Working at Vector Marketing — Reviews by Employees

This company is a total scam for being hired. they say its entry level and then you go in there for a interview and they trick you into working for them when all of it is just BS. they want you to buy there knife kit to show off to people and they dont pay you for training which is another total scam. They want you to go around trying to sell people things and waste your gas money when your trying to earn money. Alot of the people you sit in a room with during the interview and they all try to act professional not even knowing one damn bit there getting scammed by the company. My advice to you is stay far away from this company as possible unless you dont mind screwing everybody over like they do to people.

This is a total scam. All they want is for you to be a customer, not really an employee. You have to buy the product before you can begin working, and its like $150. Don't you think if I had that kind of money just lying around that I wouldn't be trying so hard to get a job. Don't work here, it is bogus!!!!

I'm 17 years old and a recent high school grad. I've been looking for a summer job for months to no avail. I thought it was really sketchy that a company called me offering me an interview for a job that I never applied for and was "recommended" for by name by a person who I am a casual acquaintance with. I was told it was a sales job or a receptionist job. I asked questions like "What exactly would I be doing?" but the only response was come in for an interview and a manager will be answering your questions. They wanted to schedule an interview right away. Like next day. They made sure to tell me to wear "professional clothes." I looked at at lot of reviews good and bad on various sights and it seems to me that the risk of even showing up for an interview at Vector is not worth it.

There seems to be a pattern to these interviews. Everyone who shows up is hired. You have to pay for the sales kit, even though it can be refunded if you quit. The receptionist gives you little details about the job and only wants personal information very quickly. (I was asked for my age, address, and college within minutes.)

I think its horrible that a company would target young adults like myself, who are not jaded enough to hang up on a complete stranger and are desperate for money so they can complete college, to do their dirty work. It also makes me sad that as a sales rep I would probably be targeting elderly people or others easily scammed with overpriced merchandise. I am honestly morally opposed to this kind of trickery. I wouldn't call Vector a scam because everything they do is well within the law but I would say that they are very evilly, intelligently aware of what they are doing. Who contacts people to hire them anyway? In my experience if something sounds too good to be true, like the $15 base pay from Vector, it probably is. I will not be wasting my time on this company and I suggest other young people do the same.

To the one who states you are a receptionist for this company: Remember, 9 out of 10 people go online to complainabout their jobs or a company, they do not typically go online and talk about how much they love their jobs, appliances, etc. the internet is used and posted on by people who are unhappy and wish to complain. to the rest of you For those of you who state this is a scam keep in mind, just because you arent happy with your experience, does not mean that your view is the only view nor does it mean that your view is the correct view. EX: pedophiles feel they are the ones that are right, not society yes i did just compare you to a pedophile, stop whinning and grow up

It started off with a letter in the mail. I let it sit on my kitchen counter for a couple of weeks until I decided to check it out. I was a Junior in college at the time and with my Marketing degree I thought that this could be great to put on my resume.

WRONG! This is a complete scam! I went into the office for an interview the same day I called. I thought this was strange but I kept my head high. In the letter, it said that you would make $15/hr plus commission. I thought that was pretty good for a college student so I thought it would be worth it to check it out.

First off, they sit you in a room with 15 plus people. You wait and going into the interview individually. Then you are asked to go back in the room with everyone. After everyone has been interviewed, he comes in and basically tells you how great the products are and that they sell themselves.

You have to sit and listen to him for over and hour. He is a very good speaker. You have to buy a bag of knives is what he calls it for $150. He says that you can get your money back if you decide you don't want to work there. It seemed legit at the time so I did it. Now looking back I think this has to be against the law or something. And it's $15/appointment not per hour. But they say that it's only suppose to be an hour. And when I went on appointments they were definitely longer than an hour.

All of your customers are the people closest to you. They do this because they know that people that are close to you are more likely to feel bad and give in. I feel horrible for even attempting this. Then you have to report to the manager every morning and tell them what you are going to do that day to increase your appointments and sales. He is very pushy and makes you feel like you're a failure if you don't get any sales.

Thing is that it is like over a $1,000 for a set of knives-- and this is the cheapest set. In the state of the economy, no one can afford this. But he tells you that b/c they are forever under warranty that people will buy it. Wrong again!

