The door-to-door / commission-only jobs thread (super dooper mega merge)

sendit

longpuck wrote: »

Another company a friend of my applied for a job with called i think Abby Sports Wair might be wrong there. Anyway it was a commision only sales job and the work the rep was expected to do was crazy.

Like most of them had to pay your own expences, tax etc. There was ment to be one rep in each county in Munster and they were to cold call to every single school before they started back, now theres no way one person could do that. Also cold call every sports club they could get to. He was told with in 6 months he would be making a grand a week off of it but even that wouldn't be enough for the amount of work you would have to put in. Facter in that you'd be competeing with O'Neills etc you would have no hope.

The people who start companys like this well i dont know what words to used to describe them really, they expect the people to do every single thing wile they sit back and make a huge amount of money off even only 3/4 sales.

The thing alot of them say about the travel aswell is you can clame it back at the end of the year witch isn't much good when you've spent most of your wages over the year on petrol

Looked into that same job i think. It was crazy what you were expected to do alright id be surprised if he ever got anyone to do it

columbo 90

how are you all doing this is my first post and have found all points of view in this thread very intresting...anyway I have recently started working for a company called FMI the position I applied for was direct selling and the position advertised was basic and commission I was wondering if anyone on here has ever worked for them and if they have what should I expect cheers.

freeze4real

columbo 90 wrote: »

how are you all doing this is my first post and have found all points of view in this thread very intresting...anyway I have recently started working for a company called FMI the position I applied for was direct selling and the position advertised was basic and commission I was wondering if anyone on here has ever worked for them and if they have what should I expect cheers.

I worked for them.

it's a good company. its basic plus commission.

moomoocow

sendit wrote: »

Im just going to point out somethings i the ads for some of theses jobs

This one is taken from the FAS jobs site

JM Energy Savings represent a major green electricity supplier in the rural areas of Cork and Kerry. We currently have a fantastic opportunity for selling green electricity to domestic houses in the rural Tralee area. Key responsibilities are to achieve targets, explain products, cover specific area in your sales territory and cold calling to get new customers. Skill qualifications needed are: self-motivated and target driven, full drivers licence and have your own transport. Sales experience is an advantage but we are willing to train motivated applicants. Successful candidates will be responsible for making their own Tax returns to the Revenue Commissioners.

Salary: €Commission based
Number of Positions
1

Contract Type
Permanent

Days, Hours & Start Date
Days per week: 5
Hours per day: 8
Hours per week: 40
Start Date: Immediate

Experience Required:
No Experience Required
Transport:
Transport is required for this position

The things in bold.

First why is the company not named? In the CPM jobs they say if its Eircom etc. If its such a ''fantastic opportunity'' surly the should have no problem with naming the company.

It says you'll be selling in rural areas and need your own transport that you would think would cost alot in terms of petrol etc witch isn't really made clear.

It says you have to do your own Tax etc witch would make you self-employed yet is has a number of days you work plus hours to work, surely it would not be the case if your self-employed? Also having to do your own Tax etc is another cost you pay yourself.

So really what they want is for you to do all the work pick up all the costs wile they pay you a tiny part of the over all sale. All in all not sure a fantasic opportunity.

At the start of the year i was looking to get some money together fast so i looked into this company. What ever about the job but the guy you had to contact John was his name well i dont know the words to describe him. He was rude and ignorant just want you'd expect from someone who runs one theres companys. I told hm i was only looking for something short term but he said no he'd only be interested if i did it long term, i mean you would think he should be happy with someone doing it for any amount of time. From what i could make out he'd just be too lazy to after to get someone ealse to do it later on. You more or less had to do every single aspect of the work wile he just sat back and got his money

Delancey

That these guys won't even pay up expenses is something they should be ashamed of .

The energy regulator here has also had complaints about people being moved over to airtricity without their consent - apparently all an unscrupulous rep has to do it get the number off your meter ( easy to do on a modern house with meters outside ) and fill in a form purporting to be from the customer and bingo ! - the ' customer ' has been signed up and the first they know is when they get a bill from the new supplier.

moomoocow

Delancey wrote: »

That these guys won't even pay up expenses is something they should be ashamed of .

The energy regulator here has also had complaints about people being moved over to airtricity without their consent - apparently all an unscrupulous rep has to do it get the number off your meter ( easy to do on a modern house with meters outside ) and fill in a form purporting to be from the customer and bingo ! - the ' customer ' has been signed up and the first they know is when they get a bill from the new supplier.

Yes more over that JM Energy savings they only do ruel areas where you'd rack up hugh travel expenses that on top on having to sort out your own tax you'd make hardly no money what so ever!

