I finally told the insurance company I'm not doing their door to door sales.

[PhilosipherStoned]

This is the last job related rant or post I'll make I get no one really cares anyway.. It just feels inherently like the wrong thing to do to decline a job offer and especially one I initially applied for and accepted, but I made my reservations known fairly early I think. The hiring manager still seemed to try to convince me to give it a try even though I brought up the fact that I just didn't feel prepared for the traveling, and unreinbursed personal expenses involved in this door to door insurance gig. 

What else could I do though except let them know I no longer felt I could do it in good conscience, and try to be professional about it? I mean I didn't tell them about all the negative aspects I found out only after accepting like the fact the contract I signed gives them full control over the earnings I get when I do sell a policy, and if a customer cancels I heard they try to make you pay them back.. The negative reviews I've read online regarding the field it's self not JUST the company were pretty scary..

but since it's the hiring manager's job in a way to argue all that is fair, and reasonable I only said that after much consideration I just don't feel this type of work is right for me and I don't think I'm in the right position to be traveling 4 days a week staying in random hotels with zero promise of reinbursement. 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by PhilosipherStoned

[Naraku4656]

probably a good move. sales jobs like that are super cutthroat and you -usually- don't really make all that much money

Edited April 16, 2019 by Naraku4656

[midnight]

Well, since everything is done digitally nowadays, the fact that they rely on people traveling and going door to door is questionable to begin with.

They have nothing to lose by hiring you, since you don't get paid unless you make them money. And expenses are yours to handle. Doesn't sound like they can afford a major office complex with technologically advanced equipment, such as computers, fax machines, printers, etc. (sarcasm on the tech), with physical employees there to take and make calls. They want people to do the leg work, at their own expense. 

These jobs are bogus. I'm glad you turned it down. You would have gone through your savings and had nothing to show for it.

[Naraku4656]

1 minute ago, midnight said:

Well, since everything is done digitally nowadays, the fact that they rely on people traveling and going door to door is questionable to begin with.

They have nothing to lose by hiring you, since you don't get paid unless you make them money. And expenses are yours to handle. Doesn't sound like they can afford a major office complex with technologically advanced equipment, such as computers, fax machines, printers, etc. (sarcasm on the tech), with physical employees there to take and make calls. They want people to do the leg work, at their own expense. 

These jobs are bogus. I'm glad you turned it down. You would have gone through your savings and had nothing to show for it.

when i was first looking for jobs at the career fairs at college. i had a REALLY hard time getting employers to call me back. i finally got one interview with some small company. the first interview was pretty normal, sales position like his but whatever i was a kid and was ready to pretty much take anything i could get. flash forward to the second interview and it was this really weird group interview. it was supposed to happen at 9 but i was there at 10:15 and still no interview happened. they wanted us to sign a form saying that we were willing to shadow them around for the whole day and not get paid for it which i never signed. 15 minutes later i get up to make a phone call with another company that called me back and use the restroom. when i come back the rest of the people that were in the room with me were gone. "oh you weren't here so they left without you, we'll have to reschedule". i said "ok" and left and never called them back to reschedule. found out a few years back that they went out of business

[midnight]

1 minute ago, Naraku4656 said:

when i was first looking for jobs at the career fairs at college. i had a REALLY hard time getting employers to call me back. i finally got one interview with some small company. the first interview was pretty normal, sales position like his but whatever i was a kid and was ready to pretty much take anything i could get. flash forward to the second interview and it was this really weird group interview. it was supposed to happen at 9 but i was there at 10:15 and still no interview happened. they wanted us to sign a form saying that we were willing to shadow them around for the whole day and not get paid for it which i never signed. 15 minutes later i get up to make a phone call with another company that called me back and use the restroom. when i come back the rest of the people that were in the room with me were gone. "oh you weren't here so they left without you, we'll have to reschedule". i said "ok" and left and never called them back to reschedule. found out a few years back that they went out of business

That's how these overnight companies work. And with the insurance industry being pure shit these days, no one is going to buy insurance from a door to door salesman. Most people hide when they come around knocking anyways. We don't get them here where we live, because we are out in the swamp. But we do get Jehovah's Witnesses, and I will hide from them fuckers. And they aren't even trying to sell anything. People don't want to be bothered at home. 

[Naraku4656]

2 minutes ago, midnight said:

That's how these overnight companies work. And with the insurance industry being pure shit these days, no one is going to buy insurance from a door to door salesman. Most people hide when they come around knocking anyways. We don't get them here where we live, because we are out in the swamp. But we do get Jehovah's Witnesses, and I will hide from them fuckers. And they aren't even trying to sell anything. People don't want to be bothered at home. 

i've never seen a door to door salesman. i don't even entirely remember what the job had me sell but i know it wasn't insurance. i had mormons come to my house once but i was half asleep and in my pjs and looked hungover so they just kind of left.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Naraku4656

[PhilosipherStoned]

It was just one of those things I had to go with my gut on.. and if it wasn't for the hiring manager, and the sales rep she freaking sent back to my house to try to convince me to stick with it I would've already cut my ties.. I do have more money saved up than some.. Definitely not enough to be comfortable with this level of contracting in a field I'm expected to learn completely from scratch and fend for myself in though. 

