Yes nuts, there have always been some but we now seem to have a real bumper crop of nuts of all kinds. I knew a man about thirty years ago who ran a small print shop and I used to service his equipment. He also sold advertising specialty items and he had a woman selling for him on commission. She was paid 25% of gross revenue on all her sales. He let her go finally and said that the reason was that she came to him and said that she thought she should get 50% of the gross. He replied to her that he PAID 50% for the items, if she got the other half there would be nothing left for him. He asked her where she thought he would get the money for rent, utilities etc. I still can’t believe the idiocy but he swore that her reply was, “That’s your problem, use your own money for that.” Some people should not be allowed on the street unescorted.
I have been a specialty distributor for over 20 years, family business with my FIL and BIL.
There obviously are companies that hire employees in my business, but the turnover is horrible because the profit structure is such that it’s just not worth the cost and trouble to have employees when you are a small distributor, even as contract ones. You end up working more and making less.
Often, they hire these 21-25 cute girls to go out and sell and it is a cutthroat business to get started in, all commission, usually no draw even at the beginning. They go door to door to retail businesses selling 250 key tags and 500 30¢ pen orders. It’s brutal. Usually last a couple of months. I have clients that like to tell me about the parade of cute little (empty headed) hotties constantly coming through trying to sell them. And it takes years to really get to know the business.