They give you a script in what exactly you are to say on each appointment. This is BS! I am a junior in college in Marketing. I know how to communicate and sell things. After each appointment you are to report to the manager and tell him what exactly happened and then he tells you what you did wrong.

Also, during the 3 day training that you're not paid for, you have to write a list of everyone you know and phone numbers and give it to them. If you reached a certain amount you won a prize. All of the prizes are Cutco products..what college student cares about a peeler? I didn't know that he he was going to give it to the receptionist to call each person on the list and try to get them in for an interview. I had all of my friends and family calling me and complaining that they were being harassed by this company. Constantly calling and leaving voicemails. I felt so stupid.

My advice to you is to not even go 10 feet from this place. It is a complete waste of time and you actually lose money rather than make money. Consider this a warning before you decide to humiliate yourself. But I did get a good bag of knives! Too bad that I only got one steak knife and other random knifes that are pointless!

Hey, my friend recommended them about me, and now they gave me a call. I already set up the interview for 1P.M. today. However, if it is really the way you say it is, then I'm just not going to go, period. Before I even suspected of any misleading from the company, my cousing who is now a professional journalist told me that when she was in high school, She got a letter in the mail. She got all excited because she thought they wanted her. When she went to the meeting, she did have a feeling that this was not they way that she really was told it was. She could sense the fakeness of the people who were trying to get her into joining. So she finished and just left. She could tell that everything was obviously very well planned to make everybody think this was the best thing in the world. These people only care about making money and they don't care about the rest. If you don't really care about human-human safe interaction/communication and only care about the money then by all means just join. But it is true that these people are only in for the money. Forget this interview. I'm not going. I'd rather be with my family that 4 hours in a group interview with people that don't even care about me. Thank you very much. You saved me lots of time, along with my cousin.

The reason people aren't successful with cutco is because of their attitude and lack of motivation. I've been there 3 weeks. I made $139 in 30 mins with one sale. When's the last time you made that much in that time frame from a job? When I hit my 50% promotion, that would have been over $450. I'm about to hit my second promotion soon. Yes, the training sucks and it's repetitive. But it's only 3 days worth. Yes you have to call between 7-9 AM to PDI and call after appointments. But what's the big deal? No job is perfect. And I think it's fun to sell things and win free things. There has also been successful people I've seen gone through the program before and after me. Not many people complete it or are successful, but that's because those people have sucky attitudes and no motivation. And there are scholarships. Top 50 reps get one and someone in my office is one of the top 50 and this is only his second summer. This is a very good opportunity to make real money. Don't let one person (or people from their comments), persuade you from not joining the cutco/vector family. If you want to make a lot of money and get awesome experience, this is the job for you. BTW, I just sold to a very successful restraunt owner. His knives in the kitchen were crap compared to cutco. Any demo I've done, Cutco knives has ALWAYS come out on top.

Also, there is massive room for job growth...which includes a lot of pay and a yearly trip (usually somewhere in Europe. This year it's Ireland.) There aren't health benefits that I'm aware of (maybe when you get higher up?) But that could change with the Obama health care plan. People who work for Cutco/Vector are very upbeat, positive people. It makes it fun to work there. You can create your own schedule, which is perfect for a single mom and full time student like myself. You can work there summers, seasonal, or year round. As long as you make at least 1 sale a year, then you're a sales representative for life. So far, this job rocks. =)

My short experience with Vector Marketing was perhaps one of the most unusual experiences of my life. I attended two days of training, then after internet research and an uneasy feeling I decided to quit. My objective is for this review to help people considering going to the interview, and helped hired people who are unsure of the job.
It all started with a letter in the mail. I was an unemployed college student. They promised a $15/hr pay plus commission, flexible scheduling for students, and absolutely no experience required. Sounded too good to be true, but I was unemployed so I called the receptionist and set up an interview the next day. Her first offer was for me to come the day I called her at 5:30 p.m (unusual time for an interview). I researched the company online and apparently they sold knives.

I was discouraged to see it was a group interview. We sat in a room in uncomfortable desks, filled out forms, and listened to their pop music. The manager met with each of us for two minutes then had us sit close together while she did an hour presentation describing the job and the "perks." It seemed more like a sales pitch than a job interview, and the whole interview was about two and a half hours. Our job was to sell knives in homes, and our references started with people we knew. The pay was actually $15 per appointment not per hour. This was misleading; they are not the same thing. The commission is not added, so it is base pay or commission not "plus commission" as the letter stated. She asked us each questions. After this she met with us each individually for three minutes so we would know if were hired. It still sounded like a good job, and I was stoked after being hired when she spoke to me last. I feel kind of silly now.

