Okay, so here it is. It has been almost a year since I walked out of their office in Va Beach. It remains one of the proudest days of my life. The 2 weeks before remain the dumbest. So I was a new graduate, fresh out of college, and wanted a job asap. Im sure a lot of you know that feeling of moving along in the world. So I turn to the most obvious (and to my knowledge the crappiest job search places) monster, and careerbuilder. A job under the title "Child-Safety" catches my eye. The ad is calls for motivated people willing to make a difference. I love the positive style of writing, and decide to go in for an interview.
They have a shady little office in an office lot across the street from Lynhaven Mall, and I'm like, Okay, they have a tiny work place. I had to drive around a couple of times to find it. Then I go in for my interview. Once in the door, I see that I have 3 other well-dressed competitors for the job, filling out their interview forms. I was greeted by a very sad looking secretary who had absolutely no other facial expressions. And I ofcourse was very nice to her. I wanted the job. So I sat down in my suit and filled out my form (which was the disclaimer mentioned in a previous post). All the time, I heard a lot of cheering and laughing from a room down the hall. It was very creepy.
So I meet the manager, who is a good looking man in his thirties, and hes all smiles (yeah, that salesperson grin) and friendly. And he interviews me. I impress him with facts regarding the company etc etc, and am told that I shall be called for a second interview if selected. Okay, at this point they make you feel like they CHOOSE you. The hard truth is that they NEED you. It is all psychological to make you feel 'chosen'.
I get a call some 3-4 days later and get called in. Naturally Im very excited, and wear the same suit again. After an initial pampering by the manager (oh youre so savvy, and so professional etc etc), I sit down to watch an instruction video with 3 returnees. Mind you, on this day, only the returning people were there, no first time applicants. Coincidence? I think not.
The video made it clear that this awesome child safety opportunity is a street side peddling business. You earn commision, and that is your only pay. Also, based on your sales figures, you move ahead in the line of succession. Why, even the manager started where you are - at the bottom.
Okay now to their clients: DARE America, Toys for Tots, and some Car wash product place. What you do is this: you set up a table outside a regular business, (yeah, like a starbucks, a tropical smoothie, or a dollar general, or even a walgreens) and sell stuff like tees, stuffed animals, keyrings, toys etc. You wave at customers leaving the store and convince them to buy your stuff. You have a few min to make your sale. Difficult? Dont worry the cheering session i mentioned above starts at 7 am every morning (yeah, thats when youll be expected to be in) and they teach you sales methods. Believe me, people who work there act like sales robots. They are under so much pressure. The cheering is a session where the highest sales of the day before are recognized. God forbid if you arent one of them. Then you get those mean looks.
Anyways, so you sell this 5-10 dollar crap, and pocket like 200 dollars after satdning outdoors for like 8 hours. At 6 pm you go back to the "office" where inventory is counted. Your earnings for the day are like 10% of what you make. Umm, yeah. So for 8 hours of work, you go home with 10-20 bucks!!!
NO commision, NO base pay. This way, they can pressure you to sell.
Oh, and the child safety part? This is where the organizations DARE and Toys for Tots come in. They allow there companies like Red Line sell their brand merchandize (like DARE tees, and keychains), and in return get 1) exposure, and 2) 20% of the earnings. The company pockets the rest. And so the innocent buyer of the stuff goes home thinking she gave money to charity, while the charity gets only 20% of what she gave. The rest is gobbled up.
Okay, so you go back to the office at 7 pm. It doesnt matter what the weather is, rain, snow or shine. Youll be outdoors. Period. You get to leave by 8 pm.
There a whole lot of other politics that goes on in the promotion to best sales person, group leader, assistant manager, and office manager positions. Basically, the prize you work for is an office of your own to manage, and start your own sales business.
This is what I saw, overheard and learnt in my brief time there. I heard them plotting to recruit new college graduates, and I also heard them discussing not revealing income to the interviewees.
I hope anyone, and everyone who is about to approach them for a job reads this before hand. Believe me. I used to think I could do it. That I would be the best, that I would show it. But at the end of the day, I look back to see weeks of my life that are lost. Please stay away. Its better to be jobless than to waste your life going into something like this. Please contact me for more information if need be.
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