Wednesday, May 14, 2008

When the Salesmen Call...

So a young man wants to make a few dollars over the summer months doing good honest labor. A worthy goal indeed. Yet at what cost? A few months rent? Food? Perhaps such things cost a tad bit more...

While there many, many honest summer salesmen out there (heavens, my brother did it himself), based on reports from credible sources, I fear that the system is not doing good things for our people. And when I say "our people," I mean none other than the Mormon core. For example, APX security systems are based directly out of Provo, Utah. Yet certain salesmen have, to their own detriment, shown themselves to be a little too shrewd of operators. Unfortunately, these young men probably did not think twice about what they were doing...they certainly meant no harm and most likely did not anticipate the consequences of being so hasty. But the consequences were less-than-pleasant for this elderly lady...

Like I said...so many good people do it...but friends and countrymen...do beware...the recruiters at BYU are so blatant in their exploitation of missionary skills...all for the sake of money...

3 comments:

S said...

You hit it right on the head. It seems like people often confuse good hard work and doing whatever it takes to make a sale. It's a shame. I have a blog that talks about the whole phenomenon: http://summer-alarm-sales.blogspot.com

Also, something I have found that helps a lot, if you are in sales, and are concerned about being a strong Latter Day Saint, it's by Dallin H Oaks, check it out here:

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=bd27ef960417b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

Great post though, very interesting.

S said...

I dont think the whole link was able to get on there, but it is under the link "For the Christian Salesman" on that blog.

Check it out!

Katherine said...

I've seen far more than I ever wished to of the summer sales industry. (I'm ashamed to say that, out of financial necessity, I sold my soul and spent some time on the inside--the administrative end of things. Let's not talk about it.) But anyway, the experience only confirmed what I disliked about the phenomenon from the start. I could tell story after story about lying sales reps, manipulation of employees and customers, inconsistent practices, etc. While most of the individuals I know who are involved with the company are honest and well-intentioned, I find the way the industry works distasteful at very least.