Wow, where to begin. I guess first thing is just look at the reviews its either five star or one star. Very little middle ground. Unifirst is very concious of their image as it relates to their ability to attract new salespeople and as such will "encourage" current employees to leave rave reviews and check on them later.
Now the "Cons"
Unifirst has a horrible rate of turnover that tops 80%. At that clip it's time for Unifirst to look inward because the system is broken.
I'm also confused by the folks that think the training program is great. It consists of watching video lessons in the office for five weeks and then being told to go into territory. I have been in sales over ten years and was shocked at the poor quality of training Unifirst provided.
They really believe they are on the cutting edge of technology by employing a cloud based CRM system. I was told that i was mistaken when I informed them that every competitor had adopted salesforce at least a couple of years before. These guys really do define the the stereotype of blind homers that fail to see the real world competitive landscape. Overall just not a very bright group of people in mid management.
Their base pay is by far the lowest in the industry. No matter what your geographical location the starting salary is $35k. They will give you $160 a week for gas and car and if you are among the 3% that meet the weekly quota you can make another $10k. That added together is where most of the competition starts their salespeople. One other quick thing to remember, if you do happen to join them, is during the first five weeks of training. You receive none of the gas allowance and will be paid $12 an hour. They like to wait until your first day to tell you that
There is also this creepy almost religious like devotion to the company founder. They have have a founders day party and posters with his likeness and sayings everywhere. The guy passed away a decade ago but he is spoken of like he is still in control. Its just one of those things you have to experience to understand.