Pros
My time with Edge door to door was an experience that I do not regret. I learned how to run a profitable business, build sales skills (I had no prior experience) and lead others while also focus on my own personal sales. The "lift and bless" motto was definitely a part of the mindset of those I worked with. My time on the doors shaped me into a better, more emotionally intelligent person. No, it was not easy--I don't remember a time when it was especially easy but that's how door to door goes. I made some incredibly strong friendships with both management and fellow reps. Even though I don't work with them anymore, I still talk a lot. I found some incredible mentors that shared valuable knowledge and experiences with me and all of Edge D2D. I really can't explain how much working for Edge shaped who I am as a person and the career path (sales/business) that I've taken because of it. Some reviews said that there wasn't a path to grow up the ladder unless you were in sales. You can only climb so high up the ladder if you are in select departments (customer care, inside sales, etc.)-- that's as true for Edge as it is for other companies of similar size. Edge actually has a path to climb the ladder to ownership and equity that is open for all--not just family members of the owners! I can only speak for the sales side of things but NOT ONE of the D2D program VPs, managers, the CSO or CMO not part of the family that other reviewers speak about. They worked their way to get where they are now . **This is not an easy route and takes a ton of work to get there. Some reviews talk about how the owners drive nice cars and have large offices (I've never thought the offices were too large)...but that's what happens when you bootstrap your business from literally nothing to one of the largest and fastest growing pest companies in the nation. I personally thought the monthly vehicle allowance was a great incentive. **With that being said, I personally feel that they could pay their D2D employees more (I can't speak for other departments). I'm grateful for my time at Edge but my life got a lot better once I stopped knocking doors. I'll explain more in the cons section but I will say this if you are reading to see if you want to go and knock this summer. I trust every single manager in the D2D program. They have their rep's best interest in mind and dedicate insane amounts of time and mental energy into taking care of their reps. Edge's in house software and same day services are so impressive--they dominate the industry in that and I can't imagine what it's like to sell without that. D2D is going to be hard no matter what you sell and who you sell for. Edge's training is top notch and they teach how to sell VALUE rather than drop the price below the competition. This way of selling pest control is backwards to most the industry. An Edge rep could move to any other sales job and outsell a rep from another pest company because of this. Some random things: The new building is awesome Edge's in-house software is awesome EDGE ALWAYS PAYS THEIR REPS ON TIME AND ACCORDING TO THE AGREEMENT WITH NO FUNNY BUSINESS. period. Andrew (CEO) and Drew S. (CSO) are truly geniuses to learn from whom I respect very much.
Cons
I got a ton of great things from working at Edge but its not all sunshine and rainbows. Let it be said that no company is all sunshine and rainbows as they are run by humans who do human things and screw up sometimes. The D2D grind wears on you constantly. If you sell in the summer, it takes up your entire day of the entire summer. You start a little later, 10:30 am but you get back home after dark but if you're all about the most money in shortest timeframe its a decent option. Edge pays their D2D reps a lower commission than most companies but they compensate for it with a much larger contract value. They argue that it turns out to be more than the other guys in the end but I feel like that's not so true. I agree with other reviews about how discussions with management go sometimes. They're great salesmen so they can shape the conversation and pigeon hole you into agreeing to what they say--even if you have a valid concern. THIS DEPENDS ON WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO because some of my leaders 100% connected to how I felt and were able to help me through some big things, which means so much to me. I feel that operations and the servicing side of the company is going downhill and the service I explained is not in any way the service that I sold or explained. I have the service at my house and I've discovered that the technicians are not always the best guys and I've seen them take some big short cuts that end up making the service close to any other company. This is sad because Edge previously had the an incredible service. Keep in mind that this is just my limited interactions with regular technicians in their Utah branch and this does not accurately represent any other out of state branches. If you do want to go on the path to ownership and equity in the company, the benchmarks you and your team have to hit are very lofty. Most managers spend 9-12 hours at the office every day trying to recruit a team for the summer. So you sell nonstop in the summer while managing your team and then build your team back up in the school year. It seems like theres this thought process that managers have about making a good amount of money in the summer but if broken down on a per-hour rate with the recruiting season, it'd be about what a normal person makes who doesn't work nearly as hard. Yes, if you do hit the benchmarks and become a partner, you're set for life, but you still have to work a ton and go knock in the summer with your team for years to come. Selling pest control is very competive and your contracts aren't worth a lot of money (relatively). So you have to sell a ton of accounts to make decent money. That gives a huge anxiety to perform and get the deal. I definitely felt pressure to perform but that's more of my own personality than management breathing down my neck. I feel like I was offered multiple incentives that were never paid to me. They were small incentives ranging from $40-$100 but the individuals who offered them to me just forgot to payout. There were many instances when we would have a goal assigned to the team and were told that once we hit the goal, we could go home. There were very few times when that was the case. Most the time, when we did reach the goal early, the manager would set a new goal for the day to keep going and do better than we ever thought! Or something like that. That reward system is so backwards and it can't be all about stretching for numbers or your reps lose any trust or respect for those incentives.
