My jurisdiction is: New York
To give a bit of background information first: I'm 18 and was hired to work for Vector on Wednesday selling Cutco (really high quality cutlery) by appointment only. During training, our manager (who I just realized is only 22 so that may be part of the problem) stressed that we are independent contractors, that the hours are flexible because we make our own appointments and that there is no quota so there is no pressure to sell or make appointments. Essentially we work, we make money. We don't, we don't get paid.
The contract I signed only specifies that we must come in to give our presentation reports and that there is no minimum number of appointments we must set. It confirms that we agree to conduct business on an independent contractor basis. And it states, " Sales Reps shall have various training, instructional materials and sessions for informational purposes only, including suggested approaches to the selling situation, as are provided from time to time by other vector Sales Reps and Managers in the area. The Sales Rep (that's me) reserves the right to approach his/her business in anyway that he/she sees fit in the pursuit of sales and profits except as precluded herein."
However, after that he handed out a little white sheet that gave some more specific requirements that weren't mentioned in the contract. It says we must call in for P.D.I (personal daily interaction) and give a daily update. (Which I actually had no issues with) And it says we must attend the weekly meeting. He did tell us this before, but it wasn't until after that I found out the weekly meetings run from 9-10 on Wednesdays. When I confronted him about my curfew, he gave me a mini lecture on how it's unheard of for a girl my age to have a curfew and how wrong my mom was and how I should approach her. I thought this was incredibly unprofessional, but I knew there was really nothing I could about something so small. He instructed us on how to approach people over the phone and told us about the ideal hours to make calls. This is several days a week from 6-9 or 10. When most people are home. Later I noticed in passing that he mentioned seeing us the next day and discovered that we have to come into the office for the phone jam. That night we were required to make our first calls and inform him via phone after we set two appointments. I called and he asked how many calls I had made since I got home, then scolded me for making so few and instructed me to set up two more appointments and call him again. (Even though there is no minimum.) I also tried to talk to him about the phone jam and tell him that I made dinner plans for that time and he started yelling at me. I didn't get around to reminding him about my curfew or the fact that I have a class at 8 in the morning.
The next day I had an appointment with my friend's mother and actually sold a little over $300 worth of cutlery. When I called him for a little bit of help writing up the order he asked if he would see me that night, and I reminded him about my dinner plans. I also reminded him about my curfew and tried to explain that I would have to leave at 7 for my class. Which means I'd need to wake up at 6 at the latest. His response was, "no one needs 10 hours of sleep." (I was kind of amused at his math being a little off) Then I tried to explain that I need as much sleep as I can get because I have narcolepsy. His response was, "that's all in your head." I told him that it's documented. I was tested by my neurologist and given a report as well as a doctors note to give my professors. Then he started telling me about how people walk who doctors say never will again. He agreed to "let" me keep my dinner plans and in return I couldn't miss any more phone jams or meetings assuming my mother would let me. All of this went on while I was still at the appointment and in my opinion made both of us look pretty bad to the customer.
I'm very much aware he is in the wrong morally. But I'm not sure if I can do anything about it. I don't want to quit the job. It's pretty fun and there's good money in it, but I definately will if he continues acting like this. I decided to try and talk to him again in person and bring a tape recorder. lol
But he has no superiors so I have no one that I could complain to about his behavior.
Edit: On a side note, we only get paid for the appointments. So all of those hours he wants us to come into the office are on our time. The building is also still under construction in this really scary neighborhood and I think we're the only people in there who aren't working on the construction.
To give a bit of background information first: I'm 18 and was hired to work for Vector on Wednesday selling Cutco (really high quality cutlery) by appointment only. During training, our manager (who I just realized is only 22 so that may be part of the problem) stressed that we are independent contractors, that the hours are flexible because we make our own appointments and that there is no quota so there is no pressure to sell or make appointments. Essentially we work, we make money. We don't, we don't get paid.
The contract I signed only specifies that we must come in to give our presentation reports and that there is no minimum number of appointments we must set. It confirms that we agree to conduct business on an independent contractor basis. And it states, " Sales Reps shall have various training, instructional materials and sessions for informational purposes only, including suggested approaches to the selling situation, as are provided from time to time by other vector Sales Reps and Managers in the area. The Sales Rep (that's me) reserves the right to approach his/her business in anyway that he/she sees fit in the pursuit of sales and profits except as precluded herein."
However, after that he handed out a little white sheet that gave some more specific requirements that weren't mentioned in the contract. It says we must call in for P.D.I (personal daily interaction) and give a daily update. (Which I actually had no issues with) And it says we must attend the weekly meeting. He did tell us this before, but it wasn't until after that I found out the weekly meetings run from 9-10 on Wednesdays. When I confronted him about my curfew, he gave me a mini lecture on how it's unheard of for a girl my age to have a curfew and how wrong my mom was and how I should approach her. I thought this was incredibly unprofessional, but I knew there was really nothing I could about something so small. He instructed us on how to approach people over the phone and told us about the ideal hours to make calls. This is several days a week from 6-9 or 10. When most people are home. Later I noticed in passing that he mentioned seeing us the next day and discovered that we have to come into the office for the phone jam. That night we were required to make our first calls and inform him via phone after we set two appointments. I called and he asked how many calls I had made since I got home, then scolded me for making so few and instructed me to set up two more appointments and call him again. (Even though there is no minimum.) I also tried to talk to him about the phone jam and tell him that I made dinner plans for that time and he started yelling at me. I didn't get around to reminding him about my curfew or the fact that I have a class at 8 in the morning.
The next day I had an appointment with my friend's mother and actually sold a little over $300 worth of cutlery. When I called him for a little bit of help writing up the order he asked if he would see me that night, and I reminded him about my dinner plans. I also reminded him about my curfew and tried to explain that I would have to leave at 7 for my class. Which means I'd need to wake up at 6 at the latest. His response was, "no one needs 10 hours of sleep." (I was kind of amused at his math being a little off) Then I tried to explain that I need as much sleep as I can get because I have narcolepsy. His response was, "that's all in your head." I told him that it's documented. I was tested by my neurologist and given a report as well as a doctors note to give my professors. Then he started telling me about how people walk who doctors say never will again. He agreed to "let" me keep my dinner plans and in return I couldn't miss any more phone jams or meetings assuming my mother would let me. All of this went on while I was still at the appointment and in my opinion made both of us look pretty bad to the customer.
I'm very much aware he is in the wrong morally. But I'm not sure if I can do anything about it. I don't want to quit the job. It's pretty fun and there's good money in it, but I definately will if he continues acting like this. I decided to try and talk to him again in person and bring a tape recorder. lol
But he has no superiors so I have no one that I could complain to about his behavior.
Edit: On a side note, we only get paid for the appointments. So all of those hours he wants us to come into the office are on our time. The building is also still under construction in this really scary neighborhood and I think we're the only people in there who aren't working on the construction.
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