Response to recent comments...

To the person who left the links to articles about the "scam" that is Vector Marketing, I have the following response:

The articles you left links to say that students were mislead about the job. As a student who has worked with the company for over a year now, I have seen first-hand how district offices are run, and I can honestly say that these articles do not come close to the truth.

One article says that when students call in about the position that they are given no details, when in fact they are told verbatim that they will be working at an "entry level customer service position...working with Cutco products."

Also, the article says that anyone who decides to work with Vector to sell Cutco is "required to buy sets of cutlery products for $145 to use" on demos. The fact of the matter is that students are putting a deposit (and a heavily discounted one at that) on the products that they can get back if they return the sample kit when they leave the job.

If someone starting with Vector doesn't want to get the sample kit, they don't have to pay $145, but they can still work with the company. Granted, you will be able to have more success if you have the product to show the customer.

Also, one of the articles cites one young man's story where he would work "five to six hours per day, and his weekly paycheck was about $100." Maybe that's the case, maybe not. But he was only making $100 a week while putting in 25-30 hours a week (or 35-42 hours if he worked weekends like some sales reps), then he was not doing the job the way he was taught to do it in training.

The company is set up to allow students to succeed, not to fail. For the company to set up its sales reps for failure would not make any sense. As far as this kids paycheck is concerned, if he ran his business (and it was his business because all Vector reps are independent contractors) the way he was instructed by his managers, he would have succeeded. I have seen firsthand for more than a year dozens of kids succeed just by doing what they are told, and their paychecks have a few more digits in them to show for it.

The articles also claim that reps were or are required to go to meetings for which they are not compensated and that they must pay to go to conferences. First off, those conferences are now free, so that is no longer a problem. Secondly, as far as these meetings, they are instructional and informative to help sales rep build their business and be successful.

I spent Thursday nights last summer at the Vector office I work for in Lewisville, TX learning how to be a better rep. No, I did not get paid for being at that meeting, but the things I would take away from that meeting would help me have more success in the following days. Basically, going to the meetings and learning to do a better job is worth it. You learn something new or how to do something better, apply it during a presentation, making a bigger sale and make more commission.

The fact remains that this company - despite what critics and unhappy students who couldn't cut it may say - does not mislead or scam its reps or its customers. The product is good. The work opportunity is better. The potential is virtually unlimited. The self-inflicted failures of a few students do not represent the company as a whole.

So please, whoever you are that left me the links to these stories, do keep in mind that this company, this "scam" as you call it, is probably the best work opportunity for students across the country.

Last summer, I made more than $10,000 as a 19-year-old college student. Every cent I earned, I was paid. Not one penny missing. I earned that through hard work of making phone calls, attending meetings, and listening to my office's management staff. Perhaps if others who work with the company did the same, I wouldn't have to respond to stupid "scam" allegations like this.