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import_illusion
12-01-2004, 04:54 PM
Just wondering who has worked for them and what has your experience been like with them?
and also what is the rate of pay?

B17a
12-01-2004, 04:58 PM
You're selling knives door to door. If that's your cup of tea, sign up.

import_illusion
12-01-2004, 05:01 PM
Originally posted by B17a
You're selling knives door to door. If that's your cup of tea, sign up.
but they told me that i just sit in the office one on one with clients describing and promoting the product

B17a
12-01-2004, 05:04 PM
Originally posted by import_illusion

but they told me that i just sit in the office one on one with clients describing and promoting the product

Maybe things have changed but its pretty hard to get clients to come in and sit with you unless you go out and find them.

1badPT
12-01-2004, 05:08 PM
I did it for a short period of time when i used to live in Toronto. If you know a lot of people you can make some good money at it and the product is unique enough that you can close the sales relatively easily. A good portion of my family and friends still have what I sold them in their kitchens to this day. Like any other straight commission job though you only get out what you put in.

And like B17a said, it's door to door mainly unless things have changed a lot. You start by calling friends and family and getting referrals from them - ie presenting your parents, then you can usually slip a presentation in right after with their neighbours then ask them for some referrals as well. You'll learn a lot about selling for sure.

Def_3
12-01-2004, 05:20 PM
garbage, you call people asking if you can come "demonstrate" some "amazing" knives, then try and get them to spend their life savings

imo, you have a better chance of "making it" collecting bottles

ryder_23
12-01-2004, 05:22 PM
when i went there...u can only do by referals of people you know, so you dont actually call people up and offer them.

only good thing about it, is everyone i know has knifes, so i dont hafta bother trying to sell them the product, just say i talkd to them about it, and get paid 14.35/hr for doing nothing.

i never did it, looked too scammy for my liking.

Def_3
12-01-2004, 05:40 PM
Originally posted by ryder_23
when i went there...u can only do by referals of people you know, so you dont actually call people up and offer them.

only good thing about it, is everyone i know has knifes, so i dont hafta bother trying to sell them the product, just say i talkd to them about it, and get paid 14.35/hr for doing nothing.

i never did it, looked too scammy for my liking. :werd: thanks for correcting me, I never worked there, friends of mine have, all gave a VERY SHADY impression of that company, I suggest you try retail, if you want commision try soundsaround, visions etc for entry level

good luck:thumbsup:

DUBBED
12-01-2004, 05:45 PM
I went to the "interview" once. Sketchiest group of people I've ever met in my life.

biggie_82
12-16-2004, 04:18 PM
Very Shady, try running a search on Google or something. I'm pretty sure you'll find stuff.

QuasarCav
12-16-2004, 04:25 PM
http://www.petitiononline.com/vector/petition.html

'NUFF SAID!

1badPT
12-16-2004, 04:38 PM
That doesn't prove anything... You can make a petition about anything. Want me to make one about you? :tongue:

~Leah~
12-16-2004, 04:40 PM
It's true though, they're all about scamming

sin
12-16-2004, 04:43 PM
they have over 3000 signatures! anyway i lived with someone who did this and they screwed her out of $1100, long story, but i recommend that you DONT take this job.

EnRich
12-16-2004, 06:13 PM
wow... that's bout all I can say...

djayz
12-16-2004, 06:42 PM
not the greatest company
if you know a lot of people you can scam them out but its not worth the time
my brother used to work for them he did it for like a month or so made a grand then they kept calling him to come into work and do stuff so he just quit. They like to pressurize their employees

FiveFreshFish
12-17-2004, 08:50 PM
Originally posted by import_illusion
but they told me that i just sit in the office one on one with clients describing and promoting the product

Maybe they're doing telemarketing now. Don't assume "one-on-one" is the same as "face-to-face."

GQNammer
12-20-2004, 05:21 AM
If you havn't experienced it 1st hand, then lucky you.

I tried it about 4 years ago. It's honestly, door to door selling. They just make it sound like it's not door to door cuz that would shun a lot of people away from the company. They're trying to sell knives and other shit for 100x more than it actually costs. Honestly, who would spend 1100bux on a set of knives which don't outperform some of the other knives out there which cost 1/2 the price or lower.

