I have listened to the public for so many years on the debate of how they have been scammed by one door to door company or another and it's getting old. I was hired by PMI back in 1993 and I don't regret a single day of it at all. Granted it is a dog eat dog world in the commission based world of magazine sales, but not everyone is cut out for it. On the topic of how many people have been scammed at one time or another... There are dishonest people in every aspect of the world. I was hired by Tony Mahurin out of Panama City Beach in November of 1993 and was opened up to a new outlook on the sales force. He taught me above everything else that you had to be honest to be successful in this business. Many times I was teased for taking so long to catch on to the sales tactics. But then he would tell those same agents that my orders that were checked in were more solid than the rest of the crew combined. Yes there were plenty of salespeople that were dishonest to some point (from saying they were in school to never turning in the money at the end of the day) but you can't judge every person that comes to your door that way. I knocked on some of the same customers door each year and they would invite me in to order more magazines.in the years to come I moved from PMI to All Star Promotions (1996) because it seemed like the right move to make at the time. It is no different than when the first phone company was created and eventually other companies were developed to compete. You see a chance for advancement in a new company so you take a chance and make the move. I was with the crew when the tragic death of Amber Stankovich occured. It was a simple mistake of the driver swerving off the road and in the process she was thrown from the vehicle and killed. I was a car handler at the time so I know how something like that traumatize someone. Many of the crew members were never the same after that incident and left the business. The situation with motel accomodations is that three people would be assigned to each room. Sales of this manner were and are competitive so it was based on the daily sales of each agent according to who got their own bed. The misconception that people were forced to sleep on the floor comes from the fact that the other roommates were supposed to share the other bed but of course 90% of the time that didn't happen. I allways encouraged all the sales people that I was in charge of to be honest at all costs. But people are going to do what they feel is best and results in a lot of the problems facing the door to door proffession today. You have to remember that this is one of the oldest known and once respected proffessions of our time. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that every company out there is legitimate and that you shouldn't be apprehensive to anyone that comes to your door... I'm just saying that I think this is an issue that has gotten blown out of proportion because of many factors. I was able to see the country over the ten years that I worked with various companies and learn a sense of self confidence that they can't teach you in any school or college. I also managed to make a little money along the way. I have yet to find a job in the corporate world that will pay me what I'm worth as opposed to getting out there and making my own paycheck. Yes it is a tough world in the sales force but it's tough in anything that you have to apply yourself to in order to succeed. I know many of the different companies managers and owners and I realize that they were once mere sales agents at one time or another and had a dream of one day working for themselves and managed to accomplish it. Even though I no longer travel with any company I still keep in touch with many of them from time to time and get a chance to see them when they get close to my area. So don't be so quick to judge someone the next time you answer the door. You can't tell me that you as a public aren't a good judge of character. You know deep down inside within a few minutes whether someone is decent or not. Also remeber that many of these companies are simply the middle man in the grand scheme of you getting your magazines. They send the orders to the publishing companies and then they no longer have anything to do with you getting your magazine. That is why they are called independent contractors. For a world that is so advanced sometimes I feel we as a whole are so ignorant to the way things really work. I understand that many people will read this and shout that I am still "brainwashed" from my years in the field but the truth is that I am a realist and can look at a situation from both sides of the fence and make my own decision. I feel it is truly sad that it has come to a point where we judge people on what the media says is so instead of being independent and making our own evaluation.
Sean
Panama City, Florida
U.S.A.
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