After hired I had to attend three days of a training seminar. I heard a rumor that they hire everyone and that the people are just scheduled for different training days so that we do not all see each other. If this is true then we were all lied to because they said we were a "specially selected" group of people, about "20% of the applicants." The seminars were a pain in the rear, and I use that term loosely. We had to sit in a room listening to a district manager pep talk us in uncomfortable chairs, and this lasted roughly eight hours with no breaks. We could bring food, but none of us ate when we sat so close together. He explained how the knives "sell themselves" and that is why college students can sell them. He told us that if we followed the manual, or script as I call it, we could make a lot of money. It sounded like brainwashing to me.

He told us a bunch of "success" stories. People earning two grand in 10 days or 30 grand in a month. Our district manager was a well dressed, good looking guy in his 30's who said he now makes six figures after starting in our position 10 years ago. Selling knives? Yeah right. I find that hard to believe. I do not know how many of these success stories are true, and maybe some people can earn lots of money, but those people are probably the exception rather than the norm. They try to convince you that if you are not that successful you are just "lazy." Give me a break. College students are highly ambitious that is why they are college students; everyone knows that.

Back to the pay. It is not as glamorous as it seems. I am sure that for a while people are lucky to get 20 appointments a week with their references and schedules. Plus with all the gas guzzling from driving because you will get references that live kind of far away, and all the phone calls, and unpaid weekly meetings that are highly encouraged you end up working for more than what you make. Accumulate some of these expenses and your glamorous $15/appointment turns into about $8/hour. High commission is possible, but that is for the small percentage that excel at it, and trust me there are many hard workers who could still not excel.

They mention during the interview and training that you have to purchase a $150 dollar kit to take to demos. It's a security deposit so supposedly you can get it back. Unpaid training sessions could just be so people won't show up just to get paid, and they do not want people stealing knives. There are dishonest people out there, but I still do not trust the company. I would also like to mention that paying for the demo is still a pain. Hello! We're college students. Many of us are poor and unemployed. How are we supposed to get money for that?

The way they wanted us to get appointments was by selling to people we know. I did not feel right about this. It is a tough economy and knives are expensive. I had to keep calling my boss back and telling him how many appointments I was getting. At night he told me to call them and wake them up. Yeah I am not doing that, and in my state it is illegal to call after a certain hour as far as I know. If exploiting your family is not a problem for you then go for it. I decided the job was not for me after I did some research, and I did not show up for my last day of training.

I would also like to point out their specific demographic. (rich people) who are married with children. They will most likely buy the knives as they are expensive.You have to report after every sale. It seems great that they care because I do agree with the philosophy of helping each other succeed but come on! I do not need to be babysat.

There could be potential to make money, so I do not necessarily think this company is a scam, but they are misleading. It is almost like a get rich quick scheme. I would not be surprised if this review got a comment or a reply from a "vector representative." The managers seemed very nice and respectful, which was a big plus, but it is not for me. I would not recommend this job unless you are very desperate. Just remember this piece of information...

If something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

Im a college grad, got the letter and within 10 minutes of submitting an online application i had got a call and scheduled an interview for that afternoon. Fine, lets just check it out..
the office is pretty derelict for what they claim is the top office in the top (or #2?) regional division for sales.
very attractive receptionists.
the guy i met was charismatic and professional, but i was disappointed to be relegated to a group interview, as the conversation with the receptionist led me to believe i was fitting into a time slot. not a big deal though. but what ensued was not an interview at all. It was his sales pitch of the product we would have to sell, Cutco knives.

