Last year (April) I was looking for a job in the Free-Lance Star, and I found an ad that sounded really great. It said it was possible to make $1600 a month. I was planning on getting married soon, so I was very excited to find a well paying job.
I called them up and they asked me to come in. A nice girl around my age age talked with me about the company. She told me flat out that it was a distributor of Kirby vacuums. I filled out an application, but something strange about it was the fact that they didn't mind references being relatives. They made me sign a paper. The girl promised me I wasn't selling my soul as she said, and I believed her, thinking that this was a great job. I was shown all these great earnings from other employees and I was excited. The manager, Albert Archie seemed nice and reasonable, too. An older woman was at the interview with me as the manager talked to us about the job. The other woman didn't seem as interested as I was. She seemed very suspicious. I accepted the job.
So I started working there. Mornings started around nine. The employees had prep-rally in the morning. They sang songs about the vacuums we were to sell. I know it was just to get motivated, but I couldn't help but feel like I was worshiping an idol.
I had my own car, and this is how I was used. I drove another employee around to his appointments. He was a guy around my age named Steve. I assisted him with the sales. I talked with customers and tried to learn how to assemble the vacuum. It was something I never learned because of the complex parts. The vacuums were nice, but face it, they are very expensive.
Spending time with others was fun, but what I didn't know was that I'd be required to drive farther than I'd thought. There were times when we'd drive to the next city via the interstate.
Sometimes the customers were rude to us, but looking back I guess I can see why. We once drove very far, only to find that our customer who we were supposed to do a carpet cleaning for didn't want us to even come in, because we were Kirby vacuum salesmen. (He apparently was suckered into it, too.)
Customers often got tired of us being at their homes for long periods of time and started to become agitated. Steve would call Albert and try to talk the price down even if customers were saying they couldn't afford it or just wanted us to leave.
I used up a lot of gas. My dad even complained to me about what a financial burden this was. Mr. Archie gave me some money on the side ($5 if I remember correctly), but this wouldn't make a dent in the costs that was racking up.
I had to work long hours. I often wouldn't get home until about 10pm at night. My dad and grandmother whom I lived with worried about me and so did my fiance who lived in Michigan. One night I came home exasperated. I had been to several appointments (with a partner) that day (maybe 3-5) and hadn't sold any. I decided to quit the next day. I took the kirby out of my trunk from the previous night and brought it in so I couldn't be accused of stealing it. I was very nervous, and told Mr. Archie I had to quit.
I told him I was quitting because of the long hours and cost of gas. He said I could have asked for shorter hours, but I didn't feel that way at all.in fact I felt like I being forced to go on more appointments than necessary and like he was ordering us to go on appointments until he was satisfied with the work that day.
I brought my dad in to talk with Mr. Archie. I wanted to get paid for the work I had done. I had put my all into working for them for the few days I had worked there. At the interview I was given the impression that if I put in my all, I could get the full $1600, even if I decided to quit. But Mr. Archie wouldn't pay me (and he used the contract I signed to back it up).in the end he gave me $20 to compensate for gas.
I did some research online on kirby and found many bad claims. For the most part I can say they are true, because I experienced it from the salesman's point of view. I saw customers getting fed up that we were there. Kriby isn't only bad for customers, but they are bad for their employees as well. They post ads that sound too good to be true.
I now have a hard time trusting wanted ads in newspapers. The sales people were college age men and women, and I think kirby vacuums intentionally seeks out young adults because they easily fall for this. The other employees at RTS Group and even the manager Albert Archie were nice to me, but I still felt used. I'm mad that the newspapers would allow this company in their wanted ads. This company may be legal, but they don't seem ethical.
Well there is a follow up to this story. I got married and moved to Michigan. I have been unemployed for almost a year now, and I am still a job seeker. I recently answered an ad on my community college's website for a company in Kalamazoo called DTC Enterprize. Again the ad sounded good saying they were recruiting many college students. It made me suspicious, but I called them up anyways. They made me an appointment for a Monday at 9:30 A.M. My husband drove me there as I am still unfamiliar with Kalamazoo, the city I now live in. When we arrived, I was shocked to see a sign outside of the building that read "Kirby services".
Even though the appointment was for me, my husband went in with me, because I wanted to check it out. A man (whom I assumed was the manager) greeted both of us. My husband asked if it was possible for a husband and wife to work together. The man said he didn't mind. This sent off more warning signals. We sat down in an office and he left us to fill out applications.
Again, on the application they wanted relatives as references. I looked around the room and saw the same or similar posters that I had seen at RTS Group. I also heard music and singing in the background (probably the morning prep-rally). Another young man came in. He said he had heard about Kirby vacuums before from someone and didn't want to have that job, but because they were hiring for other positions he was interested. We allowed him to go first for the interview, and my husband and I resolved to sneak out. I had absolute certainty this was Kirby vacuums and I didn't want any job with them again, ever.
I want to apologize to any customers I interacted with in Virginia that were in anyways hurt by Kirby Vacuums.
Julia
Kalamazoo, Michigan
U.S.A.
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