
Trapped into Selling Magazines Door-To-Door - timw6n
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/04/trapped-into-selling-magazines-door-to-door/388601/?single_page=true
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anigbrowl
_“It’s not illegal to change a business name,” said Lisa Dilg of the Detroit
BBB. “I don’t know how it’s legal, because it’s like hiding. But because it’s
not illegal, there is no way to find out if the companies have been changing
names and popping up in BBBs across the U.S. looking like they have no
affiliation to each other.”_

This is a weak point in America's business culture, and there's an opportunity
to engineer it away. Fictitious business name applications (and changes) take
place on a county-by-county basis, and there are ~3000 counties in America,
all with their own set of records and their own administrative systems.
Varying rules by county and state make it really easy for businesses to hide
from consumer scrutiny. Indeed, I think part of the reason that people feel
'government' sucks is not that we have too _much_ government, but that we have
too _many_ governments and it's too easy for bad actors to work this
system...or rather the >3000 slightly different systems that are very poorly
integrated.

~~~
notahacker
A joined up public database to track connections between company names and
founders might be useful, but it certainly wouldn't stop corrupt organisations
from marketing themselves as to ordinary people offering legitimate solutions.
An organization with a reputation for being as laughably easy to buy off as
the BBB isn't the answer either.

I actually assumed the article would be about the Southwestern company, an
organization whose reputation for exploiting its self-employed staff is known
on the other side of the Atlantic, but still recruits from the university
campuses that haven't banned it. But they've been enlisting college-age kids
to sell books on doorsteps under exactly the same name since just after the
Civil War and they pay their BBB dues...

Some of these companies are dirtier, but the problem with "self-employed"
remote salespeople whose lives are controlled by the company is deeper than
knowing who the entities are, since neither the crews nor the people that
actually persuaded to buy the merchandise are likely to do the research.
That's the part where more protection is needed

And I say this as someone that did a self-employed remote door-to-door job in
consecutive summers with the same company back at university whilst having
other options.

~~~
sixQuarks
I sold books door-to-door in 1996 for Southwestern company. I don't know if
they're a different kind of company today, but I must say it was one of the
best experiences I've ever had.

Yes, it's true that you have to work 80 hours per week, in a town where you
don't know anybody, and where you don't have a place to live (you actually
have to knock on doors and find a place to live). I mean, it sounds crazy on
paper, and over 50% of people quit, but if you can make it through the summer,
you really learn a lot about yourself and what you're capable of.

~~~
yitchelle
Its all about getting outside of your comfort zone and doing something totally
different. It forces you to made decisions that you would have to never make,
and also to see the ramifications of those decisions. Kudos to you for
experiencing it!

~~~
sixQuarks
Another interesting thing I learned first-hand is that you never know what
someone else is capable of (don't judge a book by its cover).

One of the top performers the summer I worked was a raver-type guy that looked
like he was strung out on meth and mumbled when he talked. The guy was
incredible at selling door-to-door, blew the doors off everybody else - not
necessarily because he was a natural salesperson, but because he worked his
ass off. I shadowed him one day to see how he did it, I learned so much about
life that day. Another top performer was a quiet girl that seemed very shy.

------
mathattack
_“I’ve been working on crews for three years, and I’ve been abandoned 11
times,” said Stephanie Dobbs, a mother of three who worked with another
company, Young People Working, LLC, until being stranded in Cloverdale,
Indiana, last month. “But I keep going back. I’ve got to do something to
support my kids, and this is fast, easy cash if you’re a good seller.”_

Ummm... After getting abandoned 10 times, wouldn't you nix the 11th trip? (If
you're good enough for easy cash, you won't get left behind. If you're not
good enough to get the easy cash, how is it profitable?)

It's pretty awful exploitation.

~~~
patio11
Speaking generally rather than about any specifically identifiable person,
many people in the United States told the scenario: "Your boss pays you 15% of
Monday's sales of $200, Tuesday's sales of $1,200, Wednesday's sales of $450,
Thursday's sales of $80, and Friday's sales of $1,500. He then awards you a
bonus of $120 and subtracts $380 for expenses. How much money did you make?"
with "Umm... a thousand dollars. Give or take. Good money. That's a heck of a
lot more than I ever got paid at McDonalds, and they don't take out taxes or
anything."

Life is a series of 4th grade math problems and, unfortunately for some
people, 4th grade math remains difficult for them.

~~~
TheLoneWolfling
Try about a quarter of that.

~~~
wyldfire
> " 'Umm... a thousand dollars' ... unfortunately for some people, 4th grade
> math remains difficult for them."

patio11 himself was merely citing their misunderstanding.

~~~
TheLoneWolfling
Whoops.

    
    
        joke
        ----
        head

~~~
mathattack
I'm to steal joke/head. Do I need to cite it? :-)

~~~
TheLoneWolfling
Go ahead - it's an old joke.

------
watmough
This really sucks, in fact many low-end sales jobs suck.

And to cap it all off, some young smart-looking black kid actually interrupted
me to sell stuff at my front-door whilst I was reading this article.

How do you address something like this? It's hard to imagine there's so much
competition for jobs at McDs or Chick Filet or Aldi (reputedly
$12/hour+benefits), that smart-looking, communicative people would rather go
door to door selling magazine subscriptions.

~~~
hn_
>It's hard to imagine there's so much competition for jobs at McDs or Chick
Filet or Aldi (reputedly $12/hour+benefits), that smart-looking, communicative
people would rather go door to door selling magazine subscriptions.

When I was in High School I worked in fast food. 2-3 days a week we had people
asking for applications - which we never accepted because we had a ton. These
weren't teenagers either. I was shocked at how many people wanted to work
there. This was in a fairly low income area - it was a job and people were
looking for jobs.

------
pkaye
"Sharing" economy...

------
plongeur
> “Oh my God, can you grab him?” I shouted at the woman at the door, as my
> 3-month-old puppy darted out into the cold and I tried to stop my 6-year-old
> twins from following suit. She obliged, and I was able to get a proper look
> at her. It was in the 30s outside, unseasonably cold for Florida, and the
> young woman holding my squiggling puppy was wearing nothing but a light
> spring sweater, shivering and looking miserable. I invited her in. ... "

I fell asleep by the end of that paragraph - gimme the fac's, dude ...