ConnyLenz

I have an interview with ACT Organisation tomorrow, they're some kind of door to door sales company. Has anyone worked for them before? Is it a scam?

ladder

I Have heard of the company its part of cobra/appco its commission only not sure what clients they have but its not a scam you get paid for what you sell, starts off as field sales but there is progression if you work hard, go for the interview and see what you think for your self.
Before anyone says it i DO NOT WORK FOR OR HAVE ANY CONECTION TO THEM only giving my opinion about it because i work in this industry.
ment to ask is it in cork ? if it is they do events.

ConnyLenz

Yeah, it's in Cork. Thank you.

Got an interview with one of these companies but after reading this thread I don't think I will be going to it, I knew these type of jobs were tough but didn't realise how tough.

On a similar note my friend got a job selling Sky, is it true that you get free Sky+ while working for them?

longpuck

It think moderators should step in hear once and a wile. People are saying that theres company's are scams etc to be fair there not actually scams everything your told is true granted they may mislead people but they dont lie about what you can do. That said i still thing companys like theres should not be alowed with out paying for form of expence etc or should just be got rid of altogether

Delancey

Deleted User wrote: »

On a similar note my friend got a job selling Sky, is it true that you get free Sky+ while working for them?

Nope , not a word of truth in that .

moomoocow

Has anyone noticed now jobs with theses companys are always on jobs.ie? Could a complante be made to them? Would it make any difference as there being paid by them to have the job on it?

Delancey

Pointless complaining to jobs.ie , several people here have done that and got nowhere .
It does damage the credibility of the site in my opinion.

moomoocow

Delancey wrote: »

Pointless complaining to jobs.ie , several people here have done that and got nowhere .
It does damage the credibility of the site in my opinion.

Taught so, like i said there get money for them to put the job up so why would they stop it

allibastor

i suppose they can put them up because they technically are jobs, rubbish jobs to be fair. have you noticed also that the job adverts for the companies also have various job titles for the very similar roles. one company in limerick has several job titles on jobs.ie for roles that all have the same working content. how can a sales area manager and field sales staff have the exact same duties to carry out.

sendit

longpuck wrote: »

It think moderators should step in hear once and a wile. People are saying that theres company's are scams etc to be fair there not actually scams everything your told is true granted they may mislead people but they dont lie about what you can do. That said i still thing companys like theres should not be alowed with out paying for form of expence etc or should just be got rid of altogether

I have to agree with this. Now im no fan of theres companys but people are on hear saying there scams with nothing to back it up. Everything they tell you is true the way they say it may sound like a lie but really its not. Also people on heaar saying people who work there are scumbags etc surely thats not on

sendit

moomoocow wrote: »

Yes more over that JM Energy savings they only do ruel areas where you'd rack up hugh travel expenses that on top on having to sort out your own tax you'd make hardly no money what so ever!

YA that JM Energy savings is a joke altogether at least with the Corda ones you can actually get somewhere based on your sales with that your just making money for a gready person too laszy to do any work themselfs

Sparkles:)

whitewater32 wrote: »

but43r I applied for a job in one of these companies Did they ask you to go business dressed and bring a CV was told that the MD had personally selected my cv and was very impressed with me. I did a little research on them and they bring you off that day and drop you off in housing estates to start selling. Your are also self employed didn't go for the interview hope this helps

well i have an interview with them tomorrow... have a feeling i'm going to be a no show! what a load of horse manure...

allibastor

i dont think it is fair to say they divulge all the information. they dress up a lot of it to sound better than it is. also promotion is based not only on sales, but on the promotion and sales of people who are assigned to you, and in an industry which has exceptionally high staff turnover.

i had a "team leader" at my house the other day selling sky. asked him how did he get to be a team lead and said it was after his initial training but he has been a team lead for 8 months due to staff leaving after a few weeks. in his on words the only reason he was doing the job was because he was self employed before and has no stamps built up to draw dole, wont pass on means test.

also the people may or may not be scumbags who operate these companies, but they have a very scummy way of operating

Keano!

Just started this in the last few days now, door-to-door stuff. Been on three 'observing' days with a few lads and been going through the learning stuff so I know what I'm blabbering about.

Anyway, really looking forward to start pitching myself and find the challenge a big motivator. However, I do have this question and the company haven't really given me the information yet. Can't find out from the manager until next Tuesday either because he's away (apparently)

...Hours? What are they and is this a five day a week job? Obviously, I'll be needed for most of the day, but is this a five day a week job or are there weekends and what time do I get off really?

