INTRODUCTION: DEFINING THE ISSUES
 
Historically, the route sales employee was the key contact between the textile rental company and its customers. This employee was responsible for determining the needs of existing customers, presenting contracts to customers, adding or subtracting to the product mix, obtaining contract modifications, as well as identifying and signing up new customers along his or her route. Often the route sales person handed out bills and collected amounts due. The route sales person usually was paid a weekly base salary plus a commission. The commission basis varied. Some companies favored higher commissions and lower ...