They're sales tactics is stupid. Only an idiot would buy their knives. Here's how they tell you on, "how to sell the knives to a customer"

1. Instead of 2 rivets, cutco uses 3 rivets on the handle!

WOW 3 rivets! holy shit, i think only 80% of knives out there have 3 rivets. Boy golly gee. I guess if you bought yourself knives at the loonie store this would really convince you to buy a cutco knife! But if that hasn't sold you yet, listen to this next one.

2. The handle is made outta space age plastic! It won't break on you! (then they have you bad mouth wooden handles). With wooden handles, microgerms can sink in, and you can't even see it! So wooden handles are filthy!

3. The knives are at full tang. Boy golly you'll have more control over your knife. (Full tang is when the blade goes all the way to the bottom of your handle. Some knives are 1/2 tanged).

4. The blades will last you forever. Not life time, but FOREVER. You won't ever have to sharpen these blades. If you do, it's only a small charge!

Kinda contradictory don't you think? lol
The cost to sharpen their knives are $5 each. Plus u gotta pay shipping. And I've heard many complaints on their "FOREVER" guarantee.

I'm sure I've missed a lot of misconceptual things they want you to tell the customer. They're ripping people off with the prices they have set out. And then they try to make you feel good about doing that.

Skyline_Addict
12-20-2004, 07:00 AM
yeah.... the catch is that they make it sound like you get 14.85 per hour, ASSUMING that each interview takes one hour. this is not taking into account potentially large amounts of travelling, which can make say 3 hours worth of work, maybe 1.5 hours worth of pay, as you spend half the time travelling to people's houses. i personally don't think the knives are that great. afterall, the reason u're working for vector is to sell this knives to people. if these knives were so great and so essential, they'd sell themselves! it all comes to door to door sales, no matter what they say. they also imply that you WILL get refferals from people, and that you WILL get to meet up with these refferals and get refferals from them. the truth is that, this is not true. my friend came to do a presentation at my house to my mom, and after it was done, a) no sale, b) she told him she wouldnt' give him refferals. during the interview, they make it sound like it is so easy to get clients...it's not...if YOU think it's shady working there, what do you think they're thinking.....definetely not spending thousands of dollars on...knives? naturally, the executives are very nice people and will use that to buy you in. i went to the interviews and got the job...however, they made people do stupid shit like write down as many people as you know and bring that paper in tommorow! some people are so fucking keen and write down like 5000 names. give me a break. liars like that are the type of people who run the company! when they asked everyone to "start calling as many people as fast as you can and call us back when you have reached our goal and we'll buy you breakfast tommorow", i said wow, this is fucking stupid, and i didn't show up for the second part of the training. they never even called me back.
the job will end up paying you 7 bucks an hour or less anyways, it's just not worth it. if you're not good at lying and have respect for yourself and others you know, this is not the job for you

googe
12-20-2004, 10:39 AM
a little misinformation here. im very familiar with this company, although i havent worked there. yes it is more or less door to door, and its definitely not for everyone. they arent scamming anyone though...its not like they are selling a garbage product and marking it up ridiculously. the products are very good, sure there is a profit margin but talk to anyone thats used them and has purchased other high quality knives before and theyll tell you they arent pieces of shit. if you are good at sales, it can be a pretty sweet deal...one of my friends is always gone on vacations or getting free stuff for good performance, they have quite the incentives. the management there are also very friendly. not something i would ever do but hats off to the people that are successful at it.

honestly though, anyone that sells monster cable is doing a lot more "lying and scamming" than these guys :) and anyone thats forced an extended warranty down someones throat is going straight to hell :rofl:

dont get me wrong, it is sales, and you do make silly hype such as some things gqnammer said, but come on, have you never sold or been sold anything before? :)

1badPT
12-20-2004, 12:50 PM
the 14.85 is only if you don't sell something. If you follow the sales cycle, you'll likely walk away with a $100 scissors sale out of which you get about $20.

For a straight comission job, its not bad that they'll guarantee that you get something for your time, even if you don't sell during a particular appointment. Not only that, people you don't sell to will usually agree the product is superior and will give you referrals so you can stay in business. I wouldn't make it a career, but you can learn a lot about how to sell and how to be in business for yourself. You can take that knowledge with you to other jobs and be successful or stay in and get into management.

People who say its a scam are just sour that they have no sales skills whatsoever.

Skyline_Addict
12-20-2004, 12:58 PM
^^ it has nothing to do with how good of salesperson you are. it's about being part of something you don't believe in. some people just don't like or believe in the way the system works, regardless of past sales experience or skills or what not. if you find writing down 5000 names to win the comfy chair during training or calling as many people you know as you can to tell them about vector kind of stupid, sales can still be the right thing for you, because those have absolutely nothing to do with it. their initial job is to get you to believe in their product, being the knives. if they don't "sell" you, then they are sucky sales person... not you.

