I began my experience with Vector by calling a local office and asking about an interview.  The office receptionist follows a script when potential salespeople call. She asked me to come to an interview scheduled only three hours after I called, but when I told her I couldn’t make it, she pretended to shuffle papers and tap on a keyboard to give the impression she was looking for an empty time slot. Because the interviews are held in groups, time is always available.

I arrived at the interview 10 minutes late and was given an application, which included questions like, “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”  I wrote: “To play a guitar made out of dental floss.” After an hour of waiting, I was accepted into the company. I wasn’t informed that training wasn’t mandatory, nor that I wouldn’t be getting paid for it.

Training was held Friday through Sunday for at least six hours each day. We watched a training video on how to perform a knife demonstration, and then we tested the strength of the knives by cutting rope, leather and watermelons. On the second day of training, the manager told us we had to buy a starter set that cost $147, and if we couldn’t afford it then we should “get loans from family and friends.” By the last day of training, the group of 30 students had shrunk to only a dozen. I got phone numbers of four other trainees and later found out that none of them worked for Vector anymore.