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Training: Day Three And The Confrontation
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I don’t think I’ve ever had it put that way before, of all the positions I’ve held, and the jobs I’ve done, no one has ever been eager and upfront about money. I liked his direct personality, he didn’t seem to be interested in wasting time, and he certainly knew how to dress. I didn’t need any encouragement to follow this time either, I was eager to get this process moving and come to some kind of resolution.
We moved back to his office and resumed our previous positions across the desk. Ronaldo produced a copy of my resume from the hutch behind him and pretended to review my previous job history, as though there were some answer to how much money I was worth in that brief collection of words.
"What we’d like to do here is bring you on as a senior sales rep for a trial period and if you do ok with that we’ll talk about moving you into management.”
We moved back to his office and resumed our previous positions across the desk. Ronaldo produced a copy of my resume from the hutch behind him and pretended to review my previous job history, as though there were some answer to how much money I was worth in that brief collection of words.
"What we’d like to do here is bring you on as a senior sales rep for a trial period and if you do ok with that we’ll talk about moving you into management.”
Working For A Home Security "Sub Dealer": Career Opportunity, Or Pitfall?
"This wise-guy sales routine was only making me more frustrated with the time I’d wasted and it must have showed on my face."
That sounded reasonable to me, after all, like he had mentioned earlier, they needed to know what kind of guy I am before committing to anything, just as I wasn’t about to make any commitments based just on the brief look I’d had over the last three days.
"We’ll give you the top commission rate to start, and then if you work out and we offer you management, you’ll get bumped up to the group commission rate.” He said. “That’s where you’ll make the real money!”
My heart sank in my chest; I didn’t see this curve ball coming, though I probably should have. Even without an explanation I knew what he meant, but I figured it would be prudent to make sure before storming out.
"We’ll give you the top commission rate to start, and then if you work out and we offer you management, you’ll get bumped up to the group commission rate.” He said. “That’s where you’ll make the real money!”
My heart sank in my chest; I didn’t see this curve ball coming, though I probably should have. Even without an explanation I knew what he meant, but I figured it would be prudent to make sure before storming out.
"Group commission?” I asked, afraid my tone came off more sheepish than stolid. “So there’s no salary or wage involved?”
“Being a small start up, we have to be careful with overhead…” His tone was less apologetic than biting, and I knew that he’d expected this response.
He continued on for several minutes, telling me about the virtues of straight commission, even for management. It was a great way to motivate everyone to work together, it made managers accountable for their teams, and (best of all) he could name at least six people from dealers he used to work with who drove Hummers and Corvettes, and who were taking their girlfriends out for hundred dollar dinners three times a week.
This wise-guy sales routine was only making me more frustrated with the time I’d wasted and it must have showed on my face. Ronaldo settled a bit in his chair and asked me what I thought, to which my reply was forcibly restrained.
“Being a small start up, we have to be careful with overhead…” His tone was less apologetic than biting, and I knew that he’d expected this response.
He continued on for several minutes, telling me about the virtues of straight commission, even for management. It was a great way to motivate everyone to work together, it made managers accountable for their teams, and (best of all) he could name at least six people from dealers he used to work with who drove Hummers and Corvettes, and who were taking their girlfriends out for hundred dollar dinners three times a week.
This wise-guy sales routine was only making me more frustrated with the time I’d wasted and it must have showed on my face. Ronaldo settled a bit in his chair and asked me what I thought, to which my reply was forcibly restrained.
“Is there no chance of a salaried arrangement?” I asked, almost sarcastically joking.
He thought in silence for a moment, and suddenly excused himself from the office, leaving me there to stew. I could hear him interrupting Mr. James in mid sentence and asking him to join us for a moment.
'Oh great!’ I thought, they’re going to tag team me!
Both men quickly entered the room, taking flanking positions around me in the office, and Ronaldo filled Mr. James in on our dilemma. I was impressed at least with the candour and apparent sensitivity in his recount of my response, and Mr. James contemplated the issue with a thoughtful look on his face.
He thought in silence for a moment, and suddenly excused himself from the office, leaving me there to stew. I could hear him interrupting Mr. James in mid sentence and asking him to join us for a moment.
'Oh great!’ I thought, they’re going to tag team me!
Both men quickly entered the room, taking flanking positions around me in the office, and Ronaldo filled Mr. James in on our dilemma. I was impressed at least with the candour and apparent sensitivity in his recount of my response, and Mr. James contemplated the issue with a thoughtful look on his face.
