If you remember (imaginary reader), a little while ago, and with multicoloured lettering, I said that I would not be going back to the jobcentre – in short, that I had a job.
This job was working for a Sales and Marketing company, I was told that I would be visiting businesses and pitching to them on behalf of clients, such as Sky tv and fast wax. I had two interviews for this job and they decided that I was just the kind of person they wanted. I knew that it would be a fairly crap job, no matter how they dressed it up. But one thing I was sure of was that I would not be cold calling. In the group interview I attended, another interviewee asked if it was cold calling and we were told categorically not. He asked if the company was linked to the Cobra group at all, we were told that it was nothing like that, a completely separate and different company. I knew that the job would be worse than I was being led to believe but decided that I would be able to give it a go and leave as soon as possible. At least I had been assured I would not be visiting anyone unannounced.
I start training for the job. I discover that I am being trained to sell Sky door-to-door. I discover that the office has one room beyond the reception which is covered with slogans such as “get in the door!” I am trained to start wiping my feet as I arrive to encourage people to let me into their homes. What’s more, I am made to sign documents covered with “Cobra Group”.
Here is a choice tidbit from the Wikipedia entry on the Cobra Group:
Video footage from past investigations offers proof of Cobra Group team leaders participating in bad practices such as lying to potential customers, and according to this report (in which the Cobra group is specifically named) the year 2002 saw 12000 consumer complaints against salespeople in this industry. Some past and current sales people for the company have also commented on questionable sales methods and the repercussions for the salespeople involved.
I did not return.
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