My experience with Wells Fargo was the worst of my professional career. My first interview was conducted by the district manager. We talked about the job expectations, like providing a good customer experience, upselling products, opening accounts and handling service related issues. I asked about compensation, and was told low 30's to start, with a lucrative incentive compensation package. He said, and I quote, "The numbers are easy to hit, in fact I think they should be higher." I then met with the store manager. She gave me a little more insight to the job, like meeting with employees of certain businesses to discuss their membership banking program, and building a pipeline. I was then called a few days later and offered the position. Starting salary, $14.02/hour. Yeah it was a big cut in pay, but remember the lucrative incentive program, the numbers are really easy to hit, right, so I can make up for it.
My first few weeks were spent getting to know the systems, observing other bankers and trying to get a handle on things. So far so good, except for the stupid huddles every morning and the blatant butt kissing. I would actually get embarrased because the brown nosing was so bad. After about a month, it was time to go through the formal training. Our trainer was ok, but there was one thing that really chapped all of us. You were forced to park in a lot nearly 3/8 mile from the door, while the lot at the building had at least 100 open parking spots. In South Dakota, it can get pretty cold in the fall, and the wind blows out of the north almost every day, so walking in to that wind was a rotten way to start your day. I finally started parking in the employee lot, I mean really what were they gonna do, fire me? At the end of training, we were finally told about the incentive plan, and I can tell you, you could feel the energy drain out of the room.
The incentive plan at Wells is this, you have to not only hit the high numbers, but maintain those numbers for a quarter, and average 100% across all matrixes in order to get paid. Let me explain: There is a category for core solutions, you need 8 per day average for the quarter. So if I hit that, do I get paid? No, you must also generate $500 profit per day per quarter. Ok, so if I get that, will I get paid? No, you must also generate 14 partner referrals that close in that quarter. Ok so if I hit that, will I get paid? No, you must also generate 9 loans with a volume of $192, 000. That is almost half of the loan expectation from last quarter, because despite the fact that the government gave us billions in TARP money, we cut our loan volume in half. Instead of helping the American people with this money, Wells Fargo decided to buy another bank, Wakovia. Now you don't have to hit all the categories 100% to get paid, but you must average 100% across all matrixes to get paid on the ones you hit. So, what do you think the quarterly payout is per matrix? About $200-$250 per matrix. Disappointing. And to top it off, only one banker in our DISTRICT made incentive last quarter.
Now I'm just plain mad and disappointed, but we have this crappy economy going on, and I need a job, so I'm thinking I'm going to have to stay here until I find something else. Now my manager, I'll call her Lori, is still on us about what we are going to do to be successful. We are EXPECTED to make outbound telemarketing calls. You know those guys who call you at dinner from the phone company, the policeman's ball, and the disabled veterans society, yeah, add Wells Fargo Personal bankers to that list. We were also expected to call the local high schools, so we could talk to the kids about our college and teen checking accounts.
Now I know I had a bad attitude, but I would have never accepted the job if they would have been up front with me about the job expectations and the pay. I also had a co-worker, I'll call her Stephanie, who would tattle on me for little things like something I said to another co-worker, or playing a game on my computer. My boss, Lori, would continue to harrass me about why I wasn't hitting the numbers, and my attitude continued to worsen. Finally they trumped up a charge of me commiting a policy violation and fired me. It was the best day in my recent memory. In conclusion, if you are thinking about a career with Wells Fargo, please remember the things I have told you. If you don't mind low pay for really hard work, maybe this is right for you. Don't let them try to dazzle you with the job title and the promise for comission, because it takes the average banker more than a year to hit it. And you will be a telemarketer, I guarantee it.