was too late for a job posting (twice) and was told they had a candidate that was in the final process already, even though I was qualified and the job was still posted on the website. They also lost me in their system because they do not update anything. ( did i mention HR is useless, they do not have a real function there) My maiden name never got changed when I got married. I contacted them 3 times and different departments said they will fix. (did I mention no congrats for that either) When I got my w-2 for taxes, of course the name was still not corrected, 2 years later. What a horrible experience with the company. It is unfortunate, I liked my actual job, and it paid well, but I just did not exist e
ProsGreat pay and the usual benefits offered. Med, dent, vision, 401k, PTO, vaca, and other employee contributed offerings.
ConsNo job security, corporate is cold, HR is useless, you are just a faceless worker
Loved the stores I merchandised for, great people, happy to see you! Its a company trying to be cutting edge but has over engineered devices (handhelds and tablets) sounds good, but devices rarely worked correctly, required too much contact and time with tech to resolve. Pay was mostly prompt in the beginning, but as time wore on, so did the time waiting for checks, deposits and pay. Full time work is not available unless you are willing to travel constantly to store and venues in other states (500+ miles from home). A few stops were regular, but little to nothing in December and January. Possible to advance in company if you can hold out for a year or two at low wages, rush jobs, hit and run time allotments, and don't mind being in the field with ancient devices not working properly. I love the top tier brands they service, just wish there was more attention paid to OOS and replacing missing items more quickly. My manager was a peach, but not much help in training, or improvements, but always got paid eventually. I learned that while new technology can add a great deal to servicing clients, over designed and over engineered technology can leave one wishing for a pen and paper, just to get it done! Co-workers, when I had help or I assisted others, was fun and frantic paced. Lots of energy, but also lots of frustration being vented. The food branding side seemed to be a little less frustrating than the GM side. Not sure why, just what I noticed. What I learned was to
ProsTop tier brands and products
ConsShort hours, long drives, low pay, no benefits unless FT, not enough time allotted to complete most tasks
2.0
Administrative Assistant | Pleasanton, CA | Jul 17, 2014
Difficult job with lack of training but great environment with good people.
Typical day at work would be going through e-mails and printing out all of the most urgent assignments/projects that need to be done.
Whether it be creating contracts, new item forms, price changes, item maintenance forms or entering deals into several proprietary systems- there is always something to do.
I have learned how to ask questions, respond to people as soon as I can, and be patient in my understanding that this job is always learning something new because many things change and a lot of your work load will get bigger and/or also consistently change.
Management is okay.
Co-workers are mostly nice people. Some are nosy and some are busibodies who can't seem to sit at their desks to do their adminstrative jobs.
Hardest part of this job is no more growth once you have learned all you can learn; even with added work or contrat formats changing- that kind of change becomes expected after a few years of working here. Also, the lack of training- which also becomes expected to figure things out yourself by asking questions and keeping detailed docments of your past and present work to use as examples.
One more thing that is frustrating about this company is the lack of appreciation- and the lack of financial appreciation- as in no raises and no bonuses- ever. Unless you go to school, finish a training program, and/or get your title changed- only when your title is changed or when you find a position outside of Acosta is when you will be giving yourself a chanc
ProsOnce mastering your own workload, you will soon feel like you yourself have grown substancially, not many BMA's know their entire workload, and will realize you need to move on out for a better opportunity to meet your needs, You will grow here, but only so far.
ConsYou have to clock in and out for all breaks and lunches. You are always timed.
Acosta is probably the best company I have ever worked for! ( I was on a reset team, FT - NOT in an auditing position ). Being on the team made me feel incredible! The people are amazing and the job is different everyday. You have to travel - but you get paid for it. Compensation is GREAT compared to ANY OTHER marketing company. You start the day early and end the day early (off by 3pm). I can't remember anything about the benefits I was offered, or if I could get them. You are off every holiday. Basic day includes following a plan-o-gram to reset store merchandise areas (IE: Air fresheners, coffee etc). Then you will do that same job at each store you go to according to schedule. When the round is done at all the stores on the schedule, you will start a new round. (IE: store 1 on mondays, store 2 on tuesdays etc. You will do all coffee, air fresheners etc at each store until they are all done.) Then you move on to the next projects at the same stores. Each member on your team will be responsible for whatever you are assigned to for that rotation. The best part is you get to spend about 2 weeks with one team member doing the same project at different stores. You generally get to spend time with each person you work with. This builds GREAT work relationships! Moral at this job was always high! At the end of the day you will bring any backstock or discontinued items to the back and form relationships with store members. Again, forming more work relationships! Once you form a r
ProsEverything
ConsNOTHING!!!
Questions And Answers about Acosta Sales & Marketing
If you were in charge, what would you do to make Acosta a better place to work?
Asked Sep 24, 2017
Stream line layers of managers, hire managers who care about employees.
Answered Nov 20, 2021
Give pay raises, or provide transportation
Answered Jun 21, 2021
What is the starting pay for an acosta retail merchandiser?
Asked Nov 21, 2016
$13 an hour
Answered Aug 19, 2021
Suppose to start in two weeks since gave my previous job two weeks notice. Lead retail merchandiser and $14 hr.
Answered Jun 25, 2021
How often do raises occur at Acosta?
Asked Nov 14, 2017
They Do Not Give Raises
Answered Aug 20, 2020
The worst company to work for. You could be the top sales rep for years and no raise or even a chance to move up within the company.
Answered Jul 15, 2020
If you were to leave Acosta, what would be the reason?
Asked Mar 21, 2017
The Pressure & The Non consideration of workers & their lives , the shaming of asking one day off!
Answered Jul 8, 2021
Pure garbage, been with this company for 4 years now. They expect you to do everything the store doesn't want to do. Pull pallets, set displays, you need to jump in the store managers lap and beg them to drop a pallet for you. Or else they are up your rear end from acosta about it.
Time to move on, I had 0 raises in the years I've been with them. You're better of being a stocker at walmart. It's the most useless job in retail, no pay increase l, more and more demands from you with each year that passes.
I trained people , I even helped my manager put the crapper more than once. I know more than him about retail lol!
Time to move on, I hope I land something soon
Answered Nov 4, 2020
What questions did they ask during your interview at Acosta?
