I am a former employee of Firstline Security. My employment by them should have been much shorter than it was... I should have caught the red flags.
Firstline Security, and others like APX and Pinnicle, are what they consider 'summer sales'. Recruiters post on Craigslist and visit college campuses around the nation to entice the youth into a promising and easy money sceme. During my first meeting with my recruiter, I was given a booklet with HUGE dollar signs. The average person can make 20-25,000 in the summer. Who in their right mind would say no to that?
After my first 'interview' I was hired, and was scheduled to head down to the city in a matter of weeks. Between the interview and the trip to the city I would be placed at there were only a few sporatic emails between my supervisors and I. It was SO unorganized.
After the break down of what's going on, we were immediately shoved onto the streets with limited training. They expected us to do door to door sales in a foreign city with nothing but a pamphlet and a contract. During my fourth day of knocking there was a tornado in the area—my manager REFUSED to let us stop. It was due to the kindness of the strangers' we've met that we were shielded from hail, pouring rain, gusty winds, and the tornado.
To those who are looking to do summer sales with Firstline. DON'T.
I, along with several friends, did real well for a first year rep according to their standards but the only 'backend check' I saw was a bill for several thousand dollars. Yes, it is true. They deduct money left and right—you get deducted "x" amount each week for rent, then another "x" amount for utilities, then you also get deducted money if you waive activation, if you give a point more than you're suppose to, etc. All this, by the way, was purposely misinformed—and wasn't cleared up until the last few weeks when a friend at another office tipped us off. I guess their smooth talking on the doors are also smooth in the office.
When I crunched the numbers, I would have made MORE money working at McDonald's over the summer than I did at Firstline. At Firstline, you work 6 days a week—your only day off is on Sunday. Your hours tend to be from 9am to 10pm—sometimes a lot later. I recall being out for work until midnight sometimes. Crunch the numbers... Average 11 hour days, 6 days a week... 66 hours a week... in the hot blazing sun...
Summer sales are no way to go. They promise that you'll get to see a new city—a fun city, etc. But the truth is, you will barely have enough time to see anything because of your work schedule.
And for those who are thinking about getting an alarm through Firstline, DON'T. Our shady tactics will screw you over in the long run. The 3 year contract that we pretend is no big deal, in fact is a big deal. You'll regret the $45 each month (plus taxes, alarm permits, etc.), there's also a clause in your contract where we can raise your monthly, too.
You're better off with a local company—ADT, if you're truly in the market for one.
Bottom line, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...
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