"General Act Now! Up to $700/week start. Promotion company needs 5 sharp people for our Scranton office. Full time, no experience. Call Casey 963-9288." This was the ad I saw posted online for this company. Having been taught to never pass up a good deal, I called figuring that this wouldput my new communications degree to work.
When I called, I did not find Casey, only a girl named Amy who said she would help. She began to tell me how they are a sports advertising company that work with golf courses, spas, and restaurants in the area and that I would be able to make "awesome money". She asked me to come in the very same day for an interview which seemed odd, but I did it anyway.
Upon arriving, I noticed a few strange things. The place was very hard to find and I got terribly lost. When I got there though, the receptionist was dressed like a whore and had Ozzy blaring on her stereo. She had me fill out a form and sat down with the manager, a young guy about my age (23) who began to ask me very vague questions like "What did you like about our ad?" "Do you like to have fun?" "Do you like to make money?", etc. He asked me what I was looking for and I told him that I was looking for experience in my field (communications/advertising) and that I thought this seemed really good. He did not give me many particulars but told me: "Normally I don't grant second interviews on the spot but since you are in school, I would like you to come tomorrow." I felt confident that this was going to be a good job and so I blew off work the next day to come to my second interview.
The second interview, as it turned out, was basically shadowing for a day. I was given a form to sign stating that I would not be paid for the day and was sent out on my way with an account rep named Chris and a new rep named Joe. Chris informed us that his car was out of commission and that someone else would ahve to drive. Luckily, Joe did.
We got in the car, and I was told that we were going to Allentown, about an hour away. The whole way down, I took notes about sales pitches, factors that make people want things, and the like. They told me that the pay would be broken down at lunch, if I made it that far. So I watched and tagged along as we went door to door peddling pizza coupons. I thought it was odd and when I asked questions about how this whole thing worked. I got general responses like: "We took all of the domino's customers away from our rival company". And "We pretty much always do Domino's promotions." I still felt surprisingly ok as I watched the guys continually get rejected.
Time moved on as we drove and walked around in the blistering heat. Here I was dressed in a suit and heels in 90 degree weather. No one told me we would be doing this. I began to grow tired of the pushy account rep I was with but just dismessed it. We went to lunch around 3-ish and he broke down the pay advancement and such for me, stating that I get $10 for every piece I sell and my goal was 2-3 pieces a day to start. He then also explained how much money the higher ups make and how I could possibly "open my own office" by the end of the summer, another thing I was wary of. I kept taking notes as he droned on and on.
Finally it was time to go home. He quizzed me about the things I had "learned" that day and noted how well I soaked up the information. We made it abck to the office where I had to take a quiz and my rep reported to the manager how well I did. I skipped a few questions on the test and answered one wrong yet the manager still said how well I did. He offered me the job, again not giving me specifics but told me to come by the following wednesday morning at 1045.
I never went back. I still don't know specifics but I did not like how the rep kept warning be to "be careful with my money". I know I made the right decision though I wish they had given me specifics before I quit my job for them. I called that morning to tell them that I wouoldn't be in and the manager didin't even bother to call me. Funny, huh? Do not work for this company. They have locations in PA, NY, Ohio and Maine. This is a crock. Never call them. I did not go to college to peddle pizza coupons.
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