One of the biggest con job opportunities is the one originating from Acorn, based in The U.K., with a small-scale business office in Orlando. They are always advertising for representatives, or surveyors as they call the job description. They utilize this term because it’s exactly what they call their outside sales reps over in the U.K., and because it sounds a good deal nicer & safer for an elderly individual to have a measuring tecnician come out to their house, rather than a high pressure commissioned sales person.
Acorn recruiters tell every perspective employee that they will earn up to 60 thousand dollars per year. They currently only have 50 outside sales people to cover the entire country, and out of the the 50, only about 6 or 7 earn more than 30 thousand dollars per year. This is because 85% of their business is done in the Northeast part of the country. And by making you you as an employee, rather than an independent contractor, they can legally control every part of your day. For instance, if your schedule requires that you have to go to a sales call into a ghetto, in addition to driving 300 miles that day, you can not refuse, because you are an Acorn employee.
The company will give you a gas card to pay for your fuel, however they do not pay for the wear and tear on your vehicle, including brakes, tires, etc. We know of one sales person that has been with Acorn Stairlifts less than 18 months, and in 2011, this person drive almost 40 thousand miles, and earned less than 30 thousand dollars.
The company claims to have a lead system that can almost guarantee you a large income, but many former surveyors report that too many times, they show up at a confirmed pre-set appointment, and the person who answers the door, states that they told the company they didn’t want a survey, or anyone to come out to their house.
The company hides their true sales numbers to their sales team, so that no sales person can see what anyone else in this company is doing. Once again, this is because only a few Reps are actually earning any income to speak of, and everyone who works in outside sales with this company, is giving their vehicle a severe beating, with no reimbursement because of the excessive milage that is driven. One note, the company used to give it’s sales force a 450 dollar monthly car expense check, in addition to the gas card. This was curtailed when soon to be fired CEO, Don Shapiro, came on board a few years ago.
Acorn employment and the positions they offer are a revolving door type. They hire sales people who go out into the field, pumped up by a one week training session in Orlando, only to find that the money just isn’t there.
The author of this article, a former Acorn employee, is on a mission to warn other perspective sales people to stay away from this company and shun the many Acorn jobs listings.
