...the scum of the earth - 2nd and 3rd interview day....

i applied for a "sales and marketing manager trainee" in a jobstreet listing... here's the link for better understanding:

http://ph.jobstreet.com/jobs/2008/9/default/20/1986539.htm?fr=L

now, i was called back for a second interview, and i didn't come to work to be at that interview... it was quite interesting, and me and michelle, a girl i met during the preliminary interview, were actually looking forward for the company to call... so i was pretty much excited for this second interview...

i was asked to be there by 9.45, but i got to makati by 8.50 (not by choice..), yet someone called me from that company asking if i was on my way to the office... of course i said yes...

so now, i go up, waited like forever (because it would start actually at 9.45) until this guy who looked indian and had somewhat of an indian accent came in... we learned he was singaporean... anyway, he breifed us with what the company is about (again), and what they do, then split us up so that we'd go with a trainer... i fortunately (or unfortunately considering the nancy castillogne-lookalike trainer the other girl got to be with for the day) got to be with the trainer who talked to us, roshan (yeah, a guy named roshan... who would've guessed? kala ko pang-dota lang eh...), and we talked about irrelevant stuff on the way...

so what happens is, the team (composed of different people, about 8 of them, who have been with the company for a week or even three weeks) is split after walking from enterprise building (ayala corner paseo) to i think it was rufino or something... they're asked to go from building to building... now, they said that they have either a road show or business to business... so i was thinking we were doing business to business now... and i was right... we were... eto lang:

1. my idea of business to business: appointments were set, people from the company were waiting for us to get there to talk to them...

2. their idea of business to business: go from one building to another, say the first company that you see on their list if asked by the guard where we were going, and barge into offices looking for managers...

imagine, the first thing taught to me was "this is the first real challenge, to get past security.." wtf? its as if we're criminals escaping a cell or something... anyway, for three minutes, he talks about what's happening with unicef and who the unicef actually benefit... here's the pitch in a nutshell:
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"hi i'm ________ from unicef... the reason why we're here is that your company has always helped us with the christmas cards and everything, so first we'd actually like to thank you for that... now, we're here to just give you an idea of what's happening now with unicef.. 42% of the population here in the philppines is composed of children... sadly though, 39% of them are unable to go to schools... we at unicef actually like to focus on three things, child protection, education, and child welfare.. by doing that, we can actually help the kids see a better future for them... now, here's what you can do to help: for as low as 20 pesos a day -- that's a couple of bottles of water a day -- you  can help save these kids... to do that, we're going to ask for your donations through your mastercard, visa, or american express card... i do apologize, but we don't take cash, it's to make sure that 100% of your contribution goes directly to unicef fund...  so, i'm just curious, are you more of a mastercard user, or a visa user?"
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that's their standard pitch. i followed roshan around pitching to about 20 people within 11am to 2pm, so that's what i got from him... after following roshan around, intruding people during work and during lunch, intimidating a number of security guards who can't speak english, i was asked to go back for my final interview... here's the conversation:

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boss: so, do you think our method is effective?

me: personally, no. i think you do present a logical, systematic, concise, and factual presentation supported by figures and stuff.. but then again, if i was on the other side of the sale, i wouldn't buy it.. pretty much because i'm not concerned with figures and stuff, i just want to get to the bottom line.

boss: well, i think our method is effective, because if it wasn't i wouldn't be sitting in front of you, would i?

me: of course. but this is my first experience with sales, so this is the first time i'm looking at it from the perception of a sales person. as i said, if i was the one on the other side of it, as i always have been, i wouldn't buy it.

boss: but not all people think like you, do they?

me (in my head, being an asshole): of course not. do they all think like you?

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now, i said i can do anything if i set my mind to it. but i've decided not to pursue it for the following reasons:

1. scam feel. roshan presented to this person who was visibly supposedly busy but took time to talk to him because it might have been important... now, of course she wouldn't sign right away, as she wanted to think about it first. she asked for a calling card, roshan didn't have one. how do you expect people to sign up when you can't even have cards saying you're from unicef... asked where the office is based, he said rcbc tower, which was true, because unicef really is there, together with other UN organizations... but the thing is, i was never introduced to any of the people in unicef... even the trainee we were with wasn't introduced to anyone from there yet... no card, no id (though roshan did have one), no direct ties with unicef. crap. and you're asking for money from these people...

2. commission based salary. now, don't get me wrong. i actually like that, i mean, you work for what you earn.. but the thing is, you don't have  basic pay, just the commission... no sale, means no money... and they get paid weekly... and no mention of taxes and benefits... and considering the travel and meals you get to spend throughout your regular selling day on the field, it seems as if you need to talk to a really big number of people  in order to just first compensate for whatever your expenses were, coz guess what, there's no meal and transpo allowance...

3. stubbornly stuck with fixed system. i told the boss their way of method isn't really that appealing to me as a consumer, but he says that system works, as it did with other countries.. and it seems that they're going to be stuck with that for as long as their company's here...

4. the idea of lying. my uncle advocates truth. the least i could do is live it. now i know sales people say the most ego-boosting words to the customer to close a deal.. mostly, these words aren't true.. same with this thing. asked if they have  an appointment, he says yes, asked who our contact was, they just say "i'm just looking for the person in charge here".. asked if we have an appointment, they say we do, and act perplexed that it hasn't reached them yet...

5. glorified pulubi. asking for donations from building to building make it seem like wer're asking for alms... yeah they wore dresses and suits, but still, they're barging into offices unannounced, and they're looking for people who the receptionist assumes we're looking for...

now, i believe i can do anything if i set my mind to it, but man, this goes against everything i stand for... before, i really didn't want a call center job, but still, i took it... but now, man... i don't know... the thing is, i could be promoted to trainer or manager really fast... but the crappy thing is, first, i become one of the scum of the earth (in my opinion), that is, people walking up to you in malls and shit, trying to sell you something...  then, if i progress with the company, i become the one who increases the number of the scum of the earth.. i wouldn't want to do that...

promising as it may sound (the company being really young here in the coutry), i'd rather have a different type of sales job...

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now to find where to apply to next.

(pakyu ka olgado. matutulog na ko. antok na ko. alabo na ata ng last paragraph ko...)