I decided, against my better judgement, to head off their brainstorming by reiterating my interest in the position, but declared outright that I would not take a management role for straight commission.
I should acknowledge that their position, up to this point, had been reasonable, given the circumstances. A start up company may not be able to afford a salaried sales manager, and as eloquently outlined by Ronaldo, others may have been quite successful in such a commissioned environment, but the point was that I had no particular interest in such an arrangement.
What happened next though, was the most profound and enlightening experience of my young professional life.
Ronaldo sat forward in his chair, leaning his elbows on the desk. He looked me straight in the face and with a scowl, he demanded…
"Who do you think you are, to come in here and throw our generous offer in my face?” His face was growing red as he spoke the words, and in spite of his small stature, he was doing a fair job of intimidating me.
He suddenly jumped to his feet, pushing his chair into the hutch behind him, and with a flip of his wrist he snapped his shining silver watch off and tossed is across the room at my chest.
I should acknowledge that their position, up to this point, had been reasonable, given the circumstances. A start up company may not be able to afford a salaried sales manager, and as eloquently outlined by Ronaldo, others may have been quite successful in such a commissioned environment, but the point was that I had no particular interest in such an arrangement.
What happened next though, was the most profound and enlightening experience of my young professional life.
Ronaldo sat forward in his chair, leaning his elbows on the desk. He looked me straight in the face and with a scowl, he demanded…
"Who do you think you are, to come in here and throw our generous offer in my face?” His face was growing red as he spoke the words, and in spite of his small stature, he was doing a fair job of intimidating me.
He suddenly jumped to his feet, pushing his chair into the hutch behind him, and with a flip of his wrist he snapped his shining silver watch off and tossed is across the room at my chest.
"Who do you think you are, to come in here and throw our generous offer in my face?” His face was growing red as he spoke the words..."
I’m not entirely sure what Ronaldo had hoped to achieve by bringing Mr. James into our meeting, unless I had even still misjudged the extent of Mr. James involvement with the company. The two men peered at me across the desk, as though I was rubix-cube and they were confused about how to get the yellow square off of the blue side.
“This is the kind of life you could be living if you would take a chance once in a while!” He declared, almost yelling at this point.
I looked down at the watch, just barely catching it before it fell to the floor at my shoes. It was a beautiful Rolex with a black face and large diamonds set at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions. His was a model of watch I had actually envied in magazine ads recently and I instantly considered walking away with it for the trouble. I was stunned though, I couldn’t move or speak, and I could see Mr. James in my peripheral was equally surprised by his colleague’s behaviour.
I gently placed the $8000.00 watch on the edge of the desk and sat back in the chair, taking a deep breath as I considered what to do next.
"I’m sorry if I’ve offended you Mr. Santos.” I began. “But my situation…”
I stammered in my train of thought, cowed by this unexpected show of bravado.
"I just can’t survive on…”
Ronaldo didn’t let me finish, he walked around the desk and scooped up his watch, slipping it back on his wrist.
I looked down at the watch, just barely catching it before it fell to the floor at my shoes. It was a beautiful Rolex with a black face and large diamonds set at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions. His was a model of watch I had actually envied in magazine ads recently and I instantly considered walking away with it for the trouble. I was stunned though, I couldn’t move or speak, and I could see Mr. James in my peripheral was equally surprised by his colleague’s behaviour.
I gently placed the $8000.00 watch on the edge of the desk and sat back in the chair, taking a deep breath as I considered what to do next.
"I’m sorry if I’ve offended you Mr. Santos.” I began. “But my situation…”
I stammered in my train of thought, cowed by this unexpected show of bravado.
"I just can’t survive on…”
Ronaldo didn’t let me finish, he walked around the desk and scooped up his watch, slipping it back on his wrist.
And both men left just as quickly and calmly as they had entered. I was left sitting in this office, which was quickly beginning to feel like a lion’s den, and he wanted me to think about it. What exactly was I supposed to be thinking about? The fact that this Rolex wearing wise-guy wanted to extort me into taking a commission only position; or maybe the fact that his reputable contact with ADT was little more than a front for whatever world domination plot was brewing in that call centre.
My mind was made up the moment his watch hit my chest, though I was now wishing he had left it sitting on the desk as punctuation for his point. My stint with Weston Security Inc was officially over, and with both men engaged with the rest of their new crew, I slipped out of Ronaldo’s office, gave a nod to “Moneypenny” and didn’t stop walking until I reached my car in the parking lot.
