What a joke! They won't even go out and write a stock order for customers that are stocking dealers. Advance's definition of commercial business is supplying the local Quik Lube with a filter every now and then for an odd ball car that they don't stock a filter for. Advance you are pitiful.
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Just to let you know, I was with Advance for 33 years. WAS.. 20 of those years as a CAM. Advance is more focused on retail, online and stock prices. They have no clue about servicing professional customers. They are normally priced too high (online customers get a better price), stores have a lack of inventory (competing against them selves with Worldpac znd CARQUEST) and opperations are filled with id–t's. Sorry, the truth. Upper management promote ppl on needs and friendship rather then talent. The CSM position is a waist. Put the CAM on a base $40k + percentage of thier sales (not the stores / cpp) and then you will see who is milking the job. I worked with CAMs who saw customers 2 days a week, worked only 20 hours a week (only have to see 40 customers a week), doing only what is required on paper and got away with it because the teams in the stores produced enough sales or buddies with the CSM... oh yeh, the CSM only worked 10-2 if lucky. Opperations managers from party city / toys r us. Just could not take care of my people or customers to my satisfaction anymore. I left.. It's amazing they are still in business.
CAM's will be laid off soon. Not enough for them to do. Customers do not want them in their shops, and working within a store is futile.
cams s—!
Sure, blame the CAM for your poor performance 😂 Cams can promise the world to customers (while dealing with every other concern that a GM should be handling) but if the store cant deliver, then that's on you folks.. create the result and stop passing blame (this goes for former CAMs as well)
Funny you mentioned shop owners wives and or girlfriends. Advance no longer hires experienced men to fill positions because the men will not take a job that has the high demands and low pay Advance offers, and all that is left is millennials and women to fill these positions. Great Job as always.
AAP is totally committed to the CAM in your store operations , they are now hiring very professional and highly experienced shop owners wife’s and girlfriend for that challenging position! Look forward to other out of the box thinking as AAP dominates in the commercial market!
Advance needs to take lessons from Napa how to run commercial and they don't call themselves CAMS either They are sales.
What a sorry excuse for a company Advance is. Upper management you S---!
Yes , the end is near and no one has a clue!
The end is near.
For some strange reason probably due to a spreadsheet somewhere management thinks FaceTime = sales what a bunch of S_ _t! First the reason you don’t see a cam very often is because they are on conference calls on average 4-7 weekly that last up to an hour. Second they are filling out spreadsheets weekly that take up to four hours minimum!
Third they are on the phone trying to take care of credit issues that are created by our useless credit department!
Lastly they spend the rest of the time putting out fires with upset customers!
So exactly how much time does that leave for face to face selling????
Oh yes just because a cam can do face to face time doesn’t mean he can sell anything!
Advance Auto Parts has no concept of what commercial business actually is or how to get and maintain it period!
They will not be told or listen about how to do it because like the Titanic they have their marching orders and the band plays on😂😂😂😂😂
Where is the Tax savings money we were promised by Trump, I guess corp. is Hording that money too so CEO can make Millions a year. Just cut out the CAMS and AGM To save as much money as possible and watch commercial fail, ?????????
I imagine the CAM position will go away like the AGM position, saving this company more money in payroll to keep the shareholders happy. What this company does not see is the more people, positions, and payroll hours they eliminate, fewer customers get help and go elsewhere. Oh Well
Amazing how many cams have so little self respect that they continue to work for a company that has no regard for their employees as human beings. Everyone is just a number on a spreadsheet. A soulless company like AAP will leave you hanging sooner or later. Man up.
Cams should be face to face with customers. While someone else can easily take a stock order, that person should not be the only representative the customer sees. Cams are great at passing the buck as to how they got tied up at another store, conference calls, meeting, salesforce, and a wide variety of other excuses. Their real problem is they cannot manage time.
You have the wrong idea if all you think the CAM should be doing is stock orders all day. Send one of your drivers to check stock when you're slow or when they are already on a delivery to that customer. Or go visit yourself and do it, show us all how it's done, tough guy.
That being said, I do my fair share of stock orders throughout the week and put my time in. Not all CAMs are useless.
A CAM like any other position is useless when you don't have the right tools to do the job. This is a problem across the entire spectrum from regional managers on down to the lowest pee-on. Advance wants the sales but does not invest in their employees to be able to make sales. In time as the stock price continues to fluctuate and drop it will be too late to get anyone knowledgeable back to make this company profitable as most do not trust this company to make good on any promises anymore.
A sharp cam should recognize the problems. Just look at the number of people that you know that have left. Most were intelligent and respected people that saw the oncoming glaring light in the tunnel. Those that are left are just plain lazy.
The CAMs will eliminate themselves. Impossible goals, new pay plan based on matrix’s that they have no contol over, servicing stores that are understaffed and have no inventory, loss of company cars and phones putting that expense on them. It’s not role anybody in their right mind would stay in. Especially with the new pay plan that only benefits the board. No chance to bonus. Ever.
Considering Advance has no idea how to handle commercial customers there is no need for a CAM, end of story.
It is imminent that the commercial program will be eliminated in favor of retail. All it is going to take is a member of the corporate mind trust to make a spreadsheet showing the cost savings thus temporarily improving profit. The towel is about to be thrown in on all commercial effort as it never gains any traction.
Your understanding of the cam shows you don't understand the commercial business either.
I agree with all of this, our Cam don't sell anything, just a social hour when he shows up at our place.
It is my understanding the CAM's job is to sell tools and equipment an other products such as stocking programs. In my experience, the store teams, if you have a good team, check up on stock 2-3 times a week depending on the volume the account is going through.
Advance is like a cartoon series, cast of characters, which way did he go boss, which way?