Edited April 16, 2019 by PhilosipherStoned

[midnight]

Just now, Naraku4656 said:

i've never seen a door to door salesman. i had mormons come to my house once but i was half asleep and in my pjs and looked hungover so they just kind of left.

I'm surprised that Stoned's position was for a door to door salesman. I thought that was a thing of the past to be honest. No door to door salesman ever overcame struggle. Ever. 

[midnight]

Just now, PhilosipherStoned said:

It was just one of those things I had to go with my gut on.. and if it wasn't for the hiring manager, and the sales rep she freaking sent back to my house to try to convince me to stick with it I would've already cut my ties.. I do have more money saved up then some.. Definitely not enough to be comfortable with this level of contracting in a field I'm expected to learn completely from scratch and fend for myself in though. 

They came to your house and were persistent because they wanted that free labor out of you. If it was a great paying job, they would hire someone already qualified. Also, they wouldn't give a shit if you turned it down. These are just a couple of signs that spelled disaster in my opinion.

[Naraku4656]

2 minutes ago, midnight said:

They came to your house and were persistent because they wanted that free labor out of you. If it was a great paying job, they would hire someone already qualified. Also, they wouldn't give a shit if you turned it down. These are just a couple of signs that spelled disaster in my opinion.

in all fairness, i've had interviews at actual places that were bummed out when i turned them down. i did get some linkedin contacts out of it and do sometimes see events through them that interest me

[PhilosipherStoned]

I actually get a lot around here. They're usually from surveilence/home renevating type companies though I did let this older guy schedule an appointment to talk to me about life insurance..Just don't peg me for the gullable type because it's always curiousity more than anything that makes me give them a chance because like you guys I feel the whole door to door thing is really and outdated practice.. and I like to hear what the sales reps are going around feeding people. Most of these companies that do it here are actuallly pretty well to do companies.. The sales reps they have pedaling around I'm not too sure about though. At any rate it's definitely not my cup of tea.

Edited April 16, 2019 by PhilosipherStoned

[midnight]

2 minutes ago, Naraku4656 said:

in all fairness, i've had interviews at actual places that were bummed out when i turned them down. i did get some linkedin contacts out of it and do sometimes see events through them that interest me

I've never really had anyone be pissed I turned a job down, unless it was a lateral move in the same company. Now, I have had them get pissed and/or sad when I put in my notice. I retracted a notice once. And at one company, I gave my notice and was offered a substantial raise to stay, to which I accepted. 

[PhilosipherStoned]

They weren't really pissed, and I agreed over the phone I'd listen to what that guy had to say and that I'd think about it a bit more while I was studying for the state exam you're required to pass to even sell insurance.. I have learned about a lot of the investing loop holes involved in different insurance policies, and also all the laws surrounding fraudelent practices (etc) so I can't consider it a complete loss.. Plus by the way it sounded over the phone I may be still able to jump into this if I do want to in the future since I've been so open with everything. (not that I see myself doing that)

Edited April 16, 2019 by PhilosipherStoned

[Naraku4656]

3 hours ago, midnight said:

I've never really had anyone be pissed I turned a job down, unless it was a lateral move in the same company. Now, I have had them get pissed and/or sad when I put in my notice. I retracted a notice once. And at one company, I gave my notice and was offered a substantial raise to stay, to which I accepted. 

i would NEVER do that. if i gave notice i'd leave no matter what. they're just buying time until they can find someone

[K_N]

Door to door sales are a scam. The only exception is lawn care services.

[PhilosipherStoned]

I feel like there's more exceptions probably.. If someone comes to my door representing a company, and I'm actually in the market or have a need for their product I'll buy it honestly if I can vet it against competing companies/services and I feel the deal is right. The problem is a lot of companies that do that have scripts they're supposed to follow or a whole bunch of propaganda to load you down with, and I know that.. (which is more or less scamming I agree)

Like this company for example sent me a folder that had some scripts for it's reps to follow that were pretty stupid.. If someone says they're not interested according to this script they still want you to try to promote the product, and tell them all about it somehow. That's just not me. One of the only reasons I accepted the job offer was so I could get a look at the contract, and see if they had any kind of hybrid pay/ benefits..and I didn't like what I saw.

[Doom Metal Alchemist]

15 hours ago, Naraku4656 said:

i've never seen a door to door salesman. i don't even entirely remember what the job had me sell but i know it wasn't insurance. i had mormons come to my house once but i was half asleep and in my pjs and looked hungover so they just kind of left.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess either vacuum cleaners or knives.