Pros
A sales job where I actually made money, not much though.
Cons
I worked 20 hr days but half of that time was unpaid volunteer, travelling or setting up. For only 10 hrs of everyday could I potentially make money by pounding doors. Every day we were pumped up by having to listen to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s motivational speeches because getting 1,500 no’s in a day can really leave you feeling deflated. The job was consuming, I was expected to work for 189 days straight, and I lasted 32, was lead away in handcuffs. I made an average of $72.50 a day, so low that I couldn’t afford not to work every day for the whole season. On my top day I made $279 on my lowest days I made -$15, that is no money and you must pay for the machine rental-that is a $4,500 lawncore aerator, that is a machine that puts holes in your turf so that it can be seeded and fertilized. I had to push the 365 lb machine over 15 miles every day and knock on 1,500 doors, less doors in rural areas but longer distances. 8am to 12pm-typical day. Books we had to read, “How to be a Millionaire in 90 Days”-preposterous, I stopped reading these get rich quick books at age 18. Day 32, I had to go to the can at noon as usual. I can’t sell when I smell, or when I’m dancing. I locked up the machine in the rock garden of a bank while I used the can for 15 mins. When I came back there were 2 landscapers threatening me with a week’s wages for “blocking the sidewalk”-that’s ridiculous, even the shadow of the machine isn’t even touching the sidewalk. I should have called my Italian boss whom I dubbed “Il Duce”, to come down and talk to them, but tired and deprived of sleep I threatened to punch their lights out and was hauled away in handcuffs, all I could do to salvage the situation was make sure the machine didn’t go into impound. I was fined $100 and put on probation for a year. The company said we will now get you to train new employees; it will be easier for you. It wasn’t I couldn’t convince them that they couldn’t sell beyond their means. I quit after a week, none of my trainees got the message. Six months later the company called me back and asked me if I wanted to do some telemarketing for them-hell no!