Starting off this report, I started this job in August. I found the add on Craigslist a week before getting hired. I placed a call and they told me to come in and fill out an application in which I would have an interview on the spot. Being a young unemployed male, this peaked my interest and I swiftly went in for an interview. As stated per their requirements, I went into the interview in a suite and tie. I waited only 10 minutes for my first interview, after filling out my application. I talked to the "owner" of Steeltown named Steve. He talked all about the "amazing package deals" that they would talk to potential customers about. They put together packages and deals allowing people to save a lot of money during their travels. The most important of the packages were the pirates and the entertainment or "save around" books. This seems very interesting to me, because I was promised a quick moving career and had the ability to move up quickly in the company.
They told me to come back and I would have a second interview. This would be where I would "shadow" another "independent contractor" (as they called their employees) and see if I liked the job. Well, sure enough, I did like it at first, I followed a guy named Jon on this trip. He seemed to teach me a lot about the job and how it worked. To me, it was a pyramid scheme, but it wasn't that bad AT FIRST. The guy I was with sold 1 book and made a total of $7 in 10 hours of work. We started our day at 7:30 am on a Thursday. We broke for a 10 minute lunch, in which I was unable to eat due to lack of money. There was another "second interview" with me as well, who was a friend to the other salesman that was there. That guy bought the other interview lunch, and the two salesman pitched in to buy each other food. I was left to watch them eat for 10 minutes. Even after asking, they told me that they would "get me back later" which apparently "later" never came, because I wasn't able to eat the entire day. Heading back to the office, I got hired that following Monday.
They had told me from the start that I was not going to be a "cold salesman" but in fact, was. We would go business to business door to door person to person selling these "coupon books" to any one person on the street, or in a building. There was no rock left un-turned. You know those "NO SOLICITING" signs in doors, meant for people like us? Well, their motto is "that means "welcome" in Spanish" and ignored the fact.
Each day that we worked, it was filled with lies and deceit towards the customer. We were told to tell the customer that the coupons are good anywhere, when in fact, even the LISTED LOCATIONS on the coupons are not valid at some of those places. The people would not accept them. So even the product was a scam.
Later in my career of working here, I went on a Road Trip, sounds fun, right? Wrong. We went to Altoona with 157 books, in attempt to sell each and every one of them. We went out, and had to wait all day for the Hotel, so we were out on the field working from 10am (when we arrived in altoona) until 9pm (when the hotel was finally ready). You'd think that they would have planned ahead for us going up because they let us know a week in advanced? When we finally GOT the hotel, it was a 2 bed hotel with 1 bath and 4 people. So 2 of us had to sleep on the floor. During the entire stay, the sales were very slim, at best. Every night they forced me to go out to the bar with them, even sell to the bartender and customers in the bar. Long story short, I ended up selling a total of 45 books in 6 days of this road trip. We had to stay an extra day. So in a total of 6 days straight (waking up at 8am, out on the field until 6pm, going to dinner spending our own money, and then BACK on the field from 7pm until 11pm) Total of 96 hours of work for a total of $315. Most of which had to be spent on Gas daily for the driver, and food amounting to about $220 in profit in 6 days. That is less than min. wage in the state of PA. I was making more in a week at McDonalds than I was here, and I was working harder here.
On top of all of this, I spent a total of $65 in gas for the driver, we get back to the office, the "Team Leader" as his title was called made an extra $3 per book to himself. So he made an extra $471 just for being the Team Leader. He has only worked for the company 2 weeks longer than I was at the time. So why does he benefit over double our profits just because he is a 2 week veteran?
The entire salary, is based strictly on commission, so if you sell 3 books in a week, you make $21 that week. This job is NOTHING but a pyramid scheme. Each "team leader" makes $1 per book you sell daily, so they automatically make money off of you. The promise of "moving up quickly" yeah... You wont see that unless you bust your a*s more than anyone else there, and even then it is VERY far away. They promise things to you that they don't keep. I worked there for 4 months, didn't miss ONE SINGLE day, sold out a lot of books to friends and family and even took advantage of "night orders" which you are able to take books out for the weekend, or the night and settle up in the morning. The longer you work there, the less they care for you. Unless you are able to move up, and moving up is d**n near impossible.
Some of the people that are affiliated with this company
Steve Graziani - Manager
Justin Lotz - Salesman
Brittany Brown - Receptionist / Steve's girlfriend
Rhett O'Hara - "Owner"
These are all of the people that make money off what YOU do. You don't see ANY of these benefits from them. Their goal, to hire as many people as possible and blanket areas so you sell a few books and packages here and there so they make $1000+ a week off of you. This job is simply a scam, awful work for the money you make, and there are NO benefits. If you fall ill, and are unable to make 2 or 3 days, they give you less inventory to sell, and try to break the money that you make in order to "punish" you for not showing up.
To aid you in this, here is a number and information you can reach them at.
412-431-0423
50 s7th st
Pittsburgh pa 15203.