I recently lost my job and had to find another one. I found an ad in the paper for a call center. Went to the interview, which lasted less than 5 mins, and was hired. They told me I would make $11/hr vs. Commision, whichever was higher. That sounded great to me.
A few days later I went to the training which was to last from 10:30 to 6.
There were 22 of us in training. It began with reading and signing a bunch of papers about the company's policy. We were all told the hourly wage was $11. Yet on the papers we had to sign it said "The pay is $11/hr vs. commission for the first pay period. After that it is $9/hr vs commission UNLESS you miss any time off work, or make less than 6 sales a week, then the hourly pay is dropped to minimum wage."
The paper also said that if we made less than 8 sales a week we could be fired, and if we chose to quit the hours we were owed would be dropped to minimum wage.
Also we had to pay $20 a week for rent for the computer and phone use. Even though all of this stuff sounded ridiculous, I decided to go ahead with the training.
During the 3 hour training period three different people talked to us, and they were all cocky people. One guy told us we had to be money hungry sluts.
This is what we were trained to do: Call people who had registered to win a free cruise, and tell them (ALL OF THEM) that they had won a free cruise to the Bahamas. We had to follow a script that made it sound so amazing and too good to pass up. All of it is basicly to get them to take part in the time share, and to purchase an all inclusive vacation for a week in Orlando for $538. All they had to pay was $538 and port taxes for the cruise.
While it may not be a COMPLETE scam, it is definately not on the up and up. And the people who work there are money hungry creeps.
My first call, the first one that let me get through my speech anyway, was an old man, who sounded like he had had a stroke because his voice was really slurry. He was so nice, and I felt like the devil as I continued through my speech. At the end when we ask for a credit card I handed him over to a supervisor, who takes over the call and to get the money. The man gave him his address, and it was for Prince Edward Island, a place I have always wanted to visit, because my whole childhood I was obsessed with Anne of Green Gables.
That pretty much did it for me, I decided I could not do this to another soul. I prayed the man would not give his credit card information, and he didn't. The supervisor on the phone became a total jerk to him and hung up on him. I told them that I wanted to quit. They told me I did such a good job and that was just a bad call. But I am a Christian, and do not believe in taking advantage of ANYONE ESPECIALLY someone who may not know what they are getting themselves into.
And that is my story. If you have morals at all, steer clear of Imperial Majesty Cruise Line, and the Ramada hotels, or whoever they are associated with.
All4him
brandon, Florida
U.S.A.