1badPT
12-20-2004, 01:23 PM
Fine, they may not believe in the product, that still doesn't make vector a scam. They are selling premium cutlery and sure there is a markup - you can't tell me it costs as much as they charge for a rolex watch either. Premium items have premium prices.

Can you buy knives cheaper? Sure. Can you buy watches for cheaper than a Rolex?....

awd
12-20-2004, 02:54 PM
What I don't like about Cutco Knives:

- Are they the best knives out there for the price? NO.
- Do they claim to be the best knives out there? YES.

That aside I will not be trading my Globals in for Cutcos any time soon.

1badPT
12-20-2004, 03:03 PM
"best" will be defined differently by everyone. Plus the type of people who will buy premium cutlery may not go to a store that sells Henckel (i've never heard of Global but I'm sure they claim to be the best as well).

Its your opinion that Cutco is not the best, so its not surprising you don't own them. Those who do think they are the best own a set, sold by a Vector marketing salesperson.

awd
12-20-2004, 03:31 PM
Originally posted by 1badPT
"best" will be defined differently by everyone. Plus the type of people who will buy premium cutlery may not go to a store that sells Henckel (i've never heard of Global but I'm sure they claim to be the best as well).

Its your opinion that Cutco is not the best, so its not surprising you don't own them. Those who do think they are the best own a set, sold by a Vector marketing salesperson.

Vector boasts that their knives are the best on the market -- pretty clear statement IMO.

My dad is a professional chef, and my cousin who was selling the knives a few years ago brought them home for my dad to check out. He said the knives are made for those who don't know anything about knives. Sure, they're sharp, and they are better than some of the other knives that are out there, but they are certainly not acceptable in a commercial setting, and should not be pawned off as such. When compared to other competively priced ice-hardened and well-balanced knives on the market they don't stand up.

Don't get me wrong, they make nice knives but nicer knives can be found at a better price.

GQNammer
12-20-2004, 04:13 PM
Originally posted by awd


He said the knives are made for those who don't know anything about knives.

Exactly. Took the words right from my mouth lol.

And about the rolex example. Rolex is known as the "bling factor" watch. Rolex is targetted for the rich people. Rolex is not a need, but it's a big want. And i'm pretty sure the people who sell these watches aren't expecting average joe's to walk in and buy their products.

CUTCO/vector on the other hand, are basically selling the rolex's or knives. But, the difference is, they make it sound like every other knife in the business of cutlery does not come close to them. They make it seem like cutco knives are a NEED not a want. You NEED these knives cuz so and so is crap.

If I were a rolex representitive, and told you that your watch is uncomparable to a rolex watch. Would you spend 20x just to get a rolex watch? No, and you being the customer, how would that make you feel?

And that's the difference. Rolex doesn't make their watches appear as a NEED. But cutco makes their knives appear that way.

1badPT
12-20-2004, 04:29 PM
Originally posted by awd
Don't get me wrong, they make nice knives but nicer knives can be found at a better price.

For commercial applications.... like I said, everyone is going to define best in their own way. Bugatti believes they sell the best car, so does Ferrari, so does BMW, so does Chevrolet, and they are all right for different reasons. Just because your father the chef doesn't think they are the best, doesn't mean someone else won't find them to be the best for their application. Also most of these are sold to residences - with a commercial chef, they will want the ability to sharpen the knives themselves and have a non-serrated edge, so that eliminates Cutco as a choice for them. For most individuals, a knife that stays sharp forever is very appealing, and a serrated blade makes that "tough as leather" steak seem like it is tender like butter is a must have (we can't all be chefs :tongue: ).

1badPT
12-20-2004, 04:34 PM
Originally posted by GQNammer
snip
CUTCO/vector on the other hand, are basically selling the rolex's or knives. But, the difference is, they make it sound like every other knife in the business of cutlery does not come close to them. They make it seem like cutco knives are a NEED not a want. You NEED these knives cuz so and so is crap.

If I were a rolex representitive, and told you that your watch is uncomparable to a rolex watch. Would you spend 20x just to get a rolex watch? No, and you being the customer, how would that make you feel?

And that's the difference. Rolex doesn't make their watches appear as a NEED. But cutco makes their knives appear that way.