Already missed a golf outing I'd arranged and just wanted to know what the general deal was... cheers

Delancey

The company's failure to inform you up front about your hours at this point should be ringing alarm bells in your mind.

This thread is full of examples of 8 hour days being considerably longer due to ' training ' and travel time.

Keano!

well they've given me an idea of times. Like I know I'm in at 11, and finish at 8.30 at the latest. (travel then maybe longer) but weekends was what i was wondering and is it five days every week?

(generally)

LuckyLloyd

job/jäb/
Noun: A paid position of regular employment.

em·ploy·er/emˈploi-ər/
Noun: A person or organization that employs people.

So long as these companies are allowed to fundamentally misrepresent the opportunity they offer, stories such as those contained in this thread will never end unfortunately. The opportunity to be self employed doing commission only remunerative sales work is what is being farmed out by these shape shifting organisations. Now, I have no interest in debating the merit of such an opportunity. Clearly, a person with a certain skillset and high levels of determination might be able to make good money getting involved in such a project. But there is no doubt that the advertisements used to attract applicants and then the consequent "interview" and induction processes are incredibly misleading.

Simply put, the fact that you will have to register as self employed should be noted in any advertisement for the positions concerned. The failure to do this is completely indefensible, and the usual rhetoric of 'well it is hard work is sales, not for everyone, etc' put forth by defenders of these companies is beside the point. Secondly, it is very clear that the effort required exceeds 40 hours a week. Again, that is fine - many people must work long hours to achieve their goals whether they be self employed or not. However, to note 40 hours in advertisements when the applicant will be self employed (and therefore not subject to certain regulations on standardised work hours) is disgraceful.

I am incredibly surprised that the format and content of the advertisements placed by some of these companies has not been successfully challenged on a legal / regulatory level. Language is a very powerful thing, and so long as groups can continue to incorrectly characterise the relationship on offer as employer / employee based, many will be mislead and ultimately disappointed.

allibastor

Keano! wrote: »

well they've given me an idea of times. Like I know I'm in at 11, and finish at 8.30 at the latest. (travel then maybe longer) but weekends was what i was wondering and is it five days every week?

(generally)

Lad, fr any hope of getting good sales targets of getting that promotion you will be doing long hours on saturday. its all about how many calls you can make in a day. if you had read this thread before you would lots of people have these problems. the biggest problem is market saturation. the company just sends guys out in the hopes of making 1 or 2 sales a day. i doubt very much they care if you make your 600+ a week.

archyrich

Delancey wrote: »

The energy regulator here has also had complaints about people being moved over to airtricity without their consent - apparently all an unscrupulous rep has to do it get the number off your meter ( easy to do on a modern house with meters outside ) and fill in a form purporting to be from the customer and bingo ! - the ' customer ' has been signed up and the first they know is when they get a bill from the new supplier.

That's quite simply ridiculous.. I worked on the Airtricity campaign and you need bank details to process the form as at the end of the day it is direct debit only even though u can top up in the post office. As a moderator I thought u would have done your research more thoroughly instead of just scare mongering. It's a good product, ie it's cheaper but the customer service is appalling to say the least.

Jarren

3. Change of Supplier
3.1 If we take over the supply of Energy:

a) provided that we have obtained your express consent, you allow us to ask for information about your consumption history in relation to your previous Energy supply; and
b) you will give us an Energy meter reading for the Start Date or allow us to obtain an actual meter reading at the premises.

http://www.airtricity.com/ie/home/products/supply-of-electricity-and-or-gas/

That is what they say anyway;)

sendit

archyrich wrote: »

That's quite simply ridiculous.. I worked on the Airtricity campaign and you need bank details to process the form as at the end of the day it is direct debit only even though u can top up in the post office. As a moderator I thought u would have done your research more thoroughly instead of just scare mongering. It's a good product, ie it's cheaper but the customer service is appalling to say the least.

The moderators see what they want too see and nothing ealse.....

dudara

archyrich wrote: »

As a moderator I thought u would have done your research more thoroughly instead of just scare mongering.

@archyrich - if you look under Delancey's name, you will see that they are a moderator of the PSNI Recruitment forum. They are not a moderator of the Work & Jobs forum, and therefore are no different to any other poster here.

dudara

Delancey

archyrich wrote: »

That's quite simply ridiculous.. I worked on the Airtricity campaign and you need bank details to process the form as at the end of the day it is direct debit only even though u can top up in the post office. As a moderator I thought u would have done your research more thoroughly instead of just scare mongering. It's a good product, ie it's cheaper but the customer service is appalling to say the least.

Obviously all the folks on the Consumer forum who have had this experience were mistaken then.