The product: nowhere will you find anything negative about the knives. They are better than whatever competition I am aware of (with the exception of the world renowned Kramer knives). However, I cannot say with any certainty if they are worth their price.

your job: never has “no cold calling” been such a big disadvantage. ALL of your leads must be your personal contacts, and they must fit into certain demographics (they blatantly target White mid 30’s soccer mom types). In fact, for you to be paid for an appointment, the customer must fit into their target demographics with regards to income and age. You will have NO opportunity to sell to people outside of your contacts.

the people: I have nothing but compliments for the employees and even my fellow hirelings. Why should they not be bright and capable? The division manager is very upbeat and positive, and since I am as well, I found the environment to be quite nice. But during training they called in their top salesmen periodically. What a contrast. They call it “Low Key”. They were NOT upbeat, and those were not smiles of happiness. These were just crafty people. Its their craftiness that got them the sales, not their bubbling personality. Now looking back at the division manager, its no wonder the positive happy person stuck with the selling an idea to people.
you: if you have a lot of acquaintances, neighbors, family friends, that you are not terribly close to but at least familiar with. “DISPOSABLE” friends I would call them. I do not. I have a ton of friends my age (mid twenties), and so who will not qualify for the target demographic. My mom has many people (yesterday we hammered out a list of names and phone numbers since it was our training assignment, we were able to list 38) she would call her friend. But what are we asking for? For her son who is trying to make money to come into their homes to sell knives. Okay, that’s not too much to ask for, no pressure sales, as long as you just entertain him he gets some money for the appointment. But if it really ended there, so would your job and your interest in it when you factor in gas money and travel/phone time, all unpaid.

how to make money: if you can make these people that you don’t even know well not only give you phone numbers of their trusted friends but go further and call them before you do to tell them about you and your business, and you have a limitless supply of such people, then lucky you. My experience is that nobody gives out numbers willingly, let alone for a salesman. We would have to CALL IN A FAVOR to do this, and a big favor at that. Is this really what you want that favor to be? To potentially make 50 bux? We had a better idea. Ask them to help you get a real job.

the kicker: okay so damn, after a while at best, my sales will go cold. Never fear! Pyramid scheme is here! Yes, if you can’t sell, you can work really hard to recruit people, and you get a 2% link to them in this great pyramid. But with the division manager bragging about the sales in this region, something tells me the market could be saturated, that whoever is left just doesn’t want the damn knife. Seems more like a great wall to me.
Pay: terrible. The receptionists harass you on the phone to get you to harass your contacts into giving you more contacts EVERY SINGLE MORNING. Your ‘friends’ will dread your calls…. -5
Respect: If you don’t work for vector and you’ve heard of it, you only have bad things to say. Really in the last few days ive gotten so angry trying to defend this company from everyone whole told me how terrible it was. I still don’t think its terrible, but its not that great of an opportunity either. -5
Benefits: You are hired as an Independent Contractor. That means NO BENEFITS whatsoever, by definition. However, you can write off some expenses in ur tax return. Joy. -3
Job Security: In theory you can be an employee for this company for the rest of your life, they have no reason to ever fire you, unless you really cause problems. +5
Work/Life balance: They do NOT respect your time. If you are breathing, you could be making a sale, and they will call you or make you call them with updates on your status. Its nice that they care I guess, but im not a damned kid. -5
Career Potential/Growth: it is always possible your parents’ network is so perfect that they will reward you with sales. In addition to what I have said already, we racially seem to be among the stingiest around. We drive in lexus’s yet we will use the same damned rusty knife from the mother country 100 years ago and say that we saved on Iron supplements. 0
Location: Like I said, if this is the top area for previous sales, and theyre still recruiting 40+ people per week, and cutco is designed not to be replaced, and customers will return to their original salesman… wheres my market gone? -5
Coworker Competence: why wouldn’t you meet smart and interesting people of unique backgrounds?+5
Work Environment: As far I got from training, I enjoyed it and it was a very positive environment. But you get the hallways and your car after that. -5.

one last thought: if 40 new recruits bought the 170$ demo set every week and none ever made any sales, the office and the manager would still be making some sweet money.

I just started working as a receptionist at Vector. I am the one who sets up the interviews. I'm only 19 and need money to pay my school loans and tuition. I get paid 8 dollars and hour which isn't bad at all because at a regular job i would be paid 7.25 an hour. Tho after seeing these reviews i feel awful about myself, like i am scamming people. I just can't quit the job tho cause i need the money. but every word i say on the phone to people is scripted. they won't let me say you have to buy 150 dollar start up kit and i always have to try and get the interview the same day. my manager is weird and stands basically over my shoulder the whole time and always criticizes that i have to get my show percentages up aka the amount of people i scheduled show up to the interview. I just wanted to share this and see what people thought?