What the hell are you trying to argue here? All sales are closed on the basis of "you need this now" and "this is better than your other choices". Do you honestly think the person selling you a Rolex or anything else for that matter isn't doing the same thing?

Ben
12-20-2004, 05:16 PM
Originally posted by GQNammer


Exactly. Took the words right from my mouth lol.

And about the rolex example. Rolex is known as the "bling factor" watch. Rolex is targetted for the rich people. Rolex is not a need, but it's a big want. And i'm pretty sure the people who sell these watches aren't expecting average joe's to walk in and buy their products.

CUTCO/vector on the other hand, are basically selling the rolex's or knives. But, the difference is, they make it sound like every other knife in the business of cutlery does not come close to them. They make it seem like cutco knives are a NEED not a want. You NEED these knives cuz so and so is crap.

If I were a rolex representitive, and told you that your watch is uncomparable to a rolex watch. Would you spend 20x just to get a rolex watch? No, and you being the customer, how would that make you feel?

And that's the difference. Rolex doesn't make their watches appear as a NEED. But cutco makes their knives appear that way.


You sir, obviously have no idea wtf you're talking about when it comes to sales with that above post.

GQNammer
12-20-2004, 05:54 PM
K, i'm not good with writing up an essay on shit.

But my point was, to make it short, cutco makes the customer feel like it's either you have cutco, or you have shit. I've been to their seminars, been through all their training, and got hired. I guess you gotta go through all of the process to know why i'm feeling the way I am. Maybe you guys had better trainers and I got the short end of the stick. But the way I was trained was to basically badmouth all other kinds of knives.

GTS Jeff
12-20-2004, 08:46 PM
What you guys should remember is that there are two types of sales. Door to door "cold sales" and in-store "warm sales." And everything in between too.

It's one thing to be good at sales, but it's quite another to be able to force yourself to be an annoyance on other people. I think I'm pretty good at sales (I've constantly outperformed at my current job, and when I was at Future Shop, by the 2nd month, I was outselling the old-timers by a large margin), like I can usually manipulate a lot of people into buying shit. However, I have a tough time succeeding at door to door sales. I tried selling alarm systems door to door for awhile in Cleveland, and that was a total bust. The problem is, there's more "door to door" than there is "sales" in door to door sales. I spent 99% of my time knocking on doors and 1% of my time actually selling to whoever took pity and let me in the house.

Going door to door is simply degrading to your pride. It's like being a bum and asking every single passerby for change. While doing door to door, I experienced shit from people siccing their dogs on me to being offered $20 out of pity. Fuck that, I hauled ass back to Calgary after a couple weeks.

If you are actually good at sales and don't want the BS of being an annoying door to door guy that everyone hates, just go to A&B Sound or something and make your $4-5000/month and call it a day.

Skyline_Addict
12-20-2004, 11:38 PM
Originally posted by GTS Jeff
What you guys should remember is that there are two types of sales. Door to door "cold sales" and in-store "warm sales." And everything in between too.

It's one thing to be good at sales, but it's quite another to be able to force yourself to be an annoyance on other people. I think I'm pretty good at sales (I've constantly outperformed at my current job, and when I was at Future Shop, by the 2nd month, I was outselling the old-timers by a large margin), like I can usually manipulate a lot of people into buying shit. However, I have a tough time succeeding at door to door sales. I tried selling alarm systems door to door for awhile in Cleveland, and that was a total bust. The problem is, there's more "door to door" than there is "sales" in door to door sales. I spent 99% of my time knocking on doors and 1% of my time actually selling to whoever took pity and let me in the house.

Going door to door is simply degrading to your pride. It's like being a bum and asking every single passerby for change. While doing door to door, I experienced shit from people siccing their dogs on me to being offered $20 out of pity. Fuck that, I hauled ass back to Calgary after a couple weeks.

If you are actually good at sales and don't want the BS of being an annoying door to door guy that everyone hates, just go to A&B Sound or something and make your $4-5000/month and call it a day.

:werd:

1badPT
12-21-2004, 12:02 PM
You raise good points Jeff, but that isn't how the Cutco business works. Door to door is a very loose term - in a Cutco business you are phoning ahead, setting an appointment and then going and doing your presentation. Neighbour referrals are about the only true door to door selling you do, and because of the referral, its much warmer than just being some nameless bloke knocking on a random door. Instead you knock on the door, introduce yourself and mention that you were just speaking to such and such next door and they thought you should have a look at what I just showed them...

