During the most recent winter break, and being strained financially by the economy and having had lost my primary job, I finally broke down and tore one of the tabs off the sign at my college that brazenly advertised, "SEMESTER BREAK WORK! $15/Base Appt!"
To my mind, the idea of $15 dollars an appointment seemed too good to be true, however, I went to the faux website of Vector Marketing Group (http://www.semesterbreakwork.com), and was redirected to another site, (http://www.workforstudents.com/) where the site looked as though a student had constructed it, using low resolution graphics and a basic CSS template.in the Graphic/Web Design field myself, I felt as though perhaps i could get out of the basic work and help them in advertising. I definitely did not realize what i was getting into.
The Company was set up as such, There was the parent company (Alcas Corporation), which in turn owns Cucto Cutlery Corporation, Vector Marketing Corporation, Cutco International Inc. (The international marketing company for Cutco Knives) and KA-BAR Knives Inc. Now, with one parent and that many children, to this small town boy it sounded very much like a pyramid scheme.
I was called and rushed into an interview, given about an hour and a half from initial contact from Vector, and the time when my interview was scheduled. I've never really had an employer that was all that much in a rush to make me feel as though i was desperately needed.
I was sat down in a small two room Office off of Meadowview Rd. (Those from Greensboro will note that Meadowview is right down holden from High Point Rd, Aka sketchy.) I filled out an application that was a single, one sided page, and then ushered into the second room, and as it were, the rest of the applicants (There were about ten of us) filed in after me.
The manager would have seemed considerate, concerned about us, and overall likable, had i not noticed right off that he had a false smile. (A false smile is someone that smiles broadly, but holds no expression in the eyes, IE crinkling at the outside corner.) He proceeded to lecture us about Cutco Knives for an hour and a half, calling the presentation an interview. He would periodically ask us direct questions, or he would ask a group question and let people jump in and answer at will
After the presentation he put on some music from the local rock and roll station, and began calling us to "His Office" (Which i later found out to not be entirely accurate, it was no more his office than anyone else's) and giving us an independent result to our interviews.
Of our group, everyone that was older than I, or in business courses (Which some of them told me they were in) were rejected. I hate to put it like this, but there were several younger african american males, and they were too rejected, leaving myself and one other person to continue.
During the training "Seminars" which were 3 Day, 7 Hour meetings to induct us to "Live and breathe Cutco" we were subject to booklets, handy binders, and role-playing our sales pitches, which despite the manager's statement of being "Revolutionary" were all together predictable and very much deniable. If these days had been counted for pay, I would have had 21 hours to start off with, and would have been well on the way to making the "Mad Monies" that we'd been lured with during the interview. However these meetings were unpaid, as well as the weekly "Required" meetings, and the various cell phone time that they wanted us to put in during the time we worked with Vector.
We were handed out materials for selling our wares which seemed to very vaguely and covertly bash the main competitor of the brand, Henkle Knives, of Germany to be ostentatiously expensive and Un American to own. We were told that the main staple of the company, the Basic Homemaker Set Plus Eight, was what we wanted to sell, and to keep hitting them with free stuff, which included a very nice set of shears, but a really poor quality group of kitchenware. (Spoon, Spatula, Wisk, etc)
We were given a three day tour of selling the kitchenware, and then were asked to come back at 9AM on a wednesday morning for "Advanced Training". Which they told us in the meeting that there was no reason people shouldn't purchase these knives. As a matter of fact, the manager stated:
"There's no reason that people shouldn't buy these knives. If they say they can't because of the economy? It's bullsh*t. If they blow a tire on their car, they are going to pay to have it replaced. If the refrigerator breaks down, they are going to pay to have it replaced."
This didn't sit very well with me, nor the people sitting around me (For i am a vocal person when i see dumb), because of the fact that a tire for a car, is a necessity. The refrigerator, is a needed appliance. A set of knives that cut through a piece of rope better than a serrated edge? That's just a want item.
The final issue I had with the Vector Marketing Corporation was the pay scheme.in a really confusing explanation given to us We were paid 15 dollars for every appointment that we scheduled and attended. However, if we made a sale, we got the commission for it. BUT if our check would have been higher if we received the 15 dollars per appointment, we got paid that instead of the commission work money.in another interesting twist, something that they didn't tell you, but that you had to read in the fine print on your "acknowledgment of pay procedures" is that apparently your appointments HAVE, repeat HAVE to meet what Cutco considers qualified consumers. This includes:
A Husband and Wife
Who are Middle Income Earners (at least) Which is gauged by "do they own their own home"
Who are both over 30-35 years of age.
Now, I don't know that many people of that particular forte, so i ignored the idea and instead sought to make appointments with everyone i could during the trial period. I, in total, could only get seven people to agree to sit down with me and hear my schpeil, unlike the 15-20 that Vector "Required" that we do for the training to optimize the selling experience for us. Now, considering that the basic homemaker set is $945 w/S&H, not that many people were interested in paying a grand for an eighteen piece knife set. So I settled with the base pay.
Now I come to the part where that "Qualified Consumer" comes into play. As Per Vector Procedure, as an "Independent Contractor/Employee" you are required to fill out a carbon copy set of paperwork for all you do. This includes a order form sheet (per customer), in addition, a Base Pay Sheet (where you list the name, address, phone number, marital status, and purchased amount), as well as a recommendation form, where you were supposed to receive at least x amount per customer seen. Under the Marital Status, I had seen both a widower, and a husband who was looking at these knives as a potential gift for his wife. Both declined, citing the price, and being related to one, and a close friend of the other, I didn't press the issue.
However when i turned in my Base Pay Sheet, my manager did, offering not to pay me for the ones that "didn't qualify" under their "Triple M" customers. (During the seminar, the 3M customer brief was offered as an optional route) After a few minutes of heated verbal exchange, i was able to be paid for all of my appointments, and i left the office. I have yet to return.in addition, a friend of mine that sought to work there as well, was submitted to the same treatment and also left within the first two weeks.
My Advice is, unless you have little in the ways of a moral compass, and can stand to talk people out of their hard earned emergancy money for needs to place into the want catagory of purchases, perhaps Vector Marketing (a self proclaimed not door to door or telemarketing company) (But more seemed in actuality to be telemarketing) is not for you.
Jakob
Greensboro, North Carolina
U.S.A.
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