It has become apparent to me that not only is this company Primerica "Financial Services" a financial hazard to its clients with all their bulls%&t talk about financial independence and owning your own business (I believe the better phrase for that is "losing your soul") but it is a moral hazard to its representatives as well. I especially speak to those hapless female representatives to which whom Primerica gives false illusions and hopeless dreams of grandeur of being a powerhouse "RVP"... However, I realize, in the the short few years of observing this company, I have come to realize that there is a HIGHER price to pay for these young women who come in thinking they have reached the big time.
Do not be fooled by these RVP's and their tactics. Very charming they are, and some even diabolically deceptive with their caring attitudes and "Win, win, win" mentality, but, all you new reps out there, and especially the ladies, DO NOT BE FOOLED.
Let me tell you the following story...
I was part of Primerica for a good long while, on the sidelines as a silent and sarcastic observer but not willing to abandon a friend of mine who got totally sucked into this crap, nor not willing to abandon my job in banking. I stood by her side as her support, trying to do as all friends would do and draw her back to reality, but what really drove me out of that garbage was the following situation, and I still find it really disgusting that there are some people who are willing to degrade themselves for money, and that there are companies who operate on such lax morals as these.
The man was an RVP, fairly good-looking but as snotty as they come, but he had excellent presentation skills and charisma that won over young recruits instantly. (I was amused to see that most of his recruits were young girls, some barely out of high school, some young optmimists right out of collage) He seemed to be the one with any real money and conviction, and he walked around with what was often described as "professional arrogance" (and arrogant he was.) He had it made, brainwashing people every orientation night and weekend morning, and I was amazed as to how many fell for his bulls&^t. But it worked, and pretty soon this man had a big team going, having young hapless recruits recruiting their friends and changing their parents' policies, breaking trust and recruiting more hapless people who apparently had no direction in life.
He was also married. His wife was a RVP as well, and she used to work on recruiting alone. No real skills whatsoever. It soon became apparent to me that it was really the men who ran this business. Most of the women who really have executive titles here are the wives of some hotshot RVP or National Sales Director, and it's the husbands who really run the show. The women are often asked to try to prove themselves in what the men call "competition", and what I call degredation. There were often derogatory comments (jokingly diguised, of course) on whether women could really compete with men on selling insurance or investments. This might have been seen as a way to "motivate" women to do their best, but to an educated woman who holds a high supervisory position at a reputable and global bank, this was seen as an insult and highly discriminating. Many other women with whom I have spoken to have agreed with me, and they work with "PrimeAmerica" too.
Then came the recruit. She was young, 19, and with an attitude that really needed to be checked. She was unprofessional in dress and manner, always bragging to everyone about her non-existant guests, and prancing around like she was some sort of princess. No respectable business would allow this, nor consider any of these attitudes to be positive credentials, and no respectable and ethical business would allow the following to occur.
Needless to say, the girl was unlicensed, but had great illusions of grandeur and being a hot female executive. But her "Fast Track" road wasn't to just to recruit or work for any merit... It was to screw her married RVP. And that seemed to be the cincher. Not only did sleeping with her RVP gain her great merit in the eyes of her friends (she prided herself on telling her new recruits or guests, most often her friends, that she was the RVP's lover, and this was often mentioned in the meetings where everyone could hear. Mind you, no other so-called executive ever told her to stop the nonesense.), but also rose up the ranks on this fact alone. She never got licensed, as mentioned before, but her RVP took such great pride in showing her off that he claimed she was going to be the first girl to meet what was called "standard of excellence", for which you HAD to be licensed.
To make a long story short, this flamboyant affair was soon discovered by his wife, as well as this RVP's unscrupulous business practices concerning Regulation 60 and Insurance, and she divorced him. He has now moved to Florida with his trashy rep, and what makes me sick to my stomach is that the company did not even prosecute him for his lack of decency or unethical and uncompliant acts, and he still is allowed to run an office. Other reputable companies with firm ethical policies would have fired him on the spot or made him resign, but I guess that if you're pulling in the big bucks for the Senior VP or the National Sales Director anything goes. Bring in your recruits and use them for all they've got, and as long as she's still a number and being productive in whichever way possible, keep on at it. F%&*K decency if the money's being made.
The point being made is this... I have been to compliance meetings where they have talked about sexual harassment policies, but in a multi-level pyramid like Primerica the truth is that no true sexual harassment policies exist. I have seen not only this man but other reps making advances to other female reps, and I think that it is disgusting that, especially RVP's and above, they are allowed to carry on this behavior in the offices, whether wanted or unwanted, and those with some professional dignity are forced to witness it all. There is very little one can do to stop such crap in the offices, and I find it very degrading, espcially to women, that this is the kind of treatment they will get in their "rise up the ranks".
Which leads me to my next point... Equal rights should ascend to all fields of work and all careers, and Primerica is one of these places where this does not apply. I have seen so-called competitions n Primerica where women have been called to compete against men, seen as "weak" and "inferior" in the world of Financial Services. The glass ceiling is seen as very thick here, and I think that it is only being the wife of an RVP or above can you really qualify as being a success in this company. Only one or two women have made any real money by themselves in their own name, and the few who actually do work in this company, I have noticed, really don't get very far. However, the surest way to get to that meteoric rise to power being a woman in this company is to recruit all you can recruit without even
lifting a pen, having as male "partner" ("Partnership" is very big here) who will take the credit for all the work, or, very simply... Be "coachable" and f&*k your RVP. And if you can, marry him.
So, ladies, do not being fooled or conned into joining this pyramid of fantastical bullsh*t. Their job is to use you and abuse you, and you probably will be subjected to a lot. Some of the representatives are of a decent lot, but a lot of them are those with little or no education whatsoever, talking about what hotshots they are or how much money they claim they make (and if they can, they'll flash their gaudy gold ring in your face, thinking that you'll be impressed). Their brainwashing tactics are at the heart of any good con, and if you bring in your recruits, they'll reward you with more than what you've ever asked for...
Their rewards are degredation and subjugation, being called a loser if you don't recruit and often having your fiber and your morality questioned, regardless if you work hard and are actually making some decent commission without even recruiting. And since their are no real policies governing this massive hoax, such as sexual harassment policies and the government turning a blind eye to their financial scams (it's amazing how something so regulated can be so corrupt), you really have more than your money to lose.
That's a high price to pay along with your $199, don't you think?
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