Quote:
Originally Posted by ZTAngel
I dropped my card in one of those at my favorite local Thai restaurant and got the call from an Ameriprise. I told the guy that I didn't want to listen to his speech. He promised that he would only take 5 minutes of our time. He was true to his word. He gave a short sales pitch and then left me and my co-workers alone for the rest of lunch.
Those pyramid scheme companies prey on recent graduates. I graduated in 2003 when the economy was not so good (similar to what it is now!). It was tough finding a job back then for those of us who had a degree but little experience. Wenworth contacted a friend of mine and asked her to come in for an interview for a marketing position. She was all excited so she put on a suit she just bought for the interview with new shoes and headed over there. As soon as she got to the office, the hiring manager asked her if she had some time to follow around another marketing representative so that she could see what she'd be doing on a daily basis. She said sure. She had no idea what she was in for. It turns out that this job required their sales associates to do door-to-door sales of coupon books in the rural towns in Central Florida. My friend spent all day going door-to-door in her new suit. Keep in mind that it was the summer in Central Florida which means it was 90+ degrees. Then it started pouring but the sales associate wouldn't give up. He still dragged my friend door-to-door in the rain in her new suit which was dry clean only. She was basically held hostage since this sales guy was her ride home. Her "interview" begun that day at 10am and didn't end until 6pm. LOL. I love telling that story because I'll never forget how pissed she was. She called me crying and screaming all at the same time.
I think there was a thread like this a while back and I believe we all determined that Enterprise Rent-a-Car was a pyramid scheme as well.
|
Couple of stories:
1) Ameriprise tried recruiting me off of Monster or Careerbuilder just as soon as I graduated. My major had absolutely NOTHING to do with finance or accounting, or anything numbers/money related. That should have been my first sign.
I went to the initial presentation, and it seemed like they get paid a lot depending on how much they sell. And their recruiters get paid too. After seeing the other people there, and some of the things the guy said in the presentation, it just made me really uneasy and I knew it just wasn't my thing.
2) The fishbowls -- There was a company I worked for a couple of years ago and there were apparently 398293472934 Ameriprise reps in that area. My coworkers all ate out a lot, and every time we went out, they would drop their cards i nthe bowl. I didn't stay at that company long enough to even get business cards, but just about every week one (out of maybe the ten that would eat out regularly) would get selected for one of those presentations. I know it's kinda bad b/c that's how they try to find clients and none of us would ever sign up... but really? I would LOVE to see some ROI data for those fishbowls. I'm sure it can't be that bad otherwise I don't think they would do it very often?