Its far less humbling and you meet with a lot more success.

I'm not saying there aren't better jobs out there, but if you want to get started in sales and learn about being in business for yourself, this is a good way to go.

googe
12-21-2004, 12:45 PM
yeah, a couple more things.

the people saying cutco sucks because they claim to be the best product and the only thing you need, think about that for a minute. who the hell is going to sell anything saying "well our product isnt the greatest, there is definitely better, but we still want your business". you think when you go into the sony store and listen to their home theater setups they are going to tell you that denon and HK and yamaha make better receivers than them, and sony isnt that great in comparison? of course not, that doesnt make them "scammers". the fact that home theater is marked up by double dealer cost doesnt make them scammers either. i am not saying these are the be-all end-all best knives in the world, cause what the hell would i know all i can cook is kraft dinner, but that argument doesnt make a whole lot of sense.

second, its not literally door to door. that is degrading and annoying as jeff said, but they know, as well as the sellers, youd never make any sales that way. if someone you havent heard of comes to your door wanting to sell knives, theyre extremely unlikely to buy anything, and its a waste of everyones time. you go to peoples houses but its based on leads and referrals. the good sales people that know how to network can go several years without exhausting their network. they will tell you not to go door to door for that reason.

as for the low-pay $15/hour thing being a big lie etc, that petition site said something about you have to make 8 appointments a day to get a full time paycheck, that guy is out to lunch. thats what you get if you never sell a single thing. and if you never sell a single thing and are in sales, you shouldnt be expecting any more than that.

a friend of mine is actually in cuba right now, and a few months ago he was in haiti. both trips paid for by vector as a reward for good performance. bastard is good at that stuff :)

Weapon_R
12-21-2004, 12:52 PM
Selling an item as the "best" is very subject to interpretation.

Personally, and quite honestly, I think Honda is the best car that money can buy. But ask a little more, and i'll tell you that Honda's are the best in reliability and price and therefore I think they are the best.

I also think that BMW is the "best" car that money can buy. But I think that they are the best luxury sports vehicle that money can buy.

I think that GM is the best that money can buy too. I think so because they are the most affordable and well built car and the best bang for your buck (v6 engines are not options, good reliability and great price).

And so on...

For Vector to say that their knives are the best is certainly feasible. If one person believes that they are the best, it immediately legitimizes their claim. You may not think so, but others do.

GTS Jeff
12-21-2004, 01:29 PM
Originally posted by 1badPT
in a Cutco business you are phoning ahead, setting an appointment and then going and doing your presentation. Neighbour referrals are about the only true door to door selling you do, and because of the referral, its much warmer than just being some nameless bloke knocking on a random door. Instead you knock on the door, introduce yourself and mention that you were just speaking to such and such next door and they thought you should have a look at what I just showed them...

I'm not saying there aren't better jobs out there, but if you want to get started in sales and learn about being in business for yourself, this is a good way to go.



Originally posted by googe
its not literally door to door. that is degrading and annoying as jeff said, but they know, as well as the sellers, youd never make any sales that way. if someone you havent heard of comes to your door wanting to sell knives, theyre extremely unlikely to buy anything, and its a waste of everyones time. you go to peoples houses but its based on leads and referrals. the good sales people that know how to network can go several years without exhausting their network. they will tell you not to go door to door for that reason.

Actually, that is a lot better than what I had thought then. In fact, it sounds pretty professional. So it does boil down to sales skill as determining factor for success.

digi355
12-26-2004, 05:12 AM
I think 1badPT bought these knives..... :devil:

rockym20
01-04-2005, 02:04 AM
My wife worked for Vector for a while and we have a set of their knives. The company isn't that bad to work for, it you are into doing that kind of sales. In all honesty, the product is excellent for home use. They are basically maintenance free and very good quality. Everyone we know that has them (and most are people my wife did not sell to), loves them. They are not meant for commercial purposes! You are not going to use a stainless steel knife in commercial settings, you are going to use a high-carbon knife. They make for a much better cutting edge, but are higher maintenance (read - easily dull). How many people out there know how to properly sharpen a blade, or want to pay for sharpening on a regular basis? In addition, a high-carbon knife can also be stained by certain foods, if they aren't cared for properly. How many people out there want to take proper care of knifes? A professional chef would (as these are the tools of the trade), but a household cook likely would not. The company does stand by its product. We broke the blade on our potato peeler and they replaced the whole thing for only $5.