For the next several days I replayed that last meeting over and over in my head. It was like a bad dream, confusing and disturbing at the same time. I felt stupid for having been tricked into taking them seriously in the first place, but also still couldn’t see any one thing that could have tipped me off any earlier.
My mind was made up the moment his watch hit my chest, though I was now wishing he had left it sitting on the desk as punctuation for his point. My stint with Weston Security Inc was officially over, and with both men engaged with the rest of their new crew, I slipped out of Ronaldo’s office, gave a nod to “Moneypenny” and didn’t stop walking until I reached my car in the parking lot.
For the next several days I replayed that last meeting over and over in my head. It was like a bad dream, confusing and disturbing at the same time. I felt stupid for having been tricked into taking them seriously in the first place, but also still couldn’t see any one thing that could have tipped me off any earlier.
Conclusion:
Over the next two years, I kept tabs on Weston and Ronaldo through various business contacts and industry gossip. Weston went on to become a company that was synonymous with bully tactics, poor customer service and a revolving door attitude toward its employees. I recently became acquainted with the man who did take the position I was offered and for the group commission rate. He declined to comment on how much money he actually made with Weston, but the fact that he left them after only seven months of service and refuses to list the company on his resume is telling of the experience he had.
Since that time, I went on to become an expert in physical security and private investigation, and now knowing what I do about the realities of both home security and the security alarm business, I can tell you, with no sense of honour, that Weston, while possibly typical of the Hollywood image of the door-to-door sales business, isn’t necessarily the rule in an industry with few exceptions.
If there were a moral to my story, and I’m sure there is one somewhere, it might be akin to the Latin term, caveat emptor, meaning buyer beware. But in this case, the buyer should beware of some different things than most other businesses.
Firstly, educate yourself as a consumer and know the real value of the products and services you spend your hard earned money on. Security is an illusion, but a security system isn’t meant to provide you with security. The purpose of the technology is to be a voice for you and your family in times of emergency, it’s meant to detect threats, not deal with them directly. When put into perspective, Mr. James analogy of the monitoring contract being the real product of this business was right for more than one reason.
With the emphasis correctly placed on the reach of the alarm system’s monitored capabilities, one becomes aware of the importance of finding the right company for the job. When seeking a security system for your home, be proactive, seek out the best brand name technology, and seek it from the corporate entity that provides it, not from a lower level dealer.
Secondly, don’t focus on the tangible product; focus on the intrinsic value of the service. Companies that offer in-house monitoring services, in-house technical support and service, and who perform their own installation of the product are the companies who are best suited to provide the most value for your dollar.
Martin J. Clemens
(Staff Writer)
Over the next two years, I kept tabs on Weston and Ronaldo through various business contacts and industry gossip. Weston went on to become a company that was synonymous with bully tactics, poor customer service and a revolving door attitude toward its employees. I recently became acquainted with the man who did take the position I was offered and for the group commission rate. He declined to comment on how much money he actually made with Weston, but the fact that he left them after only seven months of service and refuses to list the company on his resume is telling of the experience he had.
Since that time, I went on to become an expert in physical security and private investigation, and now knowing what I do about the realities of both home security and the security alarm business, I can tell you, with no sense of honour, that Weston, while possibly typical of the Hollywood image of the door-to-door sales business, isn’t necessarily the rule in an industry with few exceptions.
If there were a moral to my story, and I’m sure there is one somewhere, it might be akin to the Latin term, caveat emptor, meaning buyer beware. But in this case, the buyer should beware of some different things than most other businesses.
Firstly, educate yourself as a consumer and know the real value of the products and services you spend your hard earned money on. Security is an illusion, but a security system isn’t meant to provide you with security. The purpose of the technology is to be a voice for you and your family in times of emergency, it’s meant to detect threats, not deal with them directly. When put into perspective, Mr. James analogy of the monitoring contract being the real product of this business was right for more than one reason.
With the emphasis correctly placed on the reach of the alarm system’s monitored capabilities, one becomes aware of the importance of finding the right company for the job. When seeking a security system for your home, be proactive, seek out the best brand name technology, and seek it from the corporate entity that provides it, not from a lower level dealer.
Secondly, don’t focus on the tangible product; focus on the intrinsic value of the service. Companies that offer in-house monitoring services, in-house technical support and service, and who perform their own installation of the product are the companies who are best suited to provide the most value for your dollar.
Martin J. Clemens
(Staff Writer)