Back in Jan. 01, I responded to an ad in my local paper "Like to travel? Come have fun in the sun and make new friends traveling the US and get paid for it" or along those lines. I was nearly 19 years old and had just quit a job due to stress and wanted something fun to do, so I called the number and gave my information and then a day later, I got a call back stating that if I could get on the nearest Greyhound to Waco, they would start me out the next day. Curious, I asked what I would be doing and they said "sales". I was like, cool.
That night, I got on a bus and went to Waco where my new "Boss" greeted me. It was early in the morning and asked me if I was hungry and took me to a Denny's and told me about what I would be doing which was door-to-door sales for magazine subscriptions. I am a people person and loved what I was hearing. Told me room and board was free and that they always were doing trips and such. I was hooked. He took me to the hotel where the rest of the crews (yeah, there was like 100 plus folks for these crews) and the boss introduced me to his crew including his gf and daughter (who was like 2 or 3 yrs. Old).
Then after a brief intro from all the members, we were off. Just like that, piled into vans and dropped off in various locations, casing the neighborhoods and going door-to-door telling folks we were trying to win a trip. The girl I was paired with was like the leader of the crew I was on and she told me that they just say that because it helps push the sales. That is when I started thinking, I might be in over my head. But, I dealt with it. Using the same con she pulled on many people.
There were lies to people, sex, drugs, alcohol, rape, death, you name it, it was part of the crew life. My first week there, I was drugged and woke up in one of the other crew's rooms with 3 or 4 other guys and 3 other girls. I was mortified. I wanted to go home. My boss, told me that I passed out and the guys just left me sleeping is all. Yeah, sure. But I pressed on. I thought maybe I did just pass out.
Weeks went on, and we traveled more. One of the guys I used to walk with in another crew was taken into an alley, mugged and then shot. I never saw him again. One of the girls on my crew went into someone's house and nearly died of a drug overdose. She went home. I barely would make my quota sometimes and other times, I exceeded it. The times I didn't make my quota, there was hell to pay. I got yelled at, cussed at, and not just from the boss, but the other crew members too. I was told that my priority was to make money for the company and not anything else (meaning that actual dating was out of the question).
I was fed up with everything and finally pulled the wool off from my eyes and woke up. I let my quota slip and finally my boss told me he was sending me home because I wasn't making payment for my "free room and board". I hadn't eaten in almost a week at that time (except for the free crackers I jacked from the Pizza Hut's I walked into from time to time where ever we were). My boss told me I was a waste of time and waste of his energy and those were the last words he said to me at the bus station.
So to anyone out there who is wanting to join a crew like this, no matter what they are selling, it's a scam, a lie, a cheat, and a total rip-off and waste of your time, not to mention, it can cost you your life. I made some friends (who all got out about the same time I did), but lost part of me during that time.
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