Working at AARONS SALES AND LEASE — Reviews by Employees

I've had a relatively good experience with Aarons so far. I've been there as the Sales and Service manager for 9 months and the owner of the company (we're a franchise) and my GM love me. I've been told by my General Manager who should be promoted to regional manager within 6 months to a year that he wants me to take over his store if and when he gets promoted. the owner has personally told me that I'm a "blue chip" employee. The GM at our store makes just over $100k a year. Yes the hours are kind of crappy but it sure beats working most retail. The job is stressful because it is a constant push to increase sales.

My guess as to why some of these other people are having such a hard time is because the store is not following the pathway and the GM is just lousy. These jobs are performance based. If you perform then you will be promoted. If you aren't getting pay raises and promotions then you are not performing well. For example... since I came to this store at the end of august 09. We have grown by almost 200 customers. therefore, I just received a $2 an hour raise. We just received a $1000 quarterly bonus for hitting all our numbers and my commission is usually an extra $300 a month and could be at least double that but I give about half of my sales to my CSR's. there are also tons of bonuses that employees can earn each month. Easily another $500 a month in bonuses for the sales team and the accounts department can earn $5 or $6k to split every single month if they hit their numbers. So... the money is there if you want to work for it.

I for one love working for this company, there is the potential for gm's to become corrupt and take advantage of the stores income, but with a good manager and a store thats runned by the path way system it can be a joy. The advancement in this company can be awsome but it takes a hardworking person that will committ to the job; its all on how bad do you want it! you work your way from the lowest position to a gm. the enviroment is clean, and the work is stressful, but what job isn't.

I agree with most. Run from this job. One of the worst jobs I've ever had. The hours suck and the pay is jacked as well....definitely not worth the time and effort put into it.... it's all about the ass kissing at this place. my regional manager once told me that he'd hire someone for a position if they'd play ball with him... ie, keep his secrets..HE told me that he would rather have someone he could trust vice someone who may be more qualified....i didn't quite understand until he came to me one day and asked if i'd basically lie about a female manager we had...i advised him i would not lie and would only tell what i knew.... well, b/c of that, i was never promoted to gm...did everything i was asked...grew the store...was best of the best in sales... then took over the cam dept and closed the nons for the first time that store had closed nons in 5 years... i was told that b/c the sales dept was not growing anymore that i couldn't be promoted...thought that was bullshit and basically told Roger Estep what i thought about it....yes, i said his name...Roger Estep... he's the biggest piece of shit i've ever seen..... the best thing i ever did was leave that company and anyone else who's smart will do the same...IT SUCKS!

I agree with most of the post here this job is the worst job I have seen the pay stinks and the manager I had in the Kenner la store was by far the most incompetent person I have ever worked for. I do not know she got the job to begin with she had no clue how to manage a store..

The regional manager was a huge jackass who was even more incompetent then the manager this guy takes stupid to a whole new level!

It took three weeks to get paid because the manager lost my paper work and after I re did it three times she still left out things and payroll had to step in and take over.

Just run from this company do not do business with them nor work for them

This is the worse company I worked for as my life. They let people go for no reason.

i love working for Aarons the pay isnt bad could be alil better the hrs are not bad as long as you get your job done in a timely matter

This particular Aarons is ran by a wimp who run things in a Hitler like manner. He gets great joy out of firing people for made up reasons. Since my tenor there he has fired over 6 people in 5 months. There is absolutely no respect. You are treated as their slave and punished if they don't get their bonus. Job security is non existent. Heaven forbid you have a family emergency. They treat you even worse for having a life. I hope people realize what a rip off Aarons is. The sell things at a 500% markup and all of the furniture they sell is of the poorest quality.

I was actually hired to be an Administrative Assistant for a new Service Center in the area. The work was pleasant and easy but not too challenging for me. I learned all aspects of the electronics repair procedures completing over 100 repairs my first month. I was told that I was headed to leadership with this company. I made it my goal to be successful in this career as well as having job security for myself and my children...All this is wonderful until you have the added stress of a Boss that is supposed to me your mentor and your friend. After four years of dedication to this company and respect for a man that I looked up to, I was met one morning and asked to turn in my keys and pack it up. NO warning, NO write ups, NO reason!!! Close to Exemplary Performance reviews, I was DEVASTATED!!! So it doesnt matter what Aarons Sales and Lease tells you. YOU ARE REPLACABLE if you cannot perform the "personal duties" that men in management ask from you. I only hope his wife realizes how much of a fake he is. This company stole my life, my future and damaged my children beyond repair. And it doesnt matter how many times you call that little number on your paystub, they DONT answer and they DONT call you back. Not even my lawyer can get through. My advice is to stay away because youre only there to make someone else look goo.

be at work at 9:55. work your ass off, sometimes even through your lunch break which they will deduct 30 min for anyways, then go home at 9 pm too exhausted to do anything. your fellow employees will feel the same way, and you probably wont get too many chances to get to know them before they get fed up and leave or are fired for being 3 minutes late to a 9 am morning meeting, or not asking for a customers name on 2 phone shops, go on vacation only to come back and see someone else in your desk, etc.
you have to wear aarons uniforms which they charge $30 a piece for. and you need one for every day of the week.
Your customer base generally consists of the areas lowest forms of life, wife beaters, drug addicts, etc, pretty much all of the garbage who tried and failed doing buisiness with rent-a-center.
There is a very low chance of promotion, and you'll start making right around $9 an hour. regional staff visits once a week to threaten your general managers job and tell him all of the things he's doing improperly even though hes working 13 hours a day 6 days a week for them. as a lower employee who is exhausted with a smaller workload and less hours, you find it hard to keep going back every morning and make 5-7 million a year for a bunch of corporate bums on your location alone when you struggle to make more then $800 every two weeks.
your typical day at aarons is as a slave with little value to its master. if you want to sell your life away, one week at a time for $400, then this is the job for you

Pay, benefits, and growth are great but you better be prepared to not have a life outside from working there. Most employees that make comments about working there love it and say that it is a great family oriented environment. I have to say that's a bunch of crap. I worked there as a Customer Accounts Manager. Sure, the system works for them, but it makes you feel like a terrible person the way they make you do your job. When a customer is one day past due, the accounts manager has to call the customer on his or her home, cell, and work number at least twice a day. Sure, the customer signed and agreement to pay on the 1st or 15th, but if they don't come in or pay they get harassed. I find these practices rediculous. The store I worked at was a small rent to own company with four stores. We had great working relationships in a very laid back family environment until the company bought into aaron's. What a joke this was. About 75% of the people working before the franchise purchase had been there for over five years, including myself, and now only a couple remain. I was fired right before the holidays for no reason. I tried to do my job to their standards and it just wasn't good enough for them. Long story short, aaron's is a terrible place to work and I do not recommend any work there or do business with them.