I got a newspaper a few weekends ago to look for job openings. There wasn't much there but the $400 / week ad for the first 30 people to call was enticing. I made the call and set up an appointment for the interview with a man named Vince (Never got a last name for him). I arrived and filled out an application, added my resume and references and was told about Warren Buffet and Scott Fetzer Corp, then after all this big shot name dropping was told Kirby... Then I was told to call back from 4 to 6 pm that day after a background check was supposedly run. I called and was told I got the job and to show up to begin training the next afternoon at 2PM.
I arrived and there was about 12 people hired, with us all in a small side room, a spiel about how much money was to be made over and above the $400 per week with the right combination. Another member of this newly hired group asked if this was door to door or telemarketing and we were told that we would not have to worry about that because the company was going to provide us with appointments. We were expected to do 15 in-home showings each week to qualify for that money and "as long as we attend all meetings and do what we are told" we would get this money. A couple more days of training for 5 or 6 hours a day and we got a machine to take home on Friday afternoon. This was to show our family, friends, etc. And to setup our own training demo's.
So here I am calling former coworkers, friends and acquaintances setting up appointments for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I did my best to get familiar with doing a show and even though I know the Kirby is a great machine, I didn't sell any... Too damed high price. Gotta be a real top dog to sell these things. The spiel is to convince buyers that their current equipment isn't doing the job which is easy but then you need to show the nasty dust mite poop in the mattress and hit them for health concerns. Then we need to get them to agree that this will save their carpets and upholstery which in turn will save them thousands of dollars. So now I am in a Chevy AstroVan with a broken sliding door secured with a former sales reps tie holding the door shut. We drive almost an hour away, get a card with a free Dry Foam cleaning ad and get to hit the streets wearing our best clothes and a tie in 85 degree weather. I did not expect to have to do this but really need to have the income to pay rent and utilities so I did it anyway.By the end of the week we have lost all but 1 canvasser and 1 sales rep. The manager and her boyfriend who drives us around are back on their own and will probably try to hire more people to scam.
One other rep sold a machine to someone with poor credit and then I heard that there is no commission on those type of finance deals. Two weeks being used and abused and knocking on doors until 9 PM make for 11 to 14 hours days with the commuting to outer areas and with only 6 demos I get ZERO pay. I hope that despite the machines virtues that Kirby get's to be so bad in reputation for both the sales tactics and the hiring tactics that they have to quit the "sold through home demonstration only" system. Some dealers have over one hundred reps they train and find the ones that can do this to earn over $1000 week buy selling several machines per week. The dealers are millionaires!!!
You can take this job and shove it... Unless you are a snake with no ethics and can pressure people to buy a vacuum for $1,700 you will not make a dime and just waste your time.
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