Vector Marketing claims to the best job for college students, but some students at The University of Memphis would beg to differ.
Shaunelle Campbell, a senior fashion marketing major and former Vector Marketing employee, said that Vector is not a job for college students.
According to Campbell, a company that misrepresents itself to its own employees is not a company that she would every want to work for.
"I started with Vector my senior year in high school," she said. "I worked for the company in Little Rock, Ark. I was taken in with what seems to be their slogan: 'Want to make $13 an hour,' but what I made was far less. I was told that I would not have to pay any money out of pocket, but once I got to orientation I was told I needed to buy a sales kit which cost was more than $200."
John Bonecutter, manger for Vector Marketing Memphis, a national sales company that specializes in knives, has been recruiting students on campus in various ways such as information tables in the University Center, flyers post around campus and classified advertisement in The Daily Helmsman.
"Many students do well with Vector and some do not, but the only difference between the two is if they listen to and follow the instruction that we give them," Bonecutter said. "We have a way of doing things at Vector, just like every company has their own personal style of operating."
While Bonecutter was recruiting more students, Campbell saw an opportunity to warn students about the company by speaking with them about Vector.
"I'm not just going to let someone get involved with a messed-up company," Campbell said. "They'll tell you that you are going to get $13 an hour, and for people who like getting money that is all they will hear. There is a lot of fine print that will determine how much you will get versus how much you were supposed to get.
"I remember one time when I was setting up about 10 meetings a day for a weeks time. I go to pick up my check thinking I'm going to have about $800, but I look at it and it is a $65 check."
According to Campbell, Vector Marketing tends to twist its words around.
"They aren't really lying, but what they say are things that turn out not to add up in the end," Campbell said.
According to Bonecutter, it all comes down to who listens and follows directions and who does not.
"There have been some representatives who didn't do well with the company, and it was because they didn't follow directions," he said.
"If your boss at your job tells you to do something a certain way and you chose to do it a different way, then what do you expect? We are going to have to dock pay.
"We are the No. 1 employer of college students and the No. 1 company for college students to work for. That comes from our staff and the Better Business Bureau."
Campbell said that she would never want a friend or relative to work there.
Contrastingly Bonecutter sees Vector in a totally different light.
"I have representatives that started with me in June, who have made more than $14,000 with the company," he said. We have been in this business for over 50 years and we know what works. There is no reason to get angry with the company if